Personal Hotspot works on iPhone 3GS but ..

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Level 6

11,644 points

Personal Hotspot works on iPhone 3GS but ..

According to many news reports that only iPhone 4 has this feature. However, after the update of IOS 4.3, my iPhone 3GS can share the wireless network via bluetooth or USB (but not WiFi) with my iPad

MacPro3,1 Quad-Core, 27" LED, 24" iMac, 13" MacBook Pro and 3GS iPhone, Mac OS X (10.6.5), I am just a user like you who enjoy helping others.

Posted on Mar 9, 2011 5:55 PM

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Answer 1

indothai

Level 1

16 points

Mar 9, 2011 6:26 PM in response to Mitch 751

Confirmed. And *****!

So what's the point of having the "Personal Hotspot" feature in the 3GS?
Before the upgrade, we were able "Tether" via Bluetooth and USB anyways...I feel like there is a dummy button on the 3GS, which does nothing.

Might as well call it the "HOO AHH" button with the ON/OFF switch.

Apple, is this your way of hinting at the 3GS owners to go and buy the iPhone4?

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Answer 2

deggie

Level 10

167,525 points

Mar 9, 2011 6:29 PM in response to Mitch 751

They've done away with the term "Tethering" and are using WiFi Hotspot to define all forms of connection. Nothing has changed with the 3Gs, it can still "tether" with one computer via USB or BT but it cannot broadcast a WiFi signal to connect to up to 5 devices, that is only on the iPhone 4.

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Answer 3

indothai

Level 1

16 points

Mar 9, 2011 7:05 PM in response to Mitch 751

I was hoping the the 3GS would have the "real" WiFi Hotspot feature fully enabled because I am contemplating on getting the iPad2 in the future.

I would like the option of getting just the WiFi model for of the iPad2, but now it seems I may need to get the iPad WiFi with 3G. The extra cost associated may just dash my hopes for getting the iPad2.

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Answer 4

epot

Level 1

0 points

Mar 9, 2011 7:10 PM in response to indothai

Hi mitch,

You mean to say, iPhone 3GS "tethering" is now enabled for iPad? I'm thinking of getting an iPad WiFi only but I don't know if my iPhone 3GS can share its unlimited data connection to the WiFi iPad. Bluetooth connection is fine with me but I wan't to make sure it's now enabled for the 3GS.

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Answer 5

epot

Level 1

0 points

Mar 9, 2011 7:19 PM in response to Mitch 751

that's great! i'm fine with that. data transfer via bluetooth may not be as fast as via wifi, but who cares? my data provider isn't lightning fast in the first place. 🙂

iPad 2 WiFi, it is! thanks for the help.

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Answer 6

indothai

Level 1

16 points

Mar 9, 2011 8:16 PM in response to Mitch 751

Are the following scenario(s) possible:

1) 3GS with Data plan to share out via Bluetooth "hotspot" to iPad2.
2) 3GS connected to bluetooth headset with A2DP watching Podcast.
3) 3GS able to accept incoming telephone call and answer using bluetooth headset.

- Can I do 1&2 simultaniously?
- Can I do 1&3 simultaniously?

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Answer 7

epot

Level 1

0 points

Mar 9, 2011 8:23 PM in response to indothai

I have already tried 2 laptops connected to my 3GS via bluetooth. So i assume you can do 1, and combinations 1&2 and 1&3. Needs validation though (don't have bluetooth headset atm, you can try with yours though).

Personal hotspot enables up to 3 bluetooth devices to connect to the internet.

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Answer 8

Mar 10, 2011 6:39 AM in response to epot

So, let me get this right... instead of buying an iPad with 3G with the added cost of an additional SIM card I can now use Bluetooth to tether a wifi only version to my current iPhone 3GS and then wifi to tether to my new iPhone when my contract allows me to upgrade later this year. Yes?

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Answer 9

Mar 10, 2011 6:49 AM in response to bailey#70

And I just answered my own question using a 4th gen iPod.

First I tried doing a simple Bluetooth pairing between the iPhone 3GS and the iPod, this didn't work. Turn on Personal Hotspot though and the devices pair straight away, the Personal Hotspot icon replaces the Wifi icon on the iPod and you're away!

Thank you Apple! Instead of spending all that money on a 3G enabled iPad and a SIM card that I may never use, instead I can get the bigger Wifi-only version and just pay my carrier the £5 per month tethering charge if I really need to use it!

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Answer 10

Brett C

Level 1

15 points

Mar 10, 2011 4:40 PM in response to epot

epot wrote:
You mean to say, iPhone 3GS "tethering" is now enabled for iPad? I'm thinking of getting an iPad WiFi only but I don't know if my iPhone 3GS can share its unlimited data connection to the WiFi iPad. Bluetooth connection is fine with me but I wan't to make sure it's now enabled for the 3GS.

yes, I can confirm this works with iPhone 3GS and iOS 4.3

Note: for this to work, the iPad must also be updated to iOS 4.3
with iPad and 4.2, you can't pair over BT to the iPhone, but after updating the iPad it works.

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Answer 11

indothai

Level 1

16 points

Mar 23, 2011 11:52 PM in response to Brett C

Just did a Hotspot Bluetooth test:
- 3GS Hotspot enabled.
- Jawbone Icon (Bluetooth headset) connected.
- Notebook/Laptop (Bluetooth connected to iPhone 3GS).

- Listening to music on headset.
- Surfing the web on Notebook.

Results:
Music on headset stutters when downloading content/surfing on the notebook.

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Answer 12

Brett C

Level 1

15 points

Mar 28, 2011 1:26 PM in response to kayjh

kayjh wrote:
Does anyone know whether this will work on the Rogers network in Canada?

yes, I'm on Rogers and this works for me with iPhone 3GS (4.3) and iPad (4.3)

basically it's treated same as tethering, so no additional charge if you have a data plan with 1GB or more (I'm on the 6GB plan)

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Answer 13

Apr 17, 2011 1:20 PM in response to epot

I'm looking into doing the same thing and doing away with my iPad 3G data plan. However, I've never tethered via Bluetooth before. I understand that it's not as fast as wifi, but how does it compare to direct 3G? Will I see a large "downgrade" on my iPad speed when using my 3GS "hotspot" to tether via Bluetooth versus the iPad's direct 3G?

Hope my question makes sense.

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Answer 14

Mitch 751 Author

Level 6

11,644 points

Mar 9, 2011 6:29 PM in response to indothai

In the past, iPad could not pair with iPhone (Tether) via Bluetooth and USB

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Answer 15

Mitch 751 Author

Level 6

11,644 points

Mar 9, 2011 7:13 PM in response to epot

Yes, what you need is turn on the Personal hotspot at the iPhone 3GS, connect it with an iPad via bluetooth, then iPad can connect the internet automatically.

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