Using a Cell Phone and Laptop to Get Online

Thu May 11, 2006 7:58PM EDT

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Eric writes: I have a cell phone with Internet access and a USB cable that goes from my phone to my PC. Can I hook the phone to by notebook and get on the net using this kind of connection? My service is with Alltel.

Yes, Eric. You seem to have all the pieces of the puzzle to use your laptop to get online via your cell phone. Make sure you have Alltel's MobileLink software (which seems to be part of the Axcess package), though, or your computer won't know how to communicate through the phone line.

If you're not with Alltel (and you probably aren't), most carriers offer solutions like this for using your handset to get online. You'll need a special cable, software, and a data plan. Your provider will be able to tell you more, depending on the carrier and the model of your phone. (Note that this won't work with every handset, as many do not support external connections or data service.)

If you want a more integrated solution, check out the PC Card products, most of which are now designed to take advantage of the 3G networks popping up around the country. These cards just slide right into your notebook and eliminate the hassle of running a cable between your computer and your phone. You also needn't worry about your phone running out of battery charge while you're on the computer. I've had good luck with Novatel's Merlin cards, which are exceptionally sturdy and don't suffer from those flimsy, extendable antennas that many data cards have.

Comments on Using a Cell Phone and Laptop to Get Online

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  • 26 Posted by jamesallentaylor1971 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:27PM EDT Report Abuse

    i am using the usb port to get on line through my cell phone. how can i get it to go faster? it is only 14.4 kps modem.

  • 27 Posted by josy1wales on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:41PM EDT Report Abuse

    For sprint Get the data cable, find the usb driver on the internet for the cell modem then create a new internet connection using "dailup" with the dial out number" #777 ". This works i've been using it for 3 years. You're speed is only 50kps and you must have internet on your phone.

  • 28 Posted by petechen1976 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:07PM EDT Report Abuse

    I haven't tested other networks, but I'm very happy with my Cingular/AT&T Blackjack. Of course, you have to spend money to get the unlimited data service, but I think it's well worth it from a mobile internet point of view. Right off the bat, you can use the 3G network to download off the web. The browser is our favorite... Internet Exploder, so you can see those pretty pictures. It also comes with Xpress Mail, which I have connecting to my work computer for almost instant e-mails from work coming to my phone. Best part about this portion is that I can surf the web when I get bored, and it has an mp3 player with an SD Micro slot on the side. Then, plug in the cord that comes with the phone, pop the other end into your computer, put in the cd from the box, and run that sucker! If you have the internet to PC turned on, just run the Internet Sharing program on the phone, click connect, and there you go! DSL speed internet (at least for most of the stuff you would use the internet for... lame searches, MySpace, ESPN.com, AND OF COURSE YAHOO! lol)! Yeah, it hesitates a little, but with the little device in your hand, you can call, text, im, and surf the internet (at the same time if you're talented) in 3G. Oh... when you plug it into your computer... it charges the batter! Who cares about battery life then! lol I'm no expert, and I can't speak for other phones and service providers, but I'm certainly happy with my choice in phone and provider!

  • 29 Posted by lucico1 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 6:59PM EDT Report Abuse

    you really dont t need to dial up aol because when you use your cell as a modem it's provider is no longer your default but a whole new connection. Depending on your phone, you should be given a seperate number for your cell phone to dial. Try S=2 which is my own access number for my nextel provider.

  • 30 Posted by lucico1 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 6:59PM EDT Report Abuse

    nextel has unlimited internet data package for 10dollars a month

  • 31 Posted by ncshell on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:34PM EDT Report Abuse

    I have used Tmobile and Cingular both to go online. EDGE with T-Mo is ok. 3G is only available in certain areas and if you are looking for fast conncections we in the US are still working on the ability to do this wirelessly. We have come along way with it but it will grow tremendously. Your best bets are- use your phone with the cable connection-eliminates the guesswork,if you need an unlimited access anywhere check the coverage. I now have Sprint and as long as you are on the digital footprint you are fine. It will be the same with any carrier. Base your preferences on your needs. My sister has an aircard because Alltell makes it easy for her. However Alltell only works in certain area. I use my phone via the cord for the reliability of the cable and not being knocked off if I move too far and the bluetooth kicks off. If you have internet on your phone most carriers will let you connect simply. You may have to call in to get the correct way to do it because technology is changing so fast and it depends on your handset as to what way you connect! BE WEARY....Cingular was charging me way to much for internet access and 3G was in process 8 years ago and took them this long to release it! I worked for AT&T Wireless back then and well there is a reason I left the service and went with someone else......but you have to look at your needs and what benefits you get with each connection to determine what will be best for you. And remember - if you want super fast speed...go with your cable provider!

