FaceTime over 3G (aka FaceTime without WiFi)
Update: There’s an easier way now: http://deviceknit.com/implementations/39/
Check out this Implementation on DeviceKnit: http://deviceknit.com/implementations/19/
FaceTime is only supposed to work on the iPhone 4 when you are on WiFi, which is unfortunate because sometimes it would be fun to video chat on FaceTime when you’re in the car or on a boat (like we just tested). It’s a little clunky, but not too hard if you have tethering and a laptop.
First, you’ll need to have tethering on your iPhone plan. It’s been tested with AT&T so far, which runs an extra $15 per month (until there’s a jailbreak that allows it for free!)
Turn on tethering in Settings > General > Network > Internet Tethering on your iPhone 4 and connect it via USB. You’ll see a new “iPhone USB” connection option pop up in the Network preference pane in System Preferences:
Go to the Sharing preference pane, and turn on Internet Sharing to share your USB connection over WiFi/AirPort:
Now, connect to the network you just created with your iPhone, and you can FaceTime all you want. Hopefully when there’s a jailbreak for the iPhone 4 the laptop and tethering won’t be needed anymore. Enjoy!
To discover more implementations like this, be sure to sign up for a DeviceKnit beta account at http://deviceknit.com
