This isn't so much news as it is a public service announcement: even in markets where iPhone tethering has launched, you've never been able to use it to connect to an iPad, and you won't be able to when
AT&T flips the switch on tethering with the release of OS 4. That's clearly not AT&T's fault, it's Apple's -- the iPhone inexplicably supports only USB and Bluetooth for sharing its internet connection, even though jailbroken apps like MyWi prove that a WiFi connection is totally doable and countless other handsets already support WiFi routing. And iPad doesn't support using another device as a Bluetooth modem, either. And as long as you're paying the tethering fee, there's no reason why AT&T wouldn't want you tethering the iPad; you'll certainly be able to do it with any phone in AT&T's lineup that can create a WiFi hotspot, after all, and we're sure they'd be happy to take your overage cash once you hit 2GB regardless of the device you're using to gobble the data.
In the meantime, you know what you
can tether to an iPad?
A phone running Froyo, for one -- Google was certainly happy to show off that capability back at
IO. Or pretty much any device running
S60 from the last several years. Or a Palm
Pre Plus... yeah, you get the idea.
posted June 3rd 2010 7:38PM
I wouldn't have done it anyway.
@Fragmented
What does that have to do with tethering the iPhone to the iPad?
@Jake Root
Steve, address this next week.... Please?
@Fragmented
just get the evo. then you get a tablet and a phone for half the price and twice the features.
@Jake Root
What a huge damn surprise.
@Jake Root complain to Steve is required for him to smack AT&T around
@The Garbage Man Android 2.2 WiFi tethering works great with my joojoo.
Haters gonna hate
@Jake Root
There's an app for that... as in ovi store app! My Nokia E71 can tether with my ipad no problemo, and it's not even magical!
Freedom from tethering!
Every three seconds someone votes against tethering!
@shep
No worries, just takin' out the trash.
@HotDog hahaha best comment ever " My Nokia E71 can tether with my ipad no problemo, and it's not even magical!" lol
A little off topic, but isn't "wireless tethering" an oxymoron?
@Jake Root I guess for everyone to know, I should probably verify that I said I wouldn't ever do that because I have an iPhone and it does everything pretty damn well.
@The Garbage Man
I tether my iPhone to my iPad all the time where in the UK using MyWi.
I use O2, because the iPad runs off the iPhone OS I don't believe they know when I am tethering or not.. (at lest I hope)
I'm shocked.
@stewarta
I'm bamboozled
@The Garbage Man
I'm flabbergasted.
@DougieBear I'm confuzzled
@yankdez hood winked
@yankdez
c-c-c-Combo Breaker!
@quasistellar You just made this reply sequence a fucking success.
@FrankDTank thnx guys I lol'd. Kthnxbai.
@quasistellar Lmao
@stewarta
I blew it.
That's what she said
@yankdez i'm gay too. lets do it!
They need to fix this problem ASAP.. though I guess.. if you have an iPhone/iTouch in hand.. why would you really need your iPad..
@Incorrigible
This article is just blatantly incorrect. There is currently an app in cydia right now that allows bluetooth tethering, I've already used it to connect my IPad to me BB. I'd mention the name of the app, but maybe I should start my own tech blog and post it there ;P
@Incorrigible
One of my buddies found out the hard way. So he drive to NY from up North and grabs one only to find out that it ain't magical and don't really need it. I don't see him crying about tethering if he doesn't like it's magical part lol.
@Eserrur I reread the article and I will give the author the benefit of the doubt that what he means is that bluetooth tethering is not supported out of the box for an IPad. But unless your my grandma, if your gonna blow 500 bux on this silly toy you might as well JB it and unleash its full functionality.
@Incorrigible This is not a problem but a decision made by apple. You can't just do with your iPhone whatever you want.
@Eserrur Did you READ the article? They mention the cydia app you're talking about and they mention it's name.
Yes, with a jailbroke phone, YOU CAN TETHER WIRELESSLY (with wifi, not bluetooth) to the iPAD. I have done this several times. It is SIMPLE.
It seems apple is indeed pulliing a fast one here. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge apple supporter, own stock, previously worked tech support for them, own all there products, was using apple b4 I could walk...
But i've been with them long enough to know that they aren't above requiring a 4g iphone for this function. Just as the hardware in the iPhone 3g is PERFeCTLY CAPABLE of recording video (19 frames per second after jailbreak) but apple required that you upgrade to iPhone 3gs instead...
They do this on their computers too, and I could make a huge list of examples (don't let me get started on the firmware for the uj-857 c optical drive that shipped with the macbook 1,1) but it's not surprising they are doing this move again.