  • 32 Posted by c-m_dennis@sbcglobal.net on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:16PM EDT Report Abuse

    i have a nokia 6103 w/unlimited internet access via Cellular One. I have a usb cable and bluetooth capabilites for phone. Went to Nokia web site and downloaded nokia pc suite. I can't connect to my laptop w/ either one. I have installed program for bluetooth usb stick, I have changed settings and everything else I can think of. When I try to connect via blue tooth I get a screen that says blue tiith DUN connection and asks for a user name and password. Don't have id or pw. Where do I get this. DUN stands for dial up network. Help me get connected and get mobile.!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • 33 Posted by delosreyes_claire on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:40PM EDT Report Abuse

    i had the same problem with what number 34 had posted.I am using a Nokia 6630, bluetooth capable.And I have also a Toshiba Tecra 8100.I have installed program for bluetooth usb stick to my laptop.When Im trying to connect via bluetooth, I also saw that window of the DUN Connection.I have the default password.But to no avail.I cant get connected with the the web.What seems to be the problem?Do I need to install another Programs / applications to my cellphone and to my pc aside from the bluetooth program?Please someone help me..thanks in advance

  • 34 Posted by bshrestha01 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:14PM EDT Report Abuse

    On the contrary, I have a dedicated connection in my office and my cell doesnot have a wi-fi. Is there a way for my phone to connect to the internet through a connection with the computer?

  • 35 Posted by ruleem on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:55PM EDT Report Abuse

    I' interested in Blackberry pearl from T-mobil, which is now on sale and if you buy thru the internet, some of them give it for free with signing 2 years contract. I was told by one of the T-Mobil sales, that you can use your "blackberry" to connect your laptop to the browse the internet if I have the blackberry service for an additional $ 19.99/month, besides the T-Mobil favers 700 minutes family plan for $ 69.99/month . I have a HP Pavillion DV2035US, which has 2 USB's and my ISP provider is Cox Cable. Question: 1.: Is it true, that I can connect my laptop to the "blackberry pearl" and access the internet whenever and wherever? Can I use it if I'm travelling? 2.: How does it work? 3.: Will the minutes spend on my computer be deducted from my allowable monthly minutes? Thanks, ruleem

  • 36 Posted by g8rnet on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:05PM EDT Report Abuse

    The downside to using a "phone as a modem" is that while it is a modem, it ain't a phone. You can't receive calls or call out without disconnecting from the net. The best option is the USB aircard sold by Sprint. Not only does it work in any PC with a USB port, it also accesses the fastest and largest broadband network on the planet - Sprint's.

  • 37 Posted by contdevelop on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:29PM EDT Report Abuse

    I have a dial-up service provider at my house and want to know if i can use my dial up service by having my cell phone connect to that ISP and linking the cell with the laptop somehow. Currently I have sprint and they want $50 a month for the data card for a laptop, and I am already pang them $170 a month in cell bill. If anyone can figure that out please let me know. thanks

  • 38 Posted by billm43311 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:08PM EDT Report Abuse

    hey Guy's i'm with alltel and i use the highspeed data network through alltel. first thing you need is motorolas phones tools. you can use a cable (which i have) but i bought a bluetooth adapter for my laptop at fry's for less than 20 bucks.ater you have installed everything and you can synch the computer and cell. My cell is a motorla E815 so that's why i use Motorola phone tools start phone tools at the bottom of the phone that comes up on your computer screen at the bottom is a connection to the internet. use it and it will connect to the data network. mine shows about 115 kps connetion but i think this is port speed and not actual data speed. i have used this for about a year or so now off and on while on trips or just out. it works quite well. not fast (faster than dial up)and i can do things that i need to do. I called alltel and asked them what the charges are for this service and was told and have confirmed with my monthly bill that it treated just like a normal phone call. If your in free time its free if your on prime time its charged as a phone call. I have tried one of those air cards and while their nice i can't really justify the cost over this. hope this helps, regards Charles

