Iphone is a universal device with which you can: call, write a message, surf the Internet, play games or read books, and listen to music. But this phone is not always enough to complete important tasks, for example, create spreadsheets in Excel or work in graphics editor, as well as complete tasks in a Word text editor. This requires a computer or laptop. You will also need internet to work. And you have no idea that you can save money on buying a pocket router and use your phone as a distributor wireless internet. How to distribute Wi-Fi from iphone, let's find out more.
Preparing and managing settings to share Wi-Fi with Iphone
Before proceeding to the most important thing and setting up the phone in modem mode, you need to find out what tariff plan your mobile operator. Great if you are in a high LTE coverage area, not bad if you have Mobile Internet 3g. In the first case, this is an excellent speed, the second option is also good, although the distribution speed will be slightly lower, but not critical. If you load heavy sites or watch online movies, then 3G Internet will not be enough.
Everything is clear with the tariff plan, as well as with the mobile operator. Next, you need to take care of traffic. It’s good if you have “unlimited” mobile Internet, but limited traffic is also good, you just have to keep track of the amount spent so that you don’t pay huge bills later.
In order to put your phone into modem mode, you need at least iOS 7/8 firmware for iphone5,6 and iOS 4.3.1 or higher for iphone4.
How to share wifi from iphone
Turn on the phone and start setting up the device in modem mode:
- open the "Settings" menu;
- find the item "Cellular". Attention: if you have not previously turned on the phone to access the Internet in modem mode, then you will not have the “Modem mode” item;
- how to set up modem mode: you need to activate cellular communication - just toggle the button to the right to activate it;
- wait a few seconds;
- you can exit the settings and log in again, after a while (2-4 minutes) a new item “Modem mode” will appear in the menu. You need to go into it and activate it;
- from now on, the phone will automatically generate a password. It usually consists of letters and numbers, which means a high degree protection;
- take a piece of paper and a pen to rewrite the password. If in doubt that the password is strong, create your own. It must consist of at least 8 characters, it is desirable that these are not only numbers, but also letters;
- do not rush to close this tab, because you immediately need to connect the device (tablet, laptop) to the Internet;
- to do this, you need to select your phone from the proposed Wi-Fi connection options;
- enter the password on another device and go online to check if everything works. By the way, the Internet phone distributes to any device, even to phones.
Features of the phone in modem mode
The method is excellent, but there are drawbacks. The phone in modem mode quickly discharges because it consumes a lot of energy. To prevent this from happening, you need to connect the charger.
When the Internet is no longer needed, you need to disable this function:
- Again you need to go to the "Settings" menu.
- Select tab " cellular". Deactivate (move the lever to the left).
If you plan to use the mobile Internet from your phone, then you need to disable the modem in the settings. Then the phone will not be discharged quickly.
- before turning on the modem function, you need to fully charge the battery or connect the charger;
- call the operator and consult to switch to a more favorable tariff plan. Right choice- full unlimited;
- in order to watch videos without problems, activate the LTE mode;
- come up with a strong password so that no one can hack you;
- If you don't need Wi-Fi anymore, don't forget to turn off the tethering feature.
Important: in operating system iOS-8 tethering mode does not appear in the Settings menu. To activate it, you need to find the “Cellular Data Network” item in the “Cellular Communications” tab, find the “Modem Mode” tab and where APN will be written - register the data of the mobile operator (call to hotline and find out the APN, username and password). Register this data in modem mode, and only after that you can enable this function and distribute Wi-Fi from iphone.
Wi-Fi is the most popular technology today wireless transmission data. It has been widely implemented in the form WiFi routers providing high throughput. A similar function, albeit with a slightly smaller throughput, was introduced into smartphones, but gained the greatest popularity in devices with a pre-installed Android OS. Owners of "apple" models have a harder time in this regard, since the distribution option in various versions of IOS is located in certain items of the settings menu, and to connect such "veterans" of the industry as the iPhone 4 or 4s, a specialized software on PC. Therefore, we will consider in the article how to enable Wi-Fi distribution on iPhone 4, 4s, 5, 5s, 6, 6s, 7.
How to share Wi-Fi on different versions of the iPhone
So, let's consider the above models of Apple devices, ranking them in descending order of novelty.
