Remove automatic personal hotspot tethering from itunes

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Level 1

15 points

Remove automatic personal hotspot tethering from itunes

I use personal hotspot feature on my iphone 5s (for my Toyota car's enhanced navigation and my ipad2).

I charge and sync my iphone on my windows 8.1 computer with itunes 12 (to sync music). The windows computer is connected by ethernet to my network which is connected by a very fast internet connection. Obviously I do not need to use my phone's 4G connection.

If I forget to disable personal hotspot on iphone, windows uses iphone hotspot connection. The design that the hotspot is automatically enabled by itunes used is bad. It is bad that this is a feature of itunes. It should have it's own software/drier with a simple on/off switch on the computer (for people who actually want to use the hotspot feature). This is a silly and dangerous design and the user should be presented a choice.

I had the apple ethernet device for my iphone disabled. It seems it was enabled after the update to itunes 12.x

This just got me a 1000 euro phone bill after streaming netflix over mobile 4G hotspot connection! (obviously I did not want to do this).

Anybody else dislike this / got issues with this /advice how to disable hotspot feature without having to toggle it on iphone?

iPhone 5s, iOS 8.1.3, 64GB

Posted on Feb 2, 2015 9:23 PM

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Answer 1

ChrisJ4203

Level 10

230,347 points

Feb 2, 2015 9:35 PM in response to LukeRoberts

I don't believe this is iTunes doing this, I believe it is because you have the Personal Hotspot turned on for the vehicle and when you connect the device to the computer via the USB cable and Personal Hotspot is still turned on, it automatically connects. I would double-check this in this support document. iOS: Troubleshooting Personal Hotspot - Apple Support I think what you have to do is disable the iPhone Ethernet connection that is being established by the Personal Hotspot and the USB connection. If you remove that from your available network list, it should not connect and/or override your current Ethernet connection.

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Answer 2

LukeRoberts Author

Level 1

15 points

Feb 4, 2015 1:00 AM in response to ChrisJ4203

Hi Chris,

Thanks for reading and replying.

Interesting point you raise. In the past (a year or three ago), iTunes was a requirement for personal hotspot. However, I just looked here and nowhere is it mentioned that iTunes is a requirement.

See:
iOS: Troubleshooting Personal Hotspot - Apple Support
iOS: System requirements for Personal Hotspot - Apple Support
iOS: Understanding Personal Hotspot - Apple Support

I'll try hooking my phone up to a virgin (read: no iTunes) windows machine and see what happens.
Also, the problem did not arrise until I updated iTunes to version 12.1 the afternoon before the problem started. It seems disabling the mobile ethernet driver is susceptible to software updates.

Still, I'm not impressed with the way the apple driver works. It should still present you a simple toggle that switches off tethering, regardless of the state of the iphone's hotspot setting.

I'll get back to this thread when I've tested the phone on a clean non iTunes windows machine.

Thanks,

Luke

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Answer 3

ChrisJ4203

Level 10

230,347 points

Feb 4, 2015 7:20 AM in response to LukeRoberts

The only thing iTunes would have had to do with it was the providing of drivers for the phone. It did not require iTunes to tether. Just the phone, a method to connect, and it being activated by your provider. There is no iTunes requirement.

When you attempt to connect your phone to a computer without iTunes, you may have trouble with the USB driver, which will make it difficult, if not impossible to connect the phone. I'm not sure why this may have occurred with the installation of 12.1, but it wasn't the iTunes installation.

If personal hotspot is activated on the phone, as soon as a device that has connected to that before is connected, then it is going to provide the service. If you want to check on an error, it is on the computer side, or the fact that you do not turn personal hotspot off on the phone. Your computer is recognizing an Ethernet connection. If you want to remove that, you need to configure your computer to ignore that connection, so it remains connected to your preferred Ethernet connection.

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Answer 4

LukeRoberts Author

Level 1

15 points

Feb 4, 2015 8:12 AM in response to ChrisJ4203

Chris,

I appreciate your input and agree with all, however,

As the iphone is a portable device that is carried arround and linked to more devices (computers, laptops, ipads, cars, you name it), continuously having to toggle the hotspot on the iphone is not user friendly at all. It would be more friendly to incorporate a simple toggle switch (for instance in the windows tray) for the windows iphone ethernet driver that overrides the hotspot setting in the iphone (like the Nokia mobile driver used to do). It shoudl be off by default and stay on if toggled by the user. I'm sure mac users would like the same as I know I'm not the only one out there that thinks it would make sense.

Cheers,

Luke

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Answer 5

ChrisJ4203

Level 10

230,347 points

Feb 4, 2015 10:22 AM in response to LukeRoberts

See, here is where I tend to disagree. You are willing to turn on or off a switch on a computer to fix the issue, but not go into Settings on the phone and turn off Personal Hotspot, the easiest thing to do. While you may not be, you are the only person I know of that keeps Personal Hotspot turned on all of the time. Everyone that I know that uses it, turns it on as needed and turns it back off again. Leaving it on leaves your device open to people to try and attempt to connect to your data connection. While you probably have a passcode on it to prevent their automatic connection, it doesn't mean that if you remain in one location that someone would not attempt to get into it.

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Answer 6

LukeRoberts Author

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15 points

Feb 5, 2015 1:11 AM in response to ChrisJ4203

I disagree with you.

I am willing to ONCE flip a switch on a PC, and not be bothered by it after updates etc.

I want a simple elegant solution that does not require me to keep flipping switches on my iphone when I'm in or out of the car.

I have a very strong password that changes every other month.

My suggestion is not a nutcracker for Apple to roll out either.

Let's agree to disagree.

Cheers,

Luke

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Answer 7

ChrisJ4203

Level 10

230,347 points

Feb 5, 2015 8:11 AM in response to LukeRoberts

That's fine. I'll agree with that. I'm just saying I've never encountered anyone that leaves Personal Hotspot activated all of the time. For the other part of this, for you to let Apple know that you would like to see some change in this feature, you need to go to the feedback page HERE, and click on the appropriate subject.

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