If you have a Wi-Fi -only iPad , connecting to the Internet when you're away from Wi-Fi requires using a hotspot. Fortunately, you can get connected to your iPad through your iPhone using a feature called Personal Hotspot. This allows your iPad to take advantage of your iPhone's cellular connection to connect to the Internet. Instant Hotspot improves the experience by letting you connect your iPhone and iPad with a single tap, as long as both devices are signed in to the same iCloud account.
Here's how you can get Instant Hotspot up and running on your iPad.
Instant Hotspot
Instant Hotspot is an extension of the iPhone's Personal Hotspot feature and therefore requires a cellular data plan for your iPhone that allows tethering. While most of the major US carriers allow tethering as a basic feature of their plans, it's worth checking to see if it's part of yours.
The biggest difference between the standard functionality of Personal Hotspot on your iPhone and Instant Hotspot is iCloud. Instant Hotspot allows devices signed into the same iCloud account as your iPhone to use the phone's hotspot feature without entering a password. This means you'll need to be signed into the same iCloud account on both the iPhone and iPad you want to connect.
You will also need to make sure that both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on both your iPhone and iPad are turned on.
How to set up Personal Hotspot on your iPhone
- Open Settings on your iPhone.
- Select Personal Hotspot.
- Tap the switch next to Personal Hotspot so that it is 'on'.
How to connect your iPad to your iPhone's Instant Hotspot
- Open Settings on your iPad.
- Tap Wi-Fi.
- Tap your iPhone's name when it appears under the Personal Hotspots label. Your iPad will connect to your iPhone to use its connection.