  • 39 Posted by wofakya on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:49PM EDT Report Abuse

    The much awaited Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) or the Third Generation Mobile Systems that are supposed to roll globally around 2015 and 2020 to make it possible to communicate with others from any part of the globe with even hand held devices might become a reality by the middle of next year. After undertaking series of trials and demonstrations for over a year using various chips of some major mobile phone operating companies in Ghana, the end result has been over whelming and phenomenal. Using Nokia 6230 and The Nokia PC Suite software, they have proved to be very versatile, robust and indeed found suitable and appropriate to lead the quest for bridging the digital divide, provided the rich industrialized countries would lift their hold on half of the mobile two way channels, transmitter and receiver. Because the mobile phone concept applies loop method in the communication process, one side of the line is virtually free at every given moment. However, as a misconception that transmission is divided into three segments: data, voice and image, subscribers for pre-paid and even post paid are charged exhorbitently. Though, the message is just an electromagentic wave, that does not need a medium. One cardinal principle underlying this is the works of James Clerk Maxwell, a British Physicist who in 1863 laid down papers on electromagnetic wavess, explaining that it is a means of transmitting messages through space, moon and interlesttel without relying on a medium. The only person who subsrcribed to this concept and utilized part was Hertz,who came out with the Herzian wave for measuring electricity transmission. Further amplification of this works is that of Dr. Mathew Narh Tetteh,an eminent Ghanaian and world soil scientist, that Equator controls movement and Meridian controls time. In other words, these two astro lines are within or closer to Ghana than any other country in the world and using Ghana as the base station, one does not need any satlitte link or large ot tall antannae to boost transmission.Dr Tetteh is also the first inventor of mobile brick making machine and unibrick (a soil stabilized brick) that uses environmental friendly chemical and not cement as a binder. The brick is neither fired nor cured and is produced and used at site. . The writer, Kofi Yeboah-Agyemang, affectionately called Wofa (Uncle) Kofi is a holder of Master of Art (Advanced Study) in Communications Studies, obtained from the Institute of Communications Studies (ICS),The University of Leeds, UK, and a Graduate Diploma from the School of Communication Studies, University of Ghana, Legon. He has for the past seven years after completing Leeds University been advocating and championing the cause for the utilization of the UMTS concept as a way to bridge the digital divide, using Ipso Facto Limited, an ICT Research and Development company incorporated as a Limited Liability company in January 1997. It was established in August 1992

  • 40 Posted by djstacey92 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:45PM EDT Report Abuse

    Using a connection card can be used in lieu of a traditional landline broadband internet acess. Yes, it does cost a little more, but think of the benefit of having a connection card. You can use it in your laptop on the go anywhere, it allows fast and easy acess to the internet(no special cables, modemn, no need to recharge, etc.), including faster download and upload speed, (depending on which network you're with). Sprint has upgraded their cell towers and covers more area in the country and is by far the fastest. I have Sprint broadband card and i use it with a linksys router hooked up with two computers at home (going to purchase a laptop soon). I have to say I'm pleased and this is the best investment yet.

  • 42 Posted by chute_kyle on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:25PM EDT Report Abuse

    i have a att cell account. i have a blackberrt curve and my wife a pearl, we would like to use our phones to access our desktop computer and use our desktop to connect to the internt through our phones. we spent our money on the phones and can only afford dial up at home help us anyone

  • 43 Posted by montanabrand on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:25PM EDT Report Abuse

    I use verizon's VZ access manager card to connect to the internet. I was paying qwest plus phone service to connect, and than another subcontractor ending in around 70 a month until I found out about this boradband connection for 59.99. I can use it mobile for my laptop anywhere, plus works for my home computer. I love it! Whereas before I was spending 70 for just home pc and was hotspotting laptop with frustrating connections, I can now use it for both. Try it out!

  • 44 Posted by mr_peralta9 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:28PM EDT Report Abuse

    I can access the web using my Nokia 6120 (prepaid account) as modem and MacBook Pro cordless. A lady at a Mac Store reconfigure my laptop and cellphone.

  • 45 Posted by plim9 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:14PM EDT Report Abuse

    I have a simple razr v3, could i still connect to the internet with a laptop

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