Bought Nokia Lumia, question about wifi tethering

[JeffreyW75]

I just ordered a new Nokia Lumia 710, unlocked, from a reliable seller on ebay, and want to use it as a wifi hotspot to connect my Sony Tablet S to. I have a dumbphone data plan with AT&T and use my old Nokia N97 mini on it, and want to continue to do so, but it only shares my internet using ad hoc mode, which the Sony Tablet S doesn't recognize (only infrastructure mode).

Can anyone here tell me if the Lumia 710 supports infrastructure mode, or just ad hoc mode?

Also, I read that people were having trouble using wifi tethering--is that resolved, or are people still having trouble with this?

Thank you!

 

[speedtouch]

Infrastructure. I've never tried the WiFi sharing on my 710, so I am sorry I can't answer your second question.

 

[JeffreyW75]

Rob, thanks, that helps greatly. My old Nokia would only do ad hoc, and I was about to return this phone as soon as I receive it since I didn't think it would do infrastructure. Now I might give it a chance, instead of switching to an Android phone.

 

[ljkelley]

I've never had an issue with tethering on my Lumia 710, and I do love that it is infrastructure. In fact you can connect upto 5 devices.

 

[vp710]

No problem here. First time I used the feature was during hurricane Isaac's power outages. I couldn't believe how easy it was. Definitely one more thing I can't live without now that I've tasted the awesomeness of it. My wife and I were able to connect our desktop and laptops effortlessly, almost like our regular modem was still on.

Just make sure to update your device when you get it. I think I remember one of the updates addressed wifi tethering.

 

[speedtouch]

Rob, thanks, that helps greatly. My old Nokia would only do ad hoc, and I was about to return this phone as soon as I receive it since I didn't think it would do infrastructure. Now I might give it a chance, instead of switching to an Android phone.

You're welcome, as as I am sure you've read, LJKelley and vp710 both have good things to say about WiFi tethering on a Lumia 710. Stick with your Lumia 710! It's a great phone, really. Did you know it has the same internals (RAM, CPU, graphics) as the Lumia 800 and 900? Yep, you've got a small powerhouse in your pocket there. And, you get all the Nokia apps as well. You made a very good choice in selecting the 710. Give WP7 a little more time before you go to a phone system that rarely gets updated.

 

[JeffreyW75]

Great responses to my question, thank you. I think you convinced me to keep my phone when it arrives and try it out. I was going to just send it back without opening it, to avoid the restocking fees, since I figured this phone wouldn't support infrastructure mode. But it sounds like it does, so that is great, and I will probably keep this phone and give it a shot. Thanks again all.

 

[JeffreyW75]

So far I like the phone, had it for a night. I noticed that I can't seem to access LTE, only 3G. I don't know much about this, does anyone know why that is? I use AT&T with non-smartphone data plan in a major U.S. city, if that helps. Maybe the settings need changed for it to work?

Also, I don't care for the fact that there is no micro-SD card slot on it--didn't realize that, and my phone is only 8GB. How do others manage their space on a drive that size?

 

[speedtouch]

The Lumia 710 doesn't have LTE. It has 4G, 3G, and 2G on T-Mobile. Since you're using it on AT&T I have no idea what speeds you'll be able to get. 3G may be as high as you can go. I guess your phone is unlocked? Sadly, the 8 GB is the Achilles Heel of the Lumia 710. Just manage your videos and music as best you can.

 

[ljkelley]

It will do 3G upto 21Mbps, so its not slow but its not LTE Fast. It will work just as fast with AT&T as with T-Mobile.

The 8GB is bummer. I would focus on keeping most documents and photos on SkyDrive. If you like to put on a lot of music, have Zune convert everything to 128bps before placing on the devices (settings in the Zune software, max bitrate).

I've managed fine by being selective about music and keeping photos and documents on SkyDrive. But I can't say I won't be really happy when I get my next phone with more memory.

 

[JeffreyW75]

Thanks again, all. For some reason, my 710 has an option under "network setup" for LTE or for 3G. Interestingly, now it is showing LTE 1 or LTE 2, bu then has Lumia 900 after it. I tried to select LTE, but then it doesn't find the network. But the 3G works fine.

 

[speedtouch]

Thanks again, all. For some reason, my 710 has an option under "network setup" for LTE or for 3G. Interestingly, now it is showing LTE 1 or LTE 2, bu then has Lumia 900 after it. I tried to select LTE, but then it doesn't find the network. But the 3G works fine.

Wow. Is there any way you could get a picture of those network settings for us somehow? You're in the US, right?

 

[cryospartan]

To those that have the 710 and utilize the wi-fi sharing, is it with an additional charge tethering option or is there any apps that do it without additional charges? Thanks

 

[ljkelley]

Thanks again, all. For some reason, my 710 has an option under "network setup" for LTE or for 3G. Interestingly, now it is showing LTE 1 or LTE 2, bu then has Lumia 900 after it. I tried to select LTE, but then it doesn't find the network. But the 3G works fine.

If your are using the Nokia Network Setup, then it will probably have a list of all AT&T modes, but obviously installing LTE settings won't help on a non LTE device. They have the LTE settings there for LTE devices such as the Lumia 900.

Again, Network Setup is just a tool Nokia made to allow you to install the internet settings of carriers around the world. Good for traveling when you install other SIM cards or for those who buy unlocked phones. I guess Nokia doesn't check the capabilities of your device and just offer all known settings.

 

[ljkelley]

To those that have the 710 and utilize the wi-fi sharing, is it with an additional charge tethering option or is there any apps that do it without additional charges? Thanks

T-Mobile has so for not charged me. I don't know if they will in the future. AT&T is more strict about this, but may be easier with an unlocked device that is not known to them. 3rd party software can also go around this but I don't know of any for WP. Regardless with the iPhone for example, AT&T figured out people were tethering regardless and told them to stop or they would automatically be charged. Obviously a device such as the Lumia 710 on AT&T would be harder to notice and they may not care enough for a handful of users.

 

[JeffreyW75]

So tethering worked fine for a while. But now I am having problems. Internet sharing turns on, and Sony tablet and apple iPad find and connect to it, but the devices can't use the internet-doesn't seem to be a signal. Is there a fix for this? I can't find one. Is AT&T blocking tethering now? I don't get an error message, and internet is fine on phone.

Jeff