Let me start by saying I'm new to wifi, so forgive if this question seems to noob.
I'm currently using Comcast cable to connect to the internet at home. Have been thinking of switching to their wireless service mainly because I want to connect with my 8525 at home (husband also has a wifi capable phone, the 8125). Spoke to a Comcast rep today who said that I could connect with up to 5 pcs but would not be able to connect with my phone and I would have to sign up for this service via my cell company; Cingular/Att.
Did I get wrong info? I've read that so many of you have connected at home and not sure if you're useing your pc's existing wireless service or have a sevice via your cell co.
And a little OT, but anyone personally compared having wireless svc vs. cable modem? Are there constant disconnect probs? Loss in speed? etc...?
Thanks for any input,
Mari
This may be the blind leading the blind, but here it goes:
- To get WiFi going in your home - you need to have your Comcast cable internet service and cable modem like normal. In addition you would need to buy a WiFi router that connects to the cable modem to send the signal out to your phones/other computers. Comcast doesn't offer a wireless service, it would be you making your network wireless. Here is a link to a router with a good explaination. If you decide to go that route you might want to ask people what routers they recommend: http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Product_Id=136493
- Your other "wireless" choice is a Data Plan through Cingular (ie PDA Connect, et al). This can be pricey and it is much slower than any WiFi connection I have had. WiFi is faster, and no extra costs to use at your home. The Cingular/Att Data plans are great if you need data when not at home.
Thanks scharnet for the info. I'm still not quite sure how this works, but I'll look into it further. Those of you who actually have wifi at home please chime in. I'm trying to get as much info and knowledge as I can b4 I go wireless and I'm trying to do so asap.
Thanks again,
Mari
scharnet is correct in his wifi statements.
What you need is to hook your cable modem into a wireless router. Then from your wireless router you will hook your home PC via a cat5 network cable. Then you can also connect to your wireless router from your 8525 and your 8125 (all at the same time).
Does your cable model currently hook into your home PC via a cat5 network cable or via a USB cable? If it hooks in via a USB cable is there also a cat5 network jack on the back of the cable modem or only a USB connection?
I suspect that when Comcast is trying to sell you a wireless service, what they are actually going to sell you is a cable modem that has a wireless router built into it. If it has wireless capabilities then it would work with your phone.
I also suspect that the representative that you spoke with at Comcast didnt fully understand that your 8125 and 8525 can connect via 802.11b/g wifi.
I have Comcast and my cable modem is hooked into a WRT54G 802.11g router. I have 2 regular PCs both connected to it via wifi. My 8525 also connects to it via wifi.
Hope this helps!
thanx so much pcm2a! just the info I needed
Not sure how USB 3G dongles work or are setup, so I was wondering if it's possible to get one & be able to use my phone's existing 3G contract through one of them.
At the moment I have to plug my phone into my laptop & use internet connection sharing, but would rather be able to use a usb dongle for the simplicity.
From what i understand, 3G USB dongles connect directly to your network and therefore supply direct communication between your laptop and the network.
There is no need then to connect the dongle to your mobile and hence use the mobile to connect to the network.
I am not aware that they have any method of connecting to another, 3rd party network connection.
The simplicity is, that the dongle is plugged in, connects to the network and then you can surf. The downside i suppose is that you need another contract of some kind.
If you must use your mobiles connection, why not try bluetooth, i guess would be neater than cables.
Well I wondered if the usb dongles are using similar settings to what contract mobile phone does. And if so is it possible to use your mobile phone's sim in them to make them work?
I tried the bluetooth & it didn't seem to work, but then if it did, it would be draining my battery on my phone even faster.
So I can use my standard USB cable and tether to the laptop and have net connection on lappy. Same with desktop. USB tether works just the same as wifi tether. What about getting a micro USB to RJ45 (ethernet) cable and tethering to the internet in jack on my router. Would that put the net signal on the router like a modem would?
Chopstix9 said:
So I can use my standard USB cable and tether to the laptop and have net connection on lappy. Same with desktop. USB tether works just the same as wifi tether. What about getting a micro USB to RJ45 (ethernet) cable and tethering to the internet in jack on my router. Would that put the net signal on the router like a modem would?
