WiFi router to link to Android 3g hotspot

[irneb]

Weird scenario: I've got a WiFi router which I'd now like to connect through my Android phone's 3g hotspot. The router is a Trendnet TEW-691GR. The phone: an old Motorola Milestone.

The reason I'm attempting this is the ADSL (or other wireless) in the area is simply tooooooo slooooowww to even consider. I'm lucky to get 40kb/s through the ADSL, but linking through the phone's hotspot allows in excess of 2MB/s - price wise it's not much of a difference. So I thought: "Why not simply use my phone's connection (seeing as I'm paying for it already - uncapped as well), and drop the ADSL contract?"

Only: the router was fine for the ADSL modem. But I'm failing to see how to connect it to the hotspot. I can connect the phone to the router quite easily. But if the hotspot is turned on the connection needs to go the other way round - doesn't it?

Anyhow most of the PC's & Laptops have a wireless connection, so I can directly connect to the hotspot from each of these. This now causes further issues: One of the PCs (I use it as a pseudo server) only has a LAN connection to the router. Also if a laptop is connected to the hotspot it cannot be connected to the router - thus it's incapable of seeing the shares on the "server".

I was thinking of attempting the router's WDS setup, but it requires the MAC address of the other wireless device(s). And for the love of Pete I cannot find the phone's MAC while its hotspot is turned on (simply says MAC address unavailable on the phone). I can find it when the hotspot is off, and have tried using that MAC, then turn the hotspot on and reboot the router - but still it doesn't connect to the hotspot.

Is there any other way I could try this? Any suggestions?

 

[john-b691]

Can you change the router to a bridge in the setup. This will in effect make put the router lan ports on the hotspot. You will have to communicate between your PC and the server via the phone which may not be optimal.

If you can set it to bridge time to buy a new router that can...you can get a bridge but a router many times costs the same or less.

 

[irneb]

Sorry, guys ... I've tried. Even upgraded the firmware (apparently the new version adds IPV6, but not much else). Still can't seem to "bridge" onto the phone's WiFi - although it's supposed to be able to bridge (at least from the manual) it can't find the phone's network. Strangely I've also got an Iomega iConnect which finds the phone no problem - but then that is simply a NAS and doesn't do sharing (I've only seen some trying to hack it's OS to make it into a full-on router).

Will probably have to look at going a different route - perhaps get a modem with a LAN port and sim card for 3G connect. I don't particularly want to go with another router - this one's speed is just so much better than the others I've tested (1GB/s LAN and 400MB/s WiFi) - difficult finding other routers with those type of specs around here.

 

[hang-the-9]

Get a wireless card for the desktop, connect to the hotspot. You can get a router that has a 3G connection also, but getting a wireless card for the desktop would be a lot cheaper.

 

[irneb]

Yes, that's an option too. Though it doesn't sort out the issue with laptops not linking to the LAN through WiFi while they're also connected to the HotSpot.

I've even tried sharing the internet connection made to the phone through one of the PC's. But that only works sometimes. It's very temperamental if I do this.

 

[hang-the-9]

The best way would be to get a 3G router and get a USB stick to connect to your service.

 

[irneb]

Yep, thanks ... that's what I'm starting to realize! Now to go search for a cheap router and/or 3G modem which can connect to the existing router's WAN port.

 

[irneb]

Best answer selected by irneb.

 

[hang-the-9]

Yep, thanks ... that's what I'm starting to realize! Now to go search for a cheap router and/or 3G modem which can connect to the existing router's WAN port.

If you do that make sure you turn off NAT and DHCP on the old router. I'd just use a new router and setup the second as a switch.

 

[Adnan Manzoor]

This is how i connected my TPLINK wireless router to my 3g Mobile hotspot. Hope this helps as a guide.
https://cupntea.wordpress.com/2015/04/20/how-to-extend-the-range-of-your-phones-hotspot-by-using-a-router/

 

[irneb]

This is how i connected my TPLINK wireless router to my 3g Mobile hotspot. Hope this helps as a guide.
https://cupntea.wordpress.com/2015/04/20/how-to-extend-the-range-of-your-phones-hotspot-by-using-a-router/

Thanks, I have tried that before. But it seems this particular router doesn't have the "bridging" option - even though its manual states it does. It's simply not listed on any page of its web based setup.

Anyhow, I've been able to make use of a very old laptop (around 15 years old) with a broken screen. I installed a Linux onto it and then used it's bridging ability to bridge its wifi connection to its LAN connection, then connected it to the router's WAN connection.

Works perfectly now, the router "thinks" the laptop is an ADSL modem, all devices linked to the router through both WiFi and LAN can use the internet connection. And even if I use the "modem's" IP address I can still see it as a normal computer on the network with the possibility of sharing folders or whatever as well.