how to tether android phone to pc to share wifi/internet connection

KingL

How to tether PC to Android phone's wifi/internet connection ?


It appears that my laptop's wifi card has given up the ghost. I'm abroad at the moment, so am limited on "fixing" options.

I have an android phone which connects to wifi (and on to my hotel's internet) just fine and I assume I should be able to use it as a tethered modem for my laptop.

I have toyed with tethering the phone a few times and never got it to work, but now I need to.

Phone: Android 4.1.1.
Computer Win10

Am I supposed to be able to Bluetooth between the laptop and the phone and then use the phone's wifi connection to the internet? I would have thought so, but I can't get it all to connect through.

I also have a USB cable between PC and phone, but I can't do anything with that either.

On the bluetooth front: I have the phone setup as a portable wifi hotspot and ticked "active" and the phone and computer see each other as "paired" over bluetooth, but all I can do is ship files between the two machines, not share the phone's internet connection.

What do I have to press to be able to use the phone's connection to wifi (and on to the internet) on my PC ?

TIA

Spelunthus

Look for "USB Tethering" in your Android network settings. Use that if present. Enable it, connect PC with USB cable and you should see some kind of WiFi network in your PC Network settings. Enable that and off you go.
Should be similar for Bluetooth. Enable B/T on PC and Phone, pair them, then look for a WiFi connection in the PC network settings enable it and use.
Don't try to use B/T and cable at same time. Sorry I cannot be specific about details, as I don't have Android 4, or Win 10! But it works for me with Android 7 and Win 7.

KingL

Hi

thanks, yes

I have already set up
"Tethering & portable Hotspots> Portable WiFi hotspot" as "on" and
"Tethering & portable Hotspots> Configure Wifi hotspot" as "WPA2 PSK portable wifi hotspot" with a SSID and an 8 character password. Actually, I think it has been there for a while, when someone once tried to help me set it up before. I cant find anywhere on the PC to input that WPA2PSK password.

If I click on the Network window on the PC, it says: "This computer is not connected to a network. Click to connect.."

This brings up two options:
1) Connect to a network. (Clicking on it does nothing discernable)

2) Open Network and Sharing Center.
this has options:
2a Set up a new connection or network
2b Troubleshoot problems
2b Troubleshoot cant see any networks and is going nowhere

2a has options
2a1 Connect to the Internet (setup a broadband or dialup connection to the internet)
2a2 Set up a new network (set up a new router or access point)
2a3 Manually connect to a wireless network (connect to a hidden network or create a new wireless profile)
2a4 Connnect to a workplace (setup a dialup or vpn connection to your workplace)

2a1 says "Windows did not detect any networking hardware"
2a2 says "choose the wireless router or access point you want to configure" then waits to find a device, but never does
2a3 asks for network name; security type; encryption type and security key. I think we are in the wrong territory here.
2a4 wants an existing VPN or a dial in number. Wrong territory, again, I think..

Leo2020

If the mobile is set up as a mobile hotspot correctly then you should be able connect to it like you would a normal wireless network. Does the mobile network show up on your laptop when you try to connect via wireless? If so click on it and type in the password shown on your phone.

Leo2020

Just re read it. Sorry found it hard to follow so just noticed the bit about not finding hardware. Do you have access to the internet via home broadband or some other connection?

agrinnall

Which mobile network is it and what type of contract do you have with them? Some of them prohibit tethering. Your other potential issue may be that your Android version is ancient in terms of Android life span, it's already unsupported by Google, and it might be that Microsoft have not supported it in Windows 10.

Gloomendoom

agrinnall wrote: »

Which mobile network is it and what type of contract do you have with them? Some of them prohibit tethering. Your other potential issue may be that your Android version is ancient in terms of Android life span, it's already unsupported by Google, and it might be that Microsoft have not supported it in Windows 10.

The OP's using the hotel wifi, not a mobile signal.

tronator

KingL wrote: »

Hi

thanks, yes

I have already set up...

No, you haven't.

Read Spelunthus' post again. You need to enable USB tethering. It's further down where you set the portable wifi hotspot too. It's greyed out if there is no USB cable connected.

KingL

Yep - trying to connect PC to the hotel's wifi through the phone. The phone can see hotel's wifi (and internet). The PC can't see any wifi (I think the wifi card is knackered).

For the short-term, I can use a dongle (3g modem) and SIM card to get to the internet, but it's reet expnsive and I need to use the (free) hotel wifi and internet longer-term.

debitcardmayhem

Does the hotel provide wired ethernet?

KingL

tronator wrote: »

No, you haven't.

Read Spelunthus' post again. You need to enable USB tethering. It's further down where you set the portable wifi hotspot too. It's greyed out if there is no USB cable connected.

Ah yes, thanks

Actually, USB tethering was greyed out even with the USB cable connected, as the other end was being seen as a storage/file-transfer device, which android didn't like.
Now I have managed to get "USB tethering" checked (=on), but I still can't see the internet (or the phone) from the PC. Everything I said in post #3 still applies.

The phone "Tethering & portable hotspots" menu says Max connected users=8, (Actual) connected users =0