(3G iPhone + WiFi iPad) - WiFi = ???
April 12, 2010 8:01 PM   Subscribe

I have a 3G iPhone. If I buy a wireless (no 3G) iPad, is it possible to share my iPhone's 3G connection with my iPad? My goal is to be able to access the internet with my iPad, without having a 3G plan for it.
posted by negative1 to Technology (10 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
You cannot do this without rooting the phone and installing a homebrew proxy on it.
posted by Threeway Handshake at 8:02 PM on April 12, 2010


You're talking about tethering, a feature that is very possible (as on my gf's Palm Pre) but annoyingly verboten by At&t (so far). It might be something that comes along in the future, but I'm not holding my breath.
posted by tremspeed at 8:04 PM on April 12, 2010


Legal issues aside, you'd have to check the countless iphone hacking sites out there to jailbreak, root, all that jazz. Apple would prefer you pay twice, of course.
posted by beardlace at 8:06 PM on April 12, 2010


According to Steve Jobs, "No."
posted by alms at 8:12 PM on April 12, 2010


I've heard good things about MyWi, but it does require a jailbroken iPhone.
posted by smackfu at 8:29 PM on April 12, 2010 [1 favorite]


Apple AT&T would prefer you pay twice, of course.
posted by Threeway Handshake at 8:35 PM on April 12, 2010 [3 favorites]


I've used MyWi extensively and it performs beautifully.

It can create a wireless network, optionally protected with very simple (WEP) security. I used it with a notebook and a netbook (both running Windows) but there's no reason why it wouldn't work with any other wireless device, including the iPad.

It has a free trial (full version costs $9.99) and is available from the Rock App Store, which will require you to jailbreak your phone. Google blackra1n for more help, assuming you've not upgraded the firmware on your device past 3.1.2.

I can't think of any other way you could do this with an iPhone and iPad combo without needing more hardware. Remember that using your 3G data in this way may well be a breach of your contract with your mobile operator, even if they'd be hard pressed to detect it.
posted by hjd at 1:07 AM on April 13, 2010 [1 favorite]


The answer is yes, you need to jailbreak the iPhone by loading a custom IPSW built by pwnagetool onto it, and then install either of the two tethering apps available via Cydia. These turn your iPhone into an 802.11g WAP and you connect the iPad (or any laptop)'s 802.11g client adapter to it. Here's the links:

http://www.iphonemodem.com/

http://www.tidalpool.ca/tether/index.html
posted by thewalrus at 9:48 AM on April 13, 2010


Oops. I forgot to mention that operating both radios in your iPhone simultaneously (GPRS/EDGE/UMTS) and the 802.11g will seriously shorten your battery life.
posted by thewalrus at 9:49 AM on April 13, 2010


MyWi for the win, works perfectly.
posted by kev23f at 7:39 AM on April 15, 2010


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