Hi,
I tried several tools (aNetShare, tetherBlu, Wifi tether) but I can't tether my MacBook to my Hero!
Bluetooth: my Mac is telling me, that no additional BT-service is available except the speakers. I.e. no PAN is available.
Wifi: my Mac shows me the Hero as an access point. But connecting to it has no effect, neither on the Hero neither on my MacBook (except the wifi-icon on the mac is changing to a small console, but greyed out).
Of course, I have rooted my Hero and it's working (tried with several tools). Is tethering Hero and MacBook an impossible mission?
Android doesn't support PAN, only HFP and A2DP.
I haven't tried the apps you mention. DO any of them specifically say that they add PAN to the device?
I'm not familiar with this bluetooth stuff, but with other phones, my MacBook tethers over bluetooth with PAN connection. That's why I assumed that type of connection here, too.
No, not possible with Android.
Like i said, the Android OS only supports HFP and A2DP. If those apps do not specifically add the PAN profile to the hero, and i very much doubt that they do, then you're not gonna get anywhere.
If you need to use the phone as a modem with your mac, you're S.O.L with android!
I have messed around trying to tether my Hero with my Mac book air for a couple of weeks and tried pretty much everthing without any sucess. All the wifi tether apps out there dont seem to like macs and bluetooth failed too.
In the end I found a working solution but its not ideal - however it does work.
Installed Pararellls desktop ( Vmware would probably work too if it has good USB support - never tried it)
Installed windows XP as virtual OS
Installed PDAnet for windows ( mac version doesnt exist )
Installed Phone drivers under windows virtual machine
So now I run windows as virtual machine to tether my HTC hero with my Mac, it works well most of the time, unless the connection is dropped then Pdanet cant see the internet connection any more and requires an OS reboot.
I hope this saves some of you guys the time I lost
naaa.. get the modaco custom rom.
the android-wifi-tether app issue is present for macs and pcs, it is actually do to the hero itself and not your computer, you need to get the custom rom (awifiteth comes pre-installed) and that works perfectly on my macbook!
the custom rom adds iptable support and so it now works..
Is it not possible to make an app that injects this code into the official firmware running Hero's ?
Also, I guess the telco's are helping ensure the manufactures disable any possible way to tether as they have no current mechanism to charge for it unless you buy one of their dongles and pay though the nose for another contract
joemax said:
Is it not possible to make an app that injects this code into the official firmware running Hero's ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, the official firmware is "non-rooted," meaning that you and your downloaded apps won't be able to access the Linux system on a read-write basis, which is necessary for tethering apps, as they likely all need to change the iptables to alter the way network routing occurs within the phone.
But possible once someone works out how to root the latest firmware ?
If someone does this, I would pay gladly for the app if it allowed me to use the Hero as a 3G/HSDPA modem.
Hi All,
Bit new to tethering -
As I understand it, it will allow me to tether my laptop to my phone, and enable me to access the internet via my phone if I'm out of a regular WIfi
network. So if I'm in the middle of nowhere ( but have phone signal ) - I can access the net. and emails.
Also - may be possible to share files between phone & laptop ( not sure about this though ).
So on to the running problem.
If I start up WiFi Tether, I press the 'start' button, and in minute or so it appears on my laptop list of wifi networks - as G1 Tether.
When I select it I get a notification on my phone sayin ' Wireless ether Authorized ( connected ) '
On my laptop the usual WiFi symbol changes from its usual fan shaped stripes to a grey fan shape with what looks like a little white TV set inside it .
Thats as far as I get - email and web not working on my laptop.
Any ideas?
ps - on the Wifi Tether screen on my phone - it does indicate Down & Up traffic ( 43 kb & 56 kb ).
BTW your not alone I tried to tether and got the same connects fine, but no interent
Ok, I am very new to the wifi tethering thing (I got mine set up on Monday), but here's what I had to do in order to get online via wifi on my laptop through my phone. Under the security section of setup, I had to disable access-control. Once I did that, I was screaming on the internet. I am using a HTC Hero through Sprint.
