# Using SmartPhone as a hotspot?



## Eclectic12 (Oct 20, 2010)

Has anyone used a smartphone as a wifi hot?

How well did it work? Any advice to get a good connection/performance?


Cheers


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## MoneyGal (Apr 24, 2009)

Constantly, because I'm constantly on the road. Works fine.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

It works really well. We have up to 4 devices connected and it was fine. Just make sure your data plan is a good one.


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## kcowan (Jul 1, 2010)

Make sure you are in an area of solid cell service. We use our host's iPhone hotspot on Galiano Island but when she uses the phone, the hotspot will drop out even though she can complete her voice call. After that, it is invisible to the other computers and smartphones until we turn off her phone and start over. Very frustrating if you are trying to book anything online.


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## Eclectic12 (Oct 20, 2010)

So is there a noticeable change is speed at the different levels of connection (i.e. 4G versus 3G)?


Re: Hotspot can drop when using the phone

Good to know ... though since it's likely going to be my phone, I should be able to control it a bit better for myself at least. :biggrin:


Cheers


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

How taxing is it on battery life? Or would you just have the phone plugged into your usb port? I've never bothered using my phone as a hotspot, because I'm usually somewhere with wifi.


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## fred123 (May 8, 2010)

Tether data is tracked separately with my iPhone plan (MTS, Manitoba). 
My data plan allows 1GB per month, of which 250MB can be tethered.


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## kcowan (Jul 1, 2010)

All the features add to battery usage. When I use my phone to read a book, I turn off Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, auto-rotation and cell. So yes it would be fairly heavy.


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## Jon_Snow (May 20, 2009)

I use my company iPhone as a hotspot for my Wifi-only 64 gig Ipad - allows me to help kill a couple of hours while on the Queen of Nanaimo during the Georgia Strait crossing to my little island paradise.

Knowing I could use this feature allow me to save money in not having to buy a 3g enabled Ipad. Great feature. 

I do notice that it seems to drain the iphone battery life very rapidly.


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## liquidfinance (Jan 28, 2011)

I tether frequently. It is taxing on the battery. Where possible I will try and have the phone charging whenever I tether. Speeds are generally acceptable for my usage. 

I'm with Wind so it's only good for when I'm inside their zones. But for the time I will be spending outside of a Wind zone at the minute I refuse to join ROBELUS. Just check with your carrier / plan as I believe some will try and charge extra for it. A complete con as a gig is a gig regardless of the device using it.


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

Pricing strategies like that are the reason I refuse to do business with the big 3.


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## My Own Advisor (Sep 24, 2012)

Never tried this actually. I should. I have a Samsung SII with 1GB data plan.


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## Eclectic12 (Oct 20, 2010)

... so if battery drain is an issue, do most keep their phone plugged into other power sources? 

A wall plug perhaps or USB to a laptop or one of those pocket power rechargers?


Cheers


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## GalacticPineapple (Feb 28, 2013)

I cut my home wifi for a while and tethered off my phone. It works but it's kind of a hassle, even if it's a wireless tether. Applications that use a lot of data like Netflix suffer a bit. I went back but it can be done.


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## Eclectic12 (Oct 20, 2010)

^^^^

Good to know .... though I'm more interested what I'm hoping is a lighter weight connection into work for emergencies.


Cheers


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## LondonHomes (Dec 29, 2010)

I read this thread and tried it on my phone. It was surprisingly easy to do and worked great.

Looking forward to using it with my laptop on the road.


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

Eclectic12 said:


> ... so if battery drain is an issue, do most keep their phone plugged into other power sources?
> 
> A wall plug perhaps or USB to a laptop or one of those pocket power rechargers?





Eclectic12 said:


> though I'm more interested what I'm hoping is a lighter weight connection into work for emergencies.


If it's for your laptop and work, I usually just plug in the phone usb and tether rather than the hotspot. Keeps it charged and maybe better connection. Hotspot works pretty solid though and allows more than one connection (wireless)


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## Eclectic12 (Oct 20, 2010)

LondonHomes said:


> I read this thread and tried it on my phone.
> It was surprisingly easy to do and worked great.
> 
> Looking forward to using it with my laptop on the road.


CMF provides value yet again! 

... Not what you'd expect from a financial board ... :biggrin:




m3s said:


> If it's for your laptop and work, I usually just plug in the phone usb and tether rather than the hotspot. Keeps it charged and maybe better connection.
> 
> Hotspot works pretty solid though and allows more than one connection (wireless)


Likely most of the time I'll be tethered but since the new phone supports both - I figured I'd give it a try before I needed it. 

I always find it annoying when I'm on the road, could fix the problem in ten minutes but have to search for half an hour to find wifi. As more places offer it, this is less of an issue but as I see 3G most of the time, the mobile option appeals to me.


Cheers


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