We distribute the Internet on Iphone 7
To distribute Wifi on iPhone 7, you need in the corresponding device:
- Go to the phone settings and click on the "Cellular" tab, where you need to activate data transfer;
- Open the "Modem mode" section and move the access point enable slider to the right;
- Next, enter the password and click "Finish";
Distribution of Wi-fi for IPhone 6 - instructions
OS developers iOS 9 In this firmware version, we have taken care not only to update the design and interface, but also to improve the functionality. It's nice that the option responsible for Wi-Fi has become more convenient. To turn on hotspot on iPhone 6, you need to:
- By analogy with the instructions for the iPhone 7, go to the settings section, where you need to open the "Cellular" tab and enable data transfer;
· Then you should go to the tab "Modem mode" and turn on the access point with a swipe to the right;
How to share Wi-Fi with Iphone 5s
IOS 7 also pleased in terms of the functionality of the "Access Point" section and the ease of transition to it. Wi-FI is turned on in this device exactly the same as on the above-described IPhone models. A couple of differences are as follows:
- After swiping the "Modem Mode" slider, you must wait a few minutes;
- The access point must be given a name;
In addition, in IOS 7, the modem mode consumes a lot of battery power, so for this mode in the iPhone 5S, I advise you to put it on charge.
iPhone 5
In IOS 5 and earlier versions of this firmware, the Wi-FI distribution function is poorly implemented. Nevertheless, the ability to activate it is also provided in the iPhone 5. This device is the oldest of the Apple line, in which iTunes is not required to create an access point. So, to distribute the Internet on the iPhone 5, you must:
Go to the settings of the device, where you need to swipe the sliders "Enable 3G" and "Cellular data" to the right;
After that, we come up with a password for the mobile network and its name - done;
iPhone 4
The process of distributing Wi-Fi on the “old man” from Apple is similar to that described above, but since the implementation of this function on the iPhone 4 is quite poor, sometimes the device may not be detected by the PC, in which case you will need to use a specialized application from Apple called “iTunes”. So, to distribute wifi on iPhone 4, you need:
- Install iTunes version 10.6 or higher on your PC;
- In the above way, enable the hotspot on the iPhone;
- Connect smartphone to PC via USB cable;
- Select your device for synchronization, for which you need to click on it and check the box opposite the item “Synchronize with this iPhone via Wi-Fi”;
On the device itself, you need:
- Go to the "General" section of the phone settings;
- Select the "Sync with iTunes over Wi-Fi" tab;
- In the list of devices, select your PC and click on the "Sync now" tab;
Thank you for reading, I hope the article helped you solve this problem.
In fact, the iPhone can be used not only as a smartphone, making calls from it or communicating with friends and family through different mobile applications. It can also work as a modem, distributing the Internet to other devices. Agree, it is very convenient. Especially if you have a tariff with unlimited traffic. It remains only to learn how to use an iPhone to create a network to which various gadgets can connect in order to access the Internet.
Note that the modem mode is available on iphone 4 (iOS 4.3.1 firmware and higher) and more recent models - 4s 5, 5s, 6, se, etc. So almost any "apple" smartphone is capable of distributing the Internet. All that is required from the user is to perform a few simple steps:
By the way, if you have a tablet from Apple, then using the method described above, you can activate the modem mode on it.
Now you know how to distribute Wi-Fi from an iPhone. It remains only to set a special password. By default, it is too complex, so we recommend changing it. But this is optional. This is done simply:
- In the "Modem mode" section, we find the "Wi-Fi password" item. We click on it.
- Next, in the window using the pop-up keyboard, enter the code. It must contain at least 8 characters. Numbers are also allowed.
- The only wish is not to make it too complicated. After all, you will most likely not be using your iPhone as an access point for long. For example, while the provider has problems with the Internet connection or the router is faulty.
After that, if you want to connect to the access point that the iPhone created, then on a computer, tablet or laptop you will need to enter this password. You can also access the Internet using the created network from another phone.
Do not forget that working as an access point intensively drains the iPhone's battery. In addition, the more devices connected to the network he created, the faster the smartphone's battery drains.
Missing "Modem mode": what to do?
