Tethering Iphone 4 to MBP

Anyone try it yet, how was the speed on 3g?

 

Speed really depends on your provider and is going to vary from market to market. Otherwise, it works fine.

 

Works fine for me too. The main issue is how strong the signal is where you are using it.

 

AT&T's tethering price is a total and utter rip off... so I haven't tried it.

 

I had my iPhone 3G tethered before I swapped to a Droid X. The 3G speed was plenty fast, and I had no problems surfing normally, but it was heavily dependent on signal strength. Videos like youtube etc worked fine, and general web browsing was quick. I wouldn't recommend playing games or anything over it, but as a mobile connection for general web browsing, it is more than sufficient.

 

that's why you jailbreak and install MyWi ($20, Rockapp). skips the AT&T tethering money-grab and allows you to use your phone to boadcast a signal that your wireless devices can connect to and suf.

 

There was/is a carrier file mod that will do the same thing for free, using the built in USB or Bluetooth connections. Unless that's been fixed since last I was on an iPhone.

 

Ori0n...that hole was plugged unfortunately after iOS 3.1 came out. Tethering an iPhone to a MB is painless enough either legitimately or via jailbreak.

Speed will really depend on your location and coverage. I live in North NJ and I get 2-4Mbps download regularly in my area and 1-1.6Mbps upload.

I just got back last week from San Francisco visiting my sister and I completely understand why the techies in the Bay area gripe about AT&T service. I never saw more than 1.5Mbps down and you go 1 mile down the road and service can slow to a crawl....then back to normal the next mile. I stayed in Union Square in San Fran, service there was practically non-existant, but at Fisherman's Wharf it was pretty good. Go figure for being like 1/2 mile away

 

the only options now are PDAnet (not free, wired tethering only) and MyWi (not free, wired tethering or wifi router feature allowing you to broadcast a signal with the phone).

I strongly recommend MyWi, as it allows you to connect multiple devices as well as wifi-only devices like the iPad. all for the one-time $20 charge.

 

not everyone is willing to hack their phones.

 

Worked great here in Hong-Kong for me on my new Iphone 4. No jailbreaking was necessary and speeds seemed quite fast. Did not measure speeds but the speeds were up there.

 

people who complain about the price have an option. simple as that. don't want to pay $10/month? don't want to give up your unlimited data plan? well that is precisely a reason to jailbreak. go to jailbreakme.com, slide to jailbreak (I know...difficult hack, right?)...and install Rock and MyWi. Done inside of 5 minutes.

the end. there really is no excuse anymore...and some of these jailbreak apps provide features that you just can't live without. MyWi is one of them.

 

Unfortunately your ignorance has prevented you from understanding that SOME PEOPLE DON'T WANT TO HACK THEIR PHONES, therefore this is NOT an option that they can consider.

 

Why people would want to have a non-jailbroken iPhone is beyond me...

That would be comparable to paying somebody to break your knee caps every week or two, just so you are forced to walk around on crutches at all times.

The only "hassle" is... Not clicking the update button when a new iOS release comes out.

With how easy it is to revert it to "stock", there is no way for Apple to void your warranty. Plus recently, the DMCA has been proved in court to not include jailbreaking devices, so it is 100% legal.

 

The point which you and others are completely ignoring however, is that there are people who will never have any desire to jailbreak their device, even if it turned it into a magic cash machine.

 

1. But if something goes wrong, and the phone bricks, then Apple clearly says that your warranty is void. While generally a straightforward process to jbreak these days, pretty expensive replacement if something unexpected happens.

2. The case you refer to was not a legal case in a court of law, but a decision by the Library of Congress that only the *act* of Jailbreaking itself is considered to not violate the DMCA and that carriers may not restrict their devices from end users committing this act; please pay attention. The decision did not address any other aspect regarding the use of a JB'd phone after the fact in accessing copyrighted/proprietary material, which could still be theoretically subject to civil penalties under DMCA and/or sanction by the manufacturer (i.e. Apple).

