iOS: System requirements for Personal Hotspot

Summary

Learn the system requirements for Personal Hotspot on your iPhone, iPad (3rd generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, and iPad mini Wi-Fi + Cellular.

Products Affected

iPad (Wi-Fi + Cellular models), iPad mini Wi-Fi + Cellular (MM), iPhone

To use this feature, your wireless carrier must offer Personal Hotspot and your devices must meet certain system requirements.

System requirements

The table below lists the iPhone and iPad (Wi-Fi + Cellular models) capable of Personal Hotspot and which connections they can use to share cellular data with another device:

iPhone 3G*  
iPhone 3GS  
iPhone 4 or later
iPad (3rd generation or later) Wi-Fi + Cellular
iPad mini Wi-Fi + Cellular
* On iPhone 3G, Personal Hotspot is referred to as Internet tethering.

To connect to a Personal Hotspot, your device requires:

  • Wi-Fi: Support for 802.11g/n using WPA2 encryption.
  • USB: Mac or PC with iTunes 9.2 or later installed.
  • Bluetooth: Mac OS X v10.4.11 or Windows.

Carrier requirements

Verify that your carrier supports Personal Hotspot for your device and that you have Personal Hotspot enabled on your cellular plan:

  • iPhone: View a list of carriers that support Personal Hotspot on the iPhone.
  • iPad (3rd generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular: Check with your carrier for availability.
  • iPad mini Wi-Fi + Cellular: Check with your carrier for availability.

Additional Information

Find more information on using Personal Hotspot.

Important: Information about products not manufactured by Apple is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute Apple’s recommendation or endorsement. Please contact the vendor for additional information.
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