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All iPads Do/did you buy your iPad(s) with Cellular or Wi-Fi Only?
- Thread starter Yebubbleman
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I usually but cellular using AT&T next. Trying to decide if I want an iPad Air or iPad Pro this time around.
Pretty sure that with unlimited data and insurance, it tacks on around $~35. But my plan is a post-paid plan, not a pre-paid one.
You can do rather affordable pay-as-you-go pre-paid plans. Though, if you know it's not about to be a temporary thing, post-paid is a better value.
I agree! This is a refreshingly non-toxic thread so far! And it really seems like one of the most subjective iPad questions one can ask, next to 'which model' and 'what color'.
Sounds about right! It's a pretty good deal! My phone service with them, on the other hand, is an entirely different matter.
I think this is what fueled my decision to never get cellular on anything that wasn't an iPad mini a few years back. The last time I had and actively used cellular on anything larger than a mini, it was on a 5th Generation iPad that I bought back when it looked like the iPad mini 4 would be the end of the line (a fear that seems never-ending when it comes to the iPad mini).
Back when I bought my M1 iPad Pro, I was using my iPad as my main device, so cellular was absolutely worth it. Now I am using a MacBook Pro most of the time, so I cancelled the cell plan. I still use my iPad heavily when travelling, but I'm overseas and need to hotspot anyway. If I need to hotspot anyway, no point having cellular.
Mine’s just $11.24 (Verizon $10 + $1.24 surcharge). No insurance of course. It’s supposed to be $20 but I get a 50% connected device discount on the Do More plan.
I’m exploring this option for my dad. He’s at home on wifi most of the time. Alas, when they go on trips, he kills the T-Mobile $10/5GB promo quickly and I have no way to monitor or top off his iPad data remotely.
I recently discovered Tello (TMO MVNO) which offers rollover data if the plan is renewed at least 1 day early. I’m doing $6/2GB every 28 days which should give him 26GB every year.
I don’t have a monthly plan anymore on my 10+” iPad. However, I still get the cellular model since it’s just super handy to have. Now that iPads have so much performance headroom, I’m content buying heavily discounted high capacity cellular models on clearance from Woot.
Navigation charts for pilots is probably another example.
These are all specialty cases though.
Never had cellular, but next ipad will be. I am planning on using duo-sim. A second sim card in my current plan, free of charge. It won’t allow simultaneous use of the sims, but I will be able to switch between devices. I figure this is superior to hotspotting. I don’t mind my phone being without cellular when using ipad.
iPad WiFi. If I need to use it where the is no WiFi then I just use my iPhone mobile data hotspot. Same for my MacBook Air. The mobile data speeds I get are actually faster than my home internet and probably faster than any WiFi i connect to when out and about. My home internet limit is 290Mb/s but on 5G I can get 500-600Mb/s... not that I need it but still good to have.
No point wasting money on a cellular model and plan. I don't even have a cellular Watch.
No point wasting money on a cellular model and plan. I don't even have a cellular Watch.
My previous iPad (mini 2, air 2, 12.9 pro 2018) were wifi only. For the next one I’m thinking about a cellular one.
My current iPad Pro (4th gen 12.9) is my first cellular. I got when I still had booths at conventions, mostly so I could have access to my dropbox and keep my phone delegated for running payments. Now, that I'm semiretired from the con scene, I like bringing my iPad with me when my wife and I go camping so the connectivity is nice.
That said, I'll probably go back to wifi only when I need to upgrade.
That said, I'll probably go back to wifi only when I need to upgrade.
The 12.9” M1 I bought on sale is cellular, the 11” M1 I also bought on sale is Wi-Fi. As I tend to buy everything on closeout (Best Buy and Woot this time) I favor cellular if they have it available. The 12.9” isn’t on an active contract, but it’s there if I want/need it in the future.
I’ve had three cellular models: iPad 4, iPad Air 2 and iPad Gen 8. For the latter, I bought the cellular version since it was the same price as the WiFi version at the time (it was on sale through T-Mobile). The extra tech was worth it at that point. For my current iPad Air, along with my other previous ones, they didn’t have cell data.
Personally, I prefer the cellular version after having it since you can hop online at anytime. Where I get cutoff, paying the line fee on the plan or prepaid, so this time I went WiFi only and hotspot from my cell iPhone; downfall is can’t use my phone.
Personally, I prefer the cellular version after having it since you can hop online at anytime. Where I get cutoff, paying the line fee on the plan or prepaid, so this time I went WiFi only and hotspot from my cell iPhone; downfall is can’t use my phone.
The nice thing with clearance deals is cellular is often just $50-100 more than the wifi only models.
