"...I would forgo a separate hotspot device unless I needed if for group internet access. Buy more data for the phone and USB-tether."
NB: for usb-tethering a camera, either in a phone or as an independent cam, go here.
5G rolled out in July for T-Mobile. At that time, my phone's data plan began to include a free 40G of 5G "hotspot" data. This additional feature allows a person the option to use their phone as a WiFi hub. They can still access the Web through their phones' browser (the old way), but they can also broadcast the signal like a hub. A software toggle in the phone's settings (see below) turns it on or off.
Transmitting WiFi creates a hot phone, and heat is the number 1 electronics killer. When I saw how hot the phone was getting, I purchased another device (plus another number), that's solely for hotspotting. I have too much contact info and so on in my phone for me to deal with it failing due to hotspotting heat.
Of course, as soon as I purchased the dedicated hotspot device, I found-out that it wasn't really necessary. I learned I could use the phone without WiFi heat problems... if I physically tethered it using a USB cable (pic below) instead of running WiFi. In addition to less heat (a fifth of the heat), the cable charged the phone during internet use. The connection also is less hackable than WiFi.
The drawback is that a physical connection only can be attached to one device. But could a person allow multiple connections by tethering to a switch, or a router? Haven't yet attempted.
data expense on separate hotspot
I had already purchased a hotpsot device -- basically a data connection device with no calling, text or apps on it -- so I went on to purchase a $10 a month data plan for it and configured it (see further down). Data is quintuple the price of phone plans. It's possible providers don't receive enough intel from that device to sell/provide to advertisers/LEA's, or that it's considered generally a business device, or that they don't receive subsidies from Google, etc? Whatever the cause, $10 per month bought me 2GB and no rollover.
configuration
First though, three questions answered that I wish I could have easily found on Google.
1. Is a separate SIM needed for the dedicated mobile device? Yes. Although a person could physically move their phone SIM into the dedicated hotspot, both the phone and the dedicated hotspot device have unique IMEI's. So the phone provider will have to register and unregister the device each move of the SIM. This is liable to lead to interruptions, in addition to the liklihood of damaging the SIM during repeated transfers. However, a separate SIM *does* mean a separate phone number with its own data plan. More below.
2. With 2 SIMS, do hotspot minutes from one device merge with the other device? No. Even though users receive one bill, it has two numbers with two separate data plans. Overage charges would apply if I went over on one device but still had gigabytes left on the other device. Further, dedicated hotspot device minutes are expensive: $10 per month on the device got me 5Gigs of 5G speed data and unlimited 126K data, LOL.
3. Which dedicated hotspot is a good choice? Don't buy one: USB tether from your phone. If buying anyway, check the phone provider's website for compatible devices, then buy one inexpensively refurbished from say, EBay. Example: I'm on T-Mobile and the T-Mobile website sells Inseego and Franklin hotspots. The Franklin T10's are $30 refurbed, but they transmit data at 4G speeds. This is a waste of $$. The 5G Inseego M2000 (pictured) is $340 new from T-Mobile. I bought one for $110 off EBay. Works and charges fine.
configurations
Four sections below: phone WiFi, phone tether, and dedicated hotspot. Each requires a configuration file: an /etc/udev/rules.d/ file (tether) , and a wpa_supplicant.conf file (WiFi).
Part 1: phone hotspotting
It may overheat, but the phone can provide internet 3 ways. bluetooth, wifi, or USB cable tethered. The bluetooth is too insecure to bother with. That leaves:
- Wifi hotspot: enable/disable in phone Settings as needed. Connect several devices with ESSID and password. If neighbors or wardialer squat it, can WAP it and/or hide the ESSID. /etc/wpa_supplicant/
- USB tether: enable/disable in phone Settings as needed. Connect as ethernet (no pass) to single device. Cooler than WiFi, more secure than WiFi, charges while connected. Set this up, even if it's not needed. /etc/udev/rules.d/
BTW, USB tethering can also be configured for reverse-tethering - taking internet from one's connected laptop and sending it to the phone. Not sure when this would be useful, but it's available.
1a. Wifi hotspot
This is the simpler of the two, but more open to hacking. No configuration of the laptop/desktop is required -- the phone becomes another Wifi connection point, and the user connects their laptop to it like they would any other Wifi router/source.
1a. use (WiFi)
- Settings --> Connection & sharing --> Mobile hotspot (slider). Once enabled, a hotspot icon appears in the upper R, near the 5G reception bars.