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Or you could get a wireless adapter for your Desktop. That's what I did. Now I can stream Amazon Prime on my Xbox 360, and PC game at the same time.This is what I have and works like a charm.
Good luck.
Oh my desktop is already wireless enabled, that's not an issue... Been running the house off the phones for a couple years... Just gave up a little bit when I got rid of cable interet. Whole house networking to other computers in the house, had to plug the wireless printer back into the desktop, it's no longer a network printer, etc.... was just toying with the idea and wondering if it would work is all.
Actually, in looking at the micro usb - rj45 adapters, I don't think it will work. Those are actually ethernet adapters, like adding a network card to a slot on a pc. Made for taking a net signal FROM a network, not sending one TO it.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but can't you just get a compatible wireless dongle (Something you would use for sniffing/injecting packets) and use it as an access point so you can broadcast the signal throughout the house?
Another thing you can do is pick up a router that you can install Tomato or DD-WRT on and use it as a wireless client bridge. It would connect to your phone, and again, broadcast that signal through the house.
Chopstix9 said:
So I can use my standard USB cable and tether to the laptop and have net connection on lappy. Same with desktop. USB tether works just the same as wifi tether. What about getting a micro USB to RJ45 (ethernet) cable and tethering to the internet in jack on my router. Would that put the net signal on the router like a modem would?
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DJNads said:
Another thing you can do is pick up a router that you can install Tomato or DD-WRT on and use it as a wireless client bridge. It would connect to your phone, and again, broadcast that signal through the house.
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Correct. Assuming the phone would even operate in this manner (I've never tried but sounds like a great idea!), you'd need a router that is capable of operating in bridged mode/wireless bridge/access point mode (may be labeled as either of them). You'd then have to configure the router to said bridged mode. An easier route (and possibly more expensive) would be to purchase just an access point.
MrHyde03 said:
Correct. Assuming the phone would even operate in this manner (I've never tried but sounds like a great idea!), you'd need a router that is capable of operating in bridged mode/wireless bridge/access point mode (may be labeled as either of them). You'd then have to configure the router to said bridged mode. An easier route (and possibly more expensive) would be to purchase just an access point.
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I may have an old WAP in my junk closet. A router that can bridge may work but first thing I think I would need is a router or WAP that has a USB connection on it.... I'm looking to plug the phone into the router to provide the internet signal instead of a cable/dsl modem, creating a typical LAN ... I can still use the LAN in-house sans the net connection. Just a pain to disconnect from one network (phone hotspot) and connect to another (netless LAN) for file transfers network printing etc ...
Chopstix9 said:
I may have an old WAP in my junk closet. A router that can bridge may work but first thing I think I would need is a router or WAP that has a USB connection on it.... I'm looking to plug the phone into the router to provide the internet signal instead of a cable/dsl modem, creating a typical LAN ... I can still use the LAN in-house sans the net connection. Just a pain to disconnect from one network (phone hotspot) and connect to another (netless LAN) for file transfers network printing etc ...
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You shouldn't need to physically connect your phone to the router at all. Depending on what router you get, it should be able to pick up the wireless signal from your phone's hotspot and rebroadcast it as its own network.
Edit: And honestly, I'm not sure connecting the phone via usb to the router would even share the connection. That router doesn't have the drivers needed for that to work.
To the OP, off topic question but what did you have to do to activate wi fi tether? your sig, tells me that your on stock and can still do it, yes? thanks!
Side note, it's been awhile but when I moved into my apartment I had no internet for a few days.
I did the USB wired tether to a laptop, then the laptop I think I enabled ICS/internet connection sharing and then connected with rj45 to a router, and it shared that as the WAN connection.
motrinHD said:
To the OP, off topic question but what did you have to do to activate wi fi tether? your sig, tells me that your on stock and can still do it, yes? thanks!
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What part of my sig tells you I am on stock?
I've done both these things. I've taken my cell and flashed a router with dd-wrt and set it up as a repeater bridge but that means that only the computers near that router gets internet, unless your house is wired for ethernet (or using wireless). My current setup is having the phone tethered to a computer running Zentyal linux. This is a cool distro that can replace a 2008 Small business server in a work environment but it does the trick for my router at home. I had it running on an old P4 and recently graduated to a Zotac Zbox Mini ID41 which is tucked away behind my TV. I set up the computer to hand out dhcp and be the router and gateway. When i plug in my cell in tethering mode, zentyal recognizes it and i set that USB device as external WAN. It usually takes some getting used to and about a minute to normalize after the phone is unplugged and taken on the road. This has worked for me so far but when i'm at work, no internet at home. I'm currently attempting to talk my workplace into letting me subsidize a Verizon Jetpack i can leave home which will do the same job.
