Bummer

Desert Orchid

Desert Orchid

Senior Jockey
Joined
Aug 2, 2005
Messages
24,092
I'm reminded of the age-old toilet graffiti: Here I sit broken-hearted, paid a penny and only farted...

I'm sitting in the canteen in a hospital on Clydeside (Mrs O is in for cataract procedure). I didn't manage to get all my bets on yesterday evening, assuming that I could do so here this morning while getting on with studying for Saturday. The studying part is nae borra but it turns out I can't access oddschecker or bookies using the hospital's Internet connection. It never occurred to me that this would happen.

I do recall not being able to access such sites via the school Internet but that was entirely understandable but this is supposed to be a public, open connection.

Hands up, I didn't read through all the T&Cs, just ticked the box.

Still, it's a bummer...
 
Or find a McDonalds or something similar nearby. The cataract procedure will take a few hours I assume (my Mum's did last weekend)
 
There has to be a McDonalds-free solution to this.

I'd just get off the Nanny State wi-fi and onto 4g personally.

We live in a world where it is blindingly obvious to anyone who can count that you withdraw more money from betting accounts than deposit into them yet your bank still asks if you'd like to set a limit on your gambling deposits and the public sector wants to "protect" you from gambling too.

And this is under a Tory government - it will only get worse under Labour.

And I say that as a lifelong Labour voter.

The world clearly cannot cope with the concept of the centre-left libertarian who actually manages to make their betting pay,
 
simmo said:
Step outside and use 4g.
Click to expand...

We're home now but how do I do the above?

I had my laptop with me in the hospital. I don't use my phone for betting etc, mainly because it's all too small for my reading vision.

Looking for a McD wasn't really an option today as I had to be nearby to collect Mrs O when she came out of surgery.
 
You'd have to go into the phone settings and turn off 'WiFi'.

When you're at home you probably (or possibly) have WiFi activated, so you're connected to your own Broadband.

When you were at the hospital, you would have had to have WiFi activated to connect to their Broadband.

Normally, when you disable WiFi connectivity, the phone will auto connect to the 4G network of the provider (assuming 4G is available)

**You'll normally find 'settings' on the front screen, one of those app type things
 
chaumi said:
You'd have to go into the phone settings and turn off 'WiFi'.

When you're at home you probably (or possibly) have WiFi activated, so you're connected to your own Broadband.

When you were at the hospital, you would have had to have WiFi activated to connect to their Broadband.

Normally, when you disable WiFi connectivity, the phone will auto connect to the 4G network of the provider (assuming 4G is available)

**You'll normally find 'settings' on the front screen, one of those app type things
Click to expand...

But would I be able to do that on my laptop in the hospital?

Mrs O will have to go back in some time soon to have her other eye 'done' so it would be good to know in advance.

I should add that my time wasn't wasted. I had all the form with me and made inroads into tomorrow's cards.
 
4g (or 5G) only available on phones usually. I think you could get a SIM card to use on an iPad but not sure it’s possible on a laptop
 
OK so (I think) we're all guilty of assuming you were using a mobile phone, DO.

Laptop is a different game.

But - if you have a mobile that has internet access (through the provider) and you can have it with you in fairly close proximity when you want to use your laptop to use the phone's internet access when away from home - then there is a way to do it. Or at least there's a way I've been shown in the past, and it works for me. Should work on any phone.

Essentially what you'll be doing is kind of pairing your laptop with the mobile, such that you're giving the laptop internet access through the phone (kind of like having a router, like you do at home - the phone becomes the router).

I'll try and bullet point how to do it, but first Q is what phone is it? Apple? Samsung? Etc?
 
Yes that’s right you can use a phone as a wi-fi hotspot apparently. I think your phone will generate a password and then you need to select your phone as a wi-fi connection hub on the laptop and enter the password. You’ll be asked to approve access on your phone
 
Last edited:
OK. Theoretically, this should be straightforward but you might need 10 mins or so.

Find that 'Settings' icon on the phone. It should be visible on the front screen. If not, shout. But you could just search on Google for something like 'how do I get the settings icon on an iPhone'. There will be multiple (easy) ways to get to it.



1. Name your phone.

Settings - General - About : You should see 'Name' right at the top. You may already have a name set. You can change it or if it's blank set a name of your choice, suggest something like 'DO's Iphone'


2. Set up personal hotspot

Go back to settings

The first 6 icons you might see stuff like Airplane Mode, WiFi (and if you're at home, it might show next to it that you're connected to your home broadband), Bluetooth, etc

You want the Personal Hotspot icon, tap on it

Now you will see two options - Allow Others to Join and WiFi Password

Click on WiFi Password
There will be a field with a cursor blinking. Enter whatever password you want here. Then click 'Done' up in the right-hand corner. It'll automatically go back to the previous screen. (This is different to all other passwords you might have on the phone, this is just for connecting your laptop to the phone and doesn't change other stuff like how you normally log in to the phone when you turn it on etc)

Now the Allow Others to Join will probably be showing off (white circle with grey to the right of it). Press the white circle and it should go green.

Put the phone down, go to the laptop.



3. Turning hotspot on on the laptop

If you're at home, you're probably connected to your own Broadband.
Look in the bottom right-hand corner, there should be a row of small icons.
One of them will be your broadband connectivity status icon (small dot bottom right with three curved lines emanating upwards to the left). If you hover the cursor over it, it tells you what you're currently connected to (will prob show your home broadband router name)

Click on that icon. There should be a list of all possible options you could connect to. Examples - your own router, maybe your next-door neighbours, a house across the street. This list is dynamic, it'll be different depending on where you are.

