How Reliable is iPhone as Hotspot

[mfer]

Wondering if anyone here uses their iPhone as a hotspot for doing work. I infrequently work from home and need internet as a result. I just need the connection to be really stable as I'm on VPN on my laptop. If the connection drops, so does my VPN and potentially my work.

I don't use the internet all that much at home and I've been reading up on tethering/hotspot iPhone 5. I have really good connection at my house and my speeds on my iPhone5 are faster than my Internet.

Also, I still have the unlimited plan from AT&T.

Wondering if anyone has tried this and had any thoughts.

[sea-dweller]

I use my wife's Samsung phone, as a hotspot in a pinch (when there is no wifi available), and it has worked reliably. We have T Mobile as our carrier and our download speed is about 1.5 mbps (tested with Speedtest).

[mfer]

Originally Posted by sea-dweller

I use my wife's Samsung phone, as a hotspot in a pinch (when there is no wifi available), and it has worked reliably. We have T Mobile as our carrier and our download speed is about 1.5 mbps (tested with Speedtest).

Yeah my connection is plenty fast. Better than my Internet at home which is 12 down 1.5 up. I can't believe how fast it is actually. Makes me wonder why I have a land line Internet. I'm just wondering how stable the connection is. I can't have it drop for any amount of time.

[sea-dweller]

The reliability would be based generally on the strength of the cellular signal (RF signal). If you are in a weak or marginal signal area, the connection reliability could be compromised. In a strong signal area, you will see better reliability.

RF signals can also be affected by things such as: scatter, reflection, refraction, diffraction, etc

Originally Posted by mfer

Yeah my connection is plenty fast. Better than my Internet at home which is 12 down 1.5 up. I can't believe how fast it is actually. Makes me wonder why I have a land line Internet. I'm just wondering how stable the connection is. I can't have it drop for any amount of time.

[kxux]

It works pretty good. I have used it on occasion while on the road when I needed to send mails in place with no WiFi. Worked fine with no issues.

[mfer]

Originally Posted by kxux

It works pretty good. I have used it on occasion while on the road when I needed to send mails in place with no WiFi. Worked fine with no issues.

Yeah, I'm still wondering how it would work for a long period of time. Like 9 hours or so.

[mastermixer]

I'm wondering if AT&T would let you keep the unlimited plan while adding the hot spot. If not, that answers your question right there.

If you need several hours uninterrupted or you'll lose your work, I can't imagine relying on an iPhone hotspot. But I have honestly never used one for more than a few minutes.

[z32turbo]

Never tried it but I'd like to hear the results from someone who has as well.

[Andrés G]

I've used it while traveling without a problem but never for more than an hour. I have an Iphone 4s so your experience should be even better.

[FNFZ4]

As a Systems Administrator that has 4 offices, I am on the road everyday. The dependability of an iPhone as a hotspot rests on which carrier. Because I use it for my laptop when on the road, VPN and remotely logging into servers and VMs, we can only use ATT because only a GSM network will allow us to use the data while on the phone. That is a big plus when we are talking to Jr Admins who are our boots on the ground per se in the data center.

[Bulldurham08]

AT&T employee chiming in here!

Just to clarify some things (you may know), if you have the 'Unlimited' Data plan, that will not allow the Wi-Fi Hotspot capability to be used on your iPhone. You would require either the 5gb Data Plan or you can convert to the new MobileShare plans which gives all the smartphones on your plan the Hotspot capability for free.

Just be aware that the Hotspot does tend to use a decent amount of data and to be sure you have your data plan catered to how much you'll be using the hotspot....

If you have any specific questions, I'm sure I can point you in the right direction...

[crew]

Originally Posted by Bulldurham08

AT&T employee chiming in here!

Just to clarify some things (you may know), if you have the 'Unlimited' Data plan, that will not allow the Wi-Fi Hotspot capability to be used on your iPhone. You would require either the 5gb Data Plan or you can convert to the new MobileShare plans which gives all the smartphones on your plan the Hotspot capability for free.

Just be aware that the Hotspot does tend to use a decent amount of data and to be sure you have your data plan catered to how much you'll be using the hotspot....

If you have any specific questions, I'm sure I can point you in the right direction...

This.
Verizon will also not allow you to use the hotspot feature on an unlimited account.
I've used my iPad 3 as a hotspot. Worked great & extremely fast. However, it does use up your data allowance quickly.

