Do Unlimited Data Plans Include iPhone Personal Hotspot? GA S REGULAR Menu Lifewire Tech for Humans Newsletter! Search Close GO Mobile Phones > iPhone & iOS 105 105 people found this article helpful
Can I Keep Unlimited Data with iPhone Personal Hotspot?
Usually, but with some very important limitations
By Sam Costello Sam Costello Writer Ithaca College Sam Costello has been writing about tech since 2000. His writing has appeared in publications such as CNN.com, PC World, InfoWord, and many others. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on August 18, 2022 Tweet Share Email image credit: Hoxton/Tom Merton/Getty Images Tweet Share Email iPhone & iOS Switching from Android An unlimited data plan seems like the perfect match for the iPhone's Personal Hotspot feature. The key question is whether unlimited data includes hotspot. The answer is that it often does — but with some very important limitations. Does Unlimited Data Include Personal Hotspot
Tethering is the generic name for the feature that Apple calls Personal Hotspot. It lets you share your iPhone's cellular data connection with other devices to get them online. Most major phone companies include tethering in their monthly plans for no extra charge. Even better, most carriers offer at least some plans that include unlimited monthly data. So, yes: unlimited data plans usually do include Personal Hotspot. Sounds too good to be true, right? Like there must be a catch? Well, there is. Those unlimited data plans are "unlimited" in that they let you use as much data as you want. But they aren't unlimited in giving you that data at the highest possible speed. These unlimited data plans have usage caps. That means that if you exceed your cap, your data speeds — including your hotspot speeds — to be reduced for the rest of the current billing period. For example, let's say the monthly cap for high-speed data on your "unlimited" plan is 20GB of data per month. As long as you use less data than that, you'll get the fastest possible speeds, including when using the hotspot. However, once you use more than 20GB of data in a month, your speed will be reduced (often to something slower than 3G). The History of Unlimited Data and Hotspot on iPhone
The relationship between Personal Hotspot and unlimited data wasn't always like this. When the iPhone debuted, AT&T provided unlimited data plans to iPhone users (it was the only phone company in the U.S. that offered the iPhone back then). Those plans may have been unlimited, but they didn't include Personal Hotspot. The feature didn't exist yet; it was introduced with iOS 4. When hotspot did debut on the iPhone, AT&T let current users keep their unlimited data plans, as long as they didn't make any changes to them. New users could not purchase unlimited data plans. Over time, AT&T and other phone companies made it harder and harder to keep both an unlimited data plan and hotspot. In those days, users paid for their data use by the gigabyte, so an unlimited plan wouldn't generate as much revenue for the phone companies. Since then, phone companies have mostly switched to the system of unlimited data with usage caps described earlier. Since they no longer make money based on how much data a customer uses, hotspot has come back to unlimited data plans. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit More from Lifewire Can My iPad Use My iPhone's Data Connection? How to Fix iPhone Personal Hotspot That's Not Working The 7 Best Family Cell Phone Plans of 2022 The 7 Best Prepaid Cell Phone Plans of 2022 The 7 Best Cheap Cell Phone Plans of 2022 Personal Hotspot on iPhone: What You Need To Know The 8 Best Cell Phone Plans of 2022 The 7 Best Senior Cell Phone Plans of 2022 How to Set up USB Tethering on Windows 10 Is Buying a Prepaid iPhone Right For You? How to Fix Missing Personal Hotspot on iPhone Backblaze Review (Updated for October 2022) Does a Mobile Hotspot Use Data? How to Connect Your PC to Your Mobile Hotspot 4 Best Unlimited Online Backup Plans (October 2022) Where Is 5G Available in the US? (Updated for 2022) Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookies Settings Accept All Cookies