Peter Binder Not long ago, Apple released a new iOS update that gave iPhone 4 owners the ability to use the device as a personal Wi-Fi hotspot. But is Wi-Fi internet sharing "better" than Bluetooth?
The release of the latest update left users with mixed feelings. While one section cheered (iPhone 4 owners). The other, on the contrary, felt a great injustice (owners of the older 3GS model), because their device simply does not support Wi-Fi hotspot. But are they really missing out on that much? Especially when you can share the Internet with other devices via Bluetooth, and that includes the iPad?
Nick Broughall from the server Gizmodo therefore, he performed three tests on the aforementioned types of mobile Internet sharing transmitted to the MacBook Pro. During which he measured the speed of download, upload and ping. You can see the results in the table below.
Bluetooth sharing averaged 0,99Mbps download, 0,31Mbps upload and 184ms ping. The second test subject (Wi-Fi) achieved an average of 0,96 Mbps download speed, 0,18 Mbps upload speed and a ping of 280 ms. The iPhone connection speed without any internet sharing was 3,13 Mbps download, 0,54 Mbps upload and 182 ms ping.
The differences in download and upload between the compared sharing types are not that dizzying, but Bluetooth is a bit faster. At the same time, the response (ping) is on average 96 ms better. However, when it comes to connection efficiency, Bluetooth clearly wins. Compared to Wi-Fi, Bluetooth is much less demanding on energy consumption, up to several times.
Also, using this technology, you can connect and start sharing mobile internet without taking your iPhone out of your pocket, which is not possible with Wi-Fi sharing. In addition, if you happen to be out of range of a mobile internet network while sharing, the Bluetooth connection will be automatically restored when the signal is regained.
On the other hand, the use of one of the options depends on the given need. Not all devices can pair with iPhone to share the Internet. In addition, Bluetooth can provide an Internet connection to only one device at a time, while Wi-Fi manages to serve several devices at the same time.
So it mainly depends on the user, in which situation he finds himself and what exactly he needs. The most ideal will probably be to use Bluetooth tethering in cases where it is possible and for the rest use the already mentioned Wi-Fi personal hotspot. Which solution do you prefer most often? What devices do you share the internet on? That is, where do you use sharing?
Source: gizmodo.com
A conclusion from three measurements, which differ so dramatically, probably does not have much explanatory value. Just look at download 0,6, 0,75 and 8,05.
I would be interested in the difference in durability. Bluetooth vs. Wifi - are there any numbers?
Is it possible to share the internet via bluetooth to the iPad? So why doesn't it work for me even when both devices are paired
I've tried that too, but I can't even pair them... does it require iOS 4.3?
You don't have O2?
I would also be interested in how to pair an iPhone4 with an iPad using bluetooth. I have iOS 4.3 on both devices and Vodafone is the operator.
as far as I know, it can only be done by jailbreaking and using mywi on demand
It works, I just tested it, you need to go to the bluetooth settings and there you can pair the ipad with the iphone. It is necessary to pair from ipad->iphone, when I tried to pair the opposite iphone->ipad I did not succeed.
interesting article, but it always cracks me up when someone writes "the most ideal"... you have it as if you wrote the best, chlo
And the customers of the incompetent O2 are screwed (sorry, there's no other way to write it)
The article is cool, but you must not be a loyal client of 02. We don't have TETHERING anyway, because some 02 pablb forgot the YES data for the TETHERING function……..
But you forget to add that with JB it is very easy to solve (TetherMe from Cydia)... And then I can continue to be a loyal O2 client;-)
turn off Wi-Fi and turn on Bluetooth, then it works through it.
The probability of the result is quite weak due to their dispersion.
I most often use USB tethering, because I still need to recharge. And above all, when I disconnect it and go out into the world, I am sure that the battery has 100% and not 20%.
Otherwise, for a shorter time of sharing tethering (I thought it would take an hour, but not 8 hours), I would probably use wifi if I needed to occasionally run around neighboring rooms with my iPhone, etc. - the range of wifi will be a little better than BT. Otherwise, I usually only share for one device, so it makes sense to use BT to save energy, but I would only take it within the scope of the room - a distance of up to 5 meters.
I heard somewhere that when an iPad is paired with an iPhone it receives GPS coordinates, I wonder if it only works with wifi or bluetooth? From the English video I understood wifi only…can you find out somehow?
When tethering is turned on, my current location can't be found in the maps, either via the wifi hotspot or via the tooth.
Now tried outside via normal wifi, everything is already showing the location, via tethering it doesn't work
I didn't need jb for a long time, but now thanks to o2 there is no other option
So I also tested it and I have completely opposite results to what is stated in the article.
Test via iP4 T-Mobile 3G Brno
Via BT - ping 182ms, 1,33/1,14Mbps
Via WiFi - ping 134ms 2,51/3,3Mbps
https://picasaweb.google.com/Jan.Dovrtel/DropBox#5587627810991707746
Via iP4 - ping 134ms, 2,56/3,71Mbps
It seemed to me that it struggled more over BT, it worked better over Wifi, but it fluctuates a lot and the deviations are suspiciously large..
However, we are important thing:
Internet sharing between iPad and iPhone4 is indeed possible both via WiFi and via BT, I haven't tried USB (although I have a USB iPad Camera Kit that can take photos from the iPhone via a cable to the iPad).
In any case, the GPS position is transferred via WiFi Hotspot just fine (tested in Maps and Google Earth), but it doesn't work via BT.
thanks, I needed to know if I have the option to share both via wifi and BT with the iP4+ipad.
Thanks, this is exactly what I needed.
I would like to ask, I still have iOS 4.2.1 and iPhone 4.3 on my iPad… can you pair it? I don't even see individual devices. Btw. I have O2, but that should probably have nothing to do with pairing via BT. thanks for the answer :)
So I don't understand a bit, one works, the other doesn't, I'm currently outside driving connected to the iPad via iP4 and the location cannot be determined both in maps and with Google E. Location services are turned on.
I use the hotspot via wifi and I'm satisfied. Unfortunately, I don't know why, but when I want to pair an iPhone with a Macbook pro, it tells me that this device is not supported. So for me, unfortunately, there is only one choice and that is Wifi.
I have the same problem and no idea why :(
Hello, I have a question, I understand that I am absolutely out of luck with the iPhone 3G if I don't want to do JB? If I had an iPhone 3GS with iOS 4.3, I know that the wifi hotspot will not work there, but will it be possible to share it via BT to the iPad?
It: Andy
I have a 3GS fw 4.0.1. and the devices cannot be paired via BT. They can see each other, but then they throw a message that the device is not supported, so it's a shame. Only jailbrake the iPhone and connect via WiFi, download MyWi from Cydia, it's paid, it works great, it just sucks a lot of battery.
Has anyone measured wifi/bt endurance like this?
Could the author describe to us how to pair an iPhone with an iPad to do tethering? So I'm not doing well at all.
Hello!
If Vodafone supports tethering, then it should theoretically be possible to share the internet from an iPhone 3gs (ios 4.3, without jailbreak) via bluetooth to an iPad. Does anyone have personal experience with this? Or is it possible to share the net only to laptops?
On an iPhone 4 with a card from O2, the alert "new service settings from the operator" just appeared. And after half a minute, the "personal hotspot" option became active :-)