How to Use Mobile Phone as a Wireless Modem
Most modern mobile phones can connect to the Internet. But not many know that mobile phone can be used as a modem for a laptop or a desktop PC. With this wonderful opportunity one can do full-fledged Web browsing wherever one goes - not on the small phone's display but on the laptop. One should just have an unlimited data plan (or enough inclusive megabytes) to avoid receiving high phone bills. Let us first describe the procedure for Windows Mobile phones. If your laptop runs MS Windows, then no additional software is required. In that case both operating systems have already all that is necessary to establish a connection, one just needs to adjust some settings. Then we will speak about other mobile operating systems. To begin with, you will need to establish a connection between your phone and laptop. Connection can be made using either the USB cable that came with your phone or Bluetooth. We are not going to speak about cable connection here because in that case the procedure is much more tricky. Besides, you will also need to install phone-specific drivers, so those who prefer to use this way of connection should consult their phone manufacturer. In the case of Bluetooth, not only the modem setup is very simple, it is also more convenient as one does not need a cable. (But better do not keep the phone close to yourself because you will be subjected to strong radiation while surfing the Web. And that can be much longer than a typical phone conversation, so it may have an effect on your health. First of all you need to pair your phone with the computer (some lder laptops do not have built-in Bluetooth, in that case one can use a Bluetooth dongle). On your phone turn Bluetooth on and make sure that it is discoverable. Then on your laptop rightclick the Bluetooth icon and select "Add New Connection", then just follow the prompts. On your phone you will see a popup saying that your laptop wants to connect. Allow the connection. Your laptop will display a passkey, which you should note down to enter on the phone when prompted. Then follow further Wizard prompts on the laptop. The only field you will need to modify is the phone number in the "Create Dialup Connection" screen. For GSM mobile networks, this number should be *99#. For CDMA networks, this number may be different, you can learn it from your carrier. Do not modify any other field. Now your phone has been paired with the laptop and a dialup connection has been set up. Now you just need to add some information to the modem configuration. Go to Start -> Settings -> Control panel -> Modems. Find the mobile modem you have just created and choose Properties. On the Advanced tab, you need to enter string in "Extra initialization commands". This initialization string should look as follows: +CGDCONT =1,"IP","apn.address" - you should substitute apn.address with the name of the GPRS APN (Access Point Name) of your mobile carrier. You can find the Access Point Name in the Internet connection settings (under Settings -> Connections) in your phone or you can learn it from your carrier.
That's all, now you can use your phone as a modem. The dial-up connection you have just created can be reached by clicking on the WiFi icon in the task tray. One
can also find that connection under Bluetooth devices. Then right-click on the phone icon and you will see Dial-Up Networking. So, what about other mobile operating systems?. For Blackberry the procedure is quite similar but you should first install Blackberry Desktop Software on your laptop and connect the phone to laptop using a USB cable at least once, so that all the necessary drivers will be installed automatically. Notice, however, that not all Blackberry models have a modem feature. You can consult your local Blackberry service or your carrier to learn if your device can be used as a modem. For Google Android devices and iPhone this procedure will not work. This has been done because of the pressure from the mobile carriers, who do not want their customers to use the phone's Internet connection for their computers so that they can extract more money from the customers. As a solution one can use a program called pdaNET, which is very easy to use and works on many platforms, including Google Android, iPhone, Windows Mobile, Palm OS and Blackberry.