Can I combine Ethernet and my iPhone's Internet connection on my Mac? Yes, with Speedify!

This article explains how to use Speedify to combine your Ethernet connection and your iPhone's 4G/5G cellular connection on your Mac for a faster, more reliable internet connection.

What You'll Need

  • A Mac with an Ethernet port (or a USB-to-Ethernet or Thunderbolt-to-Ethernet adapter)
  • An Ethernet cable connected to your router or modem
  • An iPhone with an active cellular data plan that supports Personal Hotspot
  • A USB cable to connect your iPhone to your Mac
  • Speedify installed on your Mac

Let's Get Started

Step 1

Connect an Ethernet cable between your router or modem and the Ethernet port on your Mac. In most cases, your Mac will connect to the internet automatically. If your Mac doesn't have a built-in Ethernet port, a USB-to-Ethernet adapter or a Thunderbolt-to-Gigabit Ethernet adapter will work as well.

Need help with this step? Visit Apple's support page to learn more.

Step 2

Enable Personal Hotspot (USB tethering) on your iPhone. Personal Hotspot lets you share your iPhone's cellular data connection with other devices over Wi-Fi, USB, or Bluetooth.

On your iPhone, go to Settings > Cellular > Personal Hotspot (or Settings > Personal Hotspot depending on your iOS version) and toggle it on.

Note: If you don't see the Personal Hotspot option, contact your carrier to confirm that your plan supports it.

Need help with this step? Visit Apple's support page to learn more.

Step 3

Connect your iPhone to your Mac with a USB cable. If a prompt appears on your iPhone asking "Trust This Computer?", tap Trust.

Next, open System Preferences > Network and select iPhone USB from the list on the left. In the right pane, make sure the "Disable unless needed" checkbox is unchecked. This ensures your Mac keeps the USB connection active.

Uncheck Disable Unless Needed in Network preferences

Need help with this step? Visit Apple's support page to learn more.

Step 4

Download and install Speedify from speedify.com/download. Once Speedify is running, it will automatically detect your Ethernet connection and your iPhone USB connection and start combining them. You should see both connections listed on the Speedify dashboard.

Did you know - Speedify's Pair & Share feature lets you share your internet connections with other Speedify users on the same local network. Learn more about Pair & Share.