Tethering a tablet to iphone for broadband

[paulm]

I'm not the most techno savvy but know there are some here who are so was hoping that I might get some advice on this one please.

Eldest has moved into her rented basement flat in London recently and decided to try and use her iphone 4 to tether to her tablet rather than getting a proper internet connection.

Giffgaff don't allow tethering so she picked up a 3 sim today and got the tethering working, but performance is poor by all accounts although not quite sure what that means in practice !

The phone signal and calls on the iphone 4 are fine on both networks, so I'm wondering if tethering via a 3g signal is just always going to be a bit slow, or whether a handset upgrade may be needed, or maybe some settings changes required of some sort.

Any ideas welcomed

Cheers, Paul

 

[nev]

Phone signal is not the same as 3g or 'internet' signal. 3g is also not fast enough for proper internet use, ok for emails and the like but way too slow for full browsing and downloading. you will need 4g for that, and thats not usually cheap for unlimited use, but I suppose thats down to what deal you get with your phone.
IMHO If you (or she) wants 'proper' internet i see three choices.
4G on a tablet (depending on signal)
install a phone line and get BB from 2.50p/m + rental (plusnet)
knock on the neighbours door and offer to go halves on his/her sooper dooper fibre optic BB via wi-fi

 

[Steve Maskery]

3g broadband is always going to be disappointing compared with a fixed line.
But I did it successfully for over a year. I could send and receive emails, surf the net and even watch TV programs (not live, I didn't have the bandwidth - or the licence- for that) but fine using iPlayer)
If she wants to stream the she needs proper line.
Incidentally, although the mobile providers try to make life difficult for thetherers, tethering is actually native to the OS, in my case Android rather than Apple, and it is arguable as to whether they have the right to tamper with the operating system in this way. They bar Skype for the same economic reasons. If they offer Unlimited, it should be Unlimited, not Unlimited-but-no-you-can't-do-that-because-it-uses-up-too-much-bandwidth.
But there are loads of cheap 3rd party options. I used FoxFi. It's free for quite a long time before you have to pay. Even then it is not expensive just a few quid.
Good luck, utilities are not my favourite people right now.
S

 

[paulm]

Thanks guys, didn't occur to me that phone signal isn't the same as internet signal !

Can she tell how good or not the 3g signal is in her flat ? Presumably just how well she can browse on the phone itself ?

We had heard that the iphone 4 was not the best for this kind of thing and she is tempted to upgrade to a newer model, but wouldn't want to go that route and then find it wasn't the phone that was limiting the performance and still be stuck with the issue !

Cheers, Paul

 

[paulm]

So thinking further about it, sounds like she might need a new phone with a 4g package (assuming the iphone 4 is too early to do 4g) to get a decent performance for watching iplayer and browsing and stuff ?

The flat has no phone line connected so she would otherwise need to sort that out and pay monthly rentals as well as a bb package, or as mentioned see if she can come to an agreement with a neighbour which is an interesting idea.

Being a rental place and the possibility that she may move again in six or twelve months a portable solution has some attraction I think.

Would 4g performance be close to fixed line performance ?

Is there a way to tell if she can get 4g signal in the flat before committing to any kit or deals ?

Thanks for the help

Cheers, Paul

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

Hi Paul

If you type in her postcode to any of the players you're considering 4g with they will have a coverage map for her area. Take the results as an "indication" of signal strength but deduct some on the assumption that their marketing people are in fact spawn of satan and feel the need to lie for a living!

The iphone 4 issue is well documented and basically, iphones comms in general have never been good. I've been in a starbucks where my iphone could only see 1 network whereas a colleague with a blackberry could see 5. I have an iphone 5 now and they've improved it but my understanding is that virtually any other smartphone would have better comms.

Sharing a neighbours BB using wifi is a very smart idea if they can overcome the worries about security and performance which if she would be streaming movie data might be justified.

Lastly, data connection speed over a cellular network is also at the mercy of the weakest link in the connection. For example, the carrier may have great mast coverage so her device has 5 bars of signal strength so she can talk and listen to the mast really fast. But their mast only has a slow link to the internet so everyone bottlenecks once they get to the tower/mast. That's why doing the research on the different carrier post code maps is wise. And speed will also suffer when 1000's of people are making cellular connections to the mast in question. So for example, rush 2 hours is typically a pig of a time for internet speed because everyone is on the road clouting the mast with signal demands at the same time...so everyone slows down.

To summarise: In theory 4g should be close to as fast as moderate fixed line BB. In practice it isn't but it certainly is better than 3g and it works better at the correct times of day. Not all carriers are made equal for a given postcode and that should be considered. Almost certainly the best option if feasible would be to blag the neighbours BB for a shared fee.

 

[MMUK]

iPhone wireless are rubbish for tethering, slow and unreliable connections.

Can she not fit a SIM into her tablet for internet use?

 

[petermillard]

The trouble with using any mobile signal as your only broadband is the data caps. Yes, 3 are 'unlimited' but as you've found their network isn't the best; no point in having an unlimited package if you can't get a signal, which is basically what I found when I trialled them for a few weeks last year. AFAIK all other providers limit the data in specifically-priced tiers.

Is she trying to avoid fixed broadband because of the cost, or the length of contract?

And FWIW we're currently running a couple of iPhone 4s in the house and have had no problems with connectivity <shrug>; if she wants to stay with an iPhone, she'll need to upgrade to an iPhone 5c or 5s to be able to have the full choice of 4G networks, just FYI.

HTH Pete

 

[paulm]

Thanks again guys, very helpful and I'll report back to her later this evening when we've got more time to research/think things through.

Cheers, Paul

 

[Harbo]

Well you could join BT Broadband then your family could use BT WiFi where you "use" a bit of other customers bandwidth?
I use it when staying where I cannot get free wifi and my younger daughter uses it when staying at her London flat.

Rod

 

[nanscombe]

I've recently upgraded to an EE 4G mobile dongle.

£70 up front, preloaded with 2GB (lasts 30 days from first use).
£90 up front, preloaded with 6GB (lasts 90 days from first use).

They're currently doing a get 6GB for the price of 2GB, so you'll pay £70.

I can't find a straight link but I believe that Topup is £10 for 1Gb lasting 30days.

Ah, this might be it. Topping Up, under Data add-ons.

1GB £10
2GB £15
4GB £20

 

[paulm]

Great help guys, thanks again.

Living with what she has for a few days to see how it goes, reported to be faster this morning and earlier this evening.

I've passed on the comments and ideas and we'll figure it out after a bit more trial and research.

Cheers, Paul

 

[paulm]

So, by way of update, she decided to bite the bullet and go 4G (nearly available) and sprang for a galaxy 4s (didn't want to wait for the 5 version) and is setting it up over the weekend with her new 3 sim and annual package that allows tethering.

Seems extremely pleased with the screen so far compared to the old iphone 4, and hopefully 3G performance will be better straight off, and 4G better still when it arrives.

Will wait and see how she gets on in practice.....

Cheers, Paul

 

[JustBen]

The easiest way to tell what the 3G or 4g speed is by the letter next to the signal bar.
G,E,3G or H. (GPRS,Edge, 3G and hsdpa)
You can also get the speed test app or visit the website which will give you a rough estimate of the speed.

I only have 3G but can still get 6mbps+ in a good 'H' area.

Before I got my BB installed, I used my phone as a wifi hotspot so that my laptops and iPads could be online.

This is on a very old HTC Desire so it's not new technology.