Cellphone to laptop?

February 10, 2010 7:29 PM

My lady has AT&T cellular with internet capability. She also has a very nice laptop, thanks to me. She live in remote Idaho and has no internet options other than dialup. Can she use her phone to power her laptop? I'm good with computers but know nothing about cellphones. Can this be done? What connectors, etc might she need? Basic, decent speed web access would be all she needs. As she has nothing now to her laptop, I don't think that download limits would be a problem. Just typical surfing with video and audio. Can she port the phone access to a wireless connection to her laptop? If you come up with a reasonable solution, I will probably get laid. Hah! No, I actually just love her and would like to expand her world.
posted by private_idaho to Computers & Internet (12 answers total)

If she's already using AT&T cellular, she can call them and ask about adding a laptop connect device to her plan.
posted by amyms at 7:32 PM on February 10, 2010

Oops, that was the link for businesses. Here's the link for personal use.
posted by amyms at 7:37 PM on February 10, 2010

just to be clear, she's not looking to POWER her laptop with her phone, but merely to gain internet access through her phone?

long story short, she wants to tether her phone.

specific instructions will vary by model. not all phones will support this. also, whether or not the phone company wants you to/allows you to/charges you to might be irrelevant.

anecdotally, my previous phone supported it and my carrier did not, so i had to learn a little and poke at the phone a little and then was able to tether my device WITHOUT paying the phone company anything extra/signing up for anything/etc.

google the model of phone plus the word "tether" and go from there. good luck!
posted by radiosilents at 7:46 PM on February 10, 2010

also, pdaphonehome.com is a decent place to do research, assuming her phone is a PDA/WinMo device/etc.
posted by radiosilents at 7:46 PM on February 10, 2010

I have a AT&T and a Nokia phone and the tethering works really well, but it uses 3G which I think may also be a problem in a remote area. All I needed to do it was a download of Nokia PC Suite and a cable with a mini usb (to the phone) and standard usb (to the comp).
posted by Big_B at 7:50 PM on February 10, 2010

Looking at AT&T's coverage map, it would seem that the only place in Wyoming that has 3G coverage is Jackson and its immediate environs. Everywhere else is just EDGE, which is their slower, previous-generation wireless data service. I've tried to connect a laptop to the internet over EDGE before (though with an aircard, not tethering a phone), and it's simply too slow to be workable; as bad or worse than dial-up.

It looks like Verizon has wider wireless broadband coverage in Wyoming from their coverage map, so something to investigate would be either switching carriers to Verizon and getting a handset from them she could tether on, or just buying service for a wireless internet access device like an aircard or MiFi from them. I would make sure that she can actually pick up a broadband connection from them at her location before she signs a contract, though.
posted by strangely stunted trees at 8:12 PM on February 10, 2010

Oh wait, I see you said Idaho, not Wyoming. Looks like AT&T's 3G coverage is slightly better in Idaho, but the same advice holds in any case - you need wireless broadband for this to be workable.
posted by strangely stunted trees at 8:16 PM on February 10, 2010

It will depend on what kind of cellular coverage is available where she lives and what kind of phone she has. If her phone supports tethering, she will have to add a data package to her AT&T plan. She will need the appropriate USB cable to connect her phone to her laptop. It is possible to do this through Bluetooth but a pain. We have a Blackjack II and Cable tether it all the time. It does not require 3G coverage.

Another solution might to get an AT&T air card or a Verizon mifi card, none of the above solutions are cheap. The internets aren't free. I believe the tethering plan is around $40 bucks a month without looking it up.
posted by tamitang at 10:38 PM on February 10, 2010

Needless to say, if you do get the tethering worked out, get an absolutely huge data plan. Streaming video can get you into the multi-gig download area fast. You don't want to end up with a $5000 cell phone bill.
posted by musofire at 5:18 AM on February 11, 2010

There's a pretty hot secret about tethering smartphones on ATT. That secret only works with Smartphones, but I'll tell you what it is.

Step 1, set up your phone to sync with the PC using activesync.
Step 2, plug the phone into the computer via usb or whatever usb/style dongle you have. or bluetooth.
Step 3, somewhere inside your menus on your phone, find "Internet Sharing". From inside those menus, if you can, select "MEdiaNet" from the connection options.
Step 4, turn Internet Sharing "On".

If your laptop is mostly recent....say, xp or newer, it should automagically configure itself to be online @ this point. No tethering plan required, no special fees. It will only be as fast as your phone's interwebs...so somewhere between dial up and slow DSL.

I have done this with 4 laptops, 2 smart phones, the entire way from Florida to WV, for up to hours at a time.
posted by TomMelee at 7:27 AM on February 11, 2010

The keyword you're looking for is "Tethering". If you do a Google search for the model number of the phone, "AT&T", and "Tethering" you'll probably find instructions on how to make it work.
posted by blue_beetle at 8:10 AM on February 11, 2010

Wow, thanks for the feedback so far!

I should have mentioned that she has a Blackberry phone. She can "surf" using it, that's about all I know.

We live (separately) in far north Idaho. I think she can get some kind of AT&T wireless card for her laptop, but the service is unaffordable to her.

Thank you!!
posted by private_idaho at 10:04 AM on February 11, 2010