Best ways to use your Android/iPhone mobile data on your PC or laptop
These days, we always want to connect to the internet to use social media or for other kinds of personal work from a PC or laptop. But sometimes, we need help connecting to the internet from a PC or laptop while we are outside our home. In that case, we have another option: to use public Wi-Fi. But not all public Wi-Fi is able to provide a decent speed, and that’s why we sometimes struggle while using any public Wi-Fi. There is a solution to avoid the hassle of poor public Wi-Fi signals and to use the internet on the PC or laptop when there is no other option to connect to Wi-Fi. The solution is to use the internet data from a mobile phone on the PC or laptop. Now, you will want to know how to use the internet data from a mobile to the PC or laptop. In this article, we will show all the ways of using the internet data of your Android/iPhone on the PC or laptop. Before jumping into the process, we will become familiar with a new technological term called “tethering,” through which we will use the internet data from our mobile phone on the computer or laptop.
Tethering is a term used to describe using a smartphone as a mobile hotspot or portable Wi-Fi router. You can use the mobile internet data in three ways: via USB, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi.
Android/iPhone Tethering Connection Explained
You have three options to use the internet from the mobile phone on the PC or laptop: USB, Bluetooth, or Wi-Fi. The last two are wireless, and the first option is a wired connection. We will also discuss the best option to use the mobile internet data from your phone on the PC or laptop.
How to Connect Mobile Internet to a PC Using a USB Cable
We all know that every mobile phone has a modem feature that enables the mobile phone to connect to the PC or laptop using a USB cable. This process is called the wired process as you have to connect your mobile phone to the computer using the USB cable.
- First of all, enable the mobile data on your Android or iPhone.
- After enabling the mobile data on your Android or iPhone, connect your phone to the computer using the USB cable.
- After that, turn on the USB tethering option. To turn on the USB tethering option, you have to go to the connectivity option or connection and sharing option depending on the device. From there, you have to go to the portable hotspot and then turn on the USB tethering. Please look at the screenshot below from Android. This option can be located in different places depending on the device or operating system, but the USB tethering option will remain the same. You can also find the USB tethering option by searching on the phone, both in Android and iPhone.
- Once the USB tethering option is turned on, the computer will be connected to the mobile phone’s internet like a broadband connection.
How to Connect Mobile Internet to a PC Using Bluetooth
If you want a wireless option to connect mobile internet to a PC or laptop, the Bluetooth option is a way. This short-range technology allows your phone’s internet to be used on another paired device.
- First of all, go to the Bluetooth settings and turn on the Bluetooth from your mobile phone.
- Then, turn on the Bluetooth from your computer>go to available devices shown on the computer>click on the mobile phone name that you want to connect to use the internet. You will find the device in the nearby devices section. Note that “Visible to other devices” needs to be turned on to connect the computer to the phone.
- Once the computer and the mobile phone are connected via Bluetooth, turn on the mobile data on your mobile phone.
- Then go to the connectivity or connection and sharing option depending on the device and from there go to the portable hotspot and turn on Bluetooth tethering.
Once both devices are paired and the Bluetooth tethering option is turned on from the mobile device
- Open the Windows system tray from the Windows PC to find the Bluetooth icon searching by Bluetooth. Right-click on the icon and select “Join a Personal Area Network.”
- You will find the connected phone icon in the resulting menu. Choose “Connect using > access point.”
- You can now use the internet of your phone on the computer via Bluetooth.
How to Connect Mobile Internet to a PC Using Wi-Fi Hotspot
The best and most convenient method to use the internet on the computer from a mobile phone is by using a Wi-Fi hotspot. By combining the wireless functionality of Bluetooth and the connection speed of USB, connecting your phone as a Wi-Fi hotspot is the most popular tethering option. Using the mobile phone’s internet and Wi-Fi connection, the mobile phone creates a personal network with a secure password.
- First of all, go to Settings, and from the connectivity option or connection and sharing option depending on the device, go to the portable hotspot.
- Turn on the portable hotspot and set it up by setting the username and password.
- Once the username and password are set on the mobile phone, go to the settings on the computer.
- From settings, go to Network & Internet and then Wi-Fi. Or, you can directly go to the Wi-Fi settings from the control center.
- Turn on the Wi-Fi and then you will be able to find the mobile phone’s network under the username you set.
- Click on that and then provide the password. Type the same password you set while setting up a personal hotspot on your mobile phone.
- Once you provide the password, the PC or laptop will be connected to the mobile phone’s internet.
The Best Way to Use the Phone’s Internet on the Computer
Connecting using the Wi-Fi hotspot is the most convenient way to use the phone’s internet on the computer. However, the Wi-Fi hotspot and Bluetooth tethering options will impact your phone’s battery as they require a lot of power. If you are concerned about your phone’s battery and a wired connection is not an issue for you, then the USB connection will be best for you. Besides, you will get better speed while connecting using the USB cable compared to Bluetooth tethering. On the other hand, a wireless connection is easy to use. If the cable connection looks inconvenient to you, then the Wi-Fi hotspot connection will be better than the wireless connection segments for you.
Conclusion
Now you know about both wired and wireless ways to use your phone’s internet on the PC or laptop. The best method depends on your situation. Considering all factors such as convenience, ease of connection, and impact on battery life, the most popular method to use the mobile phone internet on the computer is connecting using the Wi-Fi hotspot.
