How do I use cellular internet while connected to a wifi network on my iPad Pro?

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How do I use cellular internet while connected to a wifi network on my iPad Pro?

Hi community,

I have the following issue. On my iPad Pro regularly connect to a Wifi network which is purely for remote control of other networked devices without an internet connection. I also have a cellular plan that I use to connect to the internet. However, as soon as I connect to the Wifi network the iPad will try to connect to the internet via Wifi and not cellular.

I know that on my Mac I simply can change the order of network services in system settings to make sure the one that has internet is on top of the order. On the iPad the order is fixed - or at least I don‘t know how to change it. In the settings WIFI is always above CELLULAR which is probably why it won‘t acknowledge the cellular internet connection once a WiFi network is connected.

How do I use both simultaneously the way I described (using data from cellular service while using wifi to talk to other networked devices)? There has to be a way similar to how it works on Mac OS.

Thanks!

iPad Pro (5th generation)

Posted on Apr 15, 2023 6:55 PM

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Answer 1

Apr 16, 2023 5:08 AM in response to x-Nor

Unlike macOS, Microsoft Windows and other desktop computers, iOS/iPadOS does not offer “dual-homed” networking across multiple network interfaces.

While iOS/iPadOS devices with a Cellular network connection can be configured to automatically switch to using Cellular if WiFi is not available, these devices do not provide capability to configure full dual-home network functionality. However, iOS/iPadOS does support Wi-Fi Assist - this being intended to allow the host device to route internet traffic via the Cellular connection where the WiFi connection is poor.

About Wi-Fi Assist - Apple Support

You should note that the Wi-Fi Assist feature is not intended to support connection to an isolated WiFi network (i.e., without Internet connectivity) while routing of all internet traffic via the Cellular network interface. In summary, what you are attempting to achieve may not be possible with iPad and iPhone.

Apple do invite submission of comments and feature requests via its Product Feedback portal. If you’d like to see more flexible and granular control of network connectivity, this would be the most appropriate channel through which to make such a request. For iPad and iPadOS:

Feedback - iPad - Apple

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How do I use cellular internet while connected to a wifi network on my iPad Pro?

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