The large batteries on the bigger iPads also make them better hotspots for laptops and other wifi-only devices. Less worries about your phone running out of juice, too.
Also, phone hotspot may stop working when the phone gets too hot. I’ve had this happen during road trips (hot SoCal).
There are still reasons, for some people, to have a cellular version of the iPad.
Using the phone's hotspot quickly drains its battery. Speaking as someone who has a cellular iPad but not cellular plan for the iPad, I do actually use the phone's hotspot every now and then when I need my iPad connected to the internet and there's no wifi, but I quickly turn off hotspot once I'm done.
That said, I'm not often in situations where I'm using my iPad and don't have wifi connection. I like the cellular version largely because of its geolocation abilities.
I do understand that. It really depends on your use case; I rarely use my ipad outside my home/office. I'd wager most people don't really use gps on their ipads and typically have access to wifi and power as well. It is a nice-to-have, but for myself at least, I'm not away from wifi/outlets frequently enough to justify the extra cost + subscription. My hotspot works great.
I am honestly surprised at how many people commenting here have gone with Cellular models strictly for GPS alone.
I can definitely understand wanting to compensate for a lack of Wi-Fi. I definitely own other tablets, all of which are Wi-Fi only; I can definitely tell when I don't have access to Internet on those. Wi-Fi may be ubiquitous; but Wi-Fi you have the access to use and/or WANT to use (for not being insecure in some blaring way) isn't always. If I'm going to a friend's place, Wi-Fi there is common enough. But not every place I've worked has had a Wi-Fi network that I'm allowed to join a personal iPad to.
I have always purchased iPad’s with both WiFi and Cellular for the GPS functionality. It made it a lot easier to use the iPad for navigation while flying. The alternative was an iPad and an external GPS device.
I don’t recall ever purchasing a cellular plan for the iPad, just use my phone as a hotspot when necessary.
I don’t recall ever purchasing a cellular plan for the iPad, just use my phone as a hotspot when necessary.
I have a Garmin Glo 2 GPS Bluetooth receiver. It works great but it's one more device to carry & charge (with mini-USB cable). I haven't used it since getting the Mini 6 with cellular.
Almost all of my iPads have been Wifi only, but my current iPad Pro 12.9" M2 and my previous iPad Air 4 were Cellular.
The first was the iPad Air as an "experiment" and I found that I got a lot of use out of it and when I changed the Pro , I decided to buy it with Cellular, and I don't regret it. When I travel on the train, it is much more convenient to have a connection directly on the device itself than to share data. Now I have an iPad mini to be around the house and this is WiFi only, since I barely take it out of my home.
The first was the iPad Air as an "experiment" and I found that I got a lot of use out of it and when I changed the Pro , I decided to buy it with Cellular, and I don't regret it. When I travel on the train, it is much more convenient to have a connection directly on the device itself than to share data. Now I have an iPad mini to be around the house and this is WiFi only, since I barely take it out of my home.
Always wifi only. I’m very seldom in a situation where I need to use my iPad but don’t have wifi. For the rare occasions when I am, I just create a hotspot with my phone.
So far all of my iPads have been wifi only. However, now that my 2018 12.9" IPP is getting glitchy since I dropped it and cracked the screen, I'm seriously considering a cellular IPP as my next purchase, particularly if a consulting gig I became aware of a few weeks ago comes to fruition.
My iPad is used mostly at home, so there's been no real need for cellular most of the time. However, even if the aforementioned consulting gig doesn't materialize, there are parts of the farm that are well away from the house, where it would be handy to have web access on something other than my iPhone. Likewise while traveling with our camper, as decent wifi access can be sometimes hard to find. True, I can use a hotspot, but it uses battery pretty quickly, and my understanding is that using a phone as a hotspot isn't particularly good for the phone's battery health. EDIT: The geolocation capability would be handy as well.
I'm guessing that the convenience alone would be worth the price of admission, for me.
My iPad is used mostly at home, so there's been no real need for cellular most of the time. However, even if the aforementioned consulting gig doesn't materialize, there are parts of the farm that are well away from the house, where it would be handy to have web access on something other than my iPhone. Likewise while traveling with our camper, as decent wifi access can be sometimes hard to find. True, I can use a hotspot, but it uses battery pretty quickly, and my understanding is that using a phone as a hotspot isn't particularly good for the phone's battery health. EDIT: The geolocation capability would be handy as well.
I'm guessing that the convenience alone would be worth the price of admission, for me.
It depends on desire/needs. For example, if I ever needed to use my iPad to navigate, it can do that. I don't have a cell plan for it, but once it has downloaded maps, it can easily be used to navigate and that's a plus.
If I recall, the difference between a wifi vs. cellular model was about $200? In a sense, that was a small price to pay for the added functionality.