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cymolia

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Mar 17, 2012
529
22
Orange County, FL
So i have a 10gb data plan and im now getting into this tethering stuff. What i wanted to know if i tether my phone to the ipad would it use more data than if i was just using it on the iphone itself ? I realy dont know how it works , i dont want to eat up all my data tethering it to the ipad .
 

CEmajr

macrumors 601
Dec 18, 2012
4,453
1,245
Charlotte, NC
The iPad loads most websites in their full versions whereas the iPhone loads a lot of sites in their mobile forms so surfing on iPad would probably consume more data.
 
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azentropy

macrumors 601
Jul 19, 2002
4,045
5,429
Surprise
Yep, loads full versions of websites. Also keep in mind that the iPad will think it is on WiFi and therefore if you have automatic app updates on it will download the updates. I found this out the hard way.
 

fedecape

macrumors 6502
Oct 23, 2011
414
32
Miami, FL
So i have a 10gb data plan and im now getting into this tethering stuff. What i wanted to know if i tether my phone to the ipad would it use more data than if i was just using it on the iphone itself ? I realy dont know how it works , i dont want to eat up all my data tethering it to the ipad .

First of all, 10GB is a lot.

And yes, of course it'll use more. You are basically sharing the same plan.

You have a bottle with 10 liters of water (10gb of data) and a straw (your iPhone), but then your partner (your iPad) puts another straw to drink with you..

Well, you get the idea I guess.
 

Gav2k

macrumors G3
Jul 24, 2009
9,216
1,608
First of all, 10GB is a lot.

And yes, of course it'll use more. You are basically sharing the same plan.

You have a bottle with 10 liters of water (10gb of data) and a straw (your iPhone), but then your partner (your iPad) puts another straw to drink with you..

Well, you get the idea I guess.

Be careful op 10gb really isn't a lot when tethering is used.....(27 days since last reset)
 

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cymolia

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Mar 17, 2012
529
22
Orange County, FL
Be careful op 10gb really isn't a lot when tethering is used.....(27 days since last reset)

holy hell, that scared the sheeit out of me. the tethering is going to be used for my daughters ipad which all she does is stream nextflix so im guessing 10gb will evaporate lets say in 2 days. Wow what a bunch of lucky bastards some of you are with the grandfathered unlimited data plans
 

cynics

macrumors G4
Jan 8, 2012
11,959
2,155
holy hell, that scared the sheeit out of me. the tethering is going to be used for my daughters ipad which all she does is stream nextflix so im guessing 10gb will evaporate lets say in 2 days. Wow what a bunch of lucky bastards some of you are with the grandfathered unlimited data plans


Streaming content kills tiered data plans. I use it in moderation for web browsing and I message and I can generally manage to stay under 2 gb.

Add streaming services (Netflix, Hulu, etc) and I'll use that much in a matter of days.
 

fedecape

macrumors 6502
Oct 23, 2011
414
32
Miami, FL
Be careful op 10gb really isn't a lot when tethering is used.....(27 days since last reset)

Wow ! that's crazy

I didn't know we were talking about heavy streaming. Judging by his question, I thought he was an average user.

Sorry for the confusion

holy hell, that scared the sheeit out of me. the tethering is going to be used for my daughters ipad which all she does is stream nextflix so im guessing 10gb will evaporate lets say in 2 days. Wow what a bunch of lucky bastards some of you are with the grandfathered unlimited data plans

I use Netflix and YouTube A LOT and the Comcast website reports about 200gb per month. (At home, of course)

And it will not only evaporate your 10gbs, your phone's battery will be in trouble too haha
 

Cubytus

macrumors 65816
Mar 2, 2007
1,436
18
Yep, loads full versions of websites. Also keep in mind that the iPad will think it is on WiFi and therefore if you have automatic app updates on it will download the updates. I found this out the hard way.
Pretty silly behavior the iPad has while tethered. As if Apple never realized tethering usually means mobile plans with severely restricted caps.

Be careful op 10gb really isn't a lot when tethering is used.....(27 days since last reset)
That's still a whole lot you show. I routinely use tethering while driving to show the map, check emails and navigates websites while halted, and never go about a tenth of that.

holy hell, that scared the sheeit out of me. the tethering is going to be used for my daughters ipad which all she does is stream nextflix so im guessing 10gb will evaporate lets say in 2 days. Wow what a bunch of lucky bastards some of you are with the grandfathered unlimited data plans
You have to be pretty crazy or ignorant wanting to stream video content over a cellular connection.
 

