All iPads Do/did you buy your iPad(s) with Cellular or Wi-Fi Only?

[Powerbooky]

Years ago we got our dad an iPad with cellular (one of the first models). At the time he was in hospital for a couple of weeks and an iPad was the best thing for casual entertainment and email. The hospital offered wifi but way to expensive. Fortunately the ISP at home offered cellular internet as a complementary service, 1GB per month for free, so an iPad with cellular was ideal and it was sure faster than the local wifi.

 

[BanjoDudeAhoy]

I bought my (now sold) iPad Pro with cellular capability.

All other iPads I have are wifi only.
Partially, because when I use my iPad outside the house it's either for reading or for work and I generally don't want to be bothered by notifications from messages and the like. If I do want an internet connection while away from the home wifi, then I just use my phone's connection (or another wifi if trustworthy).

 

[Jay-Jacob]

I only ever get iPad with wifi only. Reasons:

1) Wifi only iPad is cheaper.
2) When I use iPad there nearly always wifi around.
3) I only tether iPad once or twice with my iPhone.
4) If have cellular and buy plan then it be extra money to pay per monthly etc.

So basically paying extra money for cellular version waste of money. For me.

If you happen go places there no wifi often or very poor wifi signal then yes I can see cellular be important feature. It depends how/where you use iPad if need it or not.

 

[TechRunner]

My iPad spends the vast majority of its life at home, so I've bought WiFi-only models. Having said that, I do see the advantage of cellular and would go that route if my iPad left the house more often.

 

[Jackbequickly]

Always get cellular for the GPS fiction.

 

[one more]

WiFi only, tethering them to my iPhone when needed. 🖐️

 

[klasma]

None of the options in the poll really marches for me. It depends on what I buy the iPad for. If it’s for on-the-go, I buy it with cellular. I can’t say one is more frequent than the other. There is a correlation with size though (smaller iPads for on-the-go).

 

[klasma]

Wifi for me. Why pay for 2 cellular services? The iPhone is always there anyways.

You don’t have to buy a cellular service to use the GPS on the cellular models. (For some reason Apple doesn’t seem to transfer GPS geolocation via hotspot tethering.) You can also use a prepaid SIM and only pay when you need it (e.g. when taking a trip).

 

[ric22]

Wifi for me. Why pay for 2 cellular services? The iPhone is always there anyways.

Exactly. Cellular iPads must cater to a niche market.

Edit: Having said that, wireless tethering to iPhones has always has been an absolute catastrophe- connection isn't maintained and can't be easily reestablished- especially with non Apple devices. If I tether to my MacBooks I always do so with a usb cable.

 

[geta]

Got Wi-Fi, but when its time to upgrade to the new Mini, I'll get cellular version instead even if I don't use it on a daily basis, because it's just more convenient than using an iPhone hotspot that also eats up its battery.

And prepaid SIM is great option for these few times I need it.

 

[darkpaw]

I have only ever once bought a cellular iPad, and I got rid of the cellular connection within months because the network I used didn't understand how data on an iPad worked. They kept sending text messages with activation codes etc. to a data-only SIM that they admitted cannot receive texts. They couldn't send such codes to a different phone number (a network that can't send a text to a phone number?!). I had so many troubles with trying to get it to work that I walked away from the contract and forced them to give me a full refund. AFAIK they still can't get it to work properly.

So, while I would've loved to have been out and about with a connection, it just wasn't possible. It wasn't the iPad's fault; it was 100% the network's fault, and it's put me off cellular iPads for life.

 

[Rian Gray]

I bought a cellular iPad back in 2016 or 17, only because the carrier wouldn't allow tethering without additional cost. At the time, I thought it'd be cheaper to just grab a data plan separately whenever I need one. They've changed the way the tethering works on their plans now; tethering is no longer 'banned' per-se just slowed down, but good enough to use occasionally.

If I upgrade my iPad, (waiting for MagSafe, I think either mobile ver. or laptop ver. would work in my case) I'm planning to get a WiFi-only this time.

 

[cthompson94]

My iPad 12.9" mostly stays at home so I think next time I am going to just get the Wi-Fi only version if I even get the 12.9" or whatever size is the large size by the time I upgrade. My iPad Mini which my kid uses is the cellular one since it comes in handy for road trips without needing a tethering device and the iPad for potentially hours and hours.

 

[Digitalguy]

Hotspots are more finicky and often slower in speed, plus you’re now draining the batteries of two devices more quickly. Cellular on device is far more convenient and effective in my experience.

This, especially if you don't use an iPhone. Plus when abroad for more than a couple of days, I generally buy a local SIM for my iPad, since my roaming data is capped and wifi is not always available or good enough.

 

[dylman]

My M1 iPad Pro is WiFi only, I’ll be upgrading next month primarily to gain cellular functionality (I’m tethered while typing this actually).

Had I bought the cellular version instead I’d be happy skipping next gen, so lesson learned I suppose

 

[cthompson94]

This, especially if you don't use an iPhone. Plus when abroad for more than a couple of days, I generally buy a local SIM for my iPad, since my roaming data is capped and wifi is not always available or good enough.

This is also a good point. Depending where you are and what Carrier you have even with "Unlimited Data" many still cap the tethering so unless you pre-download everything and are basically just using the cellular to look stuff up or maps or whatever then you are fine, but if you are streaming videos you will probably hit that cap pretty quickly and is easier to just upfront the extra cost of the cellular model as typically throwing a tablet on a plan is generally not expensive and piggy backs unlimited data plans.

 

[leifp]

Historically I’ve owned way more WiFi only iPads than those with cellular capability. And I have regretted it most times. Even though I rarely use the cellular option, at times it has soured my days (when not there) or saved my bacon (when it was).

I will only purchase cellular models going forward.

 

[Apple_Robert]

I get cellular. T-Mobile offers a refillable 5GB / 150 days plan and that is what I use with my mini.

 

[bhall110]

I get the cellular. One for the GPS antenna and two for the option of getting a SIM card. I just pre paid sims when I need them.

 

[cmcbhi]

I basically distrust WiFi hot spots in the wild. Cellular may not be totally safe but, with my firewall and other software I feel safer w/ cellular outside my home.

 

[Rychiar]

I can’t imagine buying anything other than a phone with cellular… if you need to connect just tether to your phone… there are zero situations in my life where I’d have an iPad or even a watch without my phone on me. And i can’t believe ya have to pay for a plan for extra devices on cellular

 

[cmcbhi]

I can’t imagine buying anything other than a phone with cellular… if you need to connect just tether to your phone… there are zero situations in my life where I’d have an iPad or even a watch without my phone on me. And i can’t believe ya have to pay for a plan for extra devices on cellular

Different strokes……..

 

[*~Kim~*]

The only iPad I have bought so far that was WiFi only was bought as a gift, but it doesn’t feel quite right to say that I only buy Cellular as I would not buy it on a full sized iPad again. But as my last two have been Minis, I’m yet to have bought WiFi only for myself.

 

[Prof.]

I used to only get WiFi only, but now I get WiFi+Cellular. The $10/mo for unlimited 5G Data can't be beat in my opinion. Plus it makes iPad Pro so much more usable when not at home. Yes, I know I can mobile hotspot, but that's at the cost of my iPhone battery. Plus the WiFi at work is a certified 1mbps. 🥲

 

[Howard2k]

Only ever Wifi.