Connect your computer to the Internet through your Mobile Phone

    
       
   
 

Wireless modem

It is possible to use a cell phone as a modem to make a connection to the internet on a laptop, PC or even a PDA.

The data subscription and the type of phone determine the bandwidth of the Internet connection. The cost of internet on the PC or laptop via a mobile phone is the same as the use of internet on the phone itself.

Many mobile phone makers supply software with the phone which has the ability to automatically make the connection to the internet. The phone is connected to the PC or laptop via USB cable, bluetooth connection or infra-red connection.

   

Manual modem installation

Alternatively, you can set up a dial-up connection in Windows using the modem driver from the phone. It is first necessary to correctly install the modem-driver of the phone.

After installing the modem driver and connecting the phone you should see your phone appear in the Device Manager under Modems.

standard 33600 bps modem

In the case of using bluetooth to make the dial-up connection a "Standard Modem over Bluetooth" will appear in modem devices.

To test the modem:
Open the Properties dialog box by right-clicking the modem in the Device Manger.
Go to the Diagnostics tab.
Click on Query Modem. It should answer with a number of responses.

Standard Modem Propperties

 

In the Advanced tab fill in the dial-string in the Extra Initialization Commands.

initialization commands

In this case "internet" is the Access Point Name of the network provider.
Here are some other examples of dial-strings:

Rogers: +cgdcont=1,"IP","internet.com"
Cingular Blue/AT&T: +cgdcont=1,"IP","proxy"
Cingular Orange: +cgdcont=1,"IP","ISP.CINGULAR"
UK Vodafone: +cgdcont=1,"IP","internet"
SwissCom: +cgdcont=1,"IP","gprs.swisscom.ch"
T-Mobile NL: +cgdcont=1,"IP","internet","",0,0

This completes the installation of the modem.
Now the dial-up connection has to be made.

 

Dial-up Connection

In Control Panel go to Network Connections.
Choose Create a New Connection.

new connection wizard

 

Choose to Connect to the Internet.

connect to the internet

 

Choose to Set up the Connection Manually.

set up account manually

 

Choose to Connect using a dial-up modem.

connect using dial-up modem

 

If there are multiple modems to choose from, select the modem that connects to the cell phone.

select a modem

 

Choose an Name for the connection.

connection name

 

Type in the phone number *99#.
(For Sony Ericsson phones the dial-up number is *#***n#, where n = the position of the data-profile for internet in the phone connection settings. When troubleshooting, try replacing n with 1, 2, 3,...  until it works)

dial-up number

 

Only fill in a User name and a Password if required by the by the network provider.

isp account

 

A new connection is made!

connection complete

 

Choose Dial to make a connection (no user name or password entered if not necessary by the network provider).

dial up

 

The connection is being made....

verifying

 

To end the connection, right-click on the connection icon and choose Disconnect.

disconnectiong

 

   

Errors

Here are some errors that may appear when dialing the connection:

"Error 734: The PPP link control protocol was terminated."

Error 734:

"Error 651: The modem (or other connecting device) has reported an error."

Error 651

"Error 692: There was a hardware failure in the modem (or other connecting device)."

Error 692

To resolve this, check to see if the dial-string is entered correctly in the Extra Initialization Commands.
Check that the Access Point Name in the dial-string corresponds to the Access Point Name of the network provider.

If the phone receives an incoming call whilst it is being used as a modem, the internet connection is dropped.
Mobile phone manuals.