iPhone USB Tethering Setup on Windows PC

Tethering your iPhone to a Windows PC over USB puts a cellular connection on your computer without touching its Wi-Fi radio. That leaves Wi-Fi free for a second connection, and Speedify combines the two into one faster, more reliable link. If the Wi-Fi drops mid-call, the cellular side carries the session and you stay online.

What You'll Need

• A Windows PC
• An iPhone or cellular iPad with a data plan that includes Personal Hotspot
• The USB cable that came with the phone (Lightning or USB-C, depending on the model)
• iTunes for Windows

Why iTunes? Windows has no built-in driver for an iPhone acting as a network adapter. iTunes installs Apple Mobile Device Support, which is the piece that makes the tethered phone show up as a wired connection. You never have to open iTunes again after the first run, but the driver has to be there.

Step 1: Install iTunes on your PC

Download iTunes for Windows, install it, and launch it once so it finishes setting up the Apple device drivers.

Step 2: Turn on Personal Hotspot on your iPhone

Personal Hotspot is what lets your iPhone share its cellular data with another device over Wi-Fi, USB, or Bluetooth. On the phone, go to Settings > Cellular > Personal Hotspot (or Settings > Personal Hotspot) and switch it on.

If Personal Hotspot isn't listed, your plan may not include it. Check with your carrier. Some carriers also charge extra for tethering or cap it separately from your main data allowance.

Need help with this step? Visit Apple's knowledge base to learn more.

Step 3: Connect the iPhone to your PC over USB

Plug the phone into the PC. If the phone asks Trust This Computer?, tap Trust and enter your passcode. Then check iTunes: the iPhone should appear under Devices on the left side of the window.

If iTunes doesn't see the phone

Open Device Manager on the PC and look for the iPhone under Portable Devices or Other Devices. Right-click it, choose Update driver, then Search automatically for drivers. Windows will pull in the Apple driver.

Still nothing? Restart the PC and try a different USB port. A charge-only cable will power the phone without carrying data, so swap the cable if a second port doesn't help.

Need help with this step? Visit Apple's knowledge base to learn more.

Step 4: Confirm the tethered connection in Windows

Windows treats a tethered iPhone as a wired connection, not a Wi-Fi one. Click the network icon in the notification area at the right end of the taskbar, or open Settings > Network & internet. You should see a connected Ethernet entry named after the phone or listed as Network with a number after it. That's the tethered iPhone.

Step 5: Download and install Speedify

Download and install Speedify. Once it's running, Speedify picks up the tethered iPhone alongside your Wi-Fi or Ethernet and combines them. There's nothing to configure. If one connection slows down or drops, Speedify keeps the session alive on the other.

Alternative: Add your iPhone's cellular connection without a cable

If you'd rather skip the cable and the iTunes driver, Pair & Share lets your PC borrow the iPhone's cellular connection over your local network.

1. Install Speedify on both devices
2. Put them on the same Wi-Fi or local network
3. Open the Pair & Share settings in Speedify and tap the device you want to pair with to send an invitation
4. Accept the invitation on the other device

Paired devices share and receive each other's connections at the same time, so the more you pair, the more connections you have. Traffic between paired devices is fully encrypted, and you stay in control: set permissions, set limits, or unpair at any time.