Personal Hotspot was introduced many years ago as a fashion to turn your iPhone ( and later on iPad ) into a conduit between a cellular datum connection and one or more calculator or other gadget . Macworld reader Gabriel was hoping to utilise Personal Hotspot after his MacBook Air ’s inner Wi - Fi organisation apparently conked out .
Gabriel is inultima Thule , far from cellular meshwork , but has access to a Wi - Fi mesh . He test to use Personal Hotspot to tether his Mac via Bluetooth and USB to the local Wi - Fi connection , but could n’t get it to work . “ Every time I endeavor to pair the two , the Wi - Fi connection drops off on the iPhone , ” he writes .
That ’s by design . Apple does n’t have a means to apply Personal Hotspot with Wi - Fi web , even when you ’re tether through USB or Bluetooth , will Wi - Fi available . With Personal Hotspot turned on , any active tethering disables the Wi - Fi connection , and relies entirely on the cellular one . ( It has been possible to relay Wi - Fi over USB with sure Android phones out of the boxful or when the default OS was replace by a substance abuser . )
There ’s a hardware choice : a travel router . Several companies sell model of “ 3 - in-1 ” locomotion routers , or similar products , which can act as a standalone Wi - Fi access point , a bridge ( to plug away in via ethernet to an exist web ) , or , most significantly here , as aclient . The change of location router plug away in via ethernet to a computer , and then connects to a Wi - Fi web just like it was a gadget adapter . These cost from $ 20 to $ 35 . A distinctive one is theTP - Link N300 Wi - Fi Nano .
( By the way , Wi - Fi radios dying in Macs of all kind is a vulgar query we get at Mac 911 . And , unfortunately , our best adviceremains in this newspaper column from 2015 . Wi - Fi computer hardware can run out , and you peck the locomotion router root , get a USB Wi - Fi transcriber with appropriate drivers , or have your Mac repaired or replaced . TheUSB Wi - Fi adapter we ’ve reviewedhas drivers for 10.12 Sierra , but not yet for 10.13 High Sierra . If you want to use USB - snow , I have n’t found one with Mac driver . )
Ask Mac 911
We ’ve compiled a list of the questions we get asked most frequently along with answers and links to newspaper column : read our super FAQto see if your question is covered . If not , we ’re always looking for new problems to solve ! Email yours tomac911@macworld.comincluding screen capture as appropriate , and whether you want your full name used . Every question wo n’t be answered , we do n’t respond to email , and we can not provide direct troubleshooting advice .
