Tethering Mac to iPad

[El Capitano]

I'm seriously thinking of buying a (UK) iPad with 3G.

I actually think the tariffs look pretty reasonable - 3Gb per month for £15 is what I'm paying at the moment for "mobile broadband" from 3, and that's via a crappy Huawei dongle that only works at the right phase of the moon.

But I need to be able to use it for my Mac Internet connection, too. Will I be able to tether the Mac to the iPad, so that the Mac can get the 3G data via the iPad? Wondered if any US iPad owners had experience with this.

I really don't want to jailbreak the iPad (call me a wuss if you like ). Given that I'd still only be using the same 3Gb I don't see how the network would have a problem with this... but you know what they're like.

 

[Pushkar]

You can't tether from iPad (or iPod touch/iPhone for that matter) to any PC/Mac without jailbreaking it. There's nothing wrong with jailbreaking and should do it

On a side note, are you looking to sell your 3G dongle

 

[El Capitano]

You can tether iPhones, can't you? (subject to buying the right "bolt-on" or what-have-you) http://www.apple.com/iphone/iphone-3gs/tethering.html

Maybe I've got the phrase the wrong way round. I mean: I'd like to be able to use my iPad's 3G connection to give my Mac Internet access.

 

[Pushkar]

You can tether iPhones, can't you? (subject to buying the right "bolt-on" or what-have-you) http://www.apple.com/iphone/iphone-3gs/tethering.html

Maybe I've got the phrase the wrong way round. I mean: I'd like to be able to use my iPad's 3G connection to give my Mac Internet access.

Sorry, my post wasn't clear - You can buy a plan to tether it (for the iPhone) - but the way your saying it (Buying a Data Sim), it is not possible to tether officially, of course you can jailbreak it and share your 3G connection to your Mac/PC.

If tethering for the iPad was to come out, it would probably be at an extra cost.

Simple answer: No - but you can by Jailbreaking it.

 

[psingh01]

iPhone tethering is available everywhere except with AT&T in the US....

As for iPad tethering, didn't Steve Jobs respond to an email saying "NO" it won't be availble? Or maybe it was tethering the iPhone to the iPad to use the iPhone's service.

 

[medicscott]

cant he jb his ipad, get mywi, and setup a wifi hotspot for his macbook?

 

[HXGuy]

cant he jb his ipad, get mywi, and setup a wifi hotspot for his macbook?

Yes.

 

[El Capitano]

'Tain't a MacBook, it's a PowerMac G5 without wifi. I'd like to use USB or a Bluetooth dongle if possible... and (call me squeamish) I really really don't want to jailbreak it.

Pushkar - so I guess what you're saying is that I have to ask the carriers. As (unlike the iPhone) the iPad plans have bandwidth limited, there's no reason for them to charge extra: I'm still only downloading 3Gb of data per month. But, well, carriers don't seem to apply the same standards of logic as anyone else.

 

[medicscott]

jailbreak it. everyone is doing it

 

[Pushkar]

'Tain't a MacBook, it's a PowerMac G5 without wifi. I'd like to use USB or a Bluetooth dongle if possible... and (call me squeamish) I really really don't want to jailbreak it.

Pushkar - so I guess what you're saying is that I have to ask the carriers. As (unlike the iPhone) the iPad plans have bandwidth limited, there's no reason for them to charge extra: I'm still only downloading 3Gb of data per month. But, well, carriers don't seem to apply the same standards of logic as anyone else.

Seriously, there is no iPad plan, there is no function that will allow you to tether, as the guys have posted previously - you will need to jailbreak to get that functionality.

 

[Night Spring]

'Tain't a MacBook, it's a PowerMac G5 without wifi. I'd like to use USB or a Bluetooth dongle if possible...

Okay, that's a different beast entirely, I'm not sure if this is possible even with jailbreaking. The JB method of tethering through an iphone or ipad to another device consists of turning the iphone/ipad into a wifi hotspot.

 

[HLdan]

jailbreak it. everyone is doing it

Uh, YOU and FEW are NOT everyone. The OP can get a very cheap USB dongle for wifi that will work with his PM G5.

 

[El Capitano]

Yeah, I've got one already. Unfortunately it sucks (Huawei's Mac drivers are atrociously buggy - only thing that ever causes kernel panics on any Mac I've ever known) and, you know, if I buy that and an iPad then I'd be paying for two mobile data contracts a month.

Thanks for the replies everyone. I've e-mailed O2 and Orange and will be interested to see what they say.

 

[medicscott]

Uh, YOU and FEW are NOT everyone. The OP can get a very cheap USB dongle for wifi that will work with his PM G5.

easy guy. wasnt being that serious. cheers

 

[iSingandiDance]

jailbreak it. everyone is doing it

If I JB my iPad but later restore it to factory settings, will Apple be able to tell it's been JB'n when it's taken in for repairs/replacement? I ask because JB'n voids one's warranty and I'd rather not take that risk if i'm not protected by a restore. This goes for the iPhone and iPod Touch as well.

 

[Night Spring]

If I JB my iPad but later restore it to factory settings, will Apple be able to tell it's been JB'n when it's taken in for repairs/replacement? I ask because JB'n voids one's warranty and I'd rather not take that risk if i'm not protected by a restore. This goes for the iPhone and iPod Touch as well.

I've had two jailbroken touches that needed to be taken in for repair/replacement, and each time I restored them before I went, and have had absolutley no problems getting them repaired/replaced under warranty.

 

[iSingandiDance]

I've had two jailbroken touches that needed to be taken in for repair/replacement, and each time I restored them before I went, and have had absolutley no problems getting them repaired/replaced under warranty.

Thanks.

 

[macswitcha2]

According to the article below, you can tether your iPhone without Jb it.

http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-19512_7-10265889-233.html

Did anyone do this and does it work?

 

[DAMNiatx]

According to the article below, you can tether your iPhone without Jb it.

http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-19512_7-10265889-233.html

Did anyone do this and does it work?

It not the same on ipad.

 

[RaceTripper]

According to the article below, you can tether your iPhone without Jb it.

http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-19512_7-10265889-233.html

Did anyone do this and does it work?

That article is a year old and doesn't apply anymore, unless you never updated your iPhone beyond 3.0. It worked then, but won't now.

 

[HiFiGuy528]

I didn't update my iPhone because of tethering hack (not jailbreak). It works GREAT and it's free. Yes, I am on AT&T. I like how well it works on Bluetooth too.

 

[FastangV6]

I've had two jailbroken touches that needed to be taken in for repair/replacement, and each time I restored them before I went, and have had absolutley no problems getting them repaired/replaced under warranty.

I have had similar experiences with three different previously jailbroken iPhone 3G's. Three different Apple store reps replaced each phone under warranty without any issues. If you change your mind about the jailbreak at any point, the stock firmware is just a restore away.

To the OP: There is not currently a non-JB method to tether the iPad 3G's connection, at least not yet.