Chapter 12. Getting Online
The name “iPhone” grows less appropriate every year, as making phone calls fades in importance. Today, Americans send texts five times more often than they make calls. Among teenagers, 92 percent never make calls with their smartphones.
What do they do with them, then? Go online—and use apps that go online.
The iPhone can get onto the internet using either of two kinds of wireless networks: cellular or Wi-Fi. Which kind you’re on makes a huge difference to your iPhone experience.
Cellular Networks
Once you’ve accepted the miracle that a cellphone can transmit your voice wirelessly, it’s not much of a stretch to realize that it can also transmit your data. Cellphone carriers (Verizon, AT&T, and so on) maintain separate networks for voice and internet data—and they spend billions of dollars trying to make those networks faster. Over the years, they’ve come up with data networks like these:
Old, slow cellular network. The earliest, slowest cellular internet connections were called things like EDGE (AT&T) or 1xRTT (Verizon and Sprint). The good part is that these networks are almost everywhere, so your iPhone can get online almost anywhere you can make a phone call. You’ll know when you’re on one of these networks because your status bar bears a symbol like
or 
.The bad news is that it’s slow. Dog slow—dial-up slow.
You can’t be on a phone call while you’re online using EDGE or 1xRTT, either.
3G cellular networks. 3G stands for “third generation.” (The ancient analog cellphones were the first generation; EDGE-type networks were the second.) Geeks refer to the 3G network standard by its official name: HSDPA, for High-Speed Downlink Packet Access.
Web pages that take two minutes to appear using EDGE or 1xRTT show up in about 20 seconds on 3G. Voice calls sound better, too, even when the signal strength is very low, since the iPhone’s 3G radio can communicate with multiple towers at once.
Oh, and on AT&T and T-Mobile, you can talk on the phone and use the internet simultaneously, which can be very handy indeed.
4G networks. AT&T enhanced HSDPA, making it faster using a technology called HSPA+ (High-Speed Packet Access), and now calls it 4G. (You’ll know when you’re on a 4G network; your status bar says
.) But nobody else recognizes HSPA+ as real 4G, which is why AT&T feels justified in advertising “the nation’s largest 4G network.” The other carriers aren’t even measuring that network type.4G LTE networks. Now this is 4G.
An LTE network (Long-Term Evolution) gives you amazing speeds—in some cases, faster than your broadband internet at home. When your status bar says
, it’s fantastic.But LTE is not all sunshine and bunnies; it has two huge downsides.
First: coverage. LTE is available in hundreds of U.S. cities, which is a good start. But that still leaves most of the country, including huge chunks of several entire states, without any 4G coverage at all (hi there, Montana!). Whenever you’re outside the high-speed areas, your iPhone falls back to the slower speeds.
The second big problem with LTE is that, to receive its signal, a phone’s circuitry uses a lot of power. That’s why the latest iPhones are bigger than their predecessors; they need beefier batteries.
Note
Yes, there’s something called 5G, too. It’s slowly appearing as a network offering in major cities, but phones that can hop onto this superfast cellular network won’t appear until 2019 or 2020.
A Word About VoLTE
If you have an iPhone 6 or later model, the dawn of LTE cellphone networks brings another benefit: You can use Voice over LTE, or VoLTE (“volty”). That’s a delightful cellular feature that promises amazing voice quality—sounds more like FM radio than cellphone—and simultaneous calling/internetting, even on Verizon. (Behind the scenes, it sends your voice over the carrier’s internet network instead of the voice network. That’s why it’s called “Voice over LTE.”)
To make this work, every link in the chain has to be compatible with VoLTE: your phone and your cellphone network, and (for that great sound quality) the phone and network of the person you’re calling.
All four big U.S. carriers offer VoLTE, but you may not get the high-quality sound if the person you’re calling has a different cell carrier. VoLTE calls between Verizon and AT&T work well, but may not if, for example, you have Verizon and the other guy has T-Mobile.
Wi-Fi Hotspots
Wi-Fi, known to geeks as 802.11, is wireless networking, and your phone uses the same technology that gets laptops online at high speed at Wi-Fi hotspots.
When you’re in a Wi-Fi hotspot—like the ones in homes, offices, coffee shops, hotels, airports, and thousands of other places—your iPhone usually gets a fast connection to the internet, as though it’s connected to a cable modem or DSL. When you’re online this way, you can make phone calls and surf the internet simultaneously. And why not? Your iPhone’s Wi-Fi and cellular antennas are independent.
(Over cellular connections, only the AT&T and T-Mobile iPhones let you talk and get online simultaneously. Verizon and Sprint can do that only when you’re on a VoLTE call, as described previously.)
The iPhone always looks for a Wi-Fi connection first. It considers connecting to a cellular network only if there’s no Wi-Fi. You’ll always know which kind of network you’re on, thanks to the icons on the status bar: You’ll see either 
for Wi-Fi, or one of the cellular icons (, , 
, , or ).
