5/23/2020 How to Connect Mobile Internet to Your PC via Tethering

PC & MOBILE LIFESTYLE HARDWARE

ANDROID , TECHNOLOGY EXPL AINED Christian Cawley

1363 articles
How to Connect Mobile Internet Deputy Editor for Security, Linux, DIY,

to Your PC via Tethering Programming, and Tech Explained. He also

produces The Really Useful Podcast and has
By Christian Cawley / Updated May 4, 2020 04-05-2020 extensive experience in desktop and software
support. A contributor to Linux Format
Need an internet connection for your PC or laptop, but don’t have access to magazine, Christian is a Raspberry Pi tinkerer,
public Wi-Fi? The solution is simple: connect your smartphone’s mobile Lego lover and retro gaming fan.
internet connection to your PC. This process is known as tethering.
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While tethering with your laptop or tablet may be faster than the public
network in your favorite cafe, it can have its own problems. Here’s what you
need to know about tethering with Android and how to connect your mobile
internet to your PC. Trending Now
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Following the release of the iPhone in 2007, many cell phone networks
began charging extra for tethering plans. Fortunately, this money-grabbing

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5/23/2020 How to Connect Mobile Internet to Your PC via Tethering

practice has since been phased out almost completely—these days, Amazon Fire Stick vs. Roku:
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tethering is usually free aside from using your data allowance.HARDWARE Which One Is Better?
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Android Mobile Tethering Options Webcam: A Step-by-Step
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Explained by Dan Price

Android owners have three tethering options to share a mobile internet

connection with their laptop, tablet, or even desktop PC:

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1 Connect via Bluetooth Theater?
by Christian Cawley
2 Use your phone as a wireless hotspot Flic 2 Review: The Ultimate
3 Connect your phone to your computer via USB Smart Button That Integrates
Anything With a Web API
by James Bruce
Below we’ll look at each of these to discover which method will drain your Don’t Buy a Gaming Keyboard
battery quickest, and which transfers data fastest. Until You’ve Seen The
Azeron! (Review and
Before proceeding, make sure you have enabled mobile internet on your Giveaway)
by James Bruce
phone. It’s important to note that mobile signal strength will impact your
connection speed. Using tethering can also result in your phone’s battery Retroflag GPi is the Ultimate
Portable Retro Gaming
level decreasing quickly; wireless tethering is particularly power-intensive.
Console
by Christian Cawley
We provide speed results from speedtest.net for comparison.
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1. How to Connect Mobile Internet to a PC With

USB Tethering
Mobile phones have long had a modem feature, allowing you to hook up the
device to your computer via USB. This lets you share the mobile internet
connection over a wired connection with your laptop or other devices.

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It’s easy to do. Connect the USB cable that shipped with your phone to your
computer, then plug it into the phone’s USB port. Next, to configure your
Android device for sharing mobile internet:

1 Open Settings > Network & internet > Hotspot & tethering.
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2 Tap the USB tethering slider to enable it. If this appears grayed out,
make sure the USB cable is properly connected on both ends.

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5/23/2020 How to Connect Mobile Internet to Your PC via Tethering
3 The Hotspot & tethering warning will appear, informing you that
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continuing will interrupt any existing data transfers between your phone
and PC.
4 Tap OK to proceed.

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The Title

Flic 2 Smart Buttons: Press To

Do Anything!

A notification icon should appear to confirm that tethering is active. In YouTube Channels Trivia (S1
testing, we found the following results: E1)

Speed: 97Mbps download, 2.02Mbps upload, with an average ping of

66ms.

Battery Impact: The effect on your phone’s battery depends on

whether your laptop is plugged in or not. If it is, battery decrease
should be slow to non-existent, as the phone will slowly charge
through the USB connection.
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Note: If your computer is running on its battery, your phone will potentially Games to Play With Friends
drain the computer’s battery, rather than its own.

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2. Use Bluetooth Tethering With Mobile internet

Another way to share your mobile internet connection to a PC or tablet is to
use Bluetooth. The short-range wireless technology has enough bandwidth
to route data to and from your phone and a paired device.
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Start by pairing your phone with your computer:
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1 Open your Android phone’s Bluetooth settings. You can do this by long-
pressing the Bluetooth icon in Quick Settings, or browse to Settings >
Connected devices.

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5/23/2020 How to Connect Mobile Internet to Your PC via Tethering
2 Select Pair new device, which will make your device discoverable.
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3 Now, on your Windows 10 system, press Win + I to open the Settings
app.
4 Here, select Devices > Bluetooth & other devices.
5 Switch Bluetooth to On if it’s not already. Click Add Bluetooth or other
device followed by Bluetooth.
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6 Select your phone when it appears and walk through the pairing steps. Format and Rules
If you run into problems, see our guide to setting up Bluetooth in Advertisement
Windows 10.
7 Once paired, on your phone, open Settings > Network & internet >
Hotspot & tethering and turn on Bluetooth tethering.

