Modern cell phone technology allows you to connect to the internet at any time, as long as a data connection is available. You can use your phone to access the internet on your laptop via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or USB. Most modern cell phones and laptops can choose one of the above methods, each with its own advantages and disadvantages.
Step
Method 1 of 3: Connecting iPhone to Laptop
Step 1. Check carrier service
Some carriers require you to pay an additional fee to activate the tethering feature, or purchase a tethering plan.
Step 2. Choose one of the following three ways to connect your laptop to the internet via mobile
Make sure your device supports the system requirements for each method.
- Feature Wi-Fi tethering you can use on iPhone 4 and above, with iOS 4.3 or later. You can use Wi-Fi tethering to connect multiple laptops at once, as long as the laptop is using Mac OS 10.4.11 and above or Windows XP SP2 and above.
- Feature USB tethering you can use since iPhone 3G. To use this feature, you'll need to connect your iPhone to your laptop via USB, and have iTunes 8.2 or later installed. The laptop you are using must be running Mac OS 10.5.7 or Windows XP SP2 and above.
- Feature Bluetooth tethering you can use since iPhone 3G. You can use this feature to connect a laptop with Bluetooth 2.0 to the internet. To use Bluetooth tethering, your laptop must be running Mac OS 10.4.11 or Windows XP SP2 and above.
Step 3. Enable Personal Hotspot
Open the Settings menu on your iPhone, then slide the Personal Hotspot switch to the "On" position. After that, select the connection method you want to use.
- You can find the Personal Hotspot option in Settings > Cellular; Settings > General > Network; or the main menu Settings.
- If you selected a Wi-Fi connection, tap the WiFi Password button, and enter the network password. To create a password, you can only use ASCII characters.
Step 4. Connect the computer to the phone's Wi-Fi network
A Wi-Fi connection is the fastest way to connect your phone's internet to your laptop, but it can drain your phone's battery quickly. To connect a laptop to a phone, turn on WiFi on the laptop, select your phone's network, and enter the password you created. By default, the phone's WiFi network name is "iPhone".
- The phone's Wi-Fi network will turn off automatically in 90 seconds if no devices are connected.
- If you are on a 2G network, the Wi-Fi connection will be lost when you receive a call.
Step 5. Connect the phone to the computer via USB
While unpopular because it requires an additional cable, USB is actually the fastest and easiest connection method to set up. After activating Personal Hotspot, connect the USB cable to the computer and phone. The computer will immediately detect the phone, and can use the phone's internet connection. If the phone is not detected, open the network settings on the laptop, and select the USB option.
To use USB tethering, you need to have iTunes installed on the laptop. This program can be downloaded for free.
Step 6. Connect the phone to the computer via Bluetooth
Although Bluetooth is slower than WiFi and can only connect to one device, Bluetooth's power consumption is lower than Wi-Fi. Here's how to set up a Bluetooth connection on a laptop:
-
Macs:
- On your laptop, select System Preferences > Bluetooth.
- Click "Turn Bluetooth On" or "Set Up a New Device", then follow the on-screen instructions. Select iPhone in the list of devices.
- Enter the pairing code on your iPhone.
- On some iPhones, you'll need to tap the "Use Device as a Network Port" option after pairing your phone with your laptop.
-
Windows 10:
- Click the speech bubble icon on the taskbar to open the Action Center, then click Bluetooth.
- Click Connect, then select your iPhone.
- Enter the pairing code on your iPhone.
-
Windows 7:
- Go to Control Panel > Bluetooth > Bluetooth Settings > Options. Enable Bluetooth discovery and connection.
- Click Start > Devices and Printers > Add a device, then select your iPhone.
- Enter the pairing code on your iPhone.
-
Windows Vista:
- Go to Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Bluetooth Devices > Options. Enable Bluetooth discovery and connection.
- On the Bluetooth Devices menu, click Add, then select your iPhone.
- Enter the pairing code on your iPhone.
Method 2 of 3: Connecting Android Phone to Laptop
Step 1. Check carrier service
Most carriers charge extra for tethering, or include tethering in your quota. However, some carriers don't allow you to use tethering.