Or “No service” if there’s nothing available at all.
X-Class
Instead of “No Service,” you see five square periods (
) where the signal bars would be.
In terms of speed, LTE and Wi-Fi are awesome. EDGE/1xRTT and even 3G—not so much.
Sequence of Connections
The iPhone isn’t online all the time. To save battery power, it opens the connection only on demand: when you check email, request a web page, and so on. At that point, the iPhone tries to get online following this sequence:
First, it sniffs around for a Wi-Fi network you’ve used before. If it finds one, it connects automatically. You’re not asked for permission, a password, or anything else.
If the iPhone can’t find a previous hotspot but it detects a new hotspot, a message appears (below, left). It displays any new hotspots’ names; tap the one you want. (If you see a
icon, then that hotspot is password-protected.)
If the iPhone can’t find any Wi-Fi hotspots to join, or if you don’t join any, it connects to the cellular network, like 3G or LTE.
Silencing the “Want to Join?” Messages
Sometimes you might be bombarded by those “Select a Wireless Network” messages at a time when you have no need to be online. You might want the iPhone to stop bugging you—to stop offering Wi-Fi hotspots. In that situation, from the Home screen, tap Settings → Wi-Fi (or tell Siri, “Open Wi-Fi settings”), and then turn off Ask to Join Networks. When this option is off, the iPhone never interrupts you by dropping the name of every new network at your feet. In this case, to get onto a new network, you have to visit the aforementioned settings screen and select it.
The List of Hotspots
At some street corners in big cities, Wi-Fi signals bleeding out of apartment buildings sometimes give you a choice of 20 or 30 hotspots to join. But whenever the iPhone invites you to join a hotspot, it suggests only a couple of them: the ones with the strongest signal and, if possible, no password requirement.
But you might sometimes want to see the complete list of available hotspots—maybe because the iPhone-suggested hotspot is flaky. To see the full list, from the Home screen, open Settings → Wi-Fi. Tap the one you want to join, as shown on the facing page at right.
Tip
Tap 
next to a hotspot’s name to view an info sheet for techies. It shows your IP address, subnet mask, router address, and other delicious stats. Even mere mortals, however, will sometimes enjoy the Forget This Network button. It removes this hotspot from the list, which is handy if you’ve moved away and don’t need to be reminded of the high speed that was once yours.
Commercial Hotspots
Tapping the name of the hotspot you want to join is generally all you have to do—if it’s a home Wi-Fi network. Unfortunately, joining a commercial Wi-Fi hotspot—one that requires a credit card number (in a hotel room or an airport, for example)—requires more than just connecting to it. You also have to sign into it, exactly as you’d do if you were using a laptop.
In general, the iPhone prompts you to do that automatically. A login screen pops up on its own, interrupting whatever else you’re doing; that’s where you supply your credit card information or (if you have a membership to this Wi-Fi chain, like Boingo or T-Mobile) your name and password. Tap Submit or Proceed and enjoy your surfing.
Mercifully, the iPhone memorizes your password. The next time you use this hotspot, you won’t have to enter it again.
Airplane Mode and Wi-Fi Off Mode
When battery power is precious, you can turn off all three of the iPhone’s network connections in one fell swoop. You can also turn off Wi-Fi alone.
To turn all radios off. In airplane mode, you turn off all wireless circuitry: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and cellular. Now you can’t make calls or get onto the internet. You’re saving an amazing amount of power, however, and also complying with regulations that ban cellphones in flight.
The short way: Open the Control Center (“Control Center”); tap
so it turns orange. (The long way: Open Settings; turn on Airplane Mode.)To turn Wi-Fi on or off. Open the Control Center; tap
. (When it’s blue, it’s on.) You can also switch it on or off in Settings → Wi-Fi.
Tip
Once you’ve turned on airplane mode, you can turn Wi-Fi back on again. Why? To use it on a flight. This is how you turn Wi-Fi on, but your cellular circuitry off.
Conversely, you sometimes might want to do the opposite: turn off Wi-Fi, but leave cellular on. Why? Because, sometimes, the iPhone bizarrely won’t get online at all. It’s struggling to use a Wi-Fi network that, for one reason or another, isn’t connecting to the internet. By turning Wi-Fi off, you force the iPhone to use its cellular connection—which may be slower, but at least it works!
In airplane mode, anything that requires voice or internet access—text messages, web, email, and so on—triggers a message: “Turn Off Airplane Mode or Use Wi-Fi to Access Data.” Tap either OK (to back out of your decision) or Settings (to turn off airplane mode and get online).
You can, however, enjoy all the offline iPhone features: Music, Camera, and so on. You can also work with stuff you’ve already downloaded to the phone, like email, voicemail messages, and web pages you’ve saved in the Reading List.