I forgot to say that I had done that Muppet.....other than chosing the G1 tether network, did you have to do anything on your laptop - such as changing any network settings?
AFAIK the US Sprint version of the phone has had the standard tethering capability on the Hero disabled. So the only way to tether with a Sprint Hero is to get an app from the Market. Can't remember what it is called but a quick search of past posts in the Hero CDMA forum should easily find it, as it has been covered many times before. I don't know how that works because I have never needed it.
For those of us using the European Hero tethering on a PC (again don't know about Mac) should be easy and does not need any additional app from the Market. First make sure HTCSync is installed on your PC. Even if you do not use it to sync you still need it on the PC because it has the necessary drivers. Then connect the USB cable to both devices. Do not at this stage mount the USB. If it tries to sync automatically, just cancel that.
Then go into menu > settings > wireless controls. Scroll down to the bottom and the last item "Mobile Network Sharing" should now be available to you. Click on it and it should automatically make a connection to the PC which should show in your icon tray (may take a minute or so) with the usual wireless network connection symbol (2 little computer screens with a couple of arcs radiating). After that just use your browser or email programme and it should work fine.
Are you doing the above in the order set out? Is the Mobile Network Sharing option on the phone available or grayed out? What OS are you running on the laptop? It works fine with my Windows XP, but have heard of problems with Vista, and especially in 64bit.
One more thing. You do need to have 3G phone signal to make it work - GPS will take forever. And you obviously need data switched on on the phone.
as it shows on the title,is it possible to connect my android based device to my PC via wifi hotspot and control it from my phone,its like teamviewer but without having to connect to the internet ,i.e the connection would be between the pc and cellphone directly.
i hope my point is clear.
Sometime like RDP will work over a LAN, but having never used a wifi hotspot I'm not exactly sure if the connection would be correct. Connected to the same router a phone would be able to use RDP to connect to the local IP (usually 192.168.x.x) without ever going through the internet.
If I tether my Droid 3 and the Windows 7 laptop with bluetooth this method works with any app that supports Microsoft RDP. You would also need to be using a Windows version with RDP host support to get this to work.
thanks for your reply
I'm looking for a remote desktop app for the Android that uses (or is able to use) a bluetooth connection to connect. Or if that's not possible, a local wifi connection, ie: direct from my droid to my computer's wireless card, using only my local area connection.
Does anyone know an app that will do this?
It needs to give me the full screen of my computer, so nothing like Gmote or any remotes used for media centers will work for this project. I'd also like it to keep my screen on the computer while I use it, instead of locking it up.
Basically PhonemyPC but without having to use the internet to do so.
My reasons? I'm trying to connect to and control my Carputer running Centrafuse in my Eclipse. So that I can leave the car running, go outside of it, and pull up the full screen to push buttons and control the car's media center (and more) or even from the back seat. You know.. for the ladies Without having to send every command over 3g to verizon's servers, back out to a tower, and back into my carputer, slowing things waaay down. Thanks!
Well you could use Microsoft RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol) if your carputer is running Windows XP Pro or 7 Pro/Ultimate. Bluetooth support is better on Windows 7 as it has a newer stack. RDP host functionality is not included in home edition versions of Windows. The biggest advantage of Microsoft RDP is it doesn't require any extra software on the Windows host and is relatively easy to connect to. For the Android device, just search the market for your any remote desktop program that supports RDP. A disadvantage to RDP is that it sends the host system back to the Windows login screen when a remote session starts. This is a security feature so others can't see what you are doing and I don't think it can be disabled.
You could also try VNC, its similar to RDP and will work on other OSes, home versions of Windows, Linux, etc.
Either bluetooth or wifi tether (which is basically ad-hoc) should work. If the computer can surf the internet from the phone then it must be getting a local IP assigned.
Thanks for your suggestion.
However, this doesn't seem to apply yo what I need as A. It's for a mac (I have a PC) B. it doesn't seem to be an actual live streaming remote PC type of program, more like a monitoring program that sends you screenshots and data every few minutes, and finally.. from what I can tell their app is for ipod only, no android.
