Tethering on Three

Updated: 6th March, 2018

There’s more to mobile data than just getting your smartphone online. You can also share your connection with other devices such as laptops and tablets to get them online too. This is known as tethering or a personal hotspot and on Three you usually don’t have to pay any extra to use it, so it’s well worth giving it a try.

With tethering you’ll be able to get devices online which don’t have a mobile data connection of their own, they just need to be able to connect to a Wi-Fi network. Essentially it turns your smartphone into a router, all without any other equipment or outlay.

Current Plans Tethering Allowances

Pay Monthly phone and SIM plans come in two different types called Advanced and Essential plans, which were first introduced in July 12th 2016. Advanced plans come with tethering at no extra cost, and you can use as much of your data as you want for tethering, up to 30GB per month on 100GB and unlimited data plans. Essential plans don't include tethering, but an add-on is available at additional cost.

With a mobile broadband device or tablet SIM you can use any or all of your monthly data towards tethering. There are no exceptions to this. The maximum you can therefore use is 40GB per month if you have a 40GB tariff.

None of Three's Pay As You Go include tethering, but you can still get generous allowances for mobile data on your smartphone including unlimited data bundles.

How can I check my tethering and data usage?

Tethering can use up a lot of data so you’ll probably want to monitor your usage. On Three that’s easy to do though. As it just comes out of your normal allowance, in most cases you can check how much data you’ve used and got left by heading to your My3 account here, where the remaining amount will be shown on the main screen.

If you’ve got an all-you-can eat data tariff then you’ll have a separate Personal Hotspot allowance. To view this head over to My3 and select ‘Allowance’.

What if I want to continue tethering beyond my allowance?

If you’ve used up all your data and want to keep on tethering then you’ll usually be able to buy an add-on. There are a range of add-ons available for all types of plans including Pay Monthly, SIM Only, Mobile Broadband and tablets. View add-ons by logging into your My3 account here.

Can I use tethering abroad with Feel At Home?

Tethering is allowed in Feel At Home in Europe locations if you’re on an advanced plan. However, you can’t tether beyond Europe or if you’re on an Essential Plan.

Older Plans Tethering Allowances - Prior to July 12th 2016

Three plans taken out before July 12th 2016 include different tethering policies depending on the contract type and when the contract was first taken out. We've summarised the tethering limits for older plans in the tables below.

Pay Monthly Phones

* If you have a Three Pay Monthly tariff which started on or before March 17^th 2014 then tethering won’t be included and you’ll have to pay £5 for a 1GB monthly personal hotspot add-on.

SIM-Only contracts

* If your SIM-Only plan started before the 15^th of July 2014 then tethering won’t be included and you’ll have to pay £5 to get a 1GB monthly allowance.