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Tech News and Commentary
Dave and the team discuss insect sized robots, Samsung’s tech development plans, Xbox game streaming, Apple cars, TikTok and data privacy, Facebook and housing, Android Auto news, AI images, iPhones and captcha, video watching trends, VTOL aircraft, tech companies and the law, , and more.
Stanley in Oakland, Mississippi listens on SuperTalk Mississippi and asked: “I’m using the iPhone 12, it’s my first iPhone. I’ve had it since February or March. I have to use my hotspot to connect my computer, tablet, and a few other electronics because it’s hard to get standalone Internet where I live. But ito use this, everytime I wanna connect, I have to turn my hotspot of and back on again to get it to connect. Is this an iPhone thing, or is there something else I should be looking at. I haven’t been back to where I got it because they have a new guy down there and he’s kind of a jerk.”
Stanley, iPhone hotspots only become discoverable when you open the hotspot pane in the phones settings.
Theres no setting to govern that, its just how theyve always worked.
You dont have to turn the hotspot on and on and off, but you will have to go to that hotspot page and keep it open until the device connects. Otherwise the iPhone will stop broadcasting when the device disconnects.
If youre relying on mobile internet and need to be always on, you may be interested in T-Mobile or Verizon home routers. They come with plans that are meant to be used by every device in the home and effectively function the same way a wired connection would.
Their main target audience are people who, like you, cannot get other reliable service other than expensive or poor quality satellite connections.
Greg in Manchester, Tennessee listens to the podcasts and asked: “Trying to get out of my expensive Verizon cell phone service and I noticed this one called Mint Mobile. And then there’s one called Visible, which I think is on Verizon. And I’m trying to see, Mint Mobile, what network they use because I think there’s three carriers out there. And I’m trying to see if the Mint mobile is gonna save me any money. I’m just trying to see what network they use and if you ever recommend these third party carriers.”
Greg, Mint runs on T-Mobile’s network, including their 5G network.
You should have decent coverage nationwide, but keep in mind that MVNOs (mobile virtual network operator) are less expensive for a reason, your data will be considered low priority traffic on the network.
That’s not necessarily a terrible thing, but it does mean that your speeds will be slower and your connections may be dropped if the network is busy.
In other words, the 5G network likely won’t feel like 5G for you but then again you’ll probably be paying half of what you’d be paying T-Mobile directly, so it may still be worth it, depending on your usage patterns and how busy the network gets where you live.
Thats the big caveat with third party carriers, if you can live with that, they can definitely save you some money.
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