Personal Hotspot (Tethering)
Tethering means using your iPhone as an internet antenna, so your laptops, iPads, game consoles, and other internet-connectables can get online. (The other gadgets can connect to the phone over a Wi-Fi connection, a Bluetooth connection, or a USB cable.) In fact, several laptops and other gadgets can all share the iPhone’s connection simultaneously. Your phone becomes a personal cellular router.
That’s incredibly convenient, and Apple’s execution is especially nice. For example, the hotspot shuts itself off 90 seconds after the last laptop disconnects. That’s hugely important, because a personal hotspot is a merciless battery drain.
The hotspot feature may be included with your data plan, or it may cost something like $20 a month extra.
To get this feature, you have to sign up for it by calling your cellular company or visiting its website.
Tip
If you have a Mac running OS X Yosemite or later, you’re in for a real treat: a much more streamlined way to set up Personal Hotspot called Instant Hotspot. Skip the instructions below and jump immediately to “Instant Hotspot”.
Turning On the Hotspot
On the phone, open Settings → Cellular → Set Up Personal Hotspot (or tell Siri, “Open cellular settings”).
Tip
Once you’ve turned on Personal Hotspot for the first time, you won’t have to drill down as far to get to it. A new Personal Hotspot item appears right there on the main Settings screen from now on.
The Personal Hotspot screen contains details on connecting other computers. It also has the master on/off switch. Turn Personal Hotspot on.
(If you see a button that says Set Up Personal Hotspot, it means you haven’t yet added the monthly tethering fee to your cellular plan. Contact your wireless carrier to get that change made to your account.)
You have to use a password for your personal hotspot; it’s to ensure that people sitting nearby can’t surf using your connection and run up your cell bill. The software proposes a password, but you can edit it and make up one of your own. (It has to be at least eight characters long and contain letters, numbers, and punctuation. Don’t worry—your laptop or other Wi-Fi gadget can memorize it for you.)
Your laptops and other gadgets can connect to the internet using any of three connections to the iPhone: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or a USB cable. If either Wi-Fi or Bluetooth is turned off, then a message appears to let you know—and offers to turn them on for you. To save battery power, turn on only what you need.
Connecting via Wi-Fi
After about 30 seconds, the iPhone shows up on your laptop or other gadget as though it were a Wi-Fi network. Just choose the iPhone’s name from your computer’s Wi-Fi hotspot menu (on the Mac, it’s the menu). Enter the password, and bam—your laptop is now online, using the iPhone as an antenna. On the Mac or an iPad, the changes to look like this: 
.
You can leave the iPhone in your pocket or purse while connected. Your laptop can now use email, the web, chat programs—anything it could do in a real Wi-Fi hotspot (just a little slower).
Connecting via Bluetooth
There’s no compelling reason to use Bluetooth instead of Wi-Fi, especially since Bluetooth slows your internet connection. But if you’re interested, see the free downloadable PDF appendix “Bluetooth Tethering” on this book’s “Missing CD” page at missingmanuals.com.
Connecting via USB Cable
If you can connect your laptop to your iPhone using the white charging cable, you should. Tethering eats up a lot of the phone’s battery power, so keeping it plugged into the laptop means you won’t wind up with a dead phone when you’re finished surfing.
Once You’re Connected
On the iPhone, a blue bar appears at the top of the screen to make you aware that the laptop is connected (facing page, right); in fact, it shows how many laptops or other gadgets are connected at the moment, via any of the three connection methods. You can tap that bar to open the Personal Hotspot screen in Settings.
X-Class
A blue oval appears behind the clock at the top-left corner of your screen. Tap to open to the Personal Hotspot screen in Settings.
Most carriers won’t let more than five people connect through a single iPhone.
Turning Off Personal Hotspot
Personal Hotspot is a battery hog. It’ll cut your iPhone’s battery longevity in half. That’s why, if no laptops are connected for 90 seconds, the iPhone turns the hotspot off automatically.
You can also turn off the hotspot manually, just the way you’d expect: In Settings → Personal Hotspot, tap the switch off.
Share Your Wi-Fi Password
It happens in homes and apartments all over the world. A friend comes over and asks: “Hey, what’s your Wi-Fi password?”
And then you crawl behind the water heater to find the password sticker on the router. Or the evening grinds to a halt as you try to dictate it: “Capital P, lowercase u, capital M, number 1....”
This feature eases that everyday pain point. You can allow a buddy to hop onto your network without having to spell out your password—or even reveal it! It works like this:
The buddy opens Settings → Wi-Fi and taps your network name. He’s staring at the box where he’s supposed to enter the password. He brings his phone near your iPhone (or your iPad, or your Mac).
Note
This trick requires that you both have Bluetooth and Wi-Fi turned on, and that your buddy is someone in your Contacts.
You see a Wi-Fi Password screen. You tap Share Password.
Your buddy marvels as the password appears in the Password box before his eyes.
He can tap Join and dive right in, ready to enjoy the internet instead of paying attention to you.