How to Use Your Mobile Phone as a Modem..!

Most GPRS-enabled phones now comes with a modem functionality which you can use to connect your PC to the Internet. Of course, not everyone can afford Huawei, ZTE or other USB internet modems. But do not worry because you are not alone. That your mobile phone can still function as an internet modem. So if you want to connect your mobile phone (GPRS-enabled) to your desktop or laptop in other to browse the internet, read on because I will be  sharing with you, simple ways you can use to connect your PC to the internet using your phone as a modem.

For the purpose of this tutorial, I will be using Nokia 6630 as a case-study. So every settings and configurations I will be talking about will base on Nokia 6630. The following settings and configurations will also be applicable to other phone makes and models. Just follow the same path and you will be done.

Basic Requirements
1. A GPRS-enabled mobile phone
2. A GSM SIM card
3. A PC (either laptop or desktop computer)
4. A cord, cable, bluetooth or infra red
5. A PC Suite (software).

How to Connect Your Phone to Your PC

Like I said earlier, to connect your PC to the Internet without a LAN or WAN, you will need a GPRS-enabled cell phone with a modem functionality. Then, follow the steps below to get started:

1. First, we will get a Nokia PC Suite for our case-study (Nokia 6630). If you do not use a Nokia phone, you can easily get your phone’s PC Suite from the Compact Disk that comes with your phone or simply download it from the internet. For Nokia PC Suite, click here to download the latest and recommended PC Suite for your Nokia phone model.

2. After downloading, install the PC Suite following the installation wizard instructions.

3. While installing, you will get to a stage where you will have to connect your phone to the PC, you can do so either by using a USB Cord, Connectivity Cable, Bluetooth or Infra Red, depending on the one available to you and/or your choice.

That is all about installation of Nokia PC Suite and connecting with your phone. Once the installation is successful, your phone should be connected to your PC and you should be able to confirm that on the PC Suite interface and on the Task bar. Note that this does not mean you have been connected to the internet.

How to Connect Your PC to the Internet

Now that your phone has been connected to your computer using the PC Suite, the modem functionality of the phone must have been installed altogether. Then let us proceed to get connected to the internet.

First thing first, you should do some basic set up on your mobile phone.

- Go to ‘Settings’ on your phone
- Go to ‘Connection’
- Then select ‘Packet Data’
- Select ‘APN’
- Enter the APN value for your network

For MTN, APN is: web.gprs.mtnnigeria.net, Etisalat is: etisalat, Globacom is: gloflat and Airtel is: internet.ng.airtel.com.

Then on your Nokia PC Suite, double click to open it and follow this set up to connect to the internet:

1. Launch ‘Nokia PC Suite’ (you can find the shortcut icon on your PC’s desktop)

2. Click ‘Connect to the Internet’

3. One Touch will pop-up, click ‘Settings’

4. Select the phone type and click ‘Next’

5. Choose either ‘Automatic Configuration’ or ‘Manual Configuration’. In ‘Automatic Configuration’, select ‘MTN Nigeria’ and click ‘Next’, then OK. But if you chose ‘Manual Configuration’, click ‘Next’. In the next window, enter the following info (based on MTN settings):

- APN: web.gprs.mtnnigeria.net
- Username: web
- Password: web
- Initialization Command: leave blank
- Click OK or Finish

NOTE

If you use other network apart from MTN, you should replace the above with your network’s internet settings.

6. Then click ‘Connect’.

At this point, ‘One Touch’ will try to connect your PC to the internet. If this is successful, ‘One Touch’ will be minimized automatically. Do not close it so as to remain connected. You are now connected. You can now begin to browse using your favorite web browser.

Note that if you do not subscribe to any data bundle or package, you will not be able to browse. And if you have credit on your phone, and you try to browse with your phone, your credit will be exhausted within a blink of an eye. You can however get a browsing package or plan for any network, for as low as N1,000 per month for a data usage of about 100MB to 200MB, depending on the network.