Thinking of switching from iPad 3g to iPad Wifi + iPhone hotspot

[Hatter The Mad]

Hi all

I mostly use my iPad out and about (cafes, on the train, etc). I currently pay £10 on a month whenever I use 3G with O2 (which is every month pretty much).

I am thinking of not paying the extra £100 for 3G and rather than paying £10 a month instead pay a few pounds extra a month on the new O2 iPhone tariffs to have a 1GB data account which can be used for hotspotting.

The other thing I won't have unless I tether is GPS built into the iPad.

Has anyone done a similar switch and if so how have you got on? What is the iPhone hotspot battery like?

 

[Hatter The Mad]

Curiously I don't need to change tariff to get tethering on O2, apparently.

Susan: Did you know, you can do it with your current tariff.
Susan: We won't charge you anything extra for that.

 

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Curiously I don't need to change tariff to get tethering on O2, apparently.

what tariff are you on? how long have you had it?

 

[robjf]

I'm in a similar situation with an iPad which has a Three data sim and an iPhone 4 on three aswell.

What are the advantages/ disadvantages of just tethering the iPad to the iPhone?

 

[Hatter The Mad]

I'm in a similar situation with an iPad which has a Three data sim and an iPhone 4 on three aswell.

What are the advantages/ disadvantages of just tethering the iPad to the iPhone?

It isn't instant-on (you need to enable the hotspot on the iPhone each time you want to connect it) and you don't get GPS on the iPad unless you are tethered to an iPhone.

 

[Feek]

Curiously I don't need to change tariff to get tethering on O2, apparently.

When I asked O2 for my PAC code, they asked why and I told them it was because I was moving to Three to get the hotspot for free. The man went away and then came back five minutes later telling me he couldn't match that. My PAC arrived by text an hour later. I wonder what tariff you're on.

 

[Fr0dders]

Curiously I don't need to change tariff to get tethering on O2, apparently.

Yeah, but you still need the 500mb + tethering bolt on which is about £8 a month I think

 

[cheef]

Personal Hotspot absolutely chews through your battery, just bear this in mind.

If I were you, I'd definitely go for Personal Hotspot use and tether as your solution, just make sure you have a charging/sync cable with you in case you need to charge your phone back up a bit.

 

[Hatter The Mad]

Yeah, but you still need the 500mb + tethering bolt on which is about £8 a month I think

No you don't - it has been activated on mine for free (as of today, with the new tariff launch)

 

[Hatter The Mad]

When I asked O2 for my PAC code, they asked why and I told them it was because I was moving to Three to get the hotspot for free. The man went away and then came back five minutes later telling me he couldn't match that. My PAC arrived by text an hour later. I wonder what tariff you're on.

When did you ask? O2's new tariffs are out today. You can either switch to the new tariffs or ask them to enable tethering (for free) on your existing iPhone tariff.

 

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When did you ask? O2's new tariffs are out today. You can either switch to the new tariffs or ask them to enable tethering (for free) on your existing iPhone tariff.

Im on the an old unlimited data iphone plan, if i want tethering do i have to update that plan to 500mb data?

 

[Hatter The Mad]

Im on the an old unlimited data iphone plan, if i want tethering do i have to update that plan to 500mb data?

Call them up or get them on live chat:

Im on the an old unlimited data iphone plan, if i want tethering do i have to update that plan to 500mb data?

Call them up or get them on live chat:

Me: I am currently on an iPhone 4 tariff, £35 per month
Me: Is it possible to switch to the new tariffs?
Susan: Do you want to change your tariff?
Me: Yes, from one of the older tariffs to the new ones released today
Me: Is it possible?
Susan: Do you want it for tethering purpose ?
Me: Yes
Susan: Did you know, you can do it with your current tariff.
Susan: We won't charge you anything extra for that.
Susan: Thanks for the information. Please give me a few minutes while I check this for you.
Susan: We'll take any data you use out of your data allowance, that's 500 MB.
Me: So I can use tethering now?
Susan: I've activated it for you, you can use it.
Susan: Is there anything else I can help you with?
Susan: It'll take a maximum of 24 hours but you can try it after an hour to check if it's activated.
Susan: Is there anything else I can help you with?

 

[quickshot89]

Im on the an old unlimited data iphone plan, if i want tethering do i have to update that plan to 500mb data?

id like to know this too, i refuse to give up my unlimited when i signed a 2year contract

 

[Embed]

Where the heck is the live chat section, I cant for the live of me find it haha!

 

[Fr0dders]

theres no link to it. It just pops up randomly i believe.

 

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theres no link to it. It just pops up randomly i believe.

Oh, well then ill wait for it to show its face haha.

Are there live chat hours? or is it 24/7?

 

[Golden Ape]

I'm just looking into this at the moment. The o2 live chat option will pop up if you try and ask their 'virtual agent lucy' about tethering. Mind you it's pretty slow to get a response from them, every time I type a question it takes a couple of minutes to get a one word reply.

 

[Hatter The Mad]

Just phone them up

 

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I'm going to go to the o2 store near me on my lunch break to see what I can get for free.
I'm sceptical but hoping for a positive outcome!

 

[feriso]

What about PAYG, will they enable it on that?