Читать книгу iPad and iPad Pro For Dummies - Paul McFedries - Страница 30

Some iPad models come with the internal hardware required to operate on a cellular network. If your iPad doesn't have cellular support, go ahead and skip to the next section.

Wireless technology is constantly evolving, but support for cellular capabilities on mobile devices is everyday stuff now. You need to pay for a cellular plan with a carrier to use your iPad’s cellular capabilities. Read on to learn more about your cellular options.

In the United States, you can choose among AT&T, Verizon Wireless, and T-Mobile. Most carriers offer some version of 4G and 5G wireless. All iPad cellular models support 4G, and as this book went to press, 5G support was built into the latest models of the iPad Pro and iPad mini (but not the iPad and iPad Air).

Figuring out how much data you need beforehand isn’t always easy, but it’s simple enough to adjust along the way. If you’re streaming a lot of music, T-Mobile for one provides a nice benefit: the capability to stream free on most major services, including Spotify and Apple Music. A friendly warning pops up on your iPad when you get close to your limit. At that point, you can pay more to add to your data bucket or start from scratch next month.

Whichever carrier you go with, I recommend finding a (secure) Wi-Fi network when streaming movies, lest you exhaust your data allotment in a hurry.

iPads with cellular hardware may include an Apple SIM card that theoretically allows you to bounce from one carrier to another. The process isn’t always simple, however, because such SIM cards are sometimes locked down, either by Apple or by the carrier from which you bought the tablet. Moreover, the type of SIM card inside your iPad varies. Some models have nano-SIM cards. Others, including most early models dating all the way back to the original iPad, have a micro-SIM card. More recent models have both an embedded Apple SIM card and a tray for a nano-SIM card.

If you can’t get your iPad to work with a chosen wireless carrier, check with that carrier for advice.