A lot of you may be familiar with connecting the internet from mobile to laptop/desktop via. hotspot. But do you know? There are various other methods as well using which you can connect and share your mobile's 4G, 5G, etc. networks to your laptop or any other smart device very easily.
As you all know that internet has now grown to be a major necessity for most people around the world and they are required to have an internet connection on the go either for their work or any other situations where they need to be always up to date.
It's not easy to find wifi hotspots everywhere you travel, this is where your mobile's (4G,5G, etc) internet comes in place. Using your smartphones you can have high-speed internet connection access anywhere (as long as your mobile network signal strength is strong enough).
In this article, you will find out all three possible ways to connect your mobile's internet to a laptop/desktop.
NOTE: If your laptop or desktop computer does not have an inbuilt Wifi/Bluetooth support, then you can easily buy an external USB Wifi/Bluetooth adapter for your PC and use it normally as you do with the inbuilt wifi hardware. You can buy it in a very cheap price from the online and offline market.
What does Tethering mean?
Tethering is a process that lets you connect and share your mobile internet to other smart devices such as tablets, laptops, desktops, or to any other's smartphone in order to access the internet. By using this process you can use your smartphone's high-speed data anywhere as your personal portable internet hotspot.
There are two tethering methods using which you can connect the internet from mobile to laptop (or other devices) namely "USB Tethering" and "Bluetooth Tethering" which we have discussed in this article.
In USB Tethering, the connection between the two devices (i.e between your mobile to other devices such as laptop/desktop, tablet, etc..) is Wired whereas in Bluetooth Tethering the connection between the two is Wireless.
What are Mobile Hotspots?
Hotspots can be created via. Wifi router or any other wireless access points which are connected to the internet service provider (ISP). These access points create a Wifi signal through which people nearby can connect and have access to the internet. So basically hotspots are the places where you can go and connect to these Wifi signals.
.jpg "What are mobile hotspot")
Hotspots can either be Public or Private. A hotspot created at a location such as a coffee shop, hotel, restaurant, airport, railway station, etc is known as a public hotspot. These public hotspots are available for everyone publicly and can either be open or password protected.
Whereas a private hotspot is created at places like your home or any of your personal space using a wifi router or any other access points. Another example of a private hotspot can be tethering, which is created by your smartphone device.
Your Mobile or Smartphone device gets its internet access by using a cellular network/carriers sims such as AT&T, T- Mobile, Verizon, Vodafone, Airtel, Jio, etc.. using which you can turn your mobile device into an access point for sharing its internet. So imagine your mobile carrier as an internet service provider (ISP) and your mobile device as an access point through which you create a wireless network (Wifi) to share.
Therefore, a hotspot created using a mobile device is known as a mobile hotspot.
Now Let's discuss the methods used to connect the internet from mobile to laptop in detail.
METHOD 1: How to Connect Internet from Mobile to Laptop using USB Tethering
USB Tethering is the most reliable and safe method among all three methods if you want to use the internet for yourself and not share it with others. In this method, you don't require any password to set up in order to use it.
The connection is wired therefore you don't need to worry about your internet privacy as you are not sharing your internet with other people. So, privacy is maintained.
To connect the internet from mobile to laptop/etc.. using USB Tethering you need a good quality USB cable (either micro USB to type A or Type C to Type A cable depending upon your device configuration) or you can also use the USB data and charging cable that comes with your mobile inside the box ...if you have any.
Now let's see how to setup and use this method, follow the steps provided below -
STEP 1: The first step is to turn on the "Mobile data" on your smartphone (Make sure you have an active data plan else it may drain your mobile main balance).
STEP 2: Now connect both devices (your mobile and laptop) using the USB cable. A popup might show up on your mobile asking you to select between Charging, Transfer Files, or Transfer Photos. Select any option you want or close the popup without selecting any. it doesn't matter because the USB tethering will work the same on any setting. [it's recommended that you leave it as it is and close the popup]
STEP 3: Once you are connected, open your mobile settings and search for "USB Tethering".The settings layout might look different for you depending on which smartphone brand you are using and the user interface. It's usually inside the "Connection and Sharing " or "Wireless and networks" option but it may differ for you so go through all the settings of your mobile if you are having difficulty finding it. OR most smartphone brands offer a "Search Settings" feature inside the settings, So you can simply search it.
.png "Turn on USB Tethering")
STEP 4: After you find the USB Tethering in the setting, just turn it "ON " and you are ready to use the internet on your laptop/desktop, etc. To check if it's working or not, turn off the wifi setting on your laptop and search for something on the browser.
