Help Maximum distance between phone and comp for Wifi tethering?

[AM_SOS]

Hi all,

This is about power consumption and speed of the WiFi tethering.

Does it make a difference if I keep the phone (KitKat) at a distance from my laptop (MacBook Pro) that is tethered to use its 3G network?

What distance between the two will start significantly effecting the efficiency of the connection between them? I am thinking of the speed of the internet, and of course the power consumption of both the phone and the laptop owing to use of the WiFi.

Normally the phone and the laptop are at a distance of less than 2 feet without any objects in between. Is it a better idea to keep them right next to each other?

Thanks!

 

[breadnatty08]

I've actually never tested this, but generally keep them at less than a few feet from each other. My only recommendation is keeping your phone on a charger as tethering can kill a battery quickly. And, also keep an eye on how hot your phone gets. Of the few phones I've tethered with, some get really hot (my OG Moto Droid) and some stay cool.

 

[AM_SOS]

Thanks! I've noticed in general that one of the best things about the Moto G is that it tends to run pretty cool.
In my experience, although admittedly limited, I've often seen Samsungs heat up more.
This works out even when I am charging and tethering at the same time. There doesn't seem to be noticeable heating up of the battery.
Though what you say makes me a little anxious. Should I avoid tethering and charging even if I open a few webpages? Just to check a couple of emails etc?
Surely, a lot depends on how I am using the tethering at that time - youtubing as opposed to merely checking email?
Thanks!

 

[Slaiyen]

Distance should not be an issue unless you're in another room/floor really, ofc the farther you go the higher latency will be but while in the same general area it shouldn't be that noticeable.

As for charging, if it's not running hot I would just keep it plugged in while tethering unless you're spending a massive amount of time tethered in which case you'd be better to switch since constant charging will degrade the battery faster.

 

[breadnatty08]

A couple times with my OG Droid, we were using Navigation and it was in a dock in the windshield. This was during the middle of a hot summer, and even though we had the AC on it got really hot. So hot that it started rebooting!
You'll notice when too hot is too hot in that it's hard to even hold the device. If it's just a bit warm to the touch, you should be fine. And, there's a ton of temperature meters out in Google Play for free if you're concerned.