As you can see, to distribute the Internet from an iPhone, no complicated steps are required. However, the user may still encounter some problems. The most frequent is the situation in which there is no modem mode in the "Settings" section. It usually disappears after an update. For example, for many owners of "apple" smartphones, the modem mode disappeared when switching to ios 10, which was released in 2016 along with iphone 7.
It also happens that this function is nominally left, but when you try to activate it, nothing happens. Only the loading indicator is spinning. All of these problems have a solution. The user needs to do the following:
- Open the "Settings" menu. From there, go to "Cellular" and click on "Cell. data network".
- Here you need to enter the profile settings of your operator. That is, fill in the fields "APN", "Username" and "Password".
If you have tele2 or smarts, then we write APN in the very top line - “internet.tele2.ru” or “internet.smarts.ru”, respectively. Leave the Username and Password fields empty. Megaphone subscribers need to specify the following: APN - "internet"; username is "gdata", password is "gdata". If there is a SIM card in the iPhone, then we write "internet.beeline.ru" in the APN field, and in the rest - "beeline". Similarly, it is necessary to do mts subscribers. Just enter "internet.mts.ru" and twice the name of the operator. Mandatory in English.
As a rule, by correctly specifying the settings, "tethering mode" will become available for use again. If this function is still not there, then restart your iPhone.
By the way, you can find out "cellular data" (APN, login and password) in the operator's support. After all, we have listed the settings above for far from all companies providing communication services.
Other ways to distribute the Internet through Iphone
So, to distribute the Internet from iphone via USB, you must:
- Install iTunes on your computer. Without this software, in some cases, the system does not see the iPhone. You don't need to launch the application itself.
- Go to "Settings" on your smartphone. Activate modem mode.
- Using a USB cable, “link” two devices - an iPhone and a PC. The smartphone system may ask you which connection to use. In the window that opens, click "USB Only".
- Select your iPhone or a specific LAN connection from the list of network services on your PC.
In almost the same way, you can distribute the Internet from an iPhone via Bluetooth. You just need to use not a cable, but a wireless technology. After connecting two devices via Bluetooth, all that remains is to enter the code that will be reflected on the iPhone display. Otherwise, you will not be able to activate the "Create a pair" option.
Then right-click on the bluetooth icon on the computer. Select "Show Devices". We find our "apple" gadget in the list and connect to it. After all these manipulations, the Internet on the PC should work.
But if web pages for some reason are not loaded, then:
- Go to "Network Connections". The best way is through the control panel.
- Click the auxiliary button on the "Bluetooth Network Connection" adapter. Through the window that appears, go to the "Properties" subsection.
- Next, in the small list located in the middle, select the item "IP version 4 (TCP / IPv4)", and then click on "Properties".
- Write statistical DNS. In the line "preferred" - 8888, "alternative" - 8844.
- Click OK.
After that, the iPhone should start distributing the Internet via Bluetooth to other connected devices.
First, let's define the following expressions:
- distribute Wi-Fi on the iPhone, in other words,
- use iPhone as a modem,
- iPhone as a Wi-Fi hotspot,
- iPhone as a Wi-Fi router
essentially mean the same thing.
More precisely, the iPhone distributes Wi-Fi, after which a laptop, computer or other gadget can access the Internet using this Wi-Fi.
In fairness, we must immediately say that Wi-Fi can be distributed not only from an iPhone, but also from a smartphone on Android, more details.
First of all, we check the quality of the Internet on the iPhone for the possibility of distributing Wi-Fi.
Why sometimes the iPhone does not distribute Wi-Fi
Before distributing Wi-Fi on an iPhone, you need to make sure that the cellular operator is able to provide Internet access. Screenshots are for iPhone 5.
On fig. 1 shows where you can see the quality of the Internet connection using an iPhone.
Rice. 1. The quality of the iPhone connection to the Internet
If in the top line on the smartphone screen next to the name of the mobile operator there is an inscription LTE (as in Fig. 1) or 3G, then an Internet connection is possible and you can use an iPhone to distribute Wi-Fi.
If there is no inscription or the letter E is, then you can NOT even try to connect, it still won’t work, the iPhone will not help.
How to distribute Wi-Fi on iPhone
At good quality Internet connection, you can create an access point. To do this, go to "Settings" (this icon is highlighted in red in Fig. 1).
Going to "Settings", click on the option "Modem mode" (Fig. 2). This is the mode that "turns" our iPhone into a device for distributing the Internet, into a modem, or, if you like,.
Rice. 2. Turning on the modem (router) mode, in which the iPhone will become a Wi-Fi access point for other gadgets, computers, laptops
When you turn on the modem mode for the first time, you need to set a password with which our other devices (computer, laptop, other) will connect to the iPhone as a Wi-Fi access point. To do this, click on the inscription "Wi-Fi Password" (Fig. 3):
Rice. 3. Entering or correcting a password with which other gadgets, computers, laptops can connect to the access point, i.e. to our iPhone
The next time you turn on the modem mode, the password no longer needs to be entered in the iPhone. This password will remain so until the user wishes to change it.
Reasons for changing your password may include:
- unauthorized connections of "foreign" gadgets, laptops, computers to WiFi networks distributed by iPhone;
- transferring the password to third parties, for example, at their request to urgently connect to the Internet using your iPhone.
That is, the password must be changed if it has become known to unauthorized persons.
The password is entered in the password entry field (number 1 in Fig. 4). It must consist of Latin letters (large and small), as well as numbers.
Rice. 4. Entering a password to connect to an access point created using an iPhone
It is advisable to make the password long, about 10-15-20 characters, so that it is not easy to pick it up for those who want to connect to your access point, to your iPhone “for free”. After entering the password, you need to click on "Finish" (number 2 in Fig. 4) to complete the action.
So, if the password is entered, you can turn on the modem mode, and thus turn the iPhone into a Wi-Fi access point. To do this, switch the "Modem mode" switch to the "On" position (green color of the switch in Fig. 5).
Rice. 5. Enabling modem mode via iPhone (i.e. Wi-Fi router mode)
In order for the distribution of Wi-Fi on the iPhone to take place, you also need to turn on the Wi-Fi switch. The iPhone automatically offers to do this when you turn on the modem mode (Fig. 6).
Rice. 6. Automatic offer in iPhone to turn on Wi-Fi and, at the same time, BlueTooth to turn on modem mode (or Wi-Fi router)
If, before turning on the modem mode, you first manually turn on Wi-Fi in the iPhone, then such an offer will not be received, because at the time the modem mode is turned on, Wi-Fi will already be enabled on the iPhone.
Connecting a laptop to an iPhone Wi-Fi modem
Now that the iPhone has become an access point to the Internet, when it distributes Wi-Fi, you can connect, say, a laptop to it. Consider how to do this using the example of a laptop with Windows 8.
To connect to Wi-Fi coming from an iPhone, you must first click on the Wi-Fi icon in the laptop taskbar (lower right corner of the screen), as shown in fig. 7.
Rice. 7. Starting a connection to a Wi-Fi network originating from an iPhone in modem mode, in Wi-Fi sharing mode
There will be offers to connect to different networks, among which you need to choose the one that is created by our iPhone. As a rule, the word iPhone will be in the name of this network. In our version, this is the iPhone MacAir. We click on it to connect (Fig. 8).
Rice. 8. Selecting a Wi-Fi network named IPhone MacAir on a laptop to connect to it
This checkbox will save us from the need to perform any actions the next time we connect the laptop to an iPhone operating in modem mode. The laptop will connect to this network completely automatically! Here is the price of this checkbox, this is the price of the subsequent doing nothing and full automatic connection.
Rice. 9. Setting up an automatic connection to an iPhone via a Wi-Fi network and then connecting the laptop to this network
The first time you connect a laptop to an iPhone that distributes Wi-Fi, you will have to enter a password to connect. Yes, yes, the same password that was entered in the iPhone when you first set it up in modem mode.
The password on the laptop is entered in the "Enter the network security key" field (number 1 in Fig. 10).
Rice. 10. Entering a password to securely connect to a Wi-Fi network distributed by an iPhone
The “eyes” icon (number 2 in Fig. 10) allows you to briefly see the password that is being entered. As long as the mouse cursor is on this “eye” and the left mouse button is pressed, the password is fully visible in the input window. As soon as you release the left mouse button or move from the "eye", the password turns into a set of dots, becomes invisible to outsiders.
After entering the password, you need to click on the "Next" button (number 3 in Fig. 10).