[mfer]

Originally Posted by Bulldurham08

AT&T employee chiming in here!

Just to clarify some things (you may know), if you have the 'Unlimited' Data plan, that will not allow the Wi-Fi Hotspot capability to be used on your iPhone. You would require either the 5gb Data Plan or you can convert to the new MobileShare plans which gives all the smartphones on your plan the Hotspot capability for free.

Just be aware that the Hotspot does tend to use a decent amount of data and to be sure you have your data plan catered to how much you'll be using the hotspot....

If you have any specific questions, I'm sure I can point you in the right direction...

Thanks, that pretty much clears it up! Guess I won't be doing that now. I don't want to lose my unlimited plan. Thanks.

[A.Sharp]

I almost tried to make it one to see a few weeks ago, but I would loose my unlimited data plan, which is impossible to get. I think there are only a handful of us still out there, from the original iphone on att...

[SLRdude]

Originally Posted by A.Sharp

I almost tried to make it one to see a few weeks ago, but I would loose my unlimited data plan, which is impossible to get. I think there are only a handful of us still out there, from the original iphone on att...

I still have that on my personal account and on iPad.

To be honest, I never come close to having a need for it. I do about 2 gigs a month.

[MarcBenhc]

... it's reliable from my experience - so far i got my 2 ipad connected to it while on the road and LTE speed is a lot better (disclaimer : only on locations with LTE) .. though i lost my unlimited with verizon when i switch .. got the 4gb plan including hotspot tethering for $50. used to have the $30 unlimited without the extra $20 fee to use as a hotspot ..

[SLRdude]

I do it all the time and I got as much as 50 Mbps down and an average of about 25 or so here in Dallas.




My Internet was out at the house not long ago and it happened to be a day I had to work from home. I used the hotspot for over 10 hours, no problem. (Other than needing a recharge)

[SLRdude]

Here is a test I just did a few seconds ago.




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[Dan Pierce]

Only used mine once as a hot spot and was pleasantly surprised by the quickness. Much, much better than my old Droid razor, which constantly dropped the signal.
dP

[Bulldurham08]

Originally Posted by mfer

Thanks, that pretty much clears it up! Guess I won't be doing that now. I don't want to lose my unlimited plan. Thanks.

No problem! To answer the actual question though, the reliability of the Hotspot is actually pretty impressive. I think it's so consistent and fast because our phones rarely loose their 4G/LTE connection throughout the day, so in my experience with the Wifi Hotspot, I've never had an issue.

The main concerns I would have using it on a more regular or long-term basis is the data consumption and the battery life of your iPhone. Make sure you have a sufficient data plan and that you have some form of backup battery source (Mophie charging case, Mophie Powerstation, or your standard wall charger).

[mannyv11]

If you guys are familiar with jail breaking your iphone you could always go with that. Now a days it is a very simple process and you can turn your device into a hotspot for free. Also its a way to get around having to change your contract from unlimited. You do void the warranty I believe in case your phone turns into a brick.

[SLRdude]

Originally Posted by mannyv11

If you guys are familiar with jail breaking your iphone you could always go with that. Now a days it is a very simple process and you can turn your device into a hotspot for free. Also its a way to get around having to change your contract from unlimited. You do void the warranty I believe in case your phone turns into a brick.

And the carrier will catch you. Trust me. They have teams dedicated to identifying people that do that and violate their agreement terms.

Once you turn the hotspot on, the MSC asks the phone to identify itself. If the imei, iccid and mac are not on the approved list, you will hear from the carrier.

[mannyv11]

Originally Posted by SLRdude

And the carrier will catch you. Trust me. They have teams dedicated to identifying people that do that and violate their agreement terms.

Once you turn the hotspot on, the MSC asks the phone to identify itself. If the imei, iccid and mac are not on the approved list, you will hear from the carrier.

didn't happen to me when I was using IOS 5. Haven't done any type of jailbreaking with IOS6 but that is always good to know that the carrier is looking out for this.

[mjclark32]

The iPhone works real well as a hotspot, through Verizon can't speak about AT&T

[SLRdude]

It works great with AT&T, with one added benefit. You can use your phone to make calls/text whole using it as a hotspot.


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[Passionata]

Very much


Best
George

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