Tethering Cell to Wifi Router?

[Paultimate]

Hi all, 10+ year fan, first time posting here at the forums!

 

I have a problem. The problem is that Im having to move back with my folks for a while, and their internet is very bad. We are talking 12GB a month datacap and under 500kbps speeds.

They were using dialup before I upgraded them. But this just wont do as time goes on. I have invested in the (insanely good) deal for the $19 Vision R2 phone that I plan on activating when the time is appropriate. 

 

Right now im trying to gather information on how I can best take advantage of this phone to allow internet to multiple devices. 

Info:

Phone:  Visible (ZTE) R2

Wifi Router: Archer CR700

 

What would need to be done? Do I need to buy more hardware? What would people recommend for budget if so? Thanks all!

 

Edit: Sorry if I wasnt clear about this, but the Archer CR700 belongs to me. My folks do now own it and I am not with them till I need to go back there. When I do, I will be brining this with me. MY internet is great, theirs is not and the problem im trying to work. Thanks for the responses!

[Donut417]

12 minutes ago, Paultimate said:

Archer CR700

This comes back as a Docsis 3.0 gateway. Are you sure thats what your using? Because then that means you have Docsis internet via your cable provider. Which should support much faster speeds. 

14 minutes ago, Paultimate said:

What would need to be done? Do I need to buy more hardware?

It depends on the router and its firmware. Some routers will allow you to use the USB port to tether mobile devices. But not all routers do and I dont have a list of them. I can say that the Synology RT2600AC support this use case. DDWRT third party firmware may support this as well, but you have to make sure the router in question is compatible and you have to go thru the process to flash the router which has the potential to brick the router. 

[flibberdipper]

You could ditch the router as a whole and just use PdaNet+ and install the client on whatever the hell you need internet on. Not as elegant but dead simple, (usually) works, and will allow you to bypass carrier restrictions for tethering if you have one.

[Paultimate]

11 minutes ago, flibberdipper said:

You could ditch the router as a whole and just use PdaNet+ and install the client on whatever the hell you need internet on. Not as elegant but dead simple, (usually) works, and will allow you to bypass carrier restrictions for tethering if you have one.

I was confused till I remembered what PdaNet was. Cant believe its still around. I might give that a go, but Im not too confident this phone will have a strong enough wifi signal to reach many places. What would be a economical option then? Is the CR700 useless for this solution?

 

12 minutes ago, Donut417 said:

This comes back as a Docsis 3.0 gateway. Are you sure thats what your using? Because then that means you have Docsis internet via your cable provider. Which should support much faster speeds. 

It depends on the router and its firmware. Some routers will allow you to use the USB port to tether mobile devices. But not all routers do and I dont have a list of them. I can say that the Synology RT2600AC support this use case. DDWRT third party firmware may support this as well, but you have to make sure the router in question is compatible and you have to go thru the process to flash the router which has the potential to brick the router. 

Is there any sort of technical term I need to look out for that would allow this? I've heard of WAN and WISP, but its fuzzy to me how my situation (with a phone, cellular data and a USB port into the router) would best be served. Looking at the back of my CR700, it has a couple USB ports, but im unsure if this is enough. I guess its upto the firmware like you say, but im also wondering if that can be done wirelessly, and for the (or any?) router to take the incoming wifi from the phone and distribute that?

[flibberdipper]

1 minute ago, Paultimate said:

I was confused till I remembered what PdaNet was. Cant believe its still around. I might give that a go, but Im not too confident this phone will have a strong enough wifi signal to reach many places. What would be a economical option then? Is the CR700 useless for this solution?

Realistically PdaNet would be the economical option. I highly doubt the CR700 could be used in this scenario since its primarily modem, and even then I'm sure that nearly any router you could get your hands on wouldn't let you use the phone as the source for internet.

[Paultimate]

Just now, flibberdipper said:

Realistically PdaNet would be the economical option. I highly doubt the CR700 could be used in this scenario since its primarily modem, and even then I'm sure that nearly any router you could get your hands on wouldn't let you use the phone as the source for internet.

Got it, so generally routers dont have a function for taking wifi from another device and distributing? Bummer

[Donut417]

2 minutes ago, Paultimate said:

Looking at the back of my CR700, it has a couple USB ports, but im unsure if this is enough. I guess its upto the firmware like you say

Firstly if thats the correct model number its not a router its a gateway. It has an integrated Docsis 3.0 cable modem in it and it will not work for your purposes. 

 

3 minutes ago, Paultimate said:

Is there any sort of technical term I need to look out for that would allow this?

Not to my understanding. You will just have to do old fashion research. Its not exactly a use case most router manufactures consider, because most people using 4G LTE for home internet are going to have some type of LTE Gateway that has a sim card inserted. OR the people in question will be using the Hotspot feature on the phone. 

[Paultimate]

5 minutes ago, Donut417 said:

Firstly if thats the correct model number its not a router its a gateway. It has an integrated Docsis 3.0 cable modem in it and it will not work for your purposes. 

