Now if you have a new iPad with Verizon 4G LTE you will want to set up the Personal Hotspot feature. This turns your iPad into a mobile hotspot so you can share your cellular data connection with up to 5 people, just like with a MiFi.
Personal Hotspot features are normally added to your wireless carrier monthly fee, but with the new iPad, you get it for free. Let’s hope it stays that way and hope AT&T adds it soon.
Below I will show you how to turn on your Cellular Data for the first time if you want to use the monthly plan which you can set up directly on your iPad. Then I will show you how to turn on and secure iPad Personal Hotspot feature.
To set things up, you must first go to the App and choose from the list on the left. Select on that screen. This will allow you to enter your Name, email address, a new password twice to confirm, then your credit card information below. On the next screen, select the package you want.
You can choose from the following:
See Which iPad 4G LTE Plan Is Best For Me? For advice on choosing a plan. I recommend 2GB for most users. Heavy users can go with 5GB, but few will need the 10GB plan unless you’re streaming a lot of video, downloading a lot of content, or using your iPad every day and connecting to WiFi.
After choosing your plan, you will see a screen like the one below that only asks for your email and password. If you’re over your limit, you can change your plan or add more data to the current month. You will also see your data plan status at the top of the screen (2nd image below).
How To Set Up Personal Hotspot On Verizon iPad 4G LTE
In the video below, I show you how to share your iPad’s internet connection with the free hotspot feature on the new iPad.
Adjusting the settings on the Verizon side may take some time for this to work. It took me a long time to restart my iPad and wait for the Personal Hotspot link in Settings to show up. You will see it in the list of Settings pages on the left side of the main Settings app.
Choose your data plan. I recommend 2GB for most users and 5GB for heavy users.
At the top of the Settings App list, make sure you have your iPad Wi-Fi turned on or it won’t work. Now select it using the ON/OFF button and turn it on. Under Wi-Fi Password, you can leave it as default or change it. I recommend replacing it with something you remember but no one can predict. Use both letters and numbers. Add some symbols for more security.
Notice that my screenshot below shows that I have selected “donkeykong213//”. This is probably a good password with numbers and slashes, but without them it’s a terrible password because I used real words.
Choose a strong password using letters, numbers and symbols to protect your Personal Hotspot
After pressing the Done button in the upper right corner, it will think for a while. Your Personal Hotspot is now turned on.
To connect to your Wi-Fi device, go to your Wi-Fi settings and select your iPad identified by your iPad’s name. As you can see from the screenshot of my iPhone’s Wi-Fi page, my iPad uses the name Kevin’s New iPad.
When you turn on Personal Hotspot in Settings and someone connects to your iPad, three things happen. First, your status bar at the top will turn blue, indicating that someone is connecting. The second is that by disconnecting your iPad from Wi-Fi, other devices can use Wi-Fi instead. Third, your battery will probably drain a little faster, so only turn it on when you need it. This is also more secure because people cannot access and try to crack your password.
Notice the blue status bar at the top when I connect my iPhone to iPad via Personal Hotspot
Have questions about setting up or using a personal hotspot on your new iPad? Let us know in the comments /
