Does anyone know if it is possible, feasible or realistic to use a PC to connect to the net through a smartphones capability, rather than relying on a traditional ISP?

Realistically it would only be for download purposes, for example- is a this going to be a realistic approach to downloading something like the witcher 3 from Gog? (I know the file size here is an extreme example- I am just curious)

I would be most interested and grateful to hear if anyone knows about this possibility or even any one who actually uses this method.

Whilst I currently have a fast ISP connection, they have just announced a 10% increase to my bill- the second 10% increase inside 12 months- I am getting pretty fed up with it.

You can set your smartphone as a "mobile access point", and connect your computer to it through wifi, for instance. Your mobile becomes your computer's router. Is that what you mean ?

It will drain your battery health though. Is there any USB modem available use with your mobile carrier? That would be preferable than tethering the connection.

Yeah that's what I mean. How effective would this method be for downloading though- I don't mind waiting longer for example, but is it a reliable way to download potentially large files?

I would advise against it.

Your phone will be very hot since you'll operate it intensively for a long time

It should work like any other wifi router. Depending on the speed and cost of internet on your mobile.

Now, I don't know about the battery aspect that Zlaywal mention. Would it still be an issue if you keep your mobile plugged in ? Else, yeah, as s/he said, look for stick-like USB modems (with a sim card inside, or maybe the possiility to use your own sim card in it ?).

I'm a he :). It should be fine for rare occurrence, but excessive and lengthy usage is not recommended.

Thank you to all who replied. Seems like it might do what I need and I will be looking into this some more.

Thanks!

Have you looked at the prices of mobile internet? Usually it's a lot more expensive than regular (for downloading a lot of data).

In the past I've used both a USB modem and one of these hotspots as my primary internet connection.

I'd also advise against using your phone unless it's a really crappy throwaway one. You'll just be putting a lot of unnecessary stress on it, if only because you're going to be recharging the battery continuously. Even a device as the one I've linked to will drain the battery in 6 hours of use (with actual traffic, not stand-by), and that's a device designed specifically for the kind of operation you have in mind, so imagine a phone with the screen and all stuff running on it... And besides, you might want to use your phone as a phone sometimes...?

I used to have my hotspot plugged in most of the time, and after maybe a year it was still working well. And anyway, had it burned or something, well, it surely was cheaper than any smartphone.

Just out of curiosity, you got an unlimited data plan?

Edit: Look, if you don't need WiFi a USB modem is even cheaper and you don't have to worry about the battery: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Huawei-Unlocked-Portable-Dongle-Genuine/dp/B011YZZ6Q2/

Yes you can, I do it all the time and sometimes feel I wouldn't need my "fixed line" internet at all because I can do pretty much everything on a 4G/LTE connection on my phone, including downloading my GOG games and playing Team Fortress 2 online. But ,my 10Mbps fixed line is included in the basic housing costs so it isn't like I can get rid of it anyway, without moving out...

In many rural parts of Finland you can't even get fixed line internet, but your only option is mobile internet, even for your PC and smart-TV. It just doesn't make sense to pull the landlines to all rural areas.

Either you connect your phone to your PC via USB, or set up a mobile hotspot on your phone to which you connect with your PC as you would connect to any wifi hotspot. Each method works and has its own benefits:

- Connecting with an USB cable keeps charging your phone at the same time, and it might be considered also a bit more secure (ie. no one can "tap in" to your connection if they break the encryption, but that security issue is a rather theoretical anyway).

- Setting up a mobile hotspot, however, allows many devices to use your phone as a wifi hotspot at the same time. With the USB method, you are using it for one device only.

Odd to hear though that your ISP is increasing the bills. Here it is the direct opposite for both fixed lines and mobile connections, we get faster for cheaper every year. Or rather, the "basic" connections usually seem to cost around 20 €/month, but they keep getting faster and faster as time goes by. Here the same telecom companies (which compete against each other)

Are the mobile and/or landline internet connections there normally unlimited, ie. you can transfer as much data as you want for the same monthly price? Here it is luckily, three big ISPs competing for the same customers. I seriously don't understand these warnings.

Sure, using your phone a lot (be it for anything, playing games on it, making video calls, using Facebook, using it for tethering) certainly drains the battery, but so what? You just recharge your phone, and if you use the USB connection method, then your phone will be recharged all the time anyway. If the battery dies a few years from now... then you buy a new phone or a new battery for it, duh. Phones are made to be used, it is not like you should try to preserve their batteries or anything.

I've never had any issues with phones operating "too hot" either. Sure, using it will warm it up, just as using your PC warms up your PC. So what?

None of that is an issue. I have used my phones as mobile hotspots or with an USB cable for several years and I have not noticed my phones breaking up faster than e.g. my wife's phones which are never used as mobile hotspots (but she does use Facebook and such on them quite a lot). So I say to your warnings: hogwash.

Plus, phones are meant to be used a lot, not to be conserved. When your phone breaks, fix it or buy a new one. In a couple of years your current phone's glass is probably broken anyway and the phone hasn't received any security updates anymore for a long time, so it would be a time for a new phone anyway.

As for using your phone as a phone, using it for providing internet for your PC does not prevent that in any way. When I use my phone to give me internet access to my laptop, I can still make and receive calls freely with the phone, at the same time. The internet connection may break for half a second or so when there is an incoming call, but that is all. During the call itself the internet still works fine.

People, where the heck do you get all those reservations against using a phone for internet? I simply haven't encountered those issues, ever. The only complaint I have is that mobile internet speeds tend to fluctuate a lot more than fixed line, ie. on busy hours you may be getting considerably slower speeds than in the middle of the night, depending how many other users for the same operator there are nearby. But so far even that hasn't been that big of an issue, just meaning that sometimes I get "only" 10Mbps instead of 30-50 Mbps (or more). That is an important point, but e.g. in Finland the competition between three big ISPs/mobile operators takes care that they all provide unlimited data plans also for their mobile connections.

At best I have downloaded about 200GB of GOG games (and do other stuff) over a weekend using my 4G LTE phone for the internet connection, and my ISP didn't seem to mind.

As for speed, the best speed I've seen on my 4G/LTE phone was around 124Mbps or so, but unfortunately it was not at my home but elsewhere (I was on a course about 15km from my home). At home I get at best around 50Mbps speeds with the phone. sometimes 30Mbps, at worst around 10Mbps. My basic cable modem internet is only 10Mbps, so my mobile internet is usually actually faster. :)

its possible, but your phone's battery will be exhausted in about 2-3 hours.
If your problem is about access to network while traveling - there are bunch of usb devices for such purpouse (put sim card inside, plug device into your laptop and here you go), which usually work way better

I have used a couple of different mobiles as routers and it worked just fine, even trying out all the different methods I found. Best for me was just using the USB cord that usually is attached to my charger.