Classic British Flight Sim

Hi Chaps,

I throw this question at you as I know you're all a lot geeks

Is it possible to connect to the internet from my tablet using the data allowance available on my mobile.. that is, through my mobile using Bluetooth?

Reason I ask is this. I've wanted one of those dongle thingies for ages and ended up getting a Vodafone Mobile Wi-Fi R207 from Sainsbags when I finished work last night. Now.. it's probably as much to do with my ignorance as anything but I asked the chap in our phone shop if these things were just like mobiles.. use it and when it runs out, you top it up. He said yes so I bought it. What I didn't know at the time and only found out while I was charging the bloody thing up at home and reading he distructions is that data only lasts for 30 days. I popped online and had a live chat with the lovely Amanda from Vodafone (who was very helpful indeed) and she confirmed it. I can apparently use the sim from my spare mobile (also Vodafone) but as with the Mobile Wi-Fi.. the data portion still only lasts for 30 days. I could end up with many pounds worth of mobile credit on the spare phone (as this lasts indefinitely) so this isn't an ideal situation. I'm a bit disappointed to be honest but there seems no way around it.

Then.. a bolt of lightning struck me moments after I'd closed the live chat down. My Win8 mobile is on a contract with Vodafone and it has a 300mb data allowance I never use so.. is it possible to connect my Win10 tablet to it (via Bluetooth I presume) so I can use the data allowance off that number?

Answers on a post card to the usual address
ATB
DaveB

I would say "yes". but I don't know how! I know it's possible with an iphone, you set it up as a "personal hotspot". I expect you can do similar with a Win8 phone.

Hmm.. sounds interesting. I read something about 'Pairing' but WTF that entails I don't know

ATB
DaveB

Google found this: http://www.windowscentral.com/windows-p ... et-sharing may be of help.

Cheers Dave. I've managed to pair the mobile and tablet but the tablet won't go online. There's obviously more to this than meets the eye. Connecting to the web via that Mobile Wi-Fi was a doddle. I might have guessed Microsoft would complicate things unnecessarily
ATB
DaveB

Bu99er me.. I did it Question is.. will I ever have a driving break long enough for me to set it up again

That link sorta helped though I'm not quite sure how. I'll sneak up on this again and see if it will still work.
Cheers Dave

ATB
DaveB

On the Three network, it's called 'tethering' and is added to your monthly bill. There is a tethering data allowance too - on my old contract I had unlimited data on the phone itself, but the tethering add-on allowed only 1Gb a month on the tablet, and for an extra £5 too. The phone becomes a personal 'hotspot' with it's own password, and you connect to it using the wifi settings on your tablet, as you would any other wifi hotspot. I think that's the only way to do it.

Hiya Paul

Yup.. it's tethering on the Windows phone too. If, when you click on internet sharing on the Windows phone, the slider moves across.. it means the carrier (in my case Vodafone) allows tethering. If it doesn't slide over and/or the screen below doesn't show options.. the carrier doesn't allow tethering. I've no idea if there's an additional charge for the service from Vodafone. I'd imagine that wouldn't be the case as my current tariff allowed it without me having to ask. We'll see what next months bill amounts to
The problem I had was keeping the two talking. In the end.. I'm not sure if the tablet connected over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. I've a feeling it was Wi-Fi but I'll have to double check. The Windows help page online made it look exceedingly simple and it didn't work. It may assume that the average (and not below average) bod would know roughly what they were doing

The mobile Wi-Fi is very easy to use. You simply press the tit to turn it on.. the tablet sees it and connects. Job done. In the event.. I think this whole 30-day use-it-or-lose-it setup is a swizz. I appreciate it's easier for the mobile companies to manage it this way but on the other hand.. it knows how much you've used as if you go over.. the service will stop (on PAYG anyway). If you're on contract.. I guess it would automatically top-up and charge you extra at the end of the month. I don't know.

Onwards and upwards

EDIT: Oh.. pairing is something else me thinks.
ATB
DaveB

First off I have never owned a cell/smart phone but I have seen some YouTube vloggers who connect laptops, tablets and even desktop machines to their phones when out and about on the road. Apparently there is a phone app (probably more than one) that will turn your 3G or 4G phone into a WiFi hot spot. Once activated you can connect any WiFi device to it much like you would connect to a WiFi router at home. It then uses the phone's data capabilities to connect to the internet.

Hi Larry

Yup, this is the same thing. I'm actually on the tablet now using the mobile as a mobile Wi-Fi. It seems to work fine
Atb
Dave