Step 2. Make sure your device is compatible
Wi-Fi tethering and USB tethering features have been available since Android 2.2, and Bluetooth tethering has been available since Android 3.0.
- Make sure your phone and laptop operating system support tethering. However, generally fairly new devices can use tethering without problems.
- Some phones with older versions of Android can use tethering via third-party apps.
Step 3. Connect your computer to your phone's Wi-Fi network by following these steps
A Wi-Fi connection is a quick way to connect your phone's internet to up to 10 laptops, but it can drain your phone's battery quickly.
- Open the Settings app on your Android phone, then tap the More > Tehering & Portable Hotspot option in the Wireless section.
- Turn on "Portable WiFi hotspot."
- You will see a hotspot notification. Tap the notification, then select "Set up Wi-Fi Hotspot" and enter the network password. To create a password, you can only use ASCII characters. You can also enter a network name if you wish.
- On your laptop, turn on Wi-Fi, then select your phone's network name and enter the password you created.
Step 4. Connect the phone to the computer via USB
USB is the fastest and easiest to set up connection method, but officially Google only supports USB internet connections on Windows. Connect the USB cable to your phone and computer, then enable the connection by tapping Settings > More > Tethering & portable hotspot > USB tethering.
- If you are using Windows XP, follow the guide on the Google support page to download the configuration file.
- Mac users can install third-party drivers to use the internet connection via USB. These drivers are not provided by Google and Apple. Therefore, make sure that you install the drivers from a trusted source.
Step 5. Connect the phone to the computer via Bluetooth by following the following guide
Although Bluetooth is slower than WiFi and can only connect to one device, Bluetooth's power consumption is lower than Wi-Fi.
- Turn on Bluetooth from your phone's settings.
- Turn on Bluetooth on the laptop. You can turn on Bluetooth via System Preferences on a Mac, the Action Center > Connect bar in Windows 10, or by searching for "bluetooth" in the search bar in older versions of Windows.
- On your phone, select the laptop from the "Available devices" list. If your laptop doesn't appear on the list, tap "Search for Devices", or tap the menu icon and select "Refresh".
- Follow the guide to pair your phone. You may need to enter the pairing code on one of the devices. If your device does not display the code, try the code 0000 or 1234.
- On your phone, select Settings > More > Tethering & portable hotspot > Bluetooth tethering.
Method 3 of 3: Reducing Power Consumption
Step 1. Disable non-essential phone functions, such as GPS, automatic sync and update, and Wi-Fi
To perform tethering, you only need a cellular network.
- If you are using an Android phone, go to Settings > Apps > Running, and close all processes on the phone. Then, select All Apps, and disable apps you don't use (like Hangouts or Play).
- If you are using Windows Phone 8.1, turn on the Battery Saver feature.
Step 2. Lower the screen brightness to the lowest level
Step 3. Remove the SD card if possible
SD cards can suck battery in some devices.
Step 4. Limit internet activities, and don't use tethering for long periods of time
Avoid activities like watching streaming videos, downloading, and browsing with multiple windows. If you want to spend more time on the internet, just visit a simple page and an email box.
Step 5. Check your phone's tethering settings to find the distance option
Lower the tethering distance as close as possible if possible, and place the phone next to the laptop.
Step 6. Connect the phone to the laptop
Most modern phones can recharge the battery via USB. However, you may need to purchase a special cable, and charging the battery via USB will be slower than charging the battery from a power source.
Perhaps, you can even connect your computer to the internet via your phone via USB and charge the battery at the same time
Step 7. Purchase a portable charger
This tool is useful if your phone can't charge your laptop or if it's time to replace your laptop battery. This tool is also known as a "power bank".
Some carriers and cell phone manufacturers, such as EE in the UK, sometimes offer "power banks" for free. Check the website of your carrier or phone manufacturer before buying a "power bank"
Step 8. Bring a spare battery
If your phone's battery is removable, you can extend the life of your phone by replacing the battery. Remember to recharge the spare battery once you get home.
Tips
- You only need to perform Bluetooth pairing once. After that, both Bluetooth devices will recognize each other automatically.
- If Bluetooth pairing doesn't work, read your phone's manual.
