How to Set up and Use iPhone Tethering

Tethering works by forming a local connection between one Wi-Fi enabled device to another – an iPhone and MacBook, for instance – and using one ordinary mobile data connection to connect the additional device to the internet.

Bypass Tethering Restrictions With A VPN

Whether you’re looking to stream movies on a train journey or working remotely and need to connect your laptop to the internet, tethering is an easy way to get additional devices online when you have no access to Wi-Fi – but do have access to mobile data. However, tethering isn’t always an option, as there can be limitations and restrictions put in place to prevent you from sharing your data allowance over more than one device.

To help you tether freely, this article looks at how tethering limitations work and how you can get around these restrictions by using a VPN. Find out about the basics of how a VPN works and how your Internet Service Provider, or ISP, can put an end to your tethering without one.

How does tethering work?

Tethering works by forming a local connection between one Wi-Fi enabled device to another – an iPhone and MacBook, for instance – and using one ordinary mobile data connection to connect the additional device to the internet.

Tethering can be a very easy and useful way to get online via a laptop, tablet or other SIM-free device if you don’t have access to Wi-Fi. Unfortunately, certain mobile data providers implement tethering restrictions which prevent users from being able to use the mobile data allowance they’ve purchased on any device other than their phone. This is where a VPN comes in.

What is a VPN and how does it work?

A VPN, which stands for “virtual private network”, allows you to browse the internet securely and anonymously by creating an encrypted connection between your device and the internet. Rather than connecting straight from your phone or laptop to the internet over a connection that can be viewed and monitored by your ISP, you connect to a VPN service and this connects you to the web. The VPN service is run on a collection of servers in various locations, which redirect your digital footprint and hide your connection in a tunnel of encryption so that it can’t be viewed and monitored.

By using a Virtual Private Network, you can essentially turn any ordinary or public connection into one that is secure, through which your online activity isn’t easy to track. If anyone, even your ISP, attempts to look at the data being sent to and from your computer, they won’t be able to decipher it because of the layer of encryption added . Everything from your device’s unique IP address and your geographical location to details you’re sending over the connection – like banking and identity information – are masked.

Because VPNs hide your actual location, and offer you the ability to connect to the internet via servers in a range of other countries, a popular use for them is in accessing geo-restricted TV and video content online. For instance, if you’re from the UK but on holiday in the USA and want to watch a show on BBC iPlayer, ordinarily you can’t because this service is for use by viewers in the UK only. Using a VPN can bypass these restrictions by tricking the website into thinking that you’re located in the country where you normally use the service.

While there is some confusion online about the differences between things like incognito or private browsing and VPN use, the two should not be confused. An incognito or private browsing window only prevents your online activity from being stored within your own phone or computer – your internet service provider, and any other third-parties who may be trying to access your connection, can still see everything you’re doing online along with your IP address and other identifying information.

How does a VPN bypass tethering restrictions ?

Similarly to how your ISP can see your online activity if you’re not using a VPN, mobile network providers can see your hotspot activity and when you’re tethering to multiple devices such as your iPhone and MacBook. For example, if you’re using your hotspot to watch a film on a tablet or using a phone to browse through Facebook, your mobile network provider will be able to see this activity and could set up blocks to prevent additional devices from connecting.

In the same way streaming companies and internet service providers restrict you from accessing geo-restricted content abroad, mobile network providers can block you from tethering completely.

With that in mind, a VPN gets around tethering in the same way as it gets around restricted content. It encrypts your connection, hiding the details of your web traffic so that you’re able to log on without any identifying data being visible to the network. Just as they can’t see what websites you’re looking at or what purchases you’re making, they won’t be able to see how many devices are using your connection. The easiest way to set up a VPN connection on your iPhone is by downloading a VPN app , allowing you easy access to a secure and unhindered connection.

While many mobile providers allow tethering to an extent, and some allow unrestricted access, there are still some who block tethering altogether. It’s wise to find out if there are any charges or penalties for unauthorised tethering, as there may be rules about this in your mobile contract, but if you do wish to use your paid-for services across additional devices then a simple VPN app is an easy solution.

How to Set up and Use iPhone Tethering

Sam Costello has been writing about tech since 2000. His writing has appeared in publications such as CNN.com, PC World, InfoWord, and many others.

