It came back on sometime early this morning, a little later than they thought.
A friend just came by for me to put a grip on a golf club for him, and as we were standing in the garage, it started hailing. Not big or severe, but hail for sure. Forecast is for thunderstorms again today.
As far as the tethering, your phone can become a Hotspot. You may have to pay a few bucks extra every month for it though.
Mine doesn't heat up because I use it for four hours every night when I work. I have unlimited data so no problem there.
I think you can connect up to five devices at the same time if needed.