Computers, Laptops & Tablets Apple 80 80 people found this article helpful Can My iPad Use My iPhone's Data Connection? Get your iPad online without public Wi-Fi by Daniel Nations Writer Daniel Nations has been a tech journalist since 1994. His work has appeared in Computer Currents, The Examiner, The Spruce, and other publications. our editorial process Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Daniel Nations Updated on September 15, 2020 Apple iPad Macs Tweet Share Email While most of us have Wi-Fi in the home, and Wi-Fi in hotels and coffee shops has become commonplace, you may still have times when you're trapped without an internet connection for your iPad. As long as you have your iPhone, you can share its data connection with your iPad through a process called tethering. Instructions in this article apply to devices running iOS 8 or later. How to Set up Your iPhone's Personal Hotspot You have to adjust a couple of settings on your iPhone to get your tablet online. Open your iPhone's Settings app. Select Cellular. Tap Personal Hotspot. In the next menu, locate Personal Hotspot and tap the switch next to it to on/green. The Wi-Fi network shares its name with your phone, and the password is next to Wi-Fi Password on the same screen. To change the password, tap the existing one, enter a new code, and then tap Done. Connect your iPad to the hotspot the same way you connect it to any other Wi-Fi network. Look for the name of your phone in the list of networks and enter the password from the iPhone. Does Tethering Cost Money? Your telecom company may charge you a monthly fee for tethering your device, but most providers now offer the service for free on most limited plans. Since you are drawing from a fixed amount of data, providers don't tend to care how you use it. On unlimited plans, some providers like AT&T charge an extra fee while other providers like T-Mobile will slow your Internet speed if tethering exceeds high limits. It is best to check with your carrier to see if it charges any extra fees for tethering. In any case, tethering will use up some of your allotted bandwidth, so yes, it will cost money in the sense that you may need to buy extra if you go over the maximum. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Email Address Sign up There was an error. Please try again. You're in! Thanks for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. Thank you for signing up. Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit