How To Use iOS 8’s Instant Hotspot

User guides Michael Grothaus 16:19, 24 Oct 2014

A hotspot isn't just something you get after a long walk, it's also a new feature inside iOS 8 – and it's rather AWESOME

Thanks to the recently released iOS 8.1 all of Apple’s new mobile operating system’s features are now enabled. Besides some of the killer new features like third-party keyboard support, widgets and Health, iOS 8 and has a collection of four features called Continuity that enable your iOS devices to work together with your Mac like never before. Yesterday we took a look at the first two Continuity features –– SMS Relay and Continuity Calling. Today we take a look at the third: Instant Hotspot.

What is Instant Hotspot?

iPhones have long been able to tether to your Mac and PC (or other devices) so they could share their cellular data connection when, for example, your laptop was outside the range of a Wi-Fi network. This tethering allowed your iPhone to become a personal hotspot only you or others with your personal hotspot password could access. The iPhone’s personal hotspot capabilities allows you to connect over Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or USB. 

But previously to iOS 8.1 in order to use your iPhone as a personal Hotspot you needed to take it out of your pocket, go into Settings>Personal Hotspot, and then switch it to “ON”. On your Mac or PC you then had to go into your wireless or Bluetooth settings and connect to the hotspot your iPhone just created--or directly plug your personal hotspot iPhone into your computer. 

You can see where this took a few minutes to set up.

But now thanks to the Instant Hotspot feature in iOS 8.1 you don’t even need to take your iPhone out of your pocket to use it as a personal hotspot. Most Macs running OS X 10.10 Yosemite can instantly enable the personal housetop feature on your iPhone and connect to its cellular network without you touching your iPhone at all. 

How to use Instant Hotspot 

Before you can use Instant Hotspot you need to make sure your iPhone is running iOS 8.1 and your Mac is running OS X 10.10 Yosemite. Instant Hotspot does not work with Windows PCs. Your Mac and iPhone will also need to be signed into the same iCloud/Apple ID account and Bluetooth and Wi-Fi must be enabled on both your Mac and iPhone. Once you’ve set this all up, then: 

  1. On your Mac go to the Wi-Fi menu in the menu bar.
  2. From the Wi-Fi drop down menu you’ll see a sub-heading called PERSONAL HOTSPOT. Your iPhone will appear there. You’ll also see its signal strength and connectivity type (3G or 4G) along with its battery status. To join your iPhone’s personal hotspot simply click its name in the drop down menu.
  3. In the menu bar you’ll see the Wi-Fi icon replaced with two linked chains. This means your Mac is now sharing your iPhone’s personal hotspot. 

As you can see, thanks to Instant Hotspot, Apple has allowed you to tether your iPhone to your Mac without the need to touch your iPhone. You don’t even need to have tethering enabled on your iPhone (by going into Settings>Personal Hotspot, and then switch it to “ON”) in order for Instant Hotspot to work. Your Mac handles everything. Pretty cool, huh?

How to check if your Mac and iOS devices support Instant Hotspot 

As cool as Instant Hotspot is, some people won’t be able to use it. As I said earlier, Instant Hotspot ONLY works with Macs. It does not support Windows PCs--and likely never will. Why is this? Mainly because since Apple totally controls both the hardware and software of the Mac and iPhone, it’s much easier for them to create a cool feature like this on the Mac then on the PC. Then of course there is the commercial reason: Apple wants iPhone owners to use Macs, so why make nifty feature like this available for PCs? 

But just because you have a Mac doesn’t mean you can use Instant Hotspot. Here’s what your Mac needs to use it: 

  • You Mac MUST be running OS X 10.10 Yosemite or higher. In a pretty cool move, Apple allows everyone to download OS X 10.10 Yosemite from the Mac App Store for free. 
  • Only newer Macs support Instant Hotspot. These include the MacBook Air (2012 or newer), MacBook Pro (2012 or newer), iMac (2012 or newer), Mac mini (2012 or newer), or the Mac Pro (Late 2013). 
  • Your iPhone or iPad must be running iOS 8.1 or later.
  • Your iPhone or iPad must also have a Lightning connector. Instant Hotspot is not supported on iPhones and iPads with Dock connectors (keep in mind Instant Hotspot does not require that your iPhone or iPad is plugged in).

A few things to keep in mind when using Instant Hotspot and tethering: 

  • Instant Hotspot will drain your iPhone’s battery much quicker. That’s why Apple built a reading for the iPhone’s battery level into OS X’s Wi-Fi menu bar.
  • Instant Hotspot requires that your carrier allows you to tether your phone. Check with your individual carrier about this.
  • Instant Hotspot can potentially use a lot of your cellular data allowance. Our Macs--unlike our iPhones--frequently have a lot of Internet data-intensive tasks going on in the background, such as automatically uploading or downloading new files to Dropbox or watching streaming video or downloading large apps from the Mac App Store. Any data your Mac uses when tethered to your iPhone via Instant Hotspot will come out of your iPhone’s data plan you have with your carrier. Make sure you are keeping your data usage in check when you are using Instant Hotspot so you don't get a massive bill at the end of the month for using excessive amounts of data.

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