Personal-hotspot We’ve looked at how O2 tethering can help you get online on your laptop or tablet just about anywhere, and how to set it up on any Android smartphone. Today, it’s the turn of Apple’s iPhone. If you’ve got an iPhone 4 or an iPhone 3GS running the latest version of iOS, you can get online with other devices quickly and easily – here’s our step by step instructions. But remember to call O2 to avoid disappointment, making sure you know what your tariff can offer you. 



Wi-Fi hotspot
Setting up a Wi-Fi hotspot to share your 3G connection with other devices on your iPhone couldn’t be easier. Just turn Wi-Fi on in Settings, then under General>Network tap the Set Up Personal Hotspot option directly below it in the menu. Press the toggle to turn it on, then in the Wi-Fi Password dialogue box, enter a memorable password: just type this in on your tablet or laptop and you can join it as you would any other Wi-Fi network. O2 tethering data counts as part of your regular data allowance, so surf away at no extra charge.

USB cable
You can also connect your iPhone’s Personal Hotspot to your Mac OS X or Windows XP/Vista/7 laptop via USB, if you’d rather not use Wi-Fi. All you need is your regular charging cable: in the same menu, just choose to connect via USB instead. Expect fast speeds, but the limitation here is that you can only connect one (Windows or Mac) device at a time, as opposed to five.

Over Bluetooth
Some laptops including MacBooks and Windows machines, as well as tablets can also be tethered to your iPhone’s 3G connection over Bluetooth. You can set this up in just the same way from the same menu, but make sure Bluetooth is turned on both your iPhone and your laptop, and that both devices are discoverable. Then follow the on-screen instructions to pair them. Note that this can be a lot slower than Wi-Fi hotspot connection, so is best used as a last resort.

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