Internet via phone?

Hi guys,

Whilst sorting out my broadband provider at home I'm look for how to provide broadband via my phone 3G connection.

Is there a way I can feed my 3G internet connection into my home wireless network? I have a wireless homeplug and wireless router. I only get a mobile signal upstairs at my house so can't have the mobile downstairs next to the pc.

The only reason I ask this is because I've seen on my iPhone the personal hotspot option and Bluetooth options.

Thanks for your help

Comments

  • MaxatoriaMaxatoria Posts: 17,980
    Forum Member
    ✭✭
    The problem is that your phone will have to be alive to do the necessary routing of the data so you will have to place your phone near something able to pass on the signal and also you'd neef to set it all up which aint an easy matter if you don't understand tcp/ip routing and all the rest that goes on with such a task and thats before you consider usage allowances from the phone company etc
  • chris_elevatechris_elevate Posts: 585
    Forum Member
    ✭✭
    Thanks Max.

    Please help me with it? Ill desperately need the Internet to get onto email a bit of Internet so my "all you can eat" data allowance should ok.

    I have a fairl good understanding of networks and ip addresses etc.... please could you help me with this one?
  • RogRog Posts: 1,780
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    I don't know about iphones but it's a doddle to set-up the wireless hotspot option on an android phone. You just select "enable wireless hotspot" and optionally change the log-on password, then any PCs in range can see the phone in exactly the same way as if it were a wireless router.

    We need an iphone user to tell us if the iphone has this capability?
  • c4rvc4rv Posts: 29,538
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    Don't know if you will be able to use a wifi range extender to boost the phone hotspot are which is normally only a few meters.

    Alternativily you could set up internet connection sharing on the PC up stairs and use that as a router to the PC downstairs but that would mean the PC upstairs being on when the PC downstairs wants internet downstairs.


    But my big question is why don't you order ADSL/Virgin media broadband ? Cheapest packages are not that expensive and it will be infinately better then using a 3G connection especially as you seem to have signal strength problems anyway and don't forget about bandwidth and download limits never mind congenstion issues. Personally speaking there is no way I could live with 3G as my primary connection.
  • chrisjrchrisjr Posts: 33,282
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    The WiFi Hotspot on the mobile is really intended as a sort of substitute for your home router. In other words instead of telling your laptop to connect to the router's WiFI you tell it to connect to the phone's hotspot instead.

    So you need to configure the phone with a SSID name for the network so that the laptop can identify it and a security password to use. Then on the laptop choose the phone's wifi name and enter the password you've just set and that should be it.

    What would be a somewhat more difficult would be trying to get your home network to use the phone's hotspot. Anything with it's own WiFi adapter should be able to attach to the phone directly. What would be more difficult is anything wired to the router.

    So for just accessing the internet for a bit of e-mailing and general surfing off a laptop then probably not any point faffing about attempting to connect the phone to your home network. Just connect the laptop to the phone directly and bypass your home network entirely.
  • c4rvc4rv Posts: 29,538
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    chrisjr wrote: »
    So for just accessing the internet for a bit of e-mailing and general surfing off a laptop then probably not any point faffing about attempting to connect the phone to your home network. Just connect the laptop to the phone directly and bypass your home network entirely.

    I think OP said he could not get a signal where the PC is.
  • user123456789user123456789 Posts: 16,589
    Forum Member
    ✭✭
    just use a WiFi access point near the iPhone and connect this to the LAN you then use the router as a switch so that it uses the iPhones connection for the Internet :)
  • chris_elevatechris_elevate Posts: 585
    Forum Member
    ✭✭
    Annie,

    Sounds simple but I'm not sit exactly how I would go about doing this. Is it easy enough to do?

    Thanks
  • chris_elevatechris_elevate Posts: 585
    Forum Member
    ✭✭
    chrisjr wrote: »
    The WiFi Hotspot on the mobile is really intended as a sort of substitute for your home router. In other words instead of telling your laptop to connect to the router's WiFI you tell it to connect to the phone's hotspot instead.

    So you need to configure the phone with a SSID name for the network so that the laptop can identify it and a security password to use. Then on the laptop choose the phone's wifi name and enter the password you've just set and that should be it.

    What would be a somewhat more difficult would be trying to get your home network to use the phone's hotspot. Anything with it's own WiFi adapter should be able to attach to the phone directly. What would be more difficult is anything wired to the router.

    So for just accessing the internet for a bit of e-mailing and general surfing off a laptop then probably not any point faffing about attempting to connect the phone to your home network. Just connect the laptop to the phone directly and bypass your home network entirely.

    Chris, it won't be me perminant connection it'll just be temporary. I can get virgin tv so I'm weighing up my options.

    Is it worth getting Virginia just for their phone and broadband or better going elsewhere?
  • user123456789user123456789 Posts: 16,589
    Forum Member
    ✭✭
    The instructions differ per device but the setup is usually quite easy and done via a wizard.
  • chris_elevatechris_elevate Posts: 585
    Forum Member
    ✭✭
    It's an iPhone a wireless homeplug that I'm using... any ideas?
  • c4rvc4rv Posts: 29,538
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    Chris, it won't be me perminant connection it'll just be temporary. I can get virgin tv so I'm weighing up my options.

    Is it worth getting Virginia just for their phone and broadband or better going elsewhere?

    If you can get virgin TV through cable then getting their basic broadband package is a no brainer to me. You cannot compare 3G and fibre broadband in any sensible way.
Sign In or Register to comment.