Maybe I'm mistaken, but thanks anyways
have you tried 2x client rdp/remote desktop?
EDIT:
after reading more of what you are trying to do...if you just want a media center remote, use myremote donate. it gives you keyboard and mouse control, as well as a full media center remote. works off wifi. you would need to download the server app for your puter off their website, and their client app connects to the server app to allow control of the computer. I use it all the time as a media center remote control. works awesome!
Try gPad, it's awesome. I hope that's what you're looking for. =)
I've searched around for some solid technique or, preferably, app that allows you to trick apps into thinking you are using Wifi when in reality you are still on 3g/4g.
- I am NOT looking for alternatives or workarounds for a specific app
I found it crazy that the iPhone has over a dozen apps, tweaks, etc that can easily do this type of thing, but the only stuff I've found on the subject for android were either ridiculous techniques that don't work, or people questioning WHY you'd want to do this...
If anyone has ANY information on this subject, please tell.
Is there a reason why this is so much harder on Android than on iPhone? I'd be happy to learn exactly what the problem is here.
bump
Im also interested on this. I have unlimited data and i find it ridiculous that devs make apps to only work on wifi. I use to use 3g unrestrictor all the time back when i had my iPhone.
bump
bump again...
Well i know this works with certain android games like zenonia and modern combat which require wifi not data connection so you can try it with other stuff. You have to be rooted.
The first step is to turn your Wi-Fi on and*download Android Wi-Fi tether app*available in Market.
Once you have the app downloaded, launch the app and go to Menu > Settings > Change > Setup Method and select Softap option.
Now start tethering and drag down the notification bar.
In case your Wi-Fi icon is still enabled, it means that you have done it right so far.
Do not press the Wi-Fi toggle icon and launch the game you want to play
-------------
I am a dishonest man, and you can always honestly trust a dishonest man to be dishonest. Honestly it's the honest ones you have to watch out for.
xMrArnoldx said:
Well i know this works with certain android games like zenonia and modern combat which require wifi not data connection so you can try it with other stuff. You have to be rooted.
The first step is to turn your Wi-Fi on and*download Android Wi-Fi tether app*available in Market.
Once you have the app downloaded, launch the app and go to Menu > Settings > Change > Setup Method and select Softap option.
Now start tethering and drag down the notification bar.
In case your Wi-Fi icon is still enabled, it means that you have done it right so far.
Do not press the Wi-Fi toggle icon and launch the game you want to play
-------------
I am a dishonest man, and you can always honestly trust a dishonest man to be dishonest. Honestly it's the honest ones you have to watch out for.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It didn't work.. My wifi is turned off as soon as the tethering starts. What app exactly am I supposed to use?
Thanks!
Try wifi tether for root users.
---------------------
Give me a thanks if i helped
Lg Lucid running Cm10
w/ Cm10 Kernel
Asus Tf700 running Cromi-X 4.6.5
w/ Max's v4 kernel
Some Android games and application require a Wi-Fi connection due to the large amount of data that they use. If you don't have Wi-Fi available, however, you won't be able to use the apps or play the games, even if you have a fast 3G connection. You can trick your phone into believing that the Wi-Fi is connected by saving a small text file to your SD card so the phone will play games and apps as if it's on Wi-Fi when it's only connected to 3G.
Things You'll Need
PC
Data cable
Text editing app
Instructions
1) Launch a text editing program on your computer and type "FALSE" in all caps. Save the file and give it the name "qaWifiOnlyMode.txt" exactly with all the lower-case and capital letters duplicated precisely, otherwise the Android operating system won't see the file. Close the text editing program.
2) Plug your Android device into your computer and drag your finger down from the top of the screen to open the notification area. Tap "USB Connected" and then confirm that you want to mount your SD card as a drive on the computer.
