iTether App Offers Internet Tethering On Your iPhone for One Time Fee

mzlTether.com has somehow gotten App Store approval for their iPhone companion application "iTether". The $14.99 App Store app allows users to share their iPhone's internet connection with their Mac or PC computer over USB.

Tether is an application that allows your Mac and PC to take advantage of your smartphone's data plan, providing you access to the Internet on your laptop anywhere there is cellular coverage from your smartphone.

Tether is easy to install, easy to use, works practically anywhere, and is very cost-effective.

To download the PC software visit:
http://tether.com/i/Tether-iPhone.exe

To download the Mac software visit:
http://tether.com/i/Tether-iPhone.dmg

Tether offers companion applications for the Mac and PC. Mac version shown here:

tether
Running both apps on your iPhone and your Mac allows your Mac to use your iPhone's internet connection over a USB cable (no Wi-Fi or Bluetooth support). Apple has traditionally not allowed such applications to become available on the App Store due to agreements with carriers.

Back in 2008, Apple briefly approved another tethering app called Netshare but quickly pulled it from the App Store. Instead, users have been expected to pay additional fees to U.S. carriers such as AT&T and Verizon who offer tethering as an add-on service for $20/month. The approval of iTether may have been inadvertent by Apple again and could be pulled at any time. It is presently available in the App Store for $14.99. As in the case of Netshare, if Apple does pull the app from the App Store, it should continue to work for those who bought it.

Tether offers a similar app for both BlackBerry and Android platforms and has been reviewed in the NYTimes and Entrepreneur.com.

We should note that excessive unauthorized tethering has previously resulted in warnings from AT&T to users about their usage. In many of these examples, however, the unauthorized use was dramatic and on unlimited plans. Still, it is good to be aware of that possibility. [App Store Link]

[via 9to5Mac]

Update: Tether's website is presently down due to the traffic, which means you can't download the Mac/PC apps and it also appears the iOS app verifies with Tether.com on each run, so it won't work while the main website is down.

Update 2: Tether claims "We were very clear with Apple what our app did. They asked us a bunch of questions and then approved us." So it may not be getting pulled.

Popular Stories

Apple iPhone 16e Feature

Apple Announces iPhone 16e With A18 Chip and Apple Intelligence, Pricing Starts at $599

Wednesday February 19, 2025 8:02 am PST by
Apple today introduced the iPhone 16e, its newest entry-level smartphone. The device succeeds the third-generation iPhone SE, which has now been discontinued. The iPhone 16e features a larger 6.1-inch OLED display, up from a 4.7-inch LCD on the iPhone SE. The display has a notch for Face ID, and this means that Apple no longer sells any iPhones with a Touch ID fingerprint button, marking the ...
iphone 17 pro asherdipps

iPhone 17 Pro Models Rumored to Feature Aluminum Frame Instead of Titanium Frame

Tuesday February 18, 2025 12:02 pm PST by
Over the years, Apple has switched from an aluminum frame to a stainless steel frame to a titanium frame for its highest-end iPhones. And now, it has been rumored that Apple will go back to using aluminum for three out of four iPhone 17 models. In an investor note with research firm GF Securities, obtained by MacRumors this week, Apple supply chain analyst Jeff Pu said the iPhone 17, iPhone...
apple launch feb 2025 alt

Here Are the New Apple Products We're Still Expecting This Spring

Thursday February 20, 2025 5:06 am PST by
Now that Apple has announced its new more affordable iPhone 16e, our thoughts turn to what else we are expecting from the company this spring. There are three product categories that we are definitely expecting to get upgraded before spring has ended. Keep reading to learn what they are. If we're lucky, Apple might make a surprise announcement about a completely new product category. M4...
Generic iOS 18

Here's When Apple Will Release iOS 18.4

Wednesday February 19, 2025 11:38 am PST by
Following the launch of the iPhone 16e, Apple updated its iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia pages to give a narrower timeline on when the next updates are set to launch. All three pages now state that new Apple Intelligence features and languages will launch in early April, an update from the more broader April timeframe that Apple provided before. The next major point updates will be iOS ...
apple launch feb 2025

Tim Cook Teases an 'Apple Launch' Next Wednesday

Thursday February 13, 2025 8:07 am PST by
In a social media post today, Apple CEO Tim Cook teased an upcoming "launch" of some kind scheduled for Wednesday, February 19. "Get ready to meet the newest member of the family," he said, with an #AppleLaunch hashtag. The post includes a short video with an animated Apple logo inside a circle. Cook did not provide an exact time for the launch, or share any other specific details, so...
apple c1

