Sharing Your iPhone's Internet With Your iPod
By John Papiewski
Apple's iPod touch music player connects to the Internet through Wi-Fi, though this is a problem if the device isn't near a Wi-Fi access point. If you have an iPhone, you can share its 3G wireless Internet through a practice called "tethering." Your iPhone can create a "Personal Hotspot," creating a wireless data "tether" to the iPod through a Bluetooth connection. To use this feature, you must first enable it with your wireless provider and have a data plan that supports it.
Enable Personal Hotspot
Step 1
Tap the "Settings" app on your iPhone.
Step 2
Tap "General." The app displays a list of device configuration settings.
Step 3
Tap "Network." This screen shows settings for wireless data network connections. Next to the heading "Personal Hotspot," the app indicates if the hotspot is on or off.
Step 4
Tap "Personal Hotspot." Slide the switch control to "On" if it is off. If the device is an iPhone 4 or later model, make a note of its Wi-Fi password.
Connect Via Wi-Fi
Step 1
Tap the "Settings" app on your iPod touch.
Step 2
Tap "Wi-Fi." If the Wi-Fi on your iPod is off, slide the switch to "On." The app displays a list of available Wi-Fi networks under the heading, "Choose a Network…" You should see "iPhone" as a network in the list.
Step 3
Select the "iPhone" Wi-Fi connection by tapping it. Your iPod will prompt you to enter the wireless password. Enter the password you noted earlier.
Connect Via Bluetooth
Step 1
Tap the "Settings" app on your iPod touch.
Step 2
Tap "General," then tap "Bluetooth."
Step 3
Slide the "Bluetooth" switch to the "On" position if it's off. Your iPod will detect a Bluetooth signal and display the name for your iPhone that appears in iTunes under "devices."
Step 4
Tap the iPhone name in the list of Bluetooth devices. On both the iPhone and the iPod touch, a prompt appears asking to confirm a six-digit code. Tap the "Pair" button on the iPod and iPhone. This tethers the iPod to the iPhone, allowing you to use the Internet on both devices.
References
Tips
- In the past, wireless carriers have charged a monthly fee for tethering. In July 2012, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ruled that this practice was out of compliance with its regulations (Reference 3). If you have avoided tethering because of cost concerns, your wiress provider can no longer charge for this service.
Writer Bio
Chicago native John Papiewski has a physics degree and has been writing since 1991. He has contributed to "Foresight Update," a nanotechnology newsletter from the Foresight Institute. He also contributed to the book, "Nanotechnology: Molecular Speculations on Global Abundance."