# wpa_supplicant -D wext -i wlan0 -c /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf &
# dhcpcd wlan0
1a. setup (WiFi)
- Settings --> Connection & sharing --> Mobile hotspot (slider). Tapping on Mobile Hotspot will allow a person to change the ESSID name, hide it, change the password, the security, etc. Save after all are set
$ wpa_passphrase [ESSID] [password]
# nano /etc/wpa_supplicant/configfile.conf
Put in the info from passphrase. The line scan_ssid=1 is necessary if hiding the ESSID. For security, key_mgmt=WPA-PSK is standard.# chmod +x /etc/wpa_supplicant/configfile.conf
1b. use (USB tether)
Android tether page (Arch). Tethering is slightly more complicated than Wifi for the initial setup, because configuring on the desktop/laptop is needed. Worth it.
tether use
- Connect USB cable
- On the Android, doesn't matter USB mode, but move slider below to right to enable tethering
- On the laptop/desktop:
# dhcpcd enp0s21d0u2
1c. setup (USB tether)
Linux desktops/laptop network connections include loopback, ethernet id, and wifi id. This USB-tethered phone will act like a second ethernet card. The connection becomes added to the list inside /sys/class/net.
# pacman -S usb_modeswitch android-udev android-tools
... can also install openvpn if desired for other options.- group "adbuser" will have been created, so add the user...
# nano /etc/group [add user to adbuser]
- phone: attach USB cable and ENABLE USB TETHERING (!) in Settings.
- desktop: check network units already in place. each device will have 3 lines eg, the ethernet:
$ systemctl list-units |grep net
sys-devices-pci0000:00-0000:00:1b.6-net-enp0s21b6.device
loaded active plugged Ethernet Connection I219-LM
sys-subsystem-net-devices-enp0s21b6.device
$ lsusb
Bus 001 Device 012: ID 22d9:276a OPPO Electronics Corp. SM8150-MTP _SN:E18D827E
the phone contains a different product ID for its internet connection than a basic USB connection; USB TETHERING MUST BE ENABLED in the phone Settings to get a correct product ID. (see next step)- The kernel will not create a net connection with only a Vendor ID, it must also have the (correct) Product ID:
# nano /etc/udev/rules.d/90-android-tethering.rules
# Execute pairing program when appropriate
ACTION=="add|remove", SUBSYSTEM=="net", ATTR{idVendor}=="22d9", ATTR{idProduct}=="276a", ENV{ID_USB_DRIVER}=="rndis_host", SYMLINK+="android"
# udevadm control --reload
- now our device identifier should appear on the list. It's unauthorized for a connection yet, but should exist:
$ systemctl list-units |grep net
sys-subsystem-net-devices-enp0s21d0u2.device loaded active plugged
SM8150-MTP__SN:E18D827E
- now that we have its name, I just wrote it down, unplugged and replugged the USB cable and re-enabled tethering and:
# dhcpcd enp0s21d0u2
...then I pinged to verify. Could also do a speed test.
extra: adb command setup
To issue commands into the phone from the connected device using "adb" commands (and not just connect to internet), which is necessary for more complicated things like port forwarding and AziLink...
- get the USD VID from lsusb and then
# nano /etc/udev/rules.d/51-android.rules
SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTR{idVendor}=="22d9", ATTR{idProduct}=="2765", MODE="0666", OWNER="foo", GROUP="plugdev"
# udevadm control --reload
- plug USB into phone, enable the file transfer/auto option
$ adb devices
List of devices attached
143cfd76 device
Having this connection for ADB commands seems to heat up a laptop and use memory. Accordingly, I keep the ADB connection turned-off by commenting out the defining line in /etc/udev/rules.d/51-android.rules unless I am going to use adb commands.
Part 2: dedicated device hotspotting
Using the 5G Inseego M2000, we can connect:
- Wifi hotspot: enable/disable in menu. Connect several devices with ESSID and password. /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf
- USB tether: enable/disable in menu as needed. Connect as ethernet (no pass) to single device.
Use the embedded website to change the name of the network and its password. When it first arrived, was missing SIM, then SIM arrived by mail from T-Mobile. However, even though device was T-Mobile a call still had to made to unlock it. They never were able to unlock it, even after letters to T-Mobile.
2a. Wifi hotspot
This is the simpler of the two, but more open to hacking. No configuration of the laptop/desktop is required -- the phone becomes another Wifi connection point, and the user connects their laptop to it like they would any other Wifi router/source.
