{"id":60959,"date":"2026-06-29T16:54:48","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T16:54:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/c3f643a0-f270-4d0e-a057-1b68c69c8c4c"},"modified":"2026-06-29T16:54:48","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T16:54:48","slug":"internet-down-3-ways-i-use-an-old-android-phone-as-a-backup-connection-for-my-home-router","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/internet-down-3-ways-i-use-an-old-android-phone-as-a-backup-connection-for-my-home-router\/","title":{"rendered":"Internet down? 3 ways I use an old Android phone as a backup connection for my home router"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"c-shortcodeImage u-clearfix c-shortcodeImage-large c-shortcodeImage-hasCaption\">\n<div class=\"c-shortcodeImage_imageContainer\">\n<div class=\"c-shortcodeImage_image\"><picture class=\"c-cmsImage c-cmsImage_loaded\"><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.zdnet.com\/a\/img\/resize\/a62a36648acba67b94e3b3d48e6cc462020599ef\/2026\/06\/28\/1d5f0117-d12c-45a3-b968-efbfb766a65e\/img-5049.jpg?auto=webp&amp;width=768\" alt=\"The best way is to use a USB-C to Ethernet adapter.\"><source media=\"(max-width: 1023px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.zdnet.com\/a\/img\/resize\/81b7ee3019cc8ea1073bbf7821ad8d839866f24f\/2026\/06\/28\/1d5f0117-d12c-45a3-b968-efbfb766a65e\/img-5049.jpg?auto=webp&amp;width=1024\" alt=\"The best way is to use a USB-C to Ethernet adapter.\"><source media=\"(max-width: 1440px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.zdnet.com\/a\/img\/resize\/324fbe636cdb2938863db3a32b5739ff908c7366\/2026\/06\/28\/1d5f0117-d12c-45a3-b968-efbfb766a65e\/img-5049.jpg?auto=webp&amp;width=1280\" alt=\"The best way is to use a USB-C to Ethernet adapter.\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.zdnet.com\/a\/img\/resize\/324fbe636cdb2938863db3a32b5739ff908c7366\/2026\/06\/28\/1d5f0117-d12c-45a3-b968-efbfb766a65e\/img-5049.jpg?auto=webp&amp;width=1280\" alt=\"The best way is to use a USB-C to Ethernet adapter.\" width=\"1280\" height=\"720\" fetchpriority=\"low\"><\/picture><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div><figcaption>\n<div class=\"c-shortcodeImage_caption g-inner-spacing-right-small g-color-black\" readability=\"6\">\n<div class=\"c-ShortcodeContent\" readability=\"32\">\n<p>The best way is to use a USB-C to Ethernet adapter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p> <span class=\"c-shortcodeImage_credit g-outer-spacing-top-xsmall u-block\">Adrian Kingsley-Hughes\/ZDNET <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><em>Follow ZDNET: <\/em><span class=\"c-commerceLink\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cc.zdnet.com\/v1\/otc\/00hQi47eqnEWQ6T9d4QLBUc?element=BODY&amp;element_label=Add+us+as+a+preferred+Google+source&amp;module=LINK&amp;object_type=text-link&amp;object_uuid=5e5d2e64-4b30-43e6-8555-26eac7e449f3&amp;position=1&amp;template=article&amp;track_code=__COM_CLICK_ID__&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Fpreferences%2Fsource%3Fq%3Dzdnet.com&amp;view_instance_uuid=379e95d2-6b56-476b-a90b-043a8dd63bd3\" rel=\"noopener nofollow sponsored\" target=\"_blank\"><span>Add us as a preferred source<\/span><!----><\/a><\/span><em> on Google.<\/em><\/p>\n<hr>\n<h3>ZDNET&#8217;s key takeaways<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>An Android phone can help keep your home network online.<\/li>\n<li>Router-level backup keeps more devices connected during outages.<\/li>\n<li>You can avoid changing Wi-Fi settings on every device.