 

Not to my understanding. You will just have to do old fashion research. Its not exactly a use case most router manufactures consider, because most people using 4G LTE for home internet are going to have some type of LTE Gateway that has a sim card inserted. OR the people in question will be using the Hotspot feature on the phone. 

Here is the link to it, it says modem+router?

So lets say those people have a phone or LTE gateway has poor wifi signal, but is receiving ok cellular signal. They cant use something in addition to improve/repeat that?

[flibberdipper]

13 minutes ago, Paultimate said:

Got it, so generally routers dont have a function for taking wifi from another device and distributing? Bummer

For the most part they don't. There are a few exceptions but I'm sure you'd have to go out of your way to find one.

[Donut417]

9 minutes ago, Paultimate said:

Here is the link to it, it says modem+router?

So lets say those people have a phone or LTE gateway has poor wifi signal, but is receiving ok cellular signal. They cant use something in addition to improve/repeat that?

If the gateway has Ethernet out and it has the option to disable WiFi, then you use a Wireless Access Point. But in generally a Gateway is a Modem/Router in one box. In some rare cases you can find a LTE modem with out a router and just use a standard router, but again thats no using you phone, the gateway or modem is whats connecting to the LTE signal. 

[Paultimate]

3 minutes ago, Donut417 said:

If the gateway has Ethernet out and it has the option to disable WiFi, then you use a Wireless Access Point. But in generally a Gateway is a Modem/Router in one box. In some rare cases you can find a LTE modem with out a router and just use a standard router, but again thats no using you phone, the gateway or modem is whats connecting to the LTE signal. 

Right, so I can turn off wifi on it and there are 4 ethernet ports. One going to another computer and one going to another router. I have the WAP for the mobile devices, but I guess i cant remove the coaxial cable, tether the phone to the gateway and use the phone as the source of the internet and distribute using the gateway/wap. I had a 3G USB thing years ago that I did this with but I forget what I needed in the router to get it working.

[Donut417]

4 minutes ago, Paultimate said:

Right, so I can turn off wifi on it and there are 4 ethernet ports. One going to another computer and one going to another router. I have the WAP for the mobile devices, but I guess i cant remove the coaxial cable, tether the phone to the gateway and use the phone as the source of the internet and distribute using the gateway/wap. I had a 3G USB thing years ago that I did this with but I forget what I needed in the router to get it working.

I find it odd that you have cable internet and only have 500kbps and 12 Gb of data a month. Comcast gives me 150 Mbps and 1 Tb a month. Also Comcast's slowest speed unless your legally poor (Kids on the lunch program at school) is 25 Mbps, which is the minimum broadband has to be under US Federal Law. Your cable provider is screwing you. 

[Paultimate]

Reading up on it here: https://www.vpnuniversity.com/tutorial/how-to-share-unlimited-4g-data-with-your-router

 

On 7/25/2019 at 6:40 PM, Donut417 said:

I find it odd that you have cable internet and only have 500kbps and 12 Gb of data a month. Comcast gives me 150 Mbps and 1 Tb a month. Also Comcast's slowest speed unless your legally poor (Kids on the lunch program at school) is 25 Mbps, which is the minimum broadband has to be under US Federal Law. Your cable provider is screwing you. 

We are talking about two different connections. my connection is 100Mbps down. My parents is not, they do not live with me. I have the hardware, and a phone that I will use to upgrade them from a shitty Verizon 'unlimited' bs plan. 

[Donut417]

10 minutes ago, Paultimate said:

We are talking about two different connections. my connection is 100Mbps down. My parents is not, they do not live with me. I have the hardware, and a phone that I will use to upgrade them from a shitty Verizon 'unlimited' bs plan. 

Well just keep in mind that most LTE providers are the same. Even if its "Unlimited" there is a point you hit where they either throttle you or Deprioritize your packets. Also keep in mind that Tethering data is counted differently then data used by the phone. Most providers heavily restrict the amount of tethering data you can use. 

[Paultimate]

I understand better than most consumers the limitations of mobile data, the nuances of 'unlimited' and the differences between providers, as it is the only source of internet for some locations and I've been forced to do this research on and off over two decades. While I appreciate the reminder of what a crapfest mobile providers are and rural internet is, it is not really the topic. If curious, my current sights on are visible.com. Their service comes from Verizon, whom Ive verified has cell signal in the needed location. If they fail I will be trying Sprints (not as great) option.

If there was an option to not use mobile, I would. Its either this, satellite, or a very expensive WISP option, so unless Musk gets his ass moving, satellite latency is a shitshow and isn't an option.

 

The main issue is how to best distribute incoming data from a cell phone to 3-4 devices. Right now it *looks* like getting a repeater or some type to receive the cells data and distribute that is something to look into. If anyone has any expertise on this Im all ears. Thanks again.