2b. use (WiFi)
- Settings --> Connection & sharing --> Mobile hotspot (slider). Once enabled, a hotspot icon appears in the upper R, near the 5G reception bars.
# wpa_supplicant -D wext -i wlan0 -c /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf &
# dhcpcd wlan0
1a. setup (WiFi)
- Settings --> Connection & sharing --> Mobile hotspot (slider). Tapping on Mobile Hotspot will allow a person to change the ESSID name, hide it, change the password, the security, etc. Save after all are set
$ wpa_passphrase [ESSID] [password]
# nano /etc/wpa_supplicant/configfile.conf
Put in the info from passphrase. The line scan_ssid=1 is necessary if hiding the ESSID. For security, key_mgmt=WPA-PSK is standard.# chmod +x /etc/wpa_supplicant/configfile.conf
2c. use (USB-tether)
Android tether page (Arch). Like the phone, we can USB-tether with the dedicated device.
- Connect USB cable
- Unlike the Android, software selects tethering automatically. No adjustments are needed.
- On the laptop/desktop:
# dhcpcd enp0s16f1u2
2d. setup (USB tether)
Linux desktops/laptop network connections include loopback, ethernet id, and wifi id. This USB-tethered phone will act like a second ethernet card. The connection becomes added to the list inside /sys/class/net.
# pacman -S usb_modeswitch android-udev android-tools
... can also install openvpn if desired for other options.- group "adbuser" will have been created, so add the user...
# nano /etc/group [add user to adbuser]
- phone: attach USB cable and ENABLE USB TETHERING (!) in Settings.
- desktop: check network units already in place. each device will have 3 lines eg, the ethernet:
$ systemctl list-units |grep net
sys-devices-pci0000:00-0000:00:1b.6-net-enp0s21b6.device
loaded active plugged Ethernet Connection I219-LM
sys-subsystem-net-devices-enp0s21b6.device
$ lsusb
Bus 001 Device 008: ID 1410:b020 Novatel Wireless M2000
- Edit the udev rule to add the VID information. We can simply add another entry to the file we created for the phone.
# nano /etc/udev/rules.d/90-android-tethering.rules
# Execute pairing program when appropriate
ACTION=="add|remove", SUBSYSTEM=="net", ATTR{idVendor}=="1410", ATTR{idProduct}=="b020", ENV{ID_USB_DRIVER}=="rndis_host", SYMLINK+="android"
# udevadm control --reload
- now our device identifier should appear on the list. It's unauthorized for a connection yet, but should exist:
$ systemctl list-units |grep net
sys-subsystem-net-devices-enp0s16f1u2.device loaded active plugged M2000
- we have its kernel name and can connect with dhcpcd:
# dhcpcd enp0s16f1u2
...then I pinged to verify. Could also do a speed test.
more configuration
This isn't necessary, but a person can visit the manufacturer's site (http://my.mifi) and create an account to access additional functions on the dedicated device. This probably also provides them with additional information to sell advertisers.
Part 3 troubleshooting
m2000 - invalid SIM
3 days after SIM installation, it was still spawning errors. In my online T-Mobile account, device information indicated it was "locked but available for unlock". A call to T-Mobile revealed the m2000 must be on their network 45 days, then corrected and said he could do it. They never did. They devices "locked".
m2000 - dhcpcd errors, no ping.
Strangely, browsing worked OK, but seemed to buffer.
# dhcpcd enp0s16f1u2
dhcpcd-9.4.1 starting
DUID 00:03:42:4D:45:44:01:5E:4C:10:8A:30:C6:C0:4B:46:4A:31
enp0s16f1u2: waiting for carrier
enp0s16f1u2: carrier acquired
enp0s16f1u2: IAID CC:03:11:AC
enp0s16f1u2: adding address C2D0::C6BF:7F13:14C2:1315
enp0s16f1u2: rebinding lease of 192.168.1.2
enp0s16f1u2: probing address 192.168.1.2/24
ps_bpf_recvmsg: Invalid argument
ps_bpf_recvmsg: Invalid argument
ps_bpf_recvmsg: Invalid argument
enp0s16f1u2: leased 192.168.1.2 for 86400 seconds
enp0s16f1u2: adding route to 192.168.1.0/24
enp0s16f1u2: adding default route via 192.168.1.1
ps_bpf_recvmsg: Invalid argument
forked to background, child pid 31249
Is data unlimited, albeit slow? Which one? Where do plans work?