When you first connect to the access point, which we temporarily turned the iPhone into, you need to indicate on the laptop that we are connecting to a public network.
Why?
- Because we get the Internet from the iPhone, and he, in turn, receives it from the mobile operator. A great number of users are connected to the cellular operator, this is a public network, not a home network. Therefore, we indicate that we do not want to include general access to our gadgets, computers, laptops that will access the Internet using an iPhone. We don't want to join! (Fig. 11)
Rice. 11. Refusal to turn on sharing when connecting to the Internet through a hotspot using an iPhone
After all the above steps, our laptop will be connected to Wi-Fi via an iPhone, which will act as an access point.
The inscription “Enabled” will appear next to the name of the Wi-Fi network with the name of our iPhone (Fig. 12).
Rice. 12. Informing about the connection to Wi-Fi, the source of which is the iPhone
We will also be informed about this by the Wi-Fi network icon in the taskbar in the lower right corner of the monitor screen, if you move the mouse cursor to this icon (Fig. 13).
Rice. 13. Informing in the taskbar about connecting to the Internet, which is available via a Wi-Fi network coming from the iPhone
And an inscription will appear on the iPhone indicating that one external device is connected to it (circled in a red frame in Fig. 14):
Rice. 14. Informing on the active iPhone screen about the connection of one external device (in this case, a laptop) via a Wi-Fi network
If the iPhone is not active, then on the screen you can also see a small icon about connecting one or more external devices to the iPhone via Wi-Fi (Fig. 15).
Rice. 15. Informing on the NOT active iPhone screen about the connection of one external device (in this case, a laptop) via a Wi-Fi network
Disconnecting a laptop from an iPhone-based Wi-Fi modem
Sooner or later, you will have to disconnect from the Wi-Fi network that the iPhone provides us with.
To do this, click again on the Wi-Fi network icon in the taskbar in the lower right corner of the monitor screen (Fig. 13).
And again the name of our network will appear with the name iPhone with information about connecting to this network and even with information about the connection security system, if you move the mouse cursor over the name of the network (Fig. 16). By the name of this network, you need to click to start the procedure for disconnecting from the Wi-Fi that our iPhone distributes.
Rice. 16. Click on the name of the Wi-Fi network to disconnect the laptop from it
You will be prompted to disconnect from the Wi-Fi network, the "Disconnect" button will appear, which you should click on (Fig. 17)
Rice. 17. The button to disconnect from the Wi-Fi network that the iPhone distributes
As a result, the laptop will be disconnected from the Wi-Fi network, and the “Connected” inscription will disappear (empty field shown as number 1 in Fig. 18).
Rice. 18. Informing that the laptop is disconnected from Wi-Fi, since there is no “Connected” inscription. The field where the inscription was located is empty.
Turn off tethering on iPhone
When all subscribers (gadgets, computers, laptops, etc.) are disconnected from the iPhone operating in Wi-Fi distribution mode, then you should disconnect the iPhone from modem mode. You need to turn off the Internet access point on it.
To do this, it is enough to switch the “Modem mode” slider to the “Off” state when the switch turns not green, but plain white (number 1 in Fig. 19). After that, you need to return to the iPhone settings by clicking on the inscription "Settings" (number 2 in Fig. 19), since the access point has not yet been disabled.
Rice. 19. Turn off tethering on iPhone and go back to Settings to turn off Wi-Fi and BlueTooth
And now on the iPhone you need to turn it off (Fig. 20).
Rice. 20. Disabling BlueTooth on iPhone (click on "BlueTooth" in Settings, turn off the engine and return to settings)
Then you need to turn off Wi-Fi on the iPhone in the same way (Fig. 21).
Rice. 21. Turn off Wi-Fi on iPhone (click on "BlueTooth" in Settings, turn off the engine and return to settings)
Now that's it, no one else will connect to our iPhone until the next access point is turned on on it.
Controlling traffic consumption on iPhone when working in Wi-Fi distribution mode
Our iPhone distributes Wi-Fi for a reason. He spends his traffic, which he receives from the mobile operator. As a rule, cellular communication has restrictions on the amount of traffic. It can be 1GB per month, 3GB per month, 5GB or more. It all depends on the plan and additional services that need to be paid.
And if you pay, then you need to control it so that you don’t use up all the traffic intended for work for a whole month ahead of time.
