I mentioned in last weeks post about using an iPhone as a wireless Hotspot, as this is a post for newbies, I need to explain what this is for those who aren't quite sure. On most smart phones now, you have the ability to use your phone as a wireless network for other items like your laptop, iPad, PC (personal computer) etc. It is normally as easy as turning on the "Enable Hotspot" feature in your settings, once you have done this your phone will normally display a password to use for your newly created network and the "name" that the network is called. If you now look on your laptop at the available networks you will see a new network with the name that was given to you by your phone, press connect, put in the password you were given and you have Internet access!.
Like anything in this life there is always a catch, right!. First thing you need to do is make sure that in your phone plan or contract that your mobile provider "allows" the use of a mobile Hotspot, not all do. Also be aware of your monthly data limits, and your usage, using a laptop or PC will always use up a lot more of your data, than your phone will. Make sure that if you are going to connect a computer through your phones "hotspot" that it is not going to automatically download a heap of updates, or go and download all your emails to itself the moment it connects.
To clarify the email point, if you open all your emails on your computer from a program like "Outlook","Outlook Express" or "Incredimail", this means that these programs go and fetch your mail and bring it to your computer, where it is then stored (You may have noticed the term POP used for email accounts, this stands for Post Office Protocol, and that's what this is, it is like the Post Office and delivers the mail to your computer).
If you log into "Google", "Yahoo", "Windows Live" or some other service like that, it means that you are logging into their site to read your mail and that it is kept on their site. The main key there is that you have to go and Log into a site to read your mail, which means it is not getting fetched for you.
The last thing I want to talk about today is something I have mentioned before, and that is not to be freaked out or spooked by your tech device. Embrace it, take any spare time to sit down and play with it, explore through all the settings. If you are not sure what a word means "Google it". Apart from the words "Erase" or "Reset" there is not much damage you can do. Beware of turning on "Location Services" or "Push Notifications" these will result in extra battery and data usage. A Push Notification means that as soon as something is available it is automatically (Pushed) sent to your phone, rather than you checking manually for the update, or your phone checking automatically at a set time interval.
Another good practice, is to always get rid of any "apps" you are not! or vary rarely use. These can slow your phone down substantially and chew up battery life.
Have Fun!
Like anything in this life there is always a catch, right!. First thing you need to do is make sure that in your phone plan or contract that your mobile provider "allows" the use of a mobile Hotspot, not all do. Also be aware of your monthly data limits, and your usage, using a laptop or PC will always use up a lot more of your data, than your phone will. Make sure that if you are going to connect a computer through your phones "hotspot" that it is not going to automatically download a heap of updates, or go and download all your emails to itself the moment it connects.
To clarify the email point, if you open all your emails on your computer from a program like "Outlook","Outlook Express" or "Incredimail", this means that these programs go and fetch your mail and bring it to your computer, where it is then stored (You may have noticed the term POP used for email accounts, this stands for Post Office Protocol, and that's what this is, it is like the Post Office and delivers the mail to your computer).
If you log into "Google", "Yahoo", "Windows Live" or some other service like that, it means that you are logging into their site to read your mail and that it is kept on their site. The main key there is that you have to go and Log into a site to read your mail, which means it is not getting fetched for you.
The last thing I want to talk about today is something I have mentioned before, and that is not to be freaked out or spooked by your tech device. Embrace it, take any spare time to sit down and play with it, explore through all the settings. If you are not sure what a word means "Google it". Apart from the words "Erase" or "Reset" there is not much damage you can do. Beware of turning on "Location Services" or "Push Notifications" these will result in extra battery and data usage. A Push Notification means that as soon as something is available it is automatically (Pushed) sent to your phone, rather than you checking manually for the update, or your phone checking automatically at a set time interval.
Another good practice, is to always get rid of any "apps" you are not! or vary rarely use. These can slow your phone down substantially and chew up battery life.
Have Fun!
2 comments:
How does this affect the battery life?
Good question, I am guessing you would probably watch your battery level drop in front of your eyes, No....
Every thing extra activated on your mobile devices has a marked effect on battery usage, so I would say you would want a full charge and a charger neat by, or one of the devices mentioned two posts ago. The emergency iPhone charger.
Keep in mind that that I would recommend to only use the hotspot for emergency occasions unless you have a very large data plan on your phone.
Feel free to email me if you have anything specific you are hoping to do, and I will see if I can help you out!. Thanks
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