From the press release summarized at Endgadget (because I'm too lazy to quote the original one here):
that this in no way requires Apple to jailbreak your phone for you, or lay down its arms in this ongoing fight. Basically, they just can't sue you for the specific act of breaking their protections, but there's nothing stopping them from putting those protections in there in the first place, or for suing you for an infringement not covered in this exception -- like distributing Apple code in a non-Apple-approved way, or installing illegal or pirated software. Not that any of you jailbreakers would ever do that. What's more, the DMCA still broadly forbids distributing to the public any "technology, product, service, device, component, or part thereof" that's primarily designed to break access controls,

So the act of jailbreaking is not illegal, but anything you might do with the JB'd device that is enabled by this act after the fact still can be.

Plus, there are the security holes that are uncovered... yet another reason for many users to prefer a secure system.

For all other intents and purposes, this discussion has devolved too far. One can choose or not to jailbreak their phone, but is it inappropriate to disparage those who would choose not to.

 

Is jailbreaking that big of a deal? My phone seems fine at the moment. I can tether my iphone to my macbook no problems.

hmmm might need to look into this.

Ok might want to jailbreak if you want to tether and your provider charges you to do so, but otherwise I don't think its a big deal.

 

If it bricks, you can unbrick it. Open up iTunes, and try again. (Quite literally, that's how easy it is).

I've done some experimental firmware flashing, and my iPhone was by far the most expensive device I flashed the same day I bought it. I also felt 100% safe about doing it too. (It was also one of the easiest. I've removed TSOPs, and resoldered them to boards all in the name of having a different firmware)

Most of what jailbreaking provides is not access to pirated software. Cydia (The jailbroken app store) offers paid applications too, which provide features that Apple will not offer in theirs. Some apps are kept out of the App store because it might compete with features Apple will put into a future app, better than a current app, angers AT&T, or a host of other various reasons.

Apple trying to stop people (and their future software that is said to disable the iPhone entirely if it is found to be unlocked on another carrier) is comparable to a car company installing a remote kill switch that activates if they found out you installed a custom aftermarket exhaust or new wheels on your car that you've paid for. By the way, Unlocking was proved to be legal many years ago.

Jailbreaking allows me to patch up holes that Apple left behind. Most normal exploits that people can run against iPhones won't really do much against mine.

 

This is exactly why you can't comprehend why someone wouldn't want to jailbreak their phone, you're of a completely different mind-set. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, but it really prevents you from seeing why some people will just never ever want to jailbreak their phone.

 

how unfair. you'd suppose the reason he's into jailbreaking is because he likes to do hardcore stuff on his electronics? seriously? hello, ad hominem fallacy. nice to meet you.

most of the people I know who have jailbroken are quite the opposite. jailbreakme.com has made it so simple, an 8-year old can do it. before then, Spirit and blackra1n were one-click solutions. so spare us the supposition that you'd need to carry a nerd gold card to do any of this stuff.

next, the features you can add to the phone create so much value-add, you'd literally go through withdraw if forced to go without for more than a 3 days. true multitasking? quick SMS replies from your lock screen? an actual use for your lockscreen? customizations that make the device look, feel and act significantly better? yes yes yes please. not wanting to be jailbroken is more fear of you being wrong (you're not), of something going wrong (it won't) or fear of some reprisal from on high (there won't be) than anything else.

worried about your warranty support? you can always just restore he OS in itunes to the original setup. worried about bricking your phone? i won't happen. worried about extra battery drain? none has been perceived, though like anything, some apps may drain more battery. the good thing is there are large communities and spreadsheets available to add clarity to any such questions. I recommend everyone try it with a few specific free apps and if you're not satisfied, just restore the phone and that'll be that.

so what, exactly is there to worry about? Jobs gonna haunt your dreams? jailbreaking is simply about options, tweaks that you don't have to be a computer guru to use, and increased functionality that makes the i4 go from a great device "to simply the best phone on earth."

people that don't understand that and adamantly refuse to engage it are like children to my eyes, afraid to leave from behind their mother's legs to touch the new puppy. venture out, I say, and find out what you're missing out on (which is a lot).

MyWi + 3GUnrestrictor + LocationSpoof + SBSettings + Winterboard + Infinite Folders + LockInfo/Intelliscreen + backgrounder + multifl0w + BiteSMS = flawless victory.

