¿Puedo usar un punto de acceso o compartir mi conexión?

Unas pocas redes anfitrionas lo bloquean por su cuenta. Cuando pasa en algún país, lo decimos en la página de ese país antes de que compres, no en la letra pequeña después.

Why tethering is included rather than sold

Because a byte through a hotspot costs us exactly what a byte through the phone costs us. Charging extra for it would be charging for nothing, and disabling it quietly, which parts of this category do, is worse than charging for it. Tethered traffic comes out of the same allowance at the same rate on every plan we sell.

Where it genuinely does not work, and why

A small number of host networks block tethering at their end. It is their equipment refusing the traffic shape, not a setting on our side or yours, and there is nothing we can do about it from here. Where we know a host blocks it, the country page says so before you buy rather than the terms saying so afterwards.

The practical limits nobody prints

Tethering will empty a plan much faster than a phone does, and the reason is the laptop rather than the network.

• A laptop downloads OS and app updates the moment it sees a connection. Pause updates first.
• Cloud sync on a laptop treats a hotspot as home wifi unless you mark it as metered.
• A video call from a laptop is sent at the laptop's screen resolution, which is higher than the phone's.
• Windows and macOS both have a metered connection setting and both default it to off. Turn it on for the hotspot.

What we do automatically and what needs you

We include tethering on every plan at the same allowance, we never quietly disable it, and we publish the countries where a host blocks it before you buy. What needs you is marking the hotspot as a metered connection on any laptop that joins it. Windows and macOS both have that setting and both default it to off.

The numbers, and where they came from

On the unlimited day pass, tethered traffic runs at full speed to 2 GB a day and then 1 Mbps, the same as the phone. On metered plans there is no throttle at all. A day pass is $5.89, seven days is $16.89, and thirty is $64.89, which is the honest comparison to make before tethering a laptop for a week.

The settings that matter, on each platform

Marking the connection as metered is the one change that does most of the work, and both desktop operating systems hide it in a different place.

• Windows: Settings, Network and internet, the hotspot's wifi entry, then set Metered connection on. Windows then defers most updates.
• macOS: System Settings, Network, the hotspot, then Low Data Mode. This holds back iCloud sync and background downloads.
• iPhone as the hotspot: leave Maximise Compatibility off unless a device cannot connect. On, it forces 2.4 GHz and slows everything.
• Android as the hotspot: set a data limit for the hotspot itself if the build offers one, which several do.