How to Connect to the Internet With a MacBook Pro Tethered to the iPhone 3G

Connect your Macbook to the Internet using an iPhone 3G.

One of the most productive features of your Macbook Pro is the ability to connect to the Internet using a Wi-Fi network. However, if the laptop is not in range of a Wi-Fi network's wireless signal, you cannot connect to the Internet wirelessly. You can overcome this problem if you have an iPhone 3G cell phone. The iPhone 3G has a built-in Personal Hotspot utility that supports Internet tethering. Internet tethering allows your iPhone 3G to share its cellular data connection with other devices to access the Internet. To connect your Macbook Pro to your iPhone's data connection, you must first enable the Personal Hotspot utility.

Instructions

1. Contact your wireless cellular provider to activate the Personal Hotspot feature on your iPhone 3G. The feature must be activated on your service plan before you can access it on your iPhone 3G.

2. Tap "Settings" from the Home screen on your iPhone 3G.

3. Tap "General," and then tap "Network."

4. Tap "Personal Hotspot," and then tap the "On/Off" switch next to "Personal Hotspot" to "On." Record the password displayed in the "Wi-Fi Password" box to use later.

5. Connect your iPhone to the computer with the iPhone's USB cable.

6. Click the "Apple" icon in the upper-left corner of your Macbook Pro's desktop, and then select "System Preferences" from the drop-down list.

7. Click the "Network" icon in the "Internet & Network" section.

8. Click the drop-down box next to "Network Name," and then select the name of your iPhone 3G from the list of available networks.

9. Enter the iPhone's Personal Hotspot password in the "Password" box when prompted, and then click "OK." The password is the Wi-Fi password you recorded earlier.

10. Launch a Web browser on your Macbook Pro to surf the Internet.

References

• Apple; iPhone: System Requirements for Personal Hotspot; March 2011
• Apple; iOS: Understanding Personal Hotspot; April 2011