3) Find the qaWifiOnlyMode.txt file on your computer and click to select it. Press "Ctrl" and "C" to copy the file. Browse to the location of your Android device's SD card on your computer. In the base(root) directory, not in any sub-folder, press "Ctrl" and "V" to paste the text file to the card.
4) Drag down the notification area on your Android device and tap the USB connection to disconnect the device from the computer. Unplug the USB cable. Your device will now play games and apps as if it's on Wi-Fi even if it's only on 3G.
Diablo67 said:
Some Android games and application require a Wi-Fi connection due to the large amount of data that they use. If you don't have Wi-Fi available, however, you won't be able to use the apps or play the games, even if you have a fast 3G connection. You can trick your phone into believing that the Wi-Fi is connected by saving a small text file to your SD card so the phone will play games and apps as if it's on Wi-Fi when it's only connected to 3G.
Things You'll Need
PC
Data cable
Text editing app
Instructions
1) Launch a text editing program on your computer and type "FALSE" in all caps. Save the file and give it the name "qaWifiOnlyMode.txt" exactly with all the lower-case and capital letters duplicated precisely, otherwise the Android operating system won't see the file. Close the text editing program.
2) Plug your Android device into your computer and drag your finger down from the top of the screen to open the notification area. Tap "USB Connected" and then confirm that you want to mount your SD card as a drive on the computer.
3) Find the qaWifiOnlyMode.txt file on your computer and click to select it. Press "Ctrl" and "C" to copy the file. Browse to the location of your Android device's SD card on your computer. In the base(root) directory, not in any sub-folder, press "Ctrl" and "V" to paste the text file to the card.
4) Drag down the notification area on your Android device and tap the USB connection to disconnect the device from the computer. Unplug the USB cable. Your device will now play games and apps as if it's on Wi-Fi even if it's only on 3G.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, this whole text file thing didn't work for me. Do you have to be rooted for this to work?
It didn't work for me either and I'm rooted
Work for anyone
Did the above fix work for anyone?
.txt thing didn't work for me either and I'm rooted]
I am having a rooted phone with busybox and this text file trick doesn't work.
Sent from my GT-S5360 Gadget of Mass Destruction using xda-app
Using CWM........Busybox Commands........No I use my hands
I've been searching for a way to fool apps into thinking their on WiFi. No luck.
I hate to beat the dead horse but I switched from an iPhone to a HTC One and its turning out to be a bad deal. Your telling me all these yrs and no one has been able to make one of the most basic apps the iPhone can get via cydia yet.
We should start a bounty ...
I'll throw in 100 to start it off with.
omf05 said:
I've been searching for a way to fool apps into thinking their on WiFi. No luck.
I hate to beat the dead horse but I switched from an iPhone to a HTC One and its turning out to be a bad deal. Your telling me all these yrs and no one has been able to make one of the most basic apps the iPhone can get via cydia yet.
We should start a bounty ...
I'll throw in 100 to start it off with.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's pretty pathetic really
I'll be abroad next week and wanted to catch a bit of the French Open Tennis but one of the TV apps I'm using requires a wifi connection. The fact there is no workaround yet is almost as idiotic as the morons who implement this "feature" in their apps.
Why should I care if someone is dumb enough to rinse their 1GB Data limit when I have unlimited 4G internet?
I asked about this in the Xposed forum, since it seems like an Xposed module might be the way to trick apps into thinking you're on wi-fi.
For me, the issue is with PdaNet+. I have unlimited data with T-Mobile, and I can pair my tablet via bluetooth and use my phone's data on my tablet. However, some apps don't work because they don't detect a data connection (ie: wi-fi), even though there is one. I can browse the internet. I can browse Google Play. But I can't download anything from Google Play, because it keeps waiting for a network connection. I can use Facebook, but I can't use the Facebook Messenger.
The work-around I can use at home is to use a virtual wi-fi router program on my laptop, connect my tablet to my laptop's wifi, and then connect my tablet via PdaNet+ bluetooth. Even there's no data going through the wi-fi, it still "tricks" my tablet into thinking there's a network connection, and it proceeds to download through bluetooth. Of course, this only works at home or if I have my laptop with me.
