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Reverse tethering Macbook Pro and iPad over BT extremely slow

Super User Asked by SnakeException on February 4, 2021

Sharing my Mac’s internet over Bluetooth is extremely slow, with about 0.50 mbps download and often 0.00 mbps upload. My mac is connected wirelessly to a router and gets about 115 mbps download and 10 mbps upload. Why is the connection on the iPad so slow? I would use wifi tethering except that I can’t connect my mac to the router using an Ethernet cable. Even so, shouldn’t BT 4.0 be able to handle much faster speeds?

One Answer

Bluetooth is a low data rate protocol and is generally capable of less than 2Mbps under normal circumstances.

Bluetooth 3 supported a "High Speed" mode which used a WiFi link to achieve 24mbit, but is not "real" Bluetooth:

Bluetooth v3.0 + HS provides theoretical data transfer speeds of up to 24 Mbit/s, though not over the Bluetooth link itself. Instead, the Bluetooth link is used for negotiation and establishment, and the high data rate traffic is carried over a colocated 802.11 link.

This requires hardware and software support and generally was not well received or used.

For core Bluetooth support you have the option of 1, 2 or 3 Mbits, depending on implementation and support by both sides of the connection.

Originally, Gaussian frequency-shift keying (GFSK) modulation was the only modulation scheme available. Since the introduction of Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, π/4-DQPSK (differential quadrature phase-shift keying) and 8-DPSK modulation may also be used between compatible devices. Devices functioning with GFSK are said to be operating in basic rate (BR) mode, where an instantaneous bit rate of 1 Mbit/s is possible. The term Enhanced Data Rate (EDR) is used to describe π/4-DPSK and 8-DPSK schemes, each giving 2 and 3 Mbit/s respectively. The combination of these (BR and EDR) modes in Bluetooth radio technology is classified as a BR/EDR radio.

In 2019, Apple published an extension called HDR which supports data rates up to 8Mbit/s.

The 8Mbit extension is unlikely to be common, and would require hardware support. I doubt a simple software upgrade would enable it except on devices that already support it.

It may be that you are thinking of WiFiDirect which is a high speed WiFi connection with a Bluetooth style ad-hoc connection.

Answered by Mokubai on February 4, 2021

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