iPhone: Troubleshooting Internet tethering
Symptoms
If you experience any of the following, use this document to help troubleshoot the issue:
- Unable to access the Internet on my computer using iPhone
- Unable to enable Internet tethering on iPhone
- iPhone displays "Internet Tethering" whenever I sync my iPhone to my computer or when I connect to my computer for charging
- Internet tethering speed is not as fast as expected
- Internet tethering connection drops when placing or receiving a phone call
- An error message appears after pairing iPhone with the computer using Bluetooth
Products Affected
iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS
Resolution
If you are experiencing issues using Internet tethering with iPhone, try the following troubleshooting steps:
System Requirements
Confirm your iPhone, computer, and wireless calling plan all meet the system requirements for Internet tethering and verify that you have a good Internet connection on your iPhone by tapping Safari and loading a new webpage.
iPhone Settings
1. Connect iPhone to your computer using the USB cable included with iPhone. You should see a blue bar at the top of the screen on iPhone as shown below.
2. If you do not see a blue bar at the top of the screen, confirm that you have Internet Tethering turned on in Settings (tap Settings > General > Network > Internet Tethering). If you don't see this option, contact your carrier to confirm that your carrier supports Internet Tethering.
3. If you've turned on Internet tethering and you still don't see a blue bar at the top of the screen on iPhone, confirm the following:
- iPhone is connected to your computer using the included USB cable.
- iTunes 8.2 or later is installed.
- You can see iPhone listed under Devices in iTunes.
4. If you do not see iPhone listed under Devices, try following the steps in one of the following articles, depending on your computer's operating system:
Computer Settings
1. If Internet Tethering still does not work, check your computer's network settings. You may need to adjust your computer's network settings to disconnect and reconnect the USB Ethernet network as shown below:
In Mac OS X, open the Network System Preferences, select the Ethernet adapter listed with parentheses after it, and then click the gear icon and choose Make Service Inactive. Then choose Make Service Active:
In Windows XP, right-click the Local Area Connection that lists Apple Mobile Device Ethernet, and click Repair.
In Windows Vista, in the Network and Sharing Center, click "View status", then click Diagnose.
Tips
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If Internet Tethering using Bluetooth does not work
1. Verify that Internet Tethering works over USB in the steps above. If it does, consider using Internet Tethering over USB for now. If you do not see iPhone listed under Devices, try using the steps here:
2. Verify that your computer's Bluetooth port is active:
- In Mac OS X, Open Bluetooth Preferences and select "Show Bluetooth status in the menu bar."
- In Windows, choose Start > Control Panel and open BlueTooth Devices and under the Options tab select "Show the Bluetooth icon in the notification area."
3. On iPhone, tap Settings > General > About and make a note of your iPhone's Bluetooth address. This may help later on if you are in an area with many discoverable Bluetooth devices.
- In Settings, tap General > Bluetooth.
- Verify that Bluetooth is on and the bottom of the screen says "Now Discoverable."
4. If iPhone is already paired to your computer, remove the Bluetooth pairing record on iPhone by tapping 
to the right of the device and then tapping "Forget this Device."
5. If your computer is already paired to your iPhone, remove the Bluetooth pairing record on your computer
- In Mac OS X, open Bluetooth Preferences, select your iPhone name then click the minus icon in the bottom of the list to remove it. Restart your computer.
- In Windows, click the Bluetooth icon in the Notification area (system tray), select Show Bluetooth devices, select your iPhone name and click the Remove button. Click OK and restart your computer.
6. Pair iPhone with your computer
In Mac OS X, open Bluetooth Preferences, click "Set Up New Device" and follow the onscreen instructions. When pairing is complete, make sure the option "Use device as a network port" is selected.
In Windows, click the Bluetooth icon in the Notification area (system tray), select "Add a Bluetooth Device", and follow the onscreen instructions. When pairing is complete, click the Bluetooth icon in the Notification area, select Show Bluetooth Devices, and click the Properties button.
Click the Services tab, then click the Wireless iAP checkbox and click OK.
7. When iPhone is paired with your computer, tap the Home button or tap General to move to a different screen on iPhone. This will cause iPhone to no longer be discoverable. iPhone does not need to be discoverable after it has been paired successfully with your computer.
8. Connect to the network:
Mac OS X
- Click the Bluetooth icon in the menu bar, choose your iPhone, and then choose Connect to network.
- iPhone will display the "Internet Tethering" screen and the Bluetooth icon on the menu bar in Mac OS X changes to this:
and the name of your iPhone should become bold in the menu. - Test by opening a web page that does not have a lot of complex graphics, such as google.com.