Updated on February 4, 2022

What to Know

• iPhone or iPad: Tap Settings >Cellular >Personal Hotspot. Toggle to On/green position > enter Wi-Fi info.
• You can also use Instant Hotspot to reach a Personal Hotspot without a password on iOS 8.1/OS X Yosemite or later.

​This article explains how to use your iPhone or cellular-enabled iPad as a wireless modem for a computer when it is not in range of a Wi-Fi signal. Personal Hotspot requires an iPhone 3GS or later or a 3rd-generation Wi-Fi + Cellular iPad or later and a compatible cellular service provider.

How to Turn on Personal Hotspot

When you use tethering to set up a Personal Hotspot, anywhere your iPhone or iPad can access a cellular signal, your computer can get online too.

Before you can set up a Personal Hotspot, contact your cellular provider to add this service to your account. There is sometimes a fee for the service. Some cellular providers do not support tethering, but AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, Cricket, US Cellular, and T-Mobile support it.

After you set up the service with your cellular provider, following that company’s instructions, it is time to turn on the Personal Hotspot service on your iPhone or Wi-Fi compatible iPad.

Follow these steps:

1. Tap Settings on the Home screen.

How to Use Your iPhone’s Personal Hotspot to Tether a PC or Mac

Matt Klein has nearly two decades of technical writing experience. He’s covered Windows, Android, macOS, Microsoft Office, and everything in between. He’s even written a book, The How-To Geek Guide to Windows 8. Read more.

Chris Hoffman
Editor-in-Chief
Chris Hoffman is Editor-in-Chief of How-To Geek. He’s written about technology for over a decade and was a PCWorld columnist for two years. Chris has written for The New York Times and Reader’s Digest, been interviewed as a technology expert on TV stations like Miami’s NBC 6, and had his work covered by news outlets like the BBC. Since 2011, Chris has written over 2,000 articles that have been read more than one billion times—and that’s just here at How-To Geek. Read more. About How-To Geek

Updated Jul 29, 2016, 10:58 pm EDT | 5 min read

If you’re out and about and there’s no free Wi-Fi available, you can use your iPhone’s internet connection on another device, like a laptop or tablet. This feature is called “Personal Hotspot” on the iPhone (also known as “tethering”), and you can use it over Wi-Fi or USB.

What You Need to Know About Tethering

RELATED: How to Tether Your Android Phone and Share Its Internet Connection with Other Devices First of all: not every cellular carrier includes this feature in every plan. If your cellular data plan doesn’t allow for tethering, you may not see the Personal Hotspot option at all on your iPhone’s settings screen. You may have to pay extra to gain access to it. Second, it’s important to remember that when you use your iPhone as a data connection, you are using your mobile data plan and as such, if you have a data cap, then it will count towards that. If you have unlimited data or a large cap, then this might not trouble you, but you’ll otherwise want to be mindful of what you’re using you computer for when connected to your iPhone as a hotspot.

Even if you have unlimited data, there’s a good chance you have a limited amount of tethering data — or, at least, high-speed tethering data. Your carrier may charge you extra if you need more tethering data. Check your cellular plan for more details about your plan’s hotspot, or tethering, capabilities.

Lastly, Wi-Fi tethering will also drain your phone’s battery more quickly. If possible, connect your iPhone to a power source–or plug it into your laptop via USB cable–while tethering. Be sure to disable the hotspot when you’re not using it, too.

How to Turn On Your iPhone’s Personal Hotspot

There are three ways to connect to your iPhone and use its data connection: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and USB. When you turn Personal Hotspot on, it will allow you to use any of these three options–you don’t need to alter any settings. First, open the Settings app and tap “Personal Hotspot” to access the Personal Hotspot settings.

Before you do anything else, you can (and should) tap “Wi-Fi Password” to change the password of your hotspot. Without a strong password, anyone within range could potentially connect to your phone. So, you should add a strong password here even if you don’t plan on connecting via Wi-Fi, since turning Personal Hotspot on will broadcast the Wi-Fi network regardless.

When that’s done, you can turn Personal Hotspot on using the switch along the top of the Personal Hotspot settings.

Next, it’s time to connect to your hotspot on your laptop using Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or USB.

