How to set up a mobile phone as a Bluetooth modem?
Overview
Mobile phone can be used as a modem that will connect a computer
(PDA, laptop, or desktop) to a mobile data network
such as HSCSD, GPRS, EDGE, CDMA2000 (1xRTT), and enhanced 3G (EV-DO or HSDPA). Using mobile phone as
a modem is
the preferred mobile Internet solution for many travelers
since they don't need to buy another hardware, i.e. a special card (PCMCIA
PC Card, PCI Express Mini Card, CF card, or SD card)
for accessing a cellular data network. To use
mobile phone as a modem, a connection
must first be established between it and the computer. The physical connection is
commonly a USB cable, an infrared (IrDA) link or a Bluetooth
link.
Using Bluetooth as the connection link between a mobile phone
and a computer allows mobility, because - unlike infrared (IrDA) - Bluetooth doesn't require
both devices
to be in line-of-sight (LOS). You can use a mobile phone in your pocket
or briefcase or elsewhere as a modem that connects your computer to
the Internet provided both devices (the computer and the phone) are
still within range (i.e. up to 10 meters for
Class 3 devices). Bluetooth has
many standard usage models (profiles), but we are going to use
only the DUN (Dial-Up Networking) profile for this purpose.
The latest revision of this tutorial was created using a PC
running Windows XP (SP2), a USB Bluetooth dongle, and a Nokia
6600 GSM/GPRS phone. The result is the same with the previous
revision of this article that was based on tests on Nokia 7610 and O2 Xda
II. This revision was made to give readers direct comparison with
connecting using infrared (IrDA) modem. Instructions for setting
on
the mobile phone are provided as an example, the real settings
must follow your mobile phone documentation and your cellular
data service provider.
What should I prepare?
- Insert your Bluetooth dongle (adapter) to your computer USB port if it doesn't have a
built-in Bluetooth transceiver. Connect the dongle to other port (e.g.
serial, PCMCIA) if you have a non-USB model. If you use Windows XP Service
Pack 2 (SP2), the adapter will be installed automatically and working with the Generic Bluetooth Radio
driver. If you use a previous version of Windows, then you have to install
the software that comes with your Bluetooth adapter before plugging it into
your computer for the first time.
- From the documentation, check whether your Bluetooth
phone can be used as a modem.
- You must subscribe to a mobile (cellular) Internet access service and you
are within the cellular data coverage. Your mobile
phone must be configured for mobile Internet according to your mobile
Internet service provider directions. Very often the default settings have been preset in certain
phone models, you only need to activate them. The following illustration is an example from Nokia
6600 with Symbian OS.
|
