All seems a bit disappointing the only feature i'd be interested in having is iPhone 4 only, Personal Hotspot, not on 3gs

Been running the beta for the last few weeks and yeah the main headline feature is only iPhone 4. Also the networks can lock it down in much the same way they do tethering and force you to buy a bolt on to use it.

O2 are locking it down I know for a fact. 3 aren't. Can't speak for the others

WTF?

O2 wont be getting my business for iPhone 5 if that's the case!

Do you have a link showing that O2 will be locking it?

Its not that i don't believe you, its just Ive seen nothing from any network about this

but if it is the case then im glad my contract is up in June

Amuses me that my Nokia phone could do that years ago with a cheapo application (that wasn't barred from any app store). I'm sure we'll soon hear the press claiming Apple invented it like they did cut & paste and video calling...

The iPad2 looks much improved and tempting. I'd want Apple to improve the phone OS and give end users a bit more power to customise (like Android with widgits etc) if I was to move to their ecosystem though.

I don't understand the rationale behind the network locking down tethering, now that data allowances on many of the new contracts are capped anyway. Surely if someone who tethers wants more data they can buy a data bolt on or something. If they only tether once in blue moon and use very little data, what does it matter to the network?

I agree. Networks could defend charging more for tethering when downloads were truly unlimited. Now most networks have stopped offering unlimited data (except at extremely high tariffs), there really is no justification for this at all.

I am very surprised O2 don't allow people on the new (capped tariffs) to tether and MiFi - this would be a very good way of tempting many people off the old 'unlimited tariffs'.

No link but I'm running the beta on my iPhone 4 with O2. The personal hotspot feature is basically tethering but with the added bonus of being able to use wifi as well as Bluetooth and USB.

On my phone the hotspot menu doesn't appear in the main settings menu where it is meant to. In settings/general/network instead of the button to turn it on there is a button that says set up personal hotspot which then brings the popup which directs you to o2's tethering page to buy a bolt on

If I put a 3 sim in, I can enable hotspot right away and it uses any normal data allowances

This doesn't mean that O2 wont unlock the feature when iOS 4.3 is released to the public next week but as things currently stand it is locked down unless you buy a bolt on which is one of a few reasons why 3 may get my custom when iPhone 5 comes around

Because they would like to sell you a 3g iPad or a dongle for your laptop so they can sell you a second data bundle.

I do hope vodafone allow the hotspot feature for no extra charge then I can use my iPad outside of a wifi area.

Surely that simply means the wifi hotspot won't work without you buying the tethering bolton which is what you'd expect considering you'd be tethering! My phone is probably the same but I have tethering.

If you have tethering then yes it will be fine - my first post in this thread said it was locked down unless you bought a bolt on. I meant the tethering bolt on

Can someone explain what a personal hotspot is in leyman's terms?

If you're not averse to it, you could Jailbreak your 3GS and use MyWi.


It enables your iPhone to share its 3G data connection via WiFi.

e.g. if you had a WiFi-only iPad you could still go online on it in a WiFi-less location by connecting it to the iPhone & using the iPhone's 3G connection.

Google Android phones running 2.2 Froyo allow WiFi tethering whatever sim card you put in and they have had this feature for a while. Likewise for USB tethering.

Apple and the network operators have a diffrent attitude. So be good and do exactly what Apple and the Networks tell you to and don't complain!

Haven't some operators removed this feature from their branded handsets though?

As well as other phones for a while now. But normally it's against the T&C's of your contract to use your phone in such a manner, regardless of the fact if it's blocked or not on your phone.

Just seems to me that this update on the iPhone's allows the network to actually block it on the handset. Since iOS is a "walled" environment the network has a bit more control over this feature than say on an Android device.

iOS 4.3 has now gone GM

and i think AirPlay will now let you steam video from the web (rather than be limited to youtube and paid for apps).

(the one time i tried it before, i couldn't figure out why i was only getting audio.)

Iain

When the jailbreak is released for this, is it likely there will be a way to upgrade without losing jailbreak?

I know methods can't be discussed on here - I was just wondering if it will be worth bothering with or whether I might as well wait for iO5S in a few months.

Thanks! That's really handy. Will make plenty of use for that in the future.

I can't see how Apple could implement Personal Hotspot better than MyWi already does it, so I'm not that fussed that it's iPhone 4 only. I still have my unlimited data, can connect via WiFi, Bluetooth or USB and O2 won't charge me more because it wont appear to them that I'm tethering.

I'm not fully up on the JB scene but I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that the beta versions of iOS 4.3 were jailbreakable so don't think you'll have long to wait

All of the current crop of iDevices have a hardware level exploit that allows them to be jailbroken no matter what Apple do on the software side... but only in 'tethered' form, meaning you'd need to re-jailbreak it if you ever rebooted your device. The real problem for developers is finding ways to make jailbreaks untethered.

Yup. From what I can find, all the networks other than Three prohibit tethering, unless you pay extra.

Sucks that Apple's tethering function allows network control, but it's the networks who charge for it. Apple is just (unfortunately for the consumer) allowing the networks to be able to enforce their own T&Cs.

Is a damn shame that none of them other than Three are good enough to allow tethering for free, especially now that the days of unlimited data are over with O2 etc.

Mine's £5 a month, perfect for a backup internet connection (since I always have my phone with me anyway).