As a side note, i live in rural WI and we only have Satellite internet as a choice, which really stinks as both carriers have a bandwidth cap which we were constantly hitting two weeks into the billing cycle. They then throttle you down to less than a meg until your billing cycle renews.
We RV all summer most years and I use WiFiRanger gear to network our 5th wheel. That way we can grab a WiFi AP if one is available and the credentials are known or I HotSpot my phone and the Router grabs the phone's WiFi AP and we are good to go.
If you are stationary and only intend to use the phone's HotSpot as a WiFi AP then WiFiRanger's GO2 should do the trick. They are currently working on a firmware upgrade that will allow some great bandwidth monitoring and device usage controls. Their price is comparable to most full featured routers being offered but not cheap.
I am a satisfied user and Beta tester of their equipment, not an employee or representative. We use several of their offerings to maximize our capabilities on the road.
Galaxy S4 on CM13...if it matters
So here's my predicament. I've been using my S4 connected to Xfinity wifi as ethernet to my laptop then have my laptop set as a wifi hotspot for my other devices. I no longer have an Xfinity account but my old LG Leon is still active in their system for some reason, so I've changed the MAC on my S4 to meet the leons (Leon has broken screen) until they finally decide to drop it. Then I use MHotspot to allow my other devices to use the net. Convoluted way of doing things, but it works...sorta.
Problem is the data stream from MHotspot is super slow at 0.5-1.5mbps on Speedtest to my other devices (with only one connected to the hotspot) while the PC gets around 15mbps. However if I use the free hour directly from the PC WiFi and enable MHotspot to leech that connection, my other devices get full speed.
What gives? Any insight?
dragonhart6505 said:
Galaxy S4 on CM13...if it matters
So here's my predicament. I've been using my S4 connected to Xfinity wifi as ethernet to my laptop then have my laptop set as a wifi hotspot for my other devices. I no longer have an Xfinity account but my old LG Leon is still active in their system for some reason, so I've changed the MAC on my S4 to meet the leons (Leon has broken screen) until they finally decide to drop it. Then I use MHotspot to allow my other devices to use the net. Convoluted way of doing things, but it works...sorta.
Problem is the data stream from MHotspot is super slow at 0.5-1.5mbps on Speedtest to my other devices (with only one connected to the hotspot) while the PC gets around 15mbps. However if I use the free hour directly from the PC WiFi and enable MHotspot to leech that connection, my other devices get full speed.
What gives? Any insight?
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Wifi hotspot connection is not the same as a wired ethernet. In a wifi network, all devices will be sharing the available bandwidth. If your bandwidth for instance is 54mbps, it means all devices connected to your wifi network will be sharing this bandwidth. The more devices, the less bandwidth. And even if it is a mixed network of a/b/g/n, the network will perform at the pace of the slowest device. But in an ethernet network and if you're using a switch but not a hub, all devices will have the same bandwidth of the ethernet network, either 10mbps, 100mbps, 1000mbps depending on your switch capability and cabling used.
I was wondering if anyone on VZW new unlimited plan who relies on Mobile Hotspot for their home (multiple devices) to try if this works. The idea is to turn your phone into a "Internet Service Provider" [figure speech] and share the internet with your other devices without being throttled after using those 15GB for your mobile hotspot allowance. I believe it could be accomplished with 4 items:
1- A USB type C to Ethernet adapter like this one
2- A Router (perhaps a dual band router but not really necessary)
3- PDANet App and activate USB Tethering from it
4- An Ethernet Cable to connect the adapter to the Router
From previous experience using PDANet, I was able to provide internet to my laptop from which I created a LAN and utilized a Cat5 cable to get my PS3 connected to play online since I didn't have a router. It appeared that I was using regular data instead of tethering.
Disclaimer: Understand clearly it is a suggestion therefore you assume all responsibilities.