How to Use Your Mobile Device as a Modem for Your Laptop

Did you know that you can use your mobile phone as a GPRS modem to connect your laptop or PC to the Internet? This feature is especially useful for laptop users as one can have an Internet connection at any location. The setup procedure is quite easy, anybody can do that. But before you start, make sure that you either have an unlimited data plan or a sufficiently high prepaid limit if you don't want to have an unpleasant shock when your next phone bill comes.

We shall first speak about Windows Mobile devices. If your laptop runs MS Windows, then no additional software is required. As both operating systems are Microsoft products, it is sufficient to adjust some settings to establish a connection and to use mobile device as a modem. 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.

For Bluetooth connection, not only the modem function setup is very simple, it is also more convenient as any wireless connection. (But better do not keep the phone in your pocket because you will be subjected to strong radiation as long as you surf the Web. Personally, I prefer to use a headset even for short calls, and surfing the Web may take hours, so the effect on your health can be much stronger).

So, first thing you need to do is to pair your phone with the computer (if your laptop does not have a built-in Bluetooth feature, you can buy a Bluetooth dongle). Bluetooth should be activated on you mobile device and it should be discoverable to other devices. Then on your laptop right-click 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 networks, enter "*99#" in that field. For CDMA networks, this number may be different, you can learn it from your carrier. All other fields should be left blank or as they are.

Now your phone has been paired with the laptop and a dialup connection has been set up. The only thing left is the modem setup. 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. You can find this dial-up connection if you click 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.

Let us now turn to other mobile platforms. For Blackberry the procedure is quite similar but you should first install Blackberry Desktop Software on your laptop and connect the phone to laptop by 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. One can bypass that restriction by using pdaNET program, which is available for Windows Mobile, Palm OS, Blackberry, iPhone and Google Android.

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Leonid Sinichkin is a programmer and a system automation expert. He is also an advanced PDA user. To find more advice on PDAs and smartphones, visit Skype-Mobile site (here is the Russian version ).