Yeah, I can always just tether my phone to my laptop and run my tablet off the laptop's virtual wi-fi router (which I typically do), but that's slower, and again, only works when my computer is with me.
Planterz said:
I asked about this in the Xposed forum, since it seems like an Xposed module might be the way to trick apps into thinking you're on wi-fi.
For me, the issue is with PdaNet+. I have unlimited data with T-Mobile, and I can pair my tablet via bluetooth and use my phone's data on my tablet. However, some apps don't work because they don't detect a data connection (ie: wi-fi), even though there is one. I can browse the internet. I can browse Google Play. But I can't download anything from Google Play, because it keeps waiting for a network connection. I can use Facebook, but I can't use the Facebook Messenger.
The work-around I can use at home is to use a virtual wi-fi router program on my laptop, connect my tablet to my laptop's wifi, and then connect my tablet via PdaNet+ bluetooth. Even there's no data going through the wi-fi, it still "tricks" my tablet into thinking there's a network connection, and it proceeds to download through bluetooth. Of course, this only works at home or if I have my laptop with me.
Yeah, I can always just tether my phone to my laptop and run my tablet off the laptop's virtual wi-fi router (which I typically do), but that's slower, and again, only works when my computer is with me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you provide a little more detail in how to do this? What program are you using on your laptop? So the phone is running PDANet and then you connect it to your laptop via Bluetooth. Then after that you connect your tablet to the laptop's virtual wifi router?
Don't know if I understood completely but thanks in advance.
taino211 said:
Could you provide a little more detail in how to do this? What program are you using on your laptop? So the phone is running PDANet and then you connect it to your laptop via Bluetooth. Then after that you connect your tablet to the laptop's virtual wifi router?
Don't know if I understood completely but thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have T-Mobile's Unlimited plan, which has unlimited data and 5gb free hotspot. My phone is a T-Mobile branded Samsung Galaxy Light SGH T399. On my phone I have PdaNet+ installed, with the full unlock key purchased ($8).
There's a free one to try, to make sure it works with your phone; whether it works or not depends on the phone itself, the version of Android it runs, and the provider from which you got it (if you didn't get an unlocked version). For example, a particular phone might work fine with T-Mobile, but the Sprint version of that phone might not. That's why there's the free version - to test before purchasing. The limitation with the free version is that it times out after about ~10 minutes and you have to reconnect.
PdaNet can connect to your computer in 3 ways. Wifi, Bluetooth, or USB tethering. Again, depending on your phone, carrier branding, and Android version, some methods may work while others won't.
Wifi works just like any wifi hotspot. However, depending on the afore mentioned conditions, wifi hotspot might not work the way you want it to. For example, on my T-Mobile branded Samsung Galaxy Light SGH-T399, using the wifi hotspot on PdaNet also loads up the pre-installed T-Mobile hotspot, which drains the 5gb mobile hotspot allotment. I haven't found a way to break that on this phone. On other phones (like Nexus devices), I know there are ways to only use your phone's data, and not the hotspot allotment, but frankly, these are very complicated and need a VPN subscription (ie: more money) to work. Wifi hotspot use is often broken anyway, depending on your carrier and Android version.
Bluetooth and USB tethering work differently than wi-fi, but otherwise work essentially the same way as each other. Both require a companion program to be installed onto your computer. A good idea is to keep a copy of this program on your phone, so you can install it on other people's computers if necessary (and perhaps the USB drivers for your phone as well).
I haven't messed around with Bluetooth much, because the Bluetooth on my laptop (via a dongle) is glitchy as $#@!, and I've never been able to get PdaNet to work with it properly except for a couple times which didn't last. Actually, I've never gotten anything to work properly with Bluetooth on my laptop, so this is probably just a problem with my computer/dongle/drivers, and YMMV. On the few times I've gotten PdaNet or other internet via Bluetooth (which some phones have built-in, and don't require PdaNet at all), speeds have been much, much slower, and I'd rather tether via USB anyway.
