Computers, Laptops & Tablets > Apple 149 149 people found this article helpful Can My iPad Use My iPhone's Data Connection? Yes, you can get your iPad online using your phone even without public Wi-Fi By Daniel Nations Daniel Nations Twitter Writer University of Texas at Arlington Daniel Nations has been a tech journalist since 1994. His work has appeared in Computer Currents, The Examiner, and other publications. He is a developer who has published apps in the Apple App Store, Google Play marketplace and Amazon Appstore; he also has worked as a data analyst and DB administrator. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on August 18, 2022 Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email Apple iPad Macs 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 Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit