Did you know - you can set your iPad to connect to a nearby iPhone Wi-Fi hotspot automatically if you take your tablet with you somewhere?
Keep Your iPad Online at All Time and Set it to Automatically Join Nearby iPhone Wi-Fi Hotspot Automatically
An iPad is mostly useful as long as it's connected to a reliable, working Wi-Fi network. But that 'problem' can be further eradicated by adding extra money at the point of purchase and going for a cellular model iPad. This way, you can stay online at all times as long as there's a cellular signal around you.
What if you don't have a cellular iPad and opted for a Wi-Fi-only model? What happens when you step out of the house? Obviously, the iPad simply disconnects and will only inform you to connect to another network if there's one nearby or connect to a previously connected and known one. Pretty straightforward so far, right?
If you happen to have an iPhone with you with 4G or 5G enabled, you can actually keep your iPad online at all times. This happens automatically, too. The moment you step out of your home or office, instead of finding a known Wi-Fi network and connecting to that, your iPad will use your iPhone's personal hotspot feature and stay online. This happens seamlessly and automatically.
Let me show you how you can enable it.
Tutorial
First of all, you have to make sure that the Personal Hotspot feature on your iPhone is working. Go to Settings and see if you can see the Personal Hotspot option underneath the Wi-Fi and cellular options. If it's not there, you have to enable it by entering the right APN settings for your 4G / 5G network. You might even have to call your carrier for this in order to enable this feature. If you already know your APN settings for enabling a personal hotspot, simply go to Settings > Cellular > tap on your carrier name > Cellular Data Network, and here enter your APN settings.
Step 1. Unlock your iPad.
Step 2. Launch the Settings app.
Step 3. Tap on Wi-Fi.
Step 4. Tap on Auto-Join Hotspot at the bottom.
Step 5. Tap on Automatic.
While this feature is great and all, do keep in mind that it will use up your data a lot faster on your iPhone. In other words, convenience comes with a slight downside. We are sure you understand what you are getting yourself into.
About the author: Uzair has been writing about tech for a little under 10 years. Started off in the Symbian days, migrated to Android, eventually settling on iOS and Mac to make a living. Loves photography, drones, talking about the latest tech, and firmly believes that iPad is the future of computing. Served as Editor-in-Chief with Redmond Pie for five years, author at The Readers Eye and many other freelance gigs. Wccftech is now his current home.
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