You probably know all this bit above anyway.

But now, you should also see 'DO's Iphone' as a option.

If you don't, get the phone, go to settings again, press on that Allow Others to Join button (to turn it off) and then immediately again to turn it green.

Now go back to that WiFi icon and click it again. Now you should see 'DO's Iphone' as an option. Click on it (you don't have to disconnect from whatever you're currently connected to) and click on the 'Connect' button.

If it's all worked, now you're using the phone's internet access on your laptop.

******

What could go wrong? Maybe your phone network provider doesn't allow it. Maybe you have to go ask them to enable hotspot functionality.

Notes:

  • If you're in an area where the mobile phone signal is weak, then the internet connectivity might be flaky/slow (personally this rarely happens to me and is probably unlikely if you're in any built-up area)
  • If someone calls you on the phone while you're using it as a hotspot, or you make a call, then it can drop the hotspot out. You go to do something on the laptop and nothing happens. In this case, you have to go back to the phone setting, turn off and back on again on the Allow Others to Join button. Then start again on the laptop WiFi connectivity, essentially repeating the process above.
  • Using phone as hotspot seems (for me) to run down the phone battery quicker than you're usually used to. So if you're going to need a few hours and it's important, have a phone charger with you.
  • If you take the phone more than about 10 feet away from the laptop, the hotspot may drop. Get the phone back closer to the laptop and start again.
  • Whenever you want to start a new session of using the phone's internet, you have to go enable that Allow Others to Join button.

Something I'm not 100% sure about : Do you also need to have Bluetooth enabled in the phone settings? I don't think so. I believe this is entirely separate and is used for stuff like connecting your phone to your car sound system etc. But I could be wrong.

Something else : Do you need to have an iCloud account to make it work? I considered this a possibility. But my hotspot was working without me being logged in to my iCloud account. I concluded it's not relevant. But worth remembering as something to try if the process doesn't work.
 
Last edited:
chaumi said:
OK. Theoretically, this should be straightforward but you might need 10 mins or so.

Find that 'Settings' icon on the phone. It should be visible on the front screen. If not, shout. But you could just search on Google for something like 'how do I get the settings icon on an iPhone'. There will be multiple (easy) ways to get to it.



1. Name your phone.

Settings - General - About : You should see 'Name' right at the top. You may already have a name set. You can change it or if it's blank set a name of your choice, suggest something like 'DO's Iphone'


2. Set up personal hotspot

Go back to settings

The first 6 icons you might see stuff like Airplane Mode, WiFi (and if you're at home, it might show next to it that you're connected to your home broadband), Bluetooth, etc

You want the Personal Hotspot icon, tap on it

Now you will see two options - Allow Others to Join and WiFi Password

Click on WiFi Password
There will be a field with a cursor blinking. Enter whatever password you want here. Then click 'Done' up in the right-hand corner. It'll automatically go back to the previous screen. (This is different to all other passwords you might have on the phone, this is just for connecting your laptop to the phone and doesn't change other stuff like how you normally log in to the phone when you turn it on etc)

Now the Allow Others to Join will probably be showing off (white circle with grey to the right of it). Press the white circle and it should go green.

Put the phone down, go to the laptop.



3. Turning hotspot on on the laptop

If you're at home, you're probably connected to your own Broadband.
Look in the bottom right-hand corner, there should be a row of small icons.
One of them will be your broadband connectivity status icon (small dot bottom right with three curved lines emanating upwards to the left). If you hover the cursor over it, it tells you what you're currently connected to (will prob show your home broadband router name)

Click on that icon. There should be a list of all possible options you could connect to. Examples - your own router, maybe your next-door neighbours, a house across the street. This list is dynamic, it'll be different depending on where you are.

You probably know all this bit above anyway.

But now, you should also see 'DO's Iphone' as a option.

If you don't, get the phone, go to settings again, press on that Allow Others to Join button (to turn it off) and then immediately again to turn it green.

Now go back to that WiFi icon and click it again. Now you should see 'DO's Iphone' as an option. Click on it (you don't have to disconnect from whatever you're currently connected to) and click on the 'Connect' button.

If it's all worked, now you're using the phone's internet access on your laptop.

******

What could go wrong? Maybe your phone network provider doesn't allow it. Maybe you have to go ask them to enable hotspot functionality.

Notes:

  • If you're in an area where the mobile phone signal is weak, then the internet connectivity might be flaky/slow (personally this rarely happens to me and is probably unlikely if you're in any built-up area)
  • If someone calls you on the phone while you're using it as a hotspot, or you make a call, then it can drop the hotspot out. You go to do something on the laptop and nothing happens. In this case, you have to go back to the phone setting, turn off and back on again on the Allow Others to Join button. Then start again on the laptop WiFi connectivity, essentially repeating the process above.
  • Using phone as hotspot seems (for me) to run down the phone battery quicker than you're usually used to. So if you're going to need a few hours and it's important, have a phone charger with you.
  • If you take the phone more than about 10 feet away from the laptop, the hotspot may drop. Get the phone back closer to the laptop and start again.
  • Whenever you want to start a new session of using the phone's internet, you have to go enable that Allow Others to Join button.

Something I'm not 100% sure about : Do you also need to have Bluetooth enabled in the phone settings? I don't think so. I believe this is entirely separate and is used for stuff like connecting your phone to your car sound system etc. But I could be wrong.

Something else : Do you need to have an iCloud account to make it work? I considered this a possibility. But my hotspot was working without me being logged in to my iCloud account. I concluded it's not relevant. But worth remembering as something to try if the process doesn't work.
Click to expand...
Thanks for that, your instructions worked for me.
 
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