Gav2k

macrumors G3
Jul 24, 2009
9,216
1,608
Pretty silly behavior the iPad has while tethered. As if Apple never realized tethering usually means mobile plans with severely restricted caps.

That's still a whole lot you show. I routinely use tethering while driving to show the map, check emails and navigates websites while halted, and never go about a tenth of that.

You have to be pretty crazy or ignorant wanting to stream video content over a cellular connection.

iTunes Match daily, maps, web, work emails etc soon adds up. That will shoot up if I watch f1 on skygo at any point.

----------

holy hell, that scared the sheeit out of me. the tethering is going to be used for my daughters ipad which all she does is stream nextflix so im guessing 10gb will evaporate lets say in 2 days. Wow what a bunch of lucky bastards some of you are with the grandfathered unlimited data plans

I'm in the uk on 3 with unlimited data ;)
 

scaredpoet

macrumors 604
Apr 6, 2007
6,628
360
the tethering is going to be used for my daughters ipad which all she does is stream nextflix so im guessing 10gb will evaporate lets say in 2 days.


Yeah, netflix is the LAST thing you want to be doing on a cellular data plan. She's gonna need to find some Wifi unless you're willing to pay some serious overages.
 

Furifo

macrumors 6502
Jun 1, 2010
277
7
holy hell, that scared the sheeit out of me. the tethering is going to be used for my daughters ipad which all she does is stream nextflix so im guessing 10gb will evaporate lets say in 2 days. Wow what a bunch of lucky bastards some of you are with the grandfathered unlimited data plans

Not grandfathered ;)

Any new customer can pick up unlimited data (4G/3G) + tethering here on 3 network in the UK.

Although, how long they're going to sustain this for is another matter entirely.
 

Cubytus

macrumors 65816
Mar 2, 2007
1,436
18
iTunes Match daily, maps, web, work emails etc soon adds up. That will shoot up if I watch f1 on skygo at any point.

----------



I'm in the uk on 3 with unlimited data ;)
That's why I accepted iTunes Match (with non-local music) on my MBP while requiring it to be only local on the iPhone. Forces me to download playlists first, then sync. It's awkward, to say the least. Design mistake on the part of Apple.
 

JackieInCo

Suspended
Jul 18, 2013
5,178
1,601
Colorado
I have unlimited everything on T-Mobile and this is what I've used this month just by tethering to my iPad and using Netflix.
 

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rui no onna

Contributor
Oct 25, 2013
14,649
12,785
holy hell, that scared the sheeit out of me. the tethering is going to be used for my daughters ipad which all she does is stream nextflix so im guessing 10gb will evaporate lets say in 2 days. Wow what a bunch of lucky bastards some of you are with the grandfathered unlimited data plans
Unrestricted on a connection with a consistent 5Mbps down, Netflix uses up around 400-500MB per 45-minute episode for me. Since there's no rollover for data, I'd usually stream Netflix if I still have a lot of GB's left at the end of the billing cycle.
 

melb00m

macrumors regular
Feb 4, 2011
192
68
I have unlimited everything on T-Mobile and this is what I've used this month just by tethering to my iPad and using Netflix.


Wow, I'm really surprised they'd let you do that and not cancel the contract for excessive usage.

I've only 1 GB/ month, which sucks for me personally, but makes a lot of sense in the big picture given how limited the capacities of mobile networks still are.
 

KeepCalmPeople

macrumors 65816
Sep 5, 2012
1,458
661
Los Angeles, California
holy hell, that scared the sheeit out of me. the tethering is going to be used for my daughters ipad which all she does is stream nextflix so im guessing 10gb will evaporate lets say in 2 days. Wow what a bunch of lucky bastards some of you are with the grandfathered unlimited data plans

Suggestion: log into your Netflix account and change your Playback Settings. You can a select a low bandwidth setting that uses only 0.3GB per hour.
 

yg17

macrumors Pentium
Aug 1, 2004
15,027
3,002
St. Louis, MO
Really wish iPads (and Macs for that matter) had something like a "mobile data mode" that you could use when connecting to your phone's WiFi hotspot where it would act like it's on a mobile data network and not do the stuff it normally doesn't do when on mobile data even though it's technically on WiFi.

