How to Tether an Apple IPhone to a Windows PC Using a USB Cable

A lot of people don't know that you can actually share an Internet connection from an Apple iPhone with a PC running Windows. This process is called tethering. If you don't know how to setup tether on your iPhone, take a look at my other article called "How to Setup Tethering on an Apple iPhone." That will give you step by step instructions for setting it up. For those of you that have already done this, just continue reading. Tethering is very useful whenever you find yourself in a situation where you are desperate for an internet connection but don't have one. This will work on any desktop or laptop running Windows.

Step 1. Disable your internet connection.

Odds are you are probably connected to the Internet right now as you are reading this article. To properly test this, you are going to want to disable your Internet connection before you proceed through the rest of the steps so that you know you are getting your internet connection from your iPhone and not your home or office modem. The easiest way to do this in Windows is by going to "Control Panel" then "Network Connections" then right-clicking on your connection and selecting "Disable."

Step 2. Install the latest version of iTunes.

Make sure you have the latest version of iTunes installed on your PC. iTunes has the tethering driver that Windows will use to recognize your iPhone.

Step 3. Connect your iPhone to the PC.

Use the USB cable that came with your iPhone to connect it to your PC. If iTunes opens, just close it. Wait for Windows to prompt you to install a new hardware called "Apple Mobile Device Ethernet."

Step 4. Open up "Network Connections."

Go to the "Start" menu and click on "Control Panel" then "Network Connections." You should notice a new Local Area Connection. Click on the "Properties" for the LAN connection and make sure it says, "Apple Mobile Device." This is your iPhone. You should also notice that your iPhone is flashing blue and says, "Internet Tethering."

You should now be able to surf the internet on your PC via the connection your iPhone is feeding it. Any time you need to connect a PC running Windows to the internet and you don't hve an available connection, all you have to do is these repeat these steps. I hope you found this tutorial useful and fun tethering your iPhone to your Windows PC.