METHOD 2: How to Connect Internet from Mobile to Laptop using Bluetooth Tethering
In Bluetooth tethering, the mobile internet is shared via. Bluetooth wirelessly. Therefore, For this method, you just need to have Bluetooth functionality on both devices ( your mobile and the device on which you want to connect it such as a laptop/desktop, tablet, etc. Hence, you don't need any cable or hotspot in order to establish a connection between them. So without any further due, let's learn how to connect the internet from mobile to laptop using Bluetooth tethering.
STEP 1: The first step is to make sure that your "Mobile Data" is turned "ON". Then go to your mobile settings and turn "ON" both "Bluetooth" and "Bluetooth Tethering" . [as shown in the image below]
.png "Turn on Bluetooth Tethering")
.png "Add a Bluetooth Device")
STEP 3: Open "Control Panel" on your Windows Laptop/Desktop and click on "View devices and printers".
.png "View Devices and Printers")
Inside this setting, you will find all the devices connected or paired with your laptop/desktop either wired or wirelessly.
.png "Connect Using Access Point")
Search for your mobile device which you have paired via. Bluetooth and then right-click on it to open its properties. Now click on the "Connect using" option and then "Access point". Wait for a few seconds and you will be automatically connected to the internet. Check by opening the browser.
METHOD 3: How to Connect Internet from Mobile to Laptop using a Mobile or Portable WiFi Hotspot
This is the most commonly used method to connect to the internet from mobile to laptop/desktop or any other smart device wirelessly. The internet is shared as a personal wifi hotspot which consists of a custom name and password.
To use this method, go through the steps mentioned below
STEP 1: Go to your mobile setting and search for "Portable WiFi hotspot or Mobile hotspot Setting" and turn it "ON".
.png "Turn on Mobile Hotspot on your Mobile")
STEP 2: After turning it ON, click on the "Configure hotspot" setting to set up your Custom hotspot name, the Password Encryption type ( WPA2 PSK is recommended), etc... You can also use the hotspot without any password by selecting the encryption type as "NONE " which means your wifi hotspot will be open for all who are nearby and anyone can connect to it.
STEP 3: Once you are done configuring the settings, you can now connect to the wifi hotspot (by its name) on your laptop/ desktop, etc.. and enjoy browsing.
Mobile Hotspot vs. Bluetooth Tethering vs. USB Tethering
Well, all three methods are reliable and easy to use but they do share some significant differences. We have listed some basic parameters to help you decide which one could be suitable for your need.
- SPEED TEST - Among all three methods we have tested, the best internet speed we got was by using the USB Tethering method whereas the other two methods provided a little less speed comparatively. Also in USB Tethering, the connection was much more stable.
- BATTERY CONSUMPTION - One of the advantages of using the USB tethering method is that your mobile battery does not get discharged because it keeps charging as long as you are connected to another device (laptop/desktop) through the USB cable.On the other hand, using Bluetooth tethering and mobile hotspot will continuously drain your mobile battery if not plugged in charge.
- CONNECTIVITY - Using wifi hotspot or Bluetooth tethering you can share mobile data with multiple devices at once whereas USB Tethering can only be used for one device.For stable and longer connectivity USB tethering method is preferred for personal use.
- SECURITY - The most secure and stable method among the three is USB tethering because in USB tethering the connection between the two devices is one-to-one which means as a wired connection there will be no interference in the network which provide a much more stable and private internet connection.However, Bluetooth tethering and mobile hotspot are also safe to use but only if you are not sharing your connection with other people publicly. If you are sharing your connection with family members within a private space then you shouldn't be worried about any risk.
- MOBILE DATA CONSUMPTION - We observed that USB tethering consumed a little less data as compared to the other two methods, although the difference between them came out to be very small.
To Conclude:
Any of the above methods could be used for sharing an internet connection seamlessly depending on the individual's requirements.
Even though USB Tethering gives you the best speed possible but most people use the mobile hotspot/wifi hotpot method to share the internet connection due to the convenience it provides. However mobile hotspot/wifi hotspot is not considered to be the safest among all three methods but if we talk about using any public hotspot such as in cafes and restaurants, railways stations, and airports, etc.. then using the mobile hotspot is considered to be a way safer option.
The use of any public hotspots should be avoided as these are available to anyone which could include potential hackers and your data might be at risk if so. But if in case you still need to connect to public hotspots then you must take some precautions such as installing an antivirus on your device, using firewall and network protection, using password encryption to secure files and folders, using a VPN on your device also helps to prevent data theft as it encrypts all data or online activity and helps to keep them private.