How to Connect Mobile Internet to Your PC via Tethering

What Is Tethering?

Tethering is the term for connecting your mobile device to your computer so your PC can get online via your phone's mobile data connection. It works via USB, Bluetooth, or Wi-Fi.

In the pre-iPhone days, this meant using an old-style feature phone to call a number that gave internet access anywhere. Some cell phones could share their internet connection, enabling you to get online via the device network's APN.

Following the release of the iPhone in 2007, many cell phone networks began charging extra for tethering plans. Fortunately, this money-grabbing practice has since been phased out almost completely---these days, tethering is usually free aside from using your data allowance.

Before proceeding to using your mobile device as a source of internet for your PC, ensure that you have enabled mobile internet on your phone. It is important to note that mobile signal strength would impact your connection speed. Using tethering can also result in your phone's battery level decreasing quickly; wireless tethering is particularly power-intensive.

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.

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.
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.
3. The Hotspot & tethering warning will appear, informing you that continuing will interrupt any existing data transfers between your phone and PC.
4. Tap OK to proceed.

A notification icon should appear to confirm that tethering is active. In testing, we found the following results:

1. Speed: 97Mbps download, 2.02Mbps upload, with an average ping of 66ms.
2. 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.

Note: If your computer is running on its battery, your phone will potentially drain the computer's battery, rather than its own.

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.

Start by pairing your phone with your computer:

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.
2. Select Pair new device, which will make your device discoverable.
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.
6. Select your phone when it appears and walk through the pairing steps. If you run into problems, see our guide to setting up Bluetooth in 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:

1. Expand the Windows System Tray to find the Bluetooth icon, right-click this, and select Join a Personal Area Network.
2. In the resulting menu, find your phone's icon and right-click it.
3. Choose Connect using > Access point.

Your phone should then display a notification that Bluetooth tethering is active. Our testing found:

Speed: 35Mbps download, 0.78Mbps upload, with an average ping of 289ms.

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