Jailbreaking your phone is perfectly safe and easy. My father was paranoid about doing it till I showed him he could tether his wifi iPad to it afterward and now he's very happy. If you've got an iPhone and are going to upgrade next week to iphone 4g anyway, why don't you go ahead and try the 'Spirit' jailbreak. Then you can test Wifi tethering b4 you commit to a plan. It won't brick/hurt your phone in anyway.
You can then also play with the rest of the 'OPEN' features that all these droid freaks carry on about. What the droid freaks don't seem to understand is that most people don't need or want root level access to their iPhone. They wouldn't have any use for it. AND IF THEY DECIDE they DO want it, they have the CHOICE simple OPEN IT UP with a quick painless jailbreak.
The only possible excuse apple could make is that a wifi tether build would drain the batteries faster...
@MaTdg
By problem, I mean purposely implanted limitation.
@LordThree FYI, there's a free app for videoing, in the app store for the 3g. Works perfectly.
@LordThree
You are an idiot, "droid freaks" you are just an idiot.
No droid user tells you to jailbreak/violate eula and tos to get video recording. They tell you not to get a product that doesn't allow you to do anything w/o breaking the law.
@LordThree
Were seeming like a normal sort until you went off the deep end into shark infested waters about root/android.
Simply put, if you are the owner of a SMARTPHONE, you should understand it is a computer.
If you are the owner of a computer, you should understand (to a reasonable extent) what it is capable of.
Knowing what it is capable of, you should understand how to use it properly.
To distill it simply..in these modern times any computer is as much of a tool with serious implications as a gun.
It can ruin lives if not handled properly.. and honestly perhaps that is why the iPhone is so popular.. people can be ignorant and still have their 'I'll with tech fix' without the implications (until they fark it up anyhow - which is still possible despite the walled garden).
You should be encouraging father and friends to be the droiders, people should be learning so much about their devices so as to be in full control..
The future isn't going to be any kinder to the ignorant without all the choices being taken away.
@LordThree How have you been finding MyWi? In my experiences with it, I've had my phone plugged into my MacBook to charge at the same time yet it's still losing battery. Nontheless a great product.
@MaTdg yeah, soon AT&T will ask Apple to inbuild into iPhone data usage limits and call limits.
May be it will start restricting usage in countries like too.
@MaTdg yeah, soon AT&T will ask Apple to inbuild into iPhone data usage limits and call limits.
May be it will start restricting usage in countries like cuba too.
Who's to say that the new iPhone wouldn't have a better solution to this problem? Seems like a good feature to restrict to only the new phone to get people to upgrade.
@Adambadam
Well, apparently the author of this piece is privy to some info saying the new phone won't be able to. He says, "...and you won't be able to when AT&T flips the switch on tethering with the release of OS 4...". Dunn.o, guess he could be wrong
@Adambadam I would be willing to bet this has very little to do with Apple and the hardware, and a whole lot to do with AT&T not allowing it to happen so that they can increase the number of now extremely overpriced data plans.
@dmgabe
You're saying this despite the fact that the author of this piece states that it's not AT&T's fault and the devices simply don't have the functionality built in...?
@TheTabe No. He's saying it because Steve said it in an email to somebody a while back. Look it up. Engadget reported it. I'm not clear why all the freaking tech journalists seem to think its going to work honestly given this came out some time back.
And yes, I suppose it could change next Monday. Or be supported with the new phone 'because of the bigger battery'.
But it probably won't. And for those discussing jailbreaks, its not an issue with the iPad--you don't have to jailbreak the iPad to do this. You have to jailbreak the iPhone. Unless somebody can fix the tethering over bluetooth issue on the iPad with a jailbreak, which apparently hasn't happened yet (and could be a hardware issue).
After Google tethered the Ipad to a Nexus One running Android 2.2? Wow, Steve Jobs better pull a big fat rabbit out of his hat next week.
Shame this isn't officially supported. I wonder if this is a way of increasing sales of the more expensive 3G iPads?
I'm able to easily WiFi Tether my iPad on my Jailbroken 3GS with the MyWi app. This great little app turns the iPhone into a WiFi Router and also supports USB and Bluetooth Tethering, and even has optional WEP encryption built in too!
The other day on a family trip I had my iPhone tethered to my iPad and my kids two iPod Touches at the same time and it worked great!
@jaymoney I understand all this but as you said, there has to be official support. I won't get into what root access offers for the Nexus One and Android devices in general. It's too much to list.
AT&T and Apple need to get it together, QUICK. If something stellar beyond what we've heard isn't announced later today, Froyo, the Incredible and the 4G EVO will have almost rendered all of Iphone 4.0's upgrades as old hat irrelevant.
Yet another reason to get out of at&t...
@CJisohsocool It's Apple's fault.
@Son Goku
You know what's really funny... they clearly state that the SECOND sentence into the article.. some people must just blindly post lol.