Home internet via my phone?

September 24, 2023 11:37 PM

I know I should be able to connect via my phone, but I have questions.

Since I've moved to a fixed income, I've been trying to find ways to cut expenses. My sister suggested I cancel my home internet (Optimum) and connect via my phone (Android/Verizon).

Sadly, I don't have a clue how to do this.

My current setup is:

Optimum Modem -> Archer AX3000 router -> Hardwire to desktop, Wi-Fi to everything else.

I guess what I want is:

My Android phone wirelessly to -> Router -> Hardwire to desktop, Wi-Fi to everything else.

I know the router will be disconnected if I'm not home, but I don't care, I live alone.

I've seen USB-C to Ethernet adapters to connect to the router, but then I couldn't charge the phone while connected.

I guess I could buy a mobile hotspot box from Verizon, but the whole point of this is to save cash.

The other solution I thought of was to shut down the router and re-log into the phone on each Wi-Fi device. But this is a royal PIA, and my desktop doesn't have Wi-Fi, only Ethernet.

The other problem is my main email is an Optimum address. My understanding is this vanishes when I cancel the account.

posted by Marky to Computers & Internet (10 answers total)

My setup is this:
Visible unlimited phone, text, data - $25.00/mo (owned by verizon, pretty reliable)
usb wifi adapter for desktop
Email- pobox.com webmail- $50.00/year, includes pretty good spam filtering, and no ISP needed. You could also use gmail or yahoo mail.

I guess there is some lag, but I'm pretty happy with this setup. No added charges, no price rises.

I don't have any other wifi devices except my laptop, which also works.
posted by H21 at 2:00 AM on September 25, 2023

I've seen USB-C to Ethernet adapters to connect to the router, but then I couldn't charge the phone while connected.

A phone with wireless charging might solve that, I think... Your phone will disable USB charging while charging wirelessly, but the USB should still be usable for data. Might depend on the phone.

First thing I'd try is contacting your supplier, tell them the service costs more than you can afford and you're planning to quit as a customer, and then see if they put you through to their customer retention team who may be able to offer a better deal. Last week I did this and they gave me a new contract that's more than 50% cheaper, although YMMV of course.
posted by pipeski at 2:38 AM on September 25, 2023

Most routers can't connect to a phone's wireless hotspot and use it as the connection to the internet for other devices. Routers which do have that ability call it something like Hotspot Router mode, or tethering, or WISP mode, or are advertised as travel routers.

Even if your router supports this (it doesn't appear to at first glance) it's probably a trickier and more technical approach than just configuring your individual devices to use your phone's wifi hotspot for internet. You only have to do this once, and then your devices will auto connect when you come home and turn on the hotspot. You can solve the desktop issue with a $13 USB wifi adaptor from Amazon.

But if you want to explore the phone-router option with a USB-C to Ethernet adaptor (no idea if this will work) then you could solve the charging problem with a wireless charging pad.

It does look like you should plan to migrate your email (and all associated logins), although enforcement is variable.
posted by Klipspringer at 2:43 AM on September 25, 2023 [1 favorite]

Look into whether you may qualify for the Affordable Connectivity Program based on income or based on other government services you may receive - in some places you can essentially get internet for free, either via cable/DSL or via a free hotspot.
posted by needs more cowbell at 3:34 AM on September 25, 2023 [7 favorites]

You need one of those wifi extenders with an ethernet port: you connect its wifi to your phones wifi, then the ethernet to the "isp" end of your router. You may need to make some changes to your routers settings, which may be finicky. The technical term is "wireless bridge", googling this may help with the configuration.

Or, if the only thing that needs ethernet is the computer, just hook up the wifi extender ethernet to your pc.

One thing to note is thst usually you can't leave your phone "hotspot" on 24/7, so every time you turn it back on your may need to go around and reconnect devices to it. Also see what your phone company's rules are - they can tell when you're using the hotspot and even if you have unlimited bandwidth on the phone they may have a cap or throttle hotspot traffic.
posted by AzraelBrown at 4:17 AM on September 25, 2023 [1 favorite]

We used a phone as a hotspot during a multiday stretch with no electricity after a storm. Easy to do, easy to turn on and off, but it uses up a data plan pretty quickly.

Finding a cheaper ISP may be your best bet. Optimum is the established top dog in large parts of the northeast, so charges top dollar. Frontier is the current owner of what used to be GTE and is getting a foothold. They are going to be cheaper, but maybe not by a lot. Ask around.
posted by SemiSalt at 5:02 AM on September 25, 2023

When you say "everything else", what internet-connected devices do you have, and how do you use them? How much data do you get on your wireless plan? I would not necessarily assume that your phone data plan will be sufficient for your household needs.

I'd start by trying to find a cheaper plan with your current ISP if possible. (I'd also start moving my email away from Optimum now so that it's easier to switch ISPs in the future.)
posted by sriracha at 5:29 AM on September 25, 2023 [1 favorite]

I have a wired USB-C Ethernet adapter with a second USB-C for power, it's temperamental and the simpler split USB-C to type A "on the go" (or OTG) plus type C charging cable that's worked reliably for my Android phone.

But that's a daft suggestion, why does the router still do Wi-Fi when your phone is the hotspot? Hotspot mode also sets up network addresses for whatever is connected, just like your router does.

It's possible but an enormous pfaff to rework the router to use the phone as the network gateway, so ditch the router. If you have mesh Wi-Fi, plug that into the phone with the split power/on-the-go cable with a USB ethernet adapter. Funding the right one for the Android on your phone will take some googling. This might even need you to go further and flash an aftermarket Android ROM that has drivers for USB Ethernet devices baked in, with the trade-off of losing you access to banking apps on that device.
posted by k3ninho at 3:06 PM on September 25, 2023

Officially Visible Hotspot is limited to 5 Mbps and only one devices at a time. Unofficially, you may get better speeds and/or multiple devices connected.

EDIT: If you connect it to a desktop or laptop with USB you can probably use the computer's Wifi to connect to multiple devices, no additional hardware needed.
posted by kschang at 3:09 AM on September 26, 2023

I have the Verizon home internet, comes with a free 5g router, for $50 a month. As others have mentioned please check if you can get the subsidized internet.

I did try to do wifi for the whole home through the phone but gave up and ended up getting a $35/month unlimited data pre-paid plan through AT&T and using a $35 4g router from Walmart. I gave up that too because I'm in the country and the 4g (and 5g, honestly) sucks. Good luck.
posted by getawaysticks at 10:01 PM on September 26, 2023