My MacBook once blew through a prepaid 200MB MiFi plan I had in minutes because it started downloading updates and Backblaze started backing up because it thought it was on a regular WiFi connection. Would've been really nice if there was a way to tell it I was using mobile data so it didn't do that. Of course in the case of Backblaze, 3rd party apps would need to respect that setting too.

Even an iPad will do iCloud backups, PhotoStream syncing, auto app and iOS updates, etc, if tethered to an iPhone. There needs to be a way to disable all that when tethered.
 

rui no onna

Contributor
Oct 25, 2013
14,649
12,785
Even an iPad will do iCloud backups, PhotoStream syncing, auto app and iOS updates, etc, if tethered to an iPhone. There needs to be a way to disable all that when tethered.
I actually wish they'd leave that loophole in there. We have a 10GB Mobile Share plan and typically use just 6GB/mo combined. It's frustrating not being able to download a 50MB app because I'm on cellular data. When that happens, I'd usually tether my iPhone to my iPad and vice versa so I can download.
 

Jadedgal05

macrumors newbie
Sep 16, 2014
1
0
holy hell, that scared the sheeit out of me. the tethering is going to be used for my daughters ipad which all she does is stream nextflix so im guessing 10gb will evaporate lets say in 2 days. Wow what a bunch of lucky bastards some of you are with the grandfathered unlimited data plans

Like everyone else, I'm trying to figure out why my step-daughters iPhone 5S has been chewing through data since she left for college. We have a 15G data plan, shared between 3 lines, wifi at home, wifi at her birth moms house & according to the "step", she's swimming in a "wifi-soup", wifi in her dorms, ALL OVER her university. And yet her line has almost reached 9 Gigs in 14 days. The scariest part? TODAY is the 14th day & it's just beginning. We still have 16 days to go until our billing cycle rolls over & we are past 10 & 1/2 G's. There's NO WAY we are going to make it the next 16 days w/o going over. If I'm being honest, I doubt it's because her iPhone 5S is malfunctioning, although if anyone can break an iPhone, she can. This is her 2nd iPhone 5S in less than 6 months & think she's gone through 8-9 iPhones total in less than 6 years. Me? I've never broken an iPhone, and I've owned ever version from 1st GEN to now, going to receive my iPhone 6 in the mail sometime the end of this month;)

The "step" has always used way more than her share of data since we started the "data share" plan. Well, to her it's the "all mine to use" plan. But this month is ridiculous! Almost 9G in 14 DAYS!!!! Her father is too much of a puss to cut off her data & w/ the Smart limits taking away the option to stop her data use at a certain point, there's nothing to be done but watch the bill rise. Of course when I mention this, he shrugs & states, "he pays the bill", so I shouldn't care do much. But I still do, because it's terribly obvious that the "step" is not using wifi AT ALL & lying to her dad. Basically she's being a selfish cow, always has been.

It's terribly irritating because I HAD an unlimited data plan, as well as her dad before we went to shared data. So did the "step" but after losing her 3rd iPhone her father made her take over a line he had terminated & was paying the fees through AT&T monthly until he met contract requirements. Would've been more expensive to keep paying off that line when the "steps" line, her contract was up in a month. So her original line was terminated, she had to take a different #. Basically, I gave up an unlimited plan just so some snot nosed, know it all spoiled brat could use all the "shared" data keeping me in constant worry of going over.

Either way, it wouldn't have done me any good, the unlimited plan I mean, so I wouldn't be too jealous of people w/ them. Most companies are phasing those out anyway & even so, you couldn't have a mobile hotspot with which to USE that unlimited data. You couldn't tether other devices to it w/o going into a back up of 1 of your Apple files & changing a line of code. Even then, each new iOS would change & you'd have to wait until someone, somewhere posted a hack to re-activate your hotspot. Lots of headache.

I'm just watching with bated breath to see how much data the "step" uses this month, this month she's outdone herself. I'm so mad at her fathers lack of action I could scream. I've even turned my wifi link off to use MORE data to force us into an overage. So far we haven't gone over, so it's all well & food for him to say it's fine for her to do as she has been doing & use 85-90 of the data package. But it's not. Most of the time I try to curb my usage when not on wifi & won't let my 9 yr old use my iPad mini with my hotspot b/c of data usage. Specifically, because SHE uses it all. With 15G to share & wifi EVERYWHERE this shouldn't be happening. But it is. Because she's a liar & she's not using wifi, she thinks her usage is hilarious. Dad never says anything b/c, no overage YET. This month however, we WILL go over, if I'm right, about 9G, and at 15.00 per gig, I think he will care A LOT. We took the family share plan to lower our bill because you guessed it, the "step" was always going 2G over her already 25.00 2G data plan making her data total $55.00 p/mth.