Connect to Your Hotspot Over Wi-Fi

The most familiar (and common) way to connect to your iPhone is over Wi-Fi. To do so, you just connect to it like you do any Wi-Fi access point, whether you’re using a Windows PC, Mac, iPad, or any other device. Just select your iPhone from the list of Wi-Fi networks. If you’re connecting for the first time, you’ll need to enter the password you assigned earlier.

If all goes well, you should have internet on your laptop or other device.

When you or anyone else is connected to you iPhone’s Personal Hotspot, a blue bar will appear along the top and show you how many connections there are.

Connect to Your Hotspot via Bluetooth

Wi-Fi and USB are faster than Bluetooth, but you’d prefer to use Bluetooth to connect to your hotspot, you can do that too.

On Windows

To connect via Bluetooth from a Windows computer, first click on the Bluetooth icon in the system tray and select “Join a Personal Area Network”. Next, click “Add a Device” in the upper-left corner. Choose your iPhone from the resulting screen and click “Next” to continue.

Like any other Bluetooth connection, you’ll be shown a pair code on your computer and your iPhone. Compare the two passcodes, and if they are the same, tap “Pair” on your iPhone’s screen and “Yes” on the Windows pair screen.

Allow your Windows machine to install the necessary files on your system.

Once finished, you can right-click on your iPhone to connect it as an access point. You’re ready to surf the Internet, check e-mail, chat, and so on.

On a Mac

On a Mac, open head to System Preferences > Bluetooth, find your iPhone in the list, and click “Pair” next to your iPhone. You’ll be shown a pair code on your Mac’s screen and on your iPhone.

If the codes match, tap the “Pair” button to confirm the connection.

Now, from your Mac’s menu bar, click the Bluetooth symbol, highlight your iPhone in the list, and click “Connect to Network”.

You’ll now be able to access the Internet through your iPhone’s Bluetooth connection. When you want to disconnect, click the Bluetooth symbol once more, choose your iPhone, and then “Disconnect from Network”.

Connect to Your Hotspot with a USB Cable

Connecting via USB is by far the easiest method to tether your phone. As long as you have your Personal Hotspot turned on, all you need to do is plug your phone in with a USB cable and you should be good to go. On our Windows’ network adapters, we can see we’re connected via “Apple Mobile Device Ethernet”.

On our Mac, we can see in the Network settings that our iPhone is connected through our USB connection.

Which Method Is Best?

Of all the methods, USB is the fastest but most inconvenient, requiring your iPhone to be physically connected to the computer. Still, it’s super simple to set up, requiring zero configuration. Using Speedtest.net and conducting some basic tests, we saw speeds on our own personal mobile data connection 3.7mbps down, 4.3 up, with around a 60ms ping time.

Bluetooth is more secure than Wi-Fi, but the slowest of the three, also requiring the most configuration, though once it’s done, you don’t have to worry about it again.

We saw speeds around .8mbps down, .8 up, and again, 60mg ping times.

Wi-Fi will be the most popular way of connecting, but is insecure if you don’t use a strong password–so make sure you set one. It’s also very easy to connect to, needing only to enter said password once, and almost as fast as USB.

Overall, speeds for our Wi-Fi hotspot were 3.7mbps down, 2.7mbps up, and 30ms ping times.

With that said, unless you want to tether your phone to your computer with a USB cable (which gets you the added benefit of charging the battery), Wi-Fi is clearly the clear choice for most of your hotspot connections. There’s little reason to choose Bluetooth due to it’s slow speeds, unless of course, that’s your only choice available–like if your Wi-Fi adapter is acting flaky and you can’t find a USB cable.

Image Credit: Patrick Strandberg/Flickr

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Matt Klein
Matt Klein has nearly two decades of technical writing experience. He’s covered Windows, Android, macOS, Microsoft Office, and everything in between. He’s even written a book, The How-To Geek Guide to Windows 8.
Read Full Bio »

Chris Hoffman
Chris Hoffman is Editor-in-Chief of How-To Geek. He’s written about technology for over a decade and was a PCWorld columnist for two years. Chris has written for The New York Times and Reader’s Digest, been interviewed as a technology expert on TV stations like Miami’s NBC 6, and had his work covered by news outlets like the BBC. Since 2011, Chris has written over 2,000 articles that have been read more than one billion times—and that’s just here at How-To Geek.
Read Full Bio »