Note: You can also verify that iPhone is paired and connected if you see the following in the computer's network settings:
Windows
- Click the Bluetooth icon in the Notification area (system tray) and select "Join A Personal Area Network."
- Click Connect.
- Phone will display the "Internet Tethering" screen.
- Test by opening a web page that does not have a lot of complex graphics, such as google.com.
Note: You can also verify that iPhone is paired and connected if you see the following in the computer's network settings:
In Windows XP
In Windows Vista
How to adjust network-service priorities on your computer when using Internet Tethering over USB
Both Windows and Mac computers allow you to prioritize which network source to use. Follow these steps to verify or change the order in which your computer uses the available network connections:
Mac OS X
To configure Mac OS X to use the Internet Tethering network by default:
1. Open System Preferences.
2. Click Network.
3. Click the More button at the bottom of the list of network devices:
4. In the menu, click Set Service Order.
5. In the Service Order window, selecting and dragging a network service allows you to place its priority higher or lower. Placing an item at the top of the list configures the computer to use that service before trying others. Services lower in the list will be used only after attempting to use the services higher in the list.
6. Click OK when you are done.
Windows XP
By default, Windows XP makes the Internet Tethering network the top priority, but if your computer does not appear to be using this connection, you can verify the priority settings by following these steps:
1. Verify that iTunes is running and your iPhone displays the blue bar at the top of the screen.
2. Click the Start button.
3. Click Control Panel.
4. Double-click on Network Connections.
5. Locate the network adapter that lists "Apple Mobile Device Ethernet" under the name:
6. Click Advanced at the top of the window. Then click Advanced Settings.
7. In the connections window you can change the priority of the network by selecting the network name and clicking the up and down arrows. Select the name of the network that you noted earlier and press the up button if it is not already at the top of the list. This places that network as the top choice, and all network traffic will default to that connection before attempting to use other sources.
Adjusting the network-service priorities configures the computer to use the services in the list starting from top to bottom. You can configure your computer to use the Internet Tethering network in any order you choose by using the arrow buttons in the Advanced Settings window.
8. Click OK to save the changes. Then close the Network Connections and Control Panel windows.
Windows Vista
By default, Windows Vista makes the Internet Tethering network the top priority, but if your computer does not appear to be using this connection, you can verify the priority settings by following these steps:
1. Verify that iTunes is running and your device displays the blue bar at the top of the screen.
2. Click the Start button.
3. Click Control Panel.
4. Click Network and Sharing Center.
5. Click Manage network connections on the left side of the window.
6. In the Network Connections window, take note of the network service that states Apple Mobile Device Ethernet under the name:
7. Press the Alt key on your keyboard to display the File menu. Then click Advanced.
8. From the Advanced menu, click Advanced Settings.
9. When the User Account Control window appears, click Continue.
10. In the connections window you can change the priority of the network by selecting the network name and clicking the up and down arrows. Select the name of the network that you noted earlier and press the up button if it is not already at the top of the list. This places that network as the top choice, and all network traffic will default to that connection before attempting to use other sources:
Adjusting the network-service priorities configures the computer to use the services in the list starting from top to bottom. You can configure your computer to use the Internet Tethering network in any order you choose by using the arrow buttons in the Advanced Settings window.
11. Click OK to save your changes. Then close the Network Connections and Control Panel windows.
Additional Information
If iPhone is not using a 3G network (iPhone shows EDGE or GPRS icon in the status bar), then the following may apply:
- Internet Tethering speed may be slow.
- An incoming call will cause the Internet tethering connection to drop.
- An outgoing call will cause the Internet tetherhing connection to drop.
This is expected behavior, and is the same on iPhone when you are on a phone call and using EDGE.
Tip: In Settings > General > Network, set "Enable 3G" to on. Then check with your carrier to make sure you are in a 3G coverage area.
- If you are outside of your wireless carrier's network coverage area, you may be roaming. If that is the case, you will need to have Settings > General > Network > Data Roaming set to on in order to use Internet tethering. Data roaming charges will apply. Check with your wireless carrier if you are roaming to verify any additional charges .
- When Internet Tethering is set to on, iPhone will always be in Internet tethering mode when you connect iPhone to your computer via USB. For example, if you connect iPhone to your computer to charge or to sync with iTunes, iPhone will share its Internet connection with your computer unless you set Internet tethering to off in Settings > General > Network.
- To view how much data you have sent and received over a tethered connection, tap Settings > General > Usage. Tethering Data usage appears separately from your Cellular Network Data usage in iPhone OS 3.1 or later.
If you see a message that Windows needs to install a Bluetooth device driver, try one of the following:
- You may need to update your Windows computer's Bluetooth drivers.
- Try to pair anyways.
- Consider using the iPhone USB cable for Internet tethering instead of Bluetooth.