 

You have the nerve to say "how unfair" to my comment, and then you spout this BS off? Seriously, get over yourself.

You just don't get it. As I said before, even if jailbreaking your phone turned it into a magic cash machine which never stopped spitting out money, there would still be people who would not jailbreak their phone. Even if you can't understand it, or accept it, you have to acknowledge it as fact.

 

I think what Khris was saying isn't that it takes a geek to jailbreak, just that someone who is into modding hardware and software (etc...) is more likely to want to jailbreak and see no reason to do otherwise.

Why would I jailbreak... extra work all around. Everything I want to do on my phone it does.. the only thing I'd like occasionally is tethering, but it would be so rarely used its not worth worrying about.

I would never buy an iPhone (or any phone) if I had to jailbreak it to get what I wanted out of it. I don't want a pocket project, I just want a tool. If I couldn't do what I wanted, I'd get a phone that could. The only time I'd ever look at a jailbreak is if no product existed at a reasonable price to do what I wanted... so I had little choice.

 

I did the jailbreak on my iPhone 4 because I wanted to try MyWi (works beautifully by the way), and I got the mame arcade emulator running on it with all my old favorite arcade games. Pretty damn cool!

BUT Cydia and Rock seem to phone home by themselves. Why? Because I haven't opened them in a week or two and the number shown for updates available keep going up by themselves. Who knows what else those apps have installed in the phone and if it's transmitting "stuff" behind my back.

As much as I love having the arcade games and MyWi, when 4.1 comes out I'm going to ditch the jailbreak.

 

Too bad Apple does not have internal WWAN, I need a WWAN card and all the cards they sell in Canada are locked onto carriers and I need to use WWAN in Europe not in Canada. I do not have an Iphone 4 I was thinking about it but, now I regress.

Anyone know where I can get an unlocked WWAN stick?

 

4.1 jailbreak will probably be out within a week after the release of 4.1.

Just wait so that you can be sure you can jailbreak again.

also, did you install SBSettings? It's a utility you just can't go without after you get used to it. And be sure to check out Facebreak or My3G. if you have someone you facetime with regularly, doing FaceTime over 3G is awesome.

as for phoning home, it's just checking for updates. Cydia and Rock have been around for 3 years. If they were up to no good, they would not still be in existence (in fact, they would have been stomped out in the embryonic stage). The integrity of Cydia and Rock are the LAST things you should be worried about.

Lastly,

 

Just catching up here once I realized the conversation turned to jail breaking. Here's my take on it, like it or lump it.

The only reason I would consider a jailbreak is for tethering which I would only really use on vacations. I thought about it when I was going away for 2 weeks over the summer but decided it wasn't worth the hassle (who spends a lot of time online while on vacation). I found enough wifi spots to check my email and catch up on the iPad without the tether.

I bought the iPhone for ease of use and functionality. Tossing in a jailbreak only adds work to the mix. New update, nope gotta watch for a jailbreak update to be available first. If I have a problem with the phone (haven't yet) I'll need to restore it and see if its still happening before contacting Apple. Then there's the constant worry that an app is secretly doing something in the background. To be fair rouge apps are possible without a jailbreak but you are still upping the odds by unlocking it and using apps that don't go through an approval process.

I have no problem with people who jailbreak their phone but it just isn't my cup of tea. I choose not to for the same reason I switched to Apple from a PC instead of using Linux (Ubuntu is great). I want to spend my time working with my device not on it.

 

^^^

Same here. Only, being in Canada we get to tether for free without the need to jailbreak. My carrier (Rogers) used to charge extra if you want to tether but they changed it a while ago so that all iPhone data plans now include tethering for free.

 

Rogers has never charged extra to tether (for the iPhone anyway), they threatened, but never followed through.

 

^^^

You're correct. My old data plan (generic smartphone data plan) used to have an option to tether for $5 more but they removed it (made it free) some time late last year. And now that you've mentioned it, I do recall them saying that the free iphone tethering would end "soon" but they never ended it and now it's advertised as included.