What you would be recommending.
FastNet Connect is a Mac app that puts the Mac online through an iPhone's cellular connection, over USB or nearby peer-to-peer Wi-Fi, with Personal Hotspot off. It pairs with ProxyDeck, a free iPhone app.
What it does well
For your audience
- Uses the phone's own data instead of the capped hotspot allowance. On one T-Mobile line: 0.21 Mbps on the throttled hotspot, 306 Mbps through FastNet on the same SIM.
- One click on the Mac. It captures traffic system-wide, so there is nothing to configure per app.
- Free to try, then $29 one-time. The Mac app runs without a license for the first 2 hours of connected time, so your audience can check it on their carrier first. No subscription, 30-day refund, no account, and no traffic through our servers.
Limits to tell them about
Before they buy
- The iPhone app must stay open in the foreground while the Mac is connected.
- Apple Silicon Mac with macOS 13+ and an iPhone with iOS 16+. No Windows or Android.
- It does not change anyone's mobile plan. How a carrier accounts for traffic is up to the carrier, and its terms still apply.
Speed figures are from the developer's own back-to-back Speedtest runs; your results depend on signal, plan, and device.