How to Enable Internet Tethering on iPhone

Create a Wi-Fi hotspot

Open Settings on iPhone. You can find the Settings app with a gray gear icon on the Home screen.

Tap Personal Hotspot . This option may be in the first group of the Settings menu.

If you don't see this option, tap Cellular or Mobile Data and select Set Up Personal Hotspot . You may be asked to call your carrier to sign up for a data plan that supports the Personal Hotspot feature (mostly for an additional fee).

If you don't see the Personal Hotspot option anywhere, whether in the main Settings menu or the Cellular menu, contact your carrier.

Turn on the Personal Hotspot switch . This button will turn green. If your mobile data plan does not support tethering or the process requires additional confirmation, you will be asked to contact your carrier to continue.

Tap the Wi-Fi Password button . This option allows you to change the password required when accessing the network.

Enter the password for the wireless network. You need to make sure that this password is strong and difficult to guess, especially if you are in a public place.

Click Done . The wireless network password will be changed.

Open the list of available networks on the other device. The process will vary by device, but in general you'll connect to iPhone just like you would any other wireless network.

Select iPhone from the list of available networks. iPhone will be listed as available Wi-Fi. The iPhone name is also the network name.

Enter the password you created when prompted. This password is required to connect to the network. You can check your password at any time in your iPhone's Personal Hotspot menu.

Test the Internet connection on the connected device. Once connected to Wi-Fi, the device will be able to use your iPhone's cellular data to go online. Note: using a computer to surf the web using an iPhone's data connection will consume a lot of capacity compared to a mobile device.

USB tethering

Open Settings on iPhone. You can find the Settings app with a gray gear icon on the Home screen.

Click on the Personal Hotspot option . If you don't see this item in the first group of options, it means your data plan does not support tethering. You need to contact your carrier and ask about data packages that allow tethering.

Turn on the Personal Hotspot switch . This button will turn green when enabled. You may now be informed that your current data plan does not support tethering. At that time, you need to contact the network operator.

Connect iPhone to computer via USB cable. Use the same USB cable you use to sync and charge iPhone. You can connect to any USB port on your computer.

Test your internet connection. The computer will automatically detect iPhone as a network and connect to the Internet through it.

If your computer is using an Ethernet cable or another Wi-Fi network, you will need to disconnect this before connecting to the network through iPhone.

Bluetooth tethering

Open Settings on iPhone. You can find the Settings app with a gray gear icon on the Home screen.

Click on the Personal Hotspot option . If you don't see this item in the first group of options, it means your data plan does not support tethering. You need to contact your network operator and ask about data packages that allow Internet sharing.

Turn on the Personal Hotspot switch . This button will turn green when enabled. If you are now informed that your current data plan does not support tethering, contact your carrier.

Connect to a Bluetooth network (on Windows). Perform the following steps on your Windows computer to connect to a Bluetooth network:

Click the Bluetooth icon in the system tray. If you don't see the Bluetooth icon, your computer likely doesn't have the Bluetooth feature.

Click Join a Personal Area Network .

Click Add a device .

Click iPhone and tap Pair in the frame that appears on the iPhone screen.

Right-click iPhone after it installs and choose Connect using → Access point . The computer will use the iPhone's Internet connection.

Bluetooth networking (on Mac).

Click the Apple menu and choose System Preferences .

Click the ⋮⋮⋮⋮ button to view the main menu.

Click the Bluetooth menu option .

Click the Pair option next to the iPhone icon and select Pair on the iPhone screen.

Click the Bluetooth button in the menu bar, select iPhone, and click Connect .

Test the connection. So now that your computer is connected to the network, you will be able to access the Internet using your iPhone's mobile data.

Note: connecting to the Internet via Bluetooth is slower than Wi-Fi and USB tethering, but will be much more secure.

David Pac

Update 01 November 2023