Got a tablet, no 3g? Want to use it where theres no wifi? Got a android phone?

[Thommo]

Not sure if any of you know this so i thought id post it for you.

a lot of tablets dont have 3g so when your not in a wifi area your basically screwed with no internet.

ok i hear you shout i can use a dongle.. well yes if your tablet will accept it, i know a fair few that dont including some of the archos tablets.

so IF yours wont take a dongle and doesnt have 3g what do we do? live without it? i dont think so...


now im presuming most of you will have an andriod phone along with your tablet.

thats the key.

we need to tether the phone to the tablet and use our mobiles data plan. i say tether but strictly its not as we are not using the usb from phone to tablet as thats basically the same as using a dongle (wont work on some tablets)

we need to create a virtual wifi zone with our phones.

if you check your setting on your android phone you should see under wifi settings an option for tethering and portable hotspot.

once in there its a simple process of ticking the portable wifi hotspot box settings and giving your network a name and i highly suggest using some encryption as its open as default, so select wpa2 and give it a password.

after you have done this simply tick the box "portable wifi hotspot".

your done with the phone.

so go to your tablet now and go to settings wifi and search for networks your newly created network will show up, select it and you wil get the pop up box for your password, enter that it will connect.


congrats you now have a tablet that can access the net anywhere (as long as your phone is getting 3g reception).


this isnt a tutorial i nicked from elsewhere nor instructions i followed i did this while playing with my phone and tablet together it may help some it may not (esp if you have 3g built into your tab or it will take a dongle) but for those in the situation like me it solves the not net access while not in a wifi zone.

3g seems to work well and fast when i tested and i could watch iplayer itvplayer ect all with no buffering.

i would suggest if you use this route that you get yourself a data plan so it doesnt end up costing you a fortune.. i myself use the giff gaff goody bag which gives unlimited internet and it is unlimited unlike some providers.

there you go my gift to dw for the new year.​

 

[Thommo]

i know im replying to myself lol, but i thought i would just add this isnt just for tablets, the portable hotspot will work for netbooks/laptops infact anything that runs off wifi inc tv's and sat receivers ect....although ive not tested any of these it will work as its just a way of getting internet (3g) from your phone to any item that uses wifi.

 

[BIG-HOL]

Nice 1 that mate nice little discovery, got no use for it myself at the minute but I have both a tablet and android phone with a unlimited data plan, might test it later just for fun. My tablet is capable of using a USB dongle but I don't own one so if I ever did need it this would be perfect. Sure many ppl will find this very handy!

Sent from my ARCHOS 80G9 using Tapatalk

 

[Thommo]

well to be honest mine will work with a dongle too but only the archos official one and i certainly am not paying 50 quid for one of them. seems funny others wont work but theres will dont it, i think they put something in place to stop other ones working but with them being rooted now i suspect its only a matter of time before the other dongles are working but i think id still use the way above so i dont need to plug anything into the tablet, ive always got my phone on me so as long as i do that means the tablet has got internet too.

 

[oneman]

been doing this for a while from htc desire to various devices. Works quite nicely.

 

[Exos]

Haven't done this myself yet, but CPW wanted an extra £80 for the 3G version of my tab. My iphone allows "personal hotspots" and can connect via Bluetooth or WiFi.

I'm just not convinced this is classed as "tethering" in Voda's eyes.

Tethering

You can tether your pay monthly iPhone to a PC or Mac using a USB cable - or wirelessly via Bluetooth. Then just use your data allowance to access the internet. For more information, please see our data costs. For tethering to work properly, you may have to change some of your iPhone's settings or upgrade its software.

How tethering works on your iPhone

Tethering is charged separately from the 1GB of mobile internet use that you get as part of your pay monthly price plan. As soon as you tether your laptop or netbook to the internet, you'll pay £5 for 500MB that lasts for 30 days. Use more than 500MB in that time and you'll pay £5 for each extra 500MB.

Am I missing something here, or is those two highlighted a direct contradiction of each other?

 

[delectable]

Got a T-Mobile MIFI unit instead of a plug in USB dongle. Was only £7.50/month with unit free - 18 month contract.

Surprised how good it is and the range. Use it for laptop, ipad, ipods, whatever when on the move. Can also plug into car to charge making the car a WIFI zone

 

[oneman]

Haven't done this myself yet, but CPW wanted an extra £80 for the 3G version of my tab. My iphone allows "personal hotspots" and can connect via Bluetooth or WiFi.

I'm just not convinced this is classed as "tethering" in Voda's eyes.



Am I missing something here, or is those two highlighted a direct contradiction of each other?

Don't think so. Its saying that if you want to tether then you need to pay extra and the statement under tethering refers to the 500mb allows.

TBH, it does sound crap having to pay extra for tethering. I thought that restriction had pretty much disappeared.

 

[Exos]

I actually installed MyWi 5.0 and I seem to be able to tether using my data allowance without charge, which is pretty decent and I don't use it that often with my tab, so avoids a one off cost when i might only use it for a few mb.

What's a little bonus is that because i renewed my contract for the next three months i have unlimited data usage