Enabling Tethering on iPhone OS 3.0
The non-availability of tethering in the U.S with the launch of iPhone OS 3.0 was probably the most disappointing part of the WWDC 2009 Keynote address for me. I really don’t care much about MMS, but because a lot of the places I go don’t have open wireless access for my laptop, I really needed that tethering. Luckily there are people out there who are obviously as desperate as I! Some different methods for enabling tethering have been posted on the net, but I came across one today that doesn’t require jailbreaking, is easily reversible, and requires not much more that the your web browser. All this method does is replace the carrier configuration file on your phone with one that has tethering turned on.
The kind folks at BenM.at have hosted a number of iPhone tethering configuration files for many carriers across several countries – including AT&T in the US. Of course, you will need the iPhone OS 3.0 to do this, but you do not need the brand new phone.All you need to do is go to http://help.benm.at/help.php using your iPhone’s Safari browser.
From there, under Tethering & Internet Settings, go to Mobile Configs and select your country and then carrier. Once that is done, a new config file will be downloaded. You will get a warning that the config file is not signed, but that is OK. Just approve through it to install the file. Once the install is done, you will need to reboot your phone. To reboot your iPhone just hold down the Home and Power button until it reboots and return you to the power on screen – this means hold both of those buttons down together for about 10 seconds.
After the reboot, your config is updated. Now all you have to do is go to Settings / General / Network and enable tethering! You will have the choice of tethering via BlueTooth or sync cable. Both worked fine with my uni-body MacBook and were instantly recognized and new network adapters.
Of course, all the normal disclaimers apply. This has not been approved by Apple or AT&T. You may incur extra charges from AT&T, and no one other than you is responsible for any damage to your iPhone. If you don’t like the patch, just do a restore on your phone to put it back to its pre-patched status.
