Tether, an HTML5 app, promises to turn your iPhone into a hotspot without those pricey extra service charges from your wireless carrier. But CIO.com blogger James A. Martin had no luck at all getting Tether to work. I’m in an abusive relationship. I love, love, love the ability to turn my smartphone into a hotspot for my laptop and Wi-Fi-only iPad. When I’m traveling or attending a trade show where Wi-Fi is often spotty, my iPhone’s personal hotspot feature constantly comes in handy. But AT&T, my wireless carrier, is abusing me. The company insists on making the personal hotspot/tethering feature a premium service that adds $20 to my $30 3GB monthly data plan. I did the math: That’s an extra $240 per year. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe I don’t think AT&T customers should have to pay extra for the personal hotspot/tether feature. If you blow past your monthly data-plan allotment because you’ve been tethering a lot, then you should have to pay more. And yet, I keep coming back for more abuse. So I read with great interest about Tether, a new HTML5 ‘application’ that promises to turn your iPhone into a hotspot without a “jailbreak” or wireless carrier’s add-on fees. The company behind Tether previously released a similar app, iTether, in Apple’s App Store in 2011. Not surprisingly, Apple yanked the app because it “burdens the carrier network,” according to a Tether blog post. As a workaround, Tether, the HTML5 mobile-optimized ‘app’ that exists completely independently of Apple’s App Store and iTunes, was announced on March 9. Tether is meant to share your iPhone’s Internet connection by creating an ad-hoc network between it and your other mobile devices. As part of the setup process, you run a free Tether app on your computer and launch the HTML5 Tether login/connection page on your phone. The Tether service costs $30 a year. Despite dozens of attempts to transform my iPhone into a hotspot for my two Macs, I was unable to get the Tether service to work with either computer. I closely followed the setup process outlined in a video on the Tether site. But the result was almost always the same: the Tether app couldn’t establish a connection to my computer. I emailed Tether tech support. Five days later, tech support responded, suggesting I install the latest version of the Mac OS Tether software, version 2.0.3.0. This version had not been available for download when I initially set up Tether on my iPhone and Mac. After installing the update, I made a connection at last…or so I thought. But I still couldn’t access any web pages. Completely frustrated, I gave up and emailed tech support for a refund. To the company’s credit, I received an email within 24 hours, notifying me of the refund. Maybe you’ll have better luck with Tether. I certainly hope so. If you do, please share your experience in the comments section. Meanwhile, I’ll continue to investigate other workarounds (excluding a jailbreak) for my abusive relationship with AT&T’s personal hotspot feature. Related content feature Gen AI success starts with an effective pilot strategy To harness the promise of generative AI, IT leaders must develop processes for identifying use cases, educate employees, and get the tech (safely) into their hands. By Bob Violino Sep 27, 2023 10 mins Generative AI Innovation Emerging Technology feature A fluency in business and tech yields success at NATO Manfred Boudreaux-Dehmer speaks with Lee Rennick, host of CIO Leadership Live, Canada, about innovation in technology, leadership across a vast cultural landscape, and what it means to hold the inaugural CIO role at NATO. By CIO staff Sep 27, 2023 6 mins CIO IT Skills Innovation feature The demand for new skills: How can CIOs optimize their team? By Andrea Benito Sep 27, 2023 3 mins opinion The CIO event of the year: What to expect at CIO100 ASEAN Awards By Shirin Robert Sep 26, 2023 3 mins IDG Events IT Leadership Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe