How to Tether Your iPad to Your iPhone (via WiFi)

Since buying the iPad on the first day of it's introduction meant I had only one option; wifi-only, I needed a way to connect my iPad to the Internet on the go. Since I already have an iPhone, and have used it to tether my MacBook Pro in the past, I tried finding an easy way to tether to my iPad over WiFi. I didn't let Steve Jobs' comments about the iPad not being able to tether with the iPhone get me down.

A quick search around the web didn't find any quick tutorials, so I pieced enough information together to find that the best option would be to jailbreak my iPhone, download Cydia, and install MyFi, a nice app that turns your iPhone into a mobile hotspot.

Turn your iPhone into a mobile WiFi hotspot

1. Download and run blackra1n on your Mac or PC. (Click link to visit download site).
   [EDIT: If you are running iPhone OS 3.1.3, use the Spirit jailbreak instead. blackra1n only works on 3.1.2 and below.]
2. Use blackra1n (after installed on your iPhone) to install Cydia.
3. Use Cydia to search for and download MyWi (requires an account through Rock Your Phone, and costs $9.99 - but it's a $9.99 well spent).
4. You'll have to restart your iPhone a few times throughout this process; just follow the onscreen prompts.
5. Once MyWi is registered properly through Rock Your Phone, you can enable your iPhone as a hotspot, and give it a 40 or 105-bit encryption key (see below for screenshot).

Connect to your iPhone from your iPad

1. On the iPad, tap Settings, then WiFi (at the top of the list).
2. Choose the iPhone hotspot network you just set up, and enter your key (password) when prompted (if you set a password).
3. Wait a few moments, and your iPad will be connected to the Internet via your iPhone!

Here's the bandwidth stats for me; 4 bars of signal strength in north St. Louis County:

Of course, you will want to make sure you don't sit online all day and use 20 GB of bandwidth! Not only will this possibly earmark your iPhone data plan for a penalty, it will burn up your iPhone's battery quicker than a fire spreads through an oil spill, and the iPhone will probably get pretty hot as well. You might consider leaving the iPhone plugged into the wall while tethering, to keep its battery fresh.

Any problems? Questions? Leave a comment!

Related:

• My Review of Apple's iPad
• First Blog Entry from my iPad