Computing desk
< December 4	<< Nov \| December \| Jan >>	December 6 >

Welcome to the Wikipedia Computing Reference Desk Archives
The page you are currently viewing is a transcluded archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current reference desk pages.

December 5

Using a tablet over 3G/4G

I have a 2016 Samsung Tab A 10” tablet (Android 8.1 Oreo) with a declining battery which I use over wifi for browsing, email and a few apps. I like the large screen. I want to make occasional use over 3G/4G. Using the UK consumer magazine Which? I don’t find any reviewed tablets with 3G/4G. Their reviewed smartphones seem to have a largest screen of about 6.5”. I’m thinking of getting a normal screen-size smartphone so I can tether my tablet (and any future replacement) to it. I don’t presently have a smartphone, only a 20-year-old basic cellphone. I have tested tethering my tablet to a 2015 Lenovo Windows 10 21H1 laptop and it works fine with either wifi or bluetooth. Would this work for any new Android smartphone? Do I need some particular spec of smartphone? Can I assume all smartphones have wifi and bluetoooth? Any alternative suggestions? Many thanks. Thincat (talk) 10:06, 5 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

And here was me thinking that the mobile phone I got in 2006 and still use (I still have messages dating back to then in my inbox) was the oldest one still in existence! 86.163.187.44 (talk) 14:59, 5 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, you can tether the tablet to the phone, that's a perfectly routine thing to do and you can assume it will work, whatever phone you get. Having said that, it's good that you're aware of the two forms of tethering (via wi-fi or via bluetooth). One may turn out to work better than the other for your particular set-up. Card Zero (talk) 15:26, 5 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Be aware that many cellular service providers limit the amount of high speed data you can use through your phone's hotspot. This hotspot limit is separate from any data limit in normal, non-hotspot mode. For example, Verizon's website[1] currently lists two "unlimited" 5G plans for $45 per month, but both only allow 15 GB of high speed hotspot data per month, after which the hotspot speed drops to 600 Kbps (more than 15,000 times slower than 5G). CodeTalker (talk) 19:49, 5 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you for your helpful replies. I hadn't realised that tethering was so standard. My brother uses it between his iPad and iPhone but he thought it was Apple-specific. As for limiting tethered usage, my usage will be very low anyway but I'll check in case any network limits excessively. Thincat (talk) 09:05, 6 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Net-neutrality/privacy is a bigger thing in Europe than in the USA, so separate billing on hotspot vs regular use might be illegal. However, I don't know if these rules were instated pre-brexit, or removed after. In the netherlands, some "unlimited bundle" had slow speed beyond 8 GB (the fair use policy" Rmvandijk (talk) 15:22, 6 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

"Tethering" is a simple thing to achieve since it's just using one computer as a router for another (while said computer still can do other computery things). All the Internet is is a bunch of computers passing messages back and forth to each other. --47.155.96.47 (talk) 08:00, 10 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

I'm curious, if telephon corp was somehow contractually required to never limit 5G hotspot then how much would someone be willing to pay to keep a small server or something in an apartment with strong 5G and use as much of the phones data as it wants? (likely millions of gigabytes a year) And how many extra kilowatt-hours would you use? Presumably your data plan would cause negative profit to the phone company if they let you do this (maybe very negative), though if your profit would also be negative I don't know. If you were the only one doing this what would be the most profitable number of phones and servers? 0 and 0? 2 and 2? 10 and 10? Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 17:19, 6 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

This doesn't in any way answer your question but in case it is of interest I have sent off for a (free) GiffGaff SIM intending to take out a 1GB per month deal for £6 which can be cancelled after 1 month (sic) so if I don't like it I can immediately change. They specifically say tethering is allowed[2] but they place "fair use" stipulations.[3] Thincat (talk) 11:28, 7 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

I do want to note, I don't know what you're considering, but the "flagship" Samsung Galaxy Tab and Apple iPad tablets come in versions with 4G/5G as well as WiFi-only. If you want the cell connectivity you do have to pay a carrier for it. (3G networks are being gradually decommissioned.) --47.155.96.47 (talk) 08:00, 10 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]