{"id":240,"date":"2021-09-25T17:39:59","date_gmt":"2021-09-25T17:39:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/?p=240"},"modified":"2021-09-25T17:40:00","modified_gmt":"2021-09-25T17:40:00","slug":"does-usb-tethering-use-hotspot-or-cellular-data","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/does-usb-tethering-use-hotspot-or-cellular-data\/","title":{"rendered":"Does USB Tethering Use Hotspot Or Cellular Data? (How To Know)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>If you\u2019re about to use your phone for USB tethering, you\u2019ll want to know if the connection uses a Mobile Hotspot, your cellular data plan, or your Wifi connection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you want to be sure that you are using one over the others, then you should take some extra steps when setting up the USB tethering. Read on for all the details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_63 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6601a9beecc43\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6601a9beecc43\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/does-usb-tethering-use-hotspot-or-cellular-data\/#Does_USB_Tethering_Use_Mobile_Hotspot_Wifi_or_Cellular_Data_Connection\" title=\"Does USB Tethering Use Mobile Hotspot, Wifi, or Cellular Data Connection?\">Does USB Tethering Use Mobile Hotspot, Wifi, or Cellular Data Connection?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/does-usb-tethering-use-hotspot-or-cellular-data\/#How_To_Ensure_That_USB_Tethering_Uses_Your_Mobile_Hotspot\" title=\"How To Ensure That USB Tethering Uses Your Mobile Hotspot\">How To Ensure That USB Tethering Uses Your Mobile Hotspot<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/does-usb-tethering-use-hotspot-or-cellular-data\/#How_To_Ensure_That_USB_Tethering_Uses_Your_Cellular_Data_Plan\" title=\"How To Ensure That USB Tethering Uses Your Cellular Data Plan\">How To Ensure That USB Tethering Uses Your Cellular Data Plan<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/does-usb-tethering-use-hotspot-or-cellular-data\/#Can_You_Really_Use_USB_Tethering_To_Get_Unlimited_Data_To_Your_Laptop\" title=\"Can You Really Use USB Tethering To Get Unlimited Data To Your Laptop?\">Can You Really Use USB Tethering To Get Unlimited Data To Your Laptop?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/does-usb-tethering-use-hotspot-or-cellular-data\/#How_To_Limit_Your_Cellular_Data_Usage_With_USB_Tethering\" title=\"How To Limit Your Cellular Data Usage With USB Tethering\">How To Limit Your Cellular Data Usage With USB Tethering<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/does-usb-tethering-use-hotspot-or-cellular-data\/#How_To_Use_USB_Tethering_Without_An_Internet_Connection\" title=\"How To Use USB Tethering Without An Internet Connection\">How To Use USB Tethering Without An Internet Connection<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Does_USB_Tethering_Use_Mobile_Hotspot_Wifi_or_Cellular_Data_Connection\"><\/span>Does USB Tethering Use Mobile Hotspot, Wifi, or Cellular Data Connection?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>USB tethering with your cell phone can use either a Wifi connection your cellular data plan.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>If you use your Wifi to set up a Mobile Hotspot, then you can&#8217;t set up USB tethering with a Wifi connection. Your Wifi adapter can only make one connection at a time.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Are you trying to understand your costs?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I see plenty of people asking the question on forums as to which connection is used by USB tethering. And there are also plenty of different answers!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In my view, many of the answers aren\u2019t addressing the motivation behind the question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>This article assumes that you\u2019d prefer that USB tethering uses whichever option works out cheaper for you.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You <strong>may<\/strong> be interested in the technical details about how USB tethering works. If so, then check out our companion article that explains <a href=\"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/what-is-usb-tethering\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"230\">what USB tethering is<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"427\" height=\"304\" src=\"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/usb_cables.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-231\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/usb_cables.jpg 427w, https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/usb_cables-300x214.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 427px) 100vw, 427px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Typical question<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Here is a typical question from internet forums:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p><em>My provider gives me an unlimited data plan and a 5 GB hotspot plan. Does USB tethering use up the hotspot or does it stick to the unlimited data?<\/em><\/p><cite>Forum user<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>The poor guy got explanations of what tethering means.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>But I\u2019m sure that he just wanted to know if he could get unlimited internet usage for his laptop!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you have a similar motive then I\u2019ll explain how you can be sure the tethering uses your preferred type of connection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_To_Ensure_That_USB_Tethering_Uses_Your_Mobile_Hotspot\"><\/span>How To Ensure That USB Tethering Uses Your Mobile Hotspot<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Many phones tend to suspend cellular connection when you\u2019re using Wifi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But I advise that you don\u2019t rely on this when you start using USB tethering. Don\u2019t assume that the connection won\u2019t switch behind the scenes to your cellular plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Instead, you can take these steps to be sure your phone sticks with the Hotspot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol type=\"1\"><li>Open the Settings on your phone<\/li><li>Open the Network options<\/li><li>Find the Mobile data settings<\/li><li>Turn off or disable Mobile data connection<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>This should be straightforward, except for phones which \u201chide away\u201d the option to turn off Mobile data manually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My older Samsung did exactly that. It took several clicks from the Settings page to find it. But don\u2019t let that dissuade you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Turning off the connection manually means that you know exactly how your tethering method is connecting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_To_Ensure_That_USB_Tethering_Uses_Your_Cellular_Data_Plan\"><\/span>How To Ensure That USB Tethering Uses Your Cellular Data Plan<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>You may prefer that USB tethering uses your cellular connection instead of Wifi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Disabling your Wifi is usually more straightforward than disabling the cellular data connection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Take the steps for your make of phone to disable your Wifi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Can_You_Really_Use_USB_Tethering_To_Get_Unlimited_Data_To_Your_Laptop\"><\/span>Can You Really Use USB Tethering To Get Unlimited Data To Your Laptop?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>So, your phone plan comes with an unlimited data connection. And you\u2019re thinking \u2013 wouldn\u2019t it be great to do all my work on my laptop through that option!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Well, if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. Your phone network company is well aware of this temptation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you merrily stream movies to your laptop via your phone, that unlimited plan will suddenly become more limited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Your data will be throttled at some point.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019ve heard reports of the throttling kicking in at around 30 GB.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_To_Limit_Your_Cellular_Data_Usage_With_USB_Tethering\"><\/span>How To Limit Your Cellular Data Usage With USB Tethering<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Your phone network provider will probably provide a feature that lets you save on data usage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is called a metered data connection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Look under your Data settings for something like \u201cnetwork restrictions\u201d or \u201cmetered connection\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_To_Use_USB_Tethering_Without_An_Internet_Connection\"><\/span>How To Use USB Tethering Without An Internet Connection<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>You can use USB tethering without any kind of connection to the internet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Why would you want to do so? This lets you transfer files between your phone and laptop through the USB cable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s a good choice if you\u2019re moving lots of photos from one device to the other, especially when you\u2019ve only got a cellular connection as the other option.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you\u2019re about to use your phone for USB tethering, you\u2019ll want to know if the connection uses a Mobile Hotspot, your cellular data plan, or your Wifi connection. If you want to be sure that you are using one over the others, then you should take some extra steps when setting up the USB &#8230; <a title=\"Does USB Tethering Use Hotspot Or Cellular Data? (How To Know)\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/does-usb-tethering-use-hotspot-or-cellular-data\/\" aria-label=\"More on Does USB Tethering Use Hotspot Or Cellular Data? (How To Know)\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=240"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":241,"href":"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240\/revisions\/241"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=240"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=240"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=240"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}