[Donut417]

5 minutes ago, Paultimate said:

*looks* like getting a repeater

WiFi repeaters will cut your bandwidth in half. So if cellular is slow that day it will be even slower for any devices connected to the repeater. The best option would be to use some type of WiFi router, but because your using a phone rather than a LTE modem its hard to say if a phone can be tethered to a router. Also, finding a router that has support for using Cellular data over USB is going to be a challenge. I know my router will, but its an expensive router at $200 when I bought it. Were you able to verify how Verizon does inside the house? That would be a good indicator, because if they have good signal inside the house then you might be able to use the mobile hotspot on the phone. 

 

11 minutes ago, Paultimate said:

some type to receive the cells data and distribute that is something to look into.

They do make Cellular antennas, like outdoor ones, but they plug in to a cellular modem/gateway. So this option wont work with a phone. 

9 minutes ago, Paultimate said:

very expensive WISP

Whats considered expensive? WISP's tend to perform better than LTE from what I have read. 

 

"+Mobile hotspot speeds capped at 5 Mbps and limited to one tethered device at a time." Thats directly from their site. So thats what you gotta work with. Not sure Id spend to much money on a solution for 5 Mbps. 

[Paultimate]

17 minutes ago, Donut417 said:

WiFi repeaters will cut your bandwidth in half. So if cellular is slow that day it will be even slower for any devices connected to the repeater. The best option would be to use some type of WiFi router, but because your using a phone rather than a LTE modem its hard to say if a phone can be tethered to a router. Also, finding a router that has support for using Cellular data over USB is going to be a challenge. I know my router will, but its an expensive router at $200 when I bought it. Were you able to verify how Verizon does inside the house? That would be a good indicator, because if they have good signal inside the house then you might be able to use the mobile hotspot on the phone.  

Back when I had a 3G USB card, I had a $20 device that did what youre saying via wifi. Some Encore 3G extender i got on amazon for $20. Worked well, but im figuring if a better option exists yet.

 

17 minutes ago, Donut417 said:

They do make Cellular antennas, like outdoor ones, but they plug in to a cellular modem/gateway. So this option wont work with a phone. 

Whats considered expensive? WISP's tend to perform better than LTE from what I have read. 

Anything can preform better than anything else but it depends on location. My 100Mbps cable line far outperforms both solution when at my apartment. When at my parents place that same cable preforms at 0 Mbps. WISP solution is $400 setup $50 a month for 1mbps down. So its "plan C".  I guess if it were that easy I wouldn't be here

 

Cellular antennas are a good solution if I need the signal coming INTO the phone FROM the tower to be stronger. If im at -90db and higher It should be ok. Last I checked I had stable signal so Im hoping I dont have to do that. 

17 minutes ago, Donut417 said:

 

"+Mobile hotspot speeds capped at 5 Mbps and limited to one tethered device at a time." Thats directly from their site. So thats what you gotta work with. 

They only support one tether. You haven't heard of pdaNet? Thats one solution, another is hardware based and thats what Im getting more information about.

 

17 minutes ago, Donut417 said:

Not sure Id spend to much money on a solution for 5 Mbps. 

What would you suggest then given the limitations ive outlined? Its 5Mbps, 1Mbps or 0 Mbps. You would choose one of the other two in this situation?

[Donut417]

6 hours ago, Paultimate said:

Worked well, but im figuring if a better option exists yet.

The proper way would be using a LTE modem or LTE Gateway. The gateway option would provide WiFi access as well as some also provide some Ethernet. BUT because this is a phone we are talking about and yes they can and will limit what devices that SIM card will go in, these options are not available to you. Your best option if you have good signal in the house is to try to find a router with USB port that supports tethering. Like I said my router supports this https://www.synology.com/en-global/products/RT2600ac#specs but like I also said it costs around $200. 

 

6 hours ago, Paultimate said:

ou haven't heard of pdaNet?

I dont have to use LTE for internet. Also I only get 4 Gigs of data a month with the plan I have with T Mobile. While I get 1 Tb a month with Comcast for my home internet.

[Paultimate]

None of what you said is relevant here nor even makes sense given what you replied to. I feel like you're confusing sim cards with tethering (dont have time to educate you here) and how it works while nonsensically talking about moving/how your internet connection is, but thanks for the effort you tried. (?) 

 

If anyone has actual experience with this sort of situation, Id appreciate any feedback and knowledge that doesn't consist of "moving"

 

 

[Paultimate]

Doing further research and for those that might wonder in here in the future from Google (Hi future!!) with such a question:

 

1. What you need is a router that can acknowledge 4G tethering. 

2. This is a special feature. Currently very few support this out of the box. One is ASUS via ASUSWRT  

3. There is zero need to spend $200 on a router for this solution. ASUSWRT devices start at $60 new.

4. Spending money on a router that actively takes the SIM card is a bad idea as it locks you into the SIM cards limitations that certain people follow blindly. (one device etc)

5. There are also secondary solutions that are even less costly via PDANet+ (~$10)

 

For a introduction to applying this solution in your environment, start here.