Apple Unveils 'C1' as First Custom Cellular Modem

Wednesday February 19, 2025 8:08 am PST by
Apple today announced its first custom cellular modem with the name "C1," debuting in the all-new iPhone 16e. The new modem contributes to the iPhone 16e's power efficiency, giving it the longest battery life of any iPhone with a 6.1-inch display, such as the iPhone 15 and iPhone 16. Expanding the benefits of Apple silicon, C1 is the first modem designed by Apple and the most...
Apple Northbrook

Apple Store Permanently Closing at Struggling Mall in Chicago Area

Tuesday February 18, 2025 8:46 pm PST by
Apple is permanently closing its retail store at the Northbrook Court shopping mall in the Chicago area. The company confirmed the upcoming closure today in a statement, but it has yet to provide a closing date for the location. Apple Northbrook opened in 2005, and the store moved to a larger space in the mall in 2017. Apple confirmed that affected employees will continue to work for the...

Top Rated Comments

ArcaneDevice Avatar
173 months ago
Hands up if you are outside North America and still laughing at the idiocy of having to buy permission to use other devices through your cell data plan.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
soco Avatar
173 months ago
It works and I'm scared.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sukanas Avatar
173 months ago
its moments like these im glad i signed up for twitter..
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ignus graius Avatar
173 months ago
I'm a little concerned that I dropped $15 on an app so easily.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macduke Avatar
173 months ago
I can verify that this app does work. Don't hesitate people! This is Netshare all over again. MOVE MOVE MOVE!

I'm posting this using my iPhone's data connection. Only issue so far is that if I close the app on my iPhone and reopen it, I have to restart the app on the Mac side. Otherwise it works like a dream!
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Buildbright Avatar
173 months ago
This story and thread is very funny and intertaining to follow as a longtime Android user who's been able to wireless tether my crappy little overclocked $120 LG Optimus V smartphone rooted and custom rom'ed with Gingerbread bumblebee 2.2.3. I've never once had to pay a single extra dime to tether - being that my cheap but highly useful Android phones data plan is unlimited via Virgin Mobile. I pay 27.50 a month an unlimited 3g data plan with 300 anytime minutes (which I never fully use each month). My totally contract-free, pay as you go Android phone can operate at speeds that at leat approach the performance of a iPhone 3G, and even a 4G when I overclock the phones CPU to by up to 60%. The phone also has the neat little ability to side-load all of my potential content - bypassing any official iTunes- like gauntlet to install my apps, music, movies, or whatever other content I choose via the phones memory expanding 32GB micro SD card. I also can swap out the battery anytime I need to for a freshly charged new one at will.
This last September while vacationing for several weeks in a remote seaside resort, I was able to exclusively use my LG Optimus V as my sole WiFi hotspot - providing enough bandwidth for myself and another friend visiting me for the last week of my visit. We were both quite able to very comfortably surf the web, email, text, do some light downloading --- also uploading to my dropbox, and even stream a bit of non-HD video on our MacBook Pro's without so much as a data hick-up, stall, or glitch. It was so impressive, that my die-hard iPhone iOS friend is now looking into getting an Android smartphone of his very own so that he can finally be completely free to use and abuse his phone data and it's wireless data capabilities as he so desires - without gimmicks, usb cables, fear of having any big bag AT&T TeleMonster looking over his shoulder and threatening him with having to pay extra $$$$ for more data BS charges.
There is even an iPhone refugee forum @ VM that has countless other formerly self-imprisoned and price-gouged iOS/iPhone consumers that just can't believe how much more open and customizable they can get on a non iOS platform - being finally able to do the simplest of mobile tech things like: wirelessly tethering their Android phone to most any other WiFi and/or bluetooth capable device - even with most of Apple's WiFi capable devices such as any Macbook pro. I regularly wirelessly tether my WiFi only Motorola Xoom tablet to my LG Phone - instantly converting it to a 3g Tablet wherever I can pick-up a signal (which is almost always nearly 5 bars most anywhere I have traveled within the continental US).
It's really inconprehensible that there are still millions of folks out there paying Apple/AT$T/Verizon an average of nearly $100 a month (and much more for those who do officially use the outrageously over-priced tethering data plans via the exclusive iPhone carriers).

But your phone is a piece of crap.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)