I connect my phone's internet to my laptop with USB tether. Make sure USB debugging is enabled, and plug it in. Make sure it's set as a Mass Storage device (4.1 or earlier), or as a Media Device (4.2+). Then on your phone, open PdaNet+ and Activate USB Tether (you can do this before plugging it in, it doesn't matter). On your computer, load PdaNet, and select Connect Internet (USB). If everything has been set up correctly, it should say "Connected", and you can now use your phone's internet on your computer.
Here's the important part:
If you don't have an Unlimited plan, tethering (via any method) will suck down your data. If you do have an unlimited plan, there's an option in PdaNet's settings (on your computer) to "Hide Tether Usage". This uses a proxy or VPN (not sure which) to fool your provider into thinking you're on your phone, and not on your computer. This works for me, with my phone, on T-Mobile. No guarantees that this will work with other phones, or other providers. Try the free version first, monitor your data usage (use your provider's account app, not the built-in Android one), and see if it works for you.
As for the virtual wifi network, there are a couple ways to do this. The PdaNet program for your computer actually has this built into it. Once you're connected, select the "WiFi Share" option, and it'll set up a wi-fi network that you (and others) can use on other devices, like other phones, tablets, computers smart-TVs, etc. Obviously, the computer you're tethered to needs to have wi-fi capability for this to work. But as long as you have a wi-fi modem, it can be turned into a wi-fi router with this option. It's not as strong as a real wi-fi router, but you don't have to buy and network a different piece of equipment either.
There are also stand-alone virtual wi-fi router programs. The one I've used mainly is Virtual Router Manager beta 0.9. A while ago, I tried a newer, non-beta version, but it was extremely unstable, so I went back to the 0.9 beta. I haven't tried any newer version in quite some time. I used this when I had proper internet (cable) in my apartment, but wanted to use wi-fi instead of my phone's data to do downloads or updates on my phone.
Neither the Virtual Router Manager or the WiFi Share option on PdaNet are 100% stable. Every once in a while, something glitches out, and I have to reboot my computer (I usually reboot my phone at the same time, just to be sure). But hey, apart from the $8 for PdaNet+, I get unlimited mobile and home internet for $80/month, so I can't complain.
To recap, I have my phone USB tethered to my laptop (which is plugged into a 42" HDTV) via PdaNet+. I use a virtual wi-fi router option to give wi-fi to my tablet. One internet connection, 3 devices connected.
My problem is that, even though I own a laptop, it practically never goes with my anywhere. It sits on a cooling pad, plugged into 2 external HDDs and my 42" HDTV, and I sit at my couch with a wireless mouse/keyboard. But when I'm away from my apartment, and I have my tablet, there's certain things I can't do on the tablet connected via PdaNet and Bluetooth, because it doesn't have a wi-fi connection, and these certain apps don't detect a network connection.
Planterz said:
I have T-Mobile's Unlimited plan, which has unlimited data and 5gb free hotspot. My phone is a T-Mobile branded Samsung Galaxy Light SGH T399. On my phone I have PdaNet+ installed, with the full unlock key purchased ($8).
There's a free one to try, to make sure it works with your phone; whether it works or not depends on the phone itself, the version of Android it runs, and the provider from which you got it (if you didn't get an unlocked version). For example, a particular phone might work fine with T-Mobile, but the Sprint version of that phone might not. That's why there's the free version - to test before purchasing. The limitation with the free version is that it times out after about ~10 minutes and you have to reconnect.
PdaNet can connect to your computer in 3 ways. Wifi, Bluetooth, or USB tethering. Again, depending on your phone, carrier branding, and Android version, some methods may work while others won't.
Wifi works just like any wifi hotspot. However, depending on the afore mentioned conditions, wifi hotspot might not work the way you want it to. For example, on my T-Mobile branded Samsung Galaxy Light SGH-T399, using the wifi hotspot on PdaNet also loads up the pre-installed T-Mobile hotspot, which drains the 5gb mobile hotspot allotment. I haven't found a way to break that on this phone. On other phones (like Nexus devices), I know there are ways to only use your phone's data, and not the hotspot allotment, but frankly, these are very complicated and need a VPN subscription (ie: more money) to work. Wifi hotspot use is often broken anyway, depending on your carrier and Android version.