It is especially important to control traffic if the iPhone distributes Wi-Fi and at the same time works in modem mode (in Wi-Fi router mode). After all, it is enough to watch a short movie on a laptop or computer connected to an iPhone, how the traffic can end.
You need to be careful and careful when using the Wi-Fi that the iPhone distributes. This traffic, again, has limited amount, not so big as to recklessly and in one session spend all the gigabytes provided by the cellular operator.
Traffic control in iPhone is carried out in Settings - the "Cellular connection" option (Fig. 22):
Rice. 22. Control traffic using the "Cellular" option in iPhone settings
On the Cellular page, you can see
- the total amount of traffic for the last month (the number next to the inscription "Current period" in Fig. 23)
- and for the same period, traffic is shown when the owner of the iPhone is roaming (the number next to the inscription "Current roaming period" in Fig. 23).
Rice. 23. Where to see the consumption of Internet traffic provided by a cellular operator in the home network and in roaming
Roaming should always be zero! Internet in roaming is expensive, sometimes very expensive, especially when you are abroad.
It is necessary to prohibit your iPhone from accessing the Internet while roaming. And in the home network, the value of the consumed gigabytes must be less than that provided for by the tariff, otherwise access to the Internet will be terminated automatically, or payments for access to the Internet will increase sharply.
But in fig. 23 we see all the traffic. And how to determine how much we spent gigabytes (megabytes), including iPhone in modem mode, in Wi-Fi router mode? To do this, scroll down the page “Cellular communication to the very bottom.
There we can see, firstly, the amount of traffic consumed by iPhone system services (number 1 in Fig. 24). This is almost the consumption of traffic in modem mode, but not quite yet. And also here at the bottom of the page on the last day of the calendar month, we can reset traffic consumption statistics so that the system starts counting traffic again and gives us values from the beginning of the next month to its very end (number 2 in Fig. 24).
Rice. 24. Traffic consumed by iPhone system services, as well as a button to reset traffic consumption statistics
By clicking on "System Services" (number 1 in Fig. 24), we can finally see the traffic that was consumed by the iPhone while it was working in modem mode this month (Fig. 25).
Rice. 25. Controlling the traffic consumed by the iPhone when working in Wi-Fi router mode, in modem mode
Here, in fact, are all the “secrets” of how to use an iPhone if you need it in Wi-Fi distribution mode.
If you have any questions, please ask them in the comments below. My answer will come to you by mail.
Smartphones running iOS can be used as universal Wi-Fi router. Consider the example of iOS 7/8.
To get started, go to the menu Settings –> cellular –> Cellular Data(move the slider to the right).
Next we will see Modem Mode. Move the slider to the field with the same name for inclusion this mode. iPhone will provide general access to the Internet. 
Enter the password with which users will connect to you. Done, now the devices around you will be able to connect. Consider increased energy consumption when the modem is on. Turns off it is in reverse order.
How to share internet from android via wi-fi
If you have an android smartphone, then setting up the distribution will also be quite simple. In a couple of movements, we turn it into a 3G router. Let's see how it's done.
We go to the settings, we are looking for network connections. Don't forget turn on WiFi and mobile data to have something to distribute.
Next, go to the field Modem and access point(depending on the version of Android, it may be hidden in the Other networks or More... fields). Farther activate Wi-Fi access point mode, configure it by setting a password, SSID on the network and security level (you can leave it by default).
Almost any device can connect to such a router, since the old wireless communication standard is used - 802.11g, and the new 802.11n will support the old one.
Android as bluetooth modem
There is also an option that allows you to turn on the smartphone, as bluetooth modem. All other actions are similar to those done in the previous paragraph. The only thing, check whether visibility mode is enabled, whether your device is available to others. 
android as usb modem
If you wish to use the mobile Internet on your computer through USB interface, then first connect to any USB port computer with a cord that usually comes with the kit.
In your smartphone settings activate the function USB modem, in the same way as it was described with an access point, usually these options are nearby, but it all depends on your Android version and phone model. For example, for LG this would be the path: Settings -> Wireless connection -> Modem Mode-> USB modem. Everything is ready - your smartphone will become a USB modem. Do not forget about the traffic used, unless of course you have unlimited.