I think our bill this month will be quite eye opening (or popping) for her dad.
 

rui no onna

Contributor
Oct 25, 2013
14,649
12,785
The "step" has always used way more than her share of data since we started the "data share" plan. Well, to her it's the "all mine to use" plan. But this month is ridiculous! Almost 9G in 14 DAYS!!!! Her father is too much of a puss to cut off her data & w/ the Smart limits taking away the option to stop her data use at a certain point, there's nothing to be done but watch the bill rise. Of course when I mention this, he shrugs & states, "he pays the bill", so I shouldn't care do much. But I still do, because it's terribly obvious that the "step" is not using wifi AT ALL & lying to her dad. Basically she's being a selfish cow, always has been.
Sounds like a nightmare. I also use maybe 60-80% of our data cap but at least I'm the one paying the family's cellphone bill. If I were you, I'd just give the step her own prepaid line regardless if it's more expensive than a shared plan. Sounds to me like the step needs to be taught some responsibility. :rolleyes:
 

Debhughes54

macrumors newbie
Apr 3, 2017
1
0
Pretty silly behavior the iPad has while tethered. As if Apple never realized tethering usually means mobile plans with severely restricted caps.

That's still a whole lot you show. I routinely use tethering while driving to show the map, check emails and navigates websites while halted, and never go about a tenth of that.

You have to be pretty crazy or ignorant wanting to stream video content over a cellular connection.
And that's a pretty dumb thing to say. There are us people that live in the country that have no option for TV except streaming services for the most part! No cable out here!!Not many internet options unless using DISH or Direct with their high cost and 15 anytime GB! Not to mention they pull you in on a special with a 2 year contract, to which when the special ends your stuck with a very high bill for the remainder time! So us in rural areas have to use streaming, Such as sling TV, Hulu, Netflix, and a good old fashion Antenna for local. I recommend a 360 degree flat Antenna to pull in the clearest local channels. I get 20 channels with mine. I thether off an unlimited phone plan to my iPad and I stream TV. If your rural I found a great truly unlimited hot spot service and it's reasonable. 90.00 a month true unlimited hotspot, watch and game all you want! That with $25.00 for sling and you have live TV just as good as cable and less money for the bundle! You can cast onto your TV with different devices such as Roku Xbox apple TV etc or you can watch on your phone and tablet! Not so stupid!
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And that's a pretty dumb thing to say. There are us people that live in the country that have no option for TV except streaming services for the most part! No cable out here!!Not many internet options unless using DISH or Direct with their high cost and 15 anytime GB! Not to mention they pull you in on a special with a 2 year contract, to which when the special ends your stuck with a very high bill for the remainder time! So us in rural areas have to use streaming, Such as sling TV, Hulu, Netflix, and a good old fashion Antenna for local. I recommend a 360 degree flat Antenna to pull in the clearest local channels. I get 20 channels with mine. I thether off an unlimited phone plan to my iPad and I stream TV. If your rural I found a great truly unlimited hot spot service and it's reasonable. 90.00 a month true unlimited hotspot, watch and game all you want! That with $25.00 for sling and you have live TV just as good as cable and less money for the bundle! You can cast onto your TV with different devices such as Roku Xbox apple TV etc or you can watch on your phone and tablet! Not so stupid!
P.s the name of the true unlimited data hot spot is unlimitedville it has a one time membership fee and monthly $90.00 rate. I will gladly pay that over the $70.00 I was paying for 15 anytime GB last month streaming all day long and my husband gaming every day for several hours we used around 200 GB we were tethered from our hotspot to our xbox. That's not too bad but bad on a very limited 10GB plan. Can't do anything with that. And they try to tell you it's all you will need! I read something several years ago that said, one day only the rich will be able to afford internet! That was while all plans were unlimited. Then here comes metered internet! Now that the world uses internet for everything! Once all are dependant they can charge what they want. They blame it on not enough unlicensed spectrum!
 
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