Bluetooth and USB tethering work differently than wi-fi, but otherwise work essentially the same way as each other. Both require a companion program to be installed onto your computer. A good idea is to keep a copy of this program on your phone, so you can install it on other people's computers if necessary (and perhaps the USB drivers for your phone as well).
I haven't messed around with Bluetooth much, because the Bluetooth on my laptop (via a dongle) is glitchy as $#@!, and I've never been able to get PdaNet to work with it properly except for a couple times which didn't last. Actually, I've never gotten anything to work properly with Bluetooth on my laptop, so this is probably just a problem with my computer/dongle/drivers, and YMMV. On the few times I've gotten PdaNet or other internet via Bluetooth (which some phones have built-in, and don't require PdaNet at all), speeds have been much, much slower, and I'd rather tether via USB anyway.
I connect my phone's internet to my laptop with USB tether. Make sure USB debugging is enabled, and plug it in. Make sure it's set as a Mass Storage device (4.1 or earlier), or as a Media Device (4.2+). Then on your phone, open PdaNet+ and Activate USB Tether (you can do this before plugging it in, it doesn't matter). On your computer, load PdaNet, and select Connect Internet (USB). If everything has been set up correctly, it should say "Connected", and you can now use your phone's internet on your computer.
Here's the important part:
If you don't have an Unlimited plan, tethering (via any method) will suck down your data. If you do have an unlimited plan, there's an option in PdaNet's settings (on your computer) to "Hide Tether Usage". This uses a proxy or VPN (not sure which) to fool your provider into thinking you're on your phone, and not on your computer. This works for me, with my phone, on T-Mobile. No guarantees that this will work with other phones, or other providers. Try the free version first, monitor your data usage (use your provider's account app, not the built-in Android one), and see if it works for you.
As for the virtual wifi network, there are a couple ways to do this. The PdaNet program for your computer actually has this built into it. Once you're connected, select the "WiFi Share" option, and it'll set up a wi-fi network that you (and others) can use on other devices, like other phones, tablets, computers smart-TVs, etc. Obviously, the computer you're tethered to needs to have wi-fi capability for this to work. But as long as you have a wi-fi modem, it can be turned into a wi-fi router with this option. It's not as strong as a real wi-fi router, but you don't have to buy and network a different piece of equipment either.
There are also stand-alone virtual wi-fi router programs. The one I've used mainly is Virtual Router Manager beta 0.9. A while ago, I tried a newer, non-beta version, but it was extremely unstable, so I went back to the 0.9 beta. I haven't tried any newer version in quite some time. I used this when I had proper internet (cable) in my apartment, but wanted to use wi-fi instead of my phone's data to do downloads or updates on my phone.
Neither the Virtual Router Manager or the WiFi Share option on PdaNet are 100% stable. Every once in a while, something glitches out, and I have to reboot my computer (I usually reboot my phone at the same time, just to be sure). But hey, apart from the $8 for PdaNet+, I get unlimited mobile and home internet for $80/month, so I can't complain.
To recap, I have my phone USB tethered to my laptop (which is plugged into a 42" HDTV) via PdaNet+. I use a virtual wi-fi router option to give wi-fi to my tablet. One internet connection, 3 devices connected.
My problem is that, even though I own a laptop, it practically never goes with my anywhere. It sits on a cooling pad, plugged into 2 external HDDs and my 42" HDTV, and I sit at my couch with a wireless mouse/keyboard. But when I'm away from my apartment, and I have my tablet, there's certain things I can't do on the tablet connected via PdaNet and Bluetooth, because it doesn't have a wi-fi connection, and these certain apps don't detect a network connection.
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Thanks for the great explanation! This helps quite a bit. I'll give this a shot to see how it goes.