Can a T-Mobile Cell Phone Act as an Internet Modem for a Computer?
Laptops are getting smaller and people are taking them further and further away from wireless hot spots. Cellular phone providers have identified this and offer a range of products in order to cash in on this new market. At the same time, phones have become so much more with the ability to access the Internet via high speed, high frequency G networks.
Other People Are Reading
-
Smart Phones
-
The first thing you need in order to connect to the Internet is a phone that is capable of accessing it. Most smart phones such as Blackberrys, the T-Mobile Dash and the G1 all have this capability. These smart phones must have a compatible data plan for their specific phone; these range from $19.99 and up for separate data packages, excluding special promotions.
Tethering Phones
-
Tethering works by first connecting your Internet-capable phone to another device; in most cases, this will be your laptop. You can then effectively turn your phone into a wireless modem by using a hardware connection (such as a USB cord) and a tethering program. You are still limited to the maximum bandwidth of your phone's service provider network.
-
Connecting Devices
-
All the above phones can directly connect to your laptop through the universal serial bus (USB). Specifically, your phone will come with a mini-USB2a to USB2 connector. Plug the smaller end (the USB2a) into your phone and the larger end into the USB port on your laptop. You should feel a smooth click on either end, and then an icon will light up on your phone to indicate that Microsoft Sync is active.
Activating Tethering
-
Once the phone is connected to the laptop it gets a bit complicated. You will need to activate "hot spots" on most phones. This varies from phone to phone but is usually under "Settings." If in doubt, check the user manual that came with your phone. Once activated, you just need to right-click "network places" on your laptop and run the connection wizard for the new device (your phone) that it has detected.
Warnings
-
Most service providers, including T-Mobile, frown on tethering your phone for large amounts of data. This has changed with the T-Mobile Dash and the G1, even going as far as to make the devices easier to allow tethering. Providers in the US market would prefer that you buy a mobile broadband card and pay an additional monthly fee for Internet access on your broadband device.
-