Once the phone is paired with your computer, you can share the mobile
internet connection:

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1 Expand the Windows System Tray to find the Bluetooth icon, right-click
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2 In the resulting menu, find your phone’s icon and right-click it. Seconds

3 Choose Connect using > Access point.

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Your phone should then display a notification that Bluetooth tethering is

active. Our testing found:
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Speed: 35Mbps download, 0.78Mbps upload, with an average ping of
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Battery Impact: Heavy Bluetooth use really puts pressure on your
battery. Ten minutes of usage ate up five percent of the charge on my
phone.

3. How to Connect a Wi-Fi Hotspot to Your PC

Combining the wireless benefits of Bluetooth with the speed of USB, using
your phone as a Wi-Fi hotspot is perhaps the most popular tethering option.

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5/23/2020 How to Connect Mobile Internet to Your PC via Tethering

Using your mobile internet and Wi-Fi connection, your phone creates a Advertisement
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private network to connect your devices with a secure password. It’s
definitely the most convenient choice. To set up Wi-Fi tethering:

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1 Open Settings > Network & internet > Hotspot & tethering.
2 Tap Portable hotspot (called Wi-Fi hotspot on some phones).

3 At the next screen, switch the slider On.

4 You can then adjust options for the network on this page. For example,
change the Hotspot name, Security type, or open the Advanced
options to turn off the hotspot automatically when no devices are using
it.
1 On some devices, you’ll need to open the Configure hotspot menu
to change these options.

5 Tap the Hotspot password (sometimes called Show password) box to

view the password, if needed.

Then, on your Windows PC:

1 Press Win + I to open Settings.

2 Go to Network & Internet > Wi-Fi.
3 Click Show available networks and browse to find the network your
phone created. (You can also do this by clicking the wireless internet
icon in the System Tray).
4 Select the network and click Connect.
5 Input the password as displayed on your phone (making any other
changes as required) to establish the connection.

Android Wi-Fi tethering in Windows 10

Here are the results we found from this option:

Speed: 10Mbps download, 4.45Mbps upload, with an average ping of

55ms.

Battery Impact: As with Bluetooth tethering, heavy use reduced

battery by around five percent in 10 minutes. Standard usage seems
better with Wi-Fi tethering, however, and could potentially last around
5-6 hours.

Once you’ve set up wireless tethering for the first time, it’s easy to activate
again. Open the Quick Settings panel on your phone by swiping down from
the top twice. Tap the Hotspot button, then wait for your computer to
connect. As long as you don’t change the network name or password, it
should reconnect automatically.

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5/23/2020 How to Connect Mobile Internet to Your PC via Tethering

Connect an iPhone
PC & MOBILE
to Your PC Using
LIFESTYLE HARDWARE
Mobile Hotspot
Not using Android? Need to borrow a phone to connect your PC to the
internet and only have an iPhone available?

iPhones have a hotspot mode that you can enable at Settings > Personal
Hotspot. This is a Wi-Fi hotspot that any wireless-enabled device can
connect to.

For further compatibility, iOS also supports Bluetooth and USB tethering,
just like Android. For full details on how to connect the mobile internet from
an iPhone to your computer, check out how to use the hotspot feature on
your iPhone.

How to Use the Hotspot Feature on Your

iPhone
Your iPhone has a hotspot feature that lets share your mobile
data with any device. Here's how to start using it.

Read More

Mobile Tethering? Use USB for Best

Battery Life
Wireless, Bluetooth, and USB tethering are all options for getting your
laptop or tablet online. But which is best?

Our tests show that USB tethering is the option that drains your phone’s
battery the slowest. Meanwhile, Bluetooth offers the worst speeds. Thanks
to improvements in Bluetooth technology, though, its impact on battery is
acceptable.

It’s Easy to Link Your Mobile Internet

Connection to a Computer
Stuck choosing between a Wi-Fi hotspot and USB tethering? Well, USB isn’t
the fastest at everything, making Wi-Fi the best all-around option. But if Wi-
Fi isn’t available, relying on USB tethering is your best alternative.

Concerned about the cost of tethering? Check these ways to reduce data
usage when using mobile internet.

8 Useful Tips to Reduce Mobile Data Usage

and Save Money
Want to get the most out of your mobile data plan? These apps
and tricks can help you squeeze out every last megabyte.

Read More
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5/23/2020 How to Connect Mobile Internet to Your PC via Tethering

PC & MOBILE LIFESTYLE HARDWARE

Explore more about: Android Tips, Battery Life, Data Usage, Mobile Internet, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi
Hotspot, Wi-Fi Tethering.

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