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr>\n<p>The weather&#8217;s been a little warm here in the UK, and by a little warm, I mean <a href=\"https:\/\/www.metoffice.gov.uk\/about-us\/news-and-media\/media-centre\/weather-and-climate-news\/2026\/third-consecutive-day-of-a-new-june-temperature-record-with-end-of-heatwave-in-sight\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" class=\"c-regularLink\">record-breaking temperatures, where the mercury hit 99.1\u00b0F\/37.3\u00b0C<\/a>. Not only is this the sort of temperature that&#8217;s risky for the elderly, young children, or those doing heavy physical work, it&#8217;s hard on physical infrastructure like power and phone lines. The cables above ground get hot, expand and sag, get caught on stuff or cross over, and bad things happen.<\/p>\n<p>And that&#8217;s exactly what I&#8217;ve been seeing &#8212; a lot of power outages and downed phone lines. I&#8217;ve had my power station out and working more in the past few days than over winter. And I suspect that I&#8217;ll need it more over the coming months and years.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Also: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zdnet.com\/home-and-office\/energy\/home-solar-power-myths-debunked\/\">Years of living with solar power taught me these 12 myths are simply wrong<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>One solution that I&#8217;ve been working on is a backup for when my internet goes down. Sure, I have my hard-working <span class=\"c-commerceLink\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cc.zdnet.com\/v1\/otc\/00hQi47eqnEWQ6T9d4QLBUc?merchant=05kie42h3YvHwjr4G1w80Qq&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FSTARLINK-Mini-Kit-High-Speed-Internet%2Fdp%2FB0FCZK8WWJ&amp;app_deeplink=1\" rel=\"noopener nofollow sponsored\" target=\"_blank\" data-aps-asc-tag=\"zd-buy-button-20\" data-aps-asc-subtag=\"__COM_CLICK_ID__|null|dtp\"><span>SpaceX Starlink dish<\/span><!----><\/a><\/span>, and plenty of phones &#8212; both old and new &#8212; that I could put into service as hotspots, but I&#8217;ve been looking for something that my router can fall back on when the phone line goes dead.<\/p>\n<p>And I have a good reason why hotspotting doesn&#8217;t work. All the gadgets and gear that&#8217;s connected to my Wi-Fi and relies on an internet connection also go dark and stop working as they should. And I don&#8217;t know about you, but I don&#8217;t want to be changing a whole bunch of Wi-Fi credentials in countless devices.<\/p>\n<blockquote readability=\"7\">\n<p>As a sidenone here, I wish more networked devices would allow you to enter the details for a secondary Wi-Fi connection for such scenarios.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Now, I could set up my hotspot with the same SSID and password credentials as my main home\/office Wi-Fi network, but then I&#8217;d have to mess around if both are running at the same time.<\/p>\n<p>What I need is a way to connect an active smartphone to my router, and have it work reliably.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Believe it or not, there are three options. I&#8217;ll save the best of these for last.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Option 1: USB tethering<\/h2>\n<p>Look on the back of your router. Can you see a USB port? If so, this technique could be an option for you. You&#8217;ll take a <span class=\"c-commerceLink\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cc.zdnet.com\/v1\/otc\/00hQi47eqnEWQ6T9d4QLBUc?merchant=05kie42h3YvHwjr4G1w80Qq&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FAmazon-Basics-Braided-Charging-Certified%2Fdp%2FB0CF2RKJNY&amp;app_deeplink=1\" rel=\"noopener nofollow sponsored\" target=\"_blank\" data-aps-asc-tag=\"zd-buy-button-20\" data-aps-asc-subtag=\"__COM_CLICK_ID__|null|dtp\"><span>USB-A-to-USB-C cable<\/span><!----><\/a><\/span> and connect the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zdnet.com\/article\/best-android-phone\/\">Android smartphone<\/a> to the USB port (since most routers still use the USB-A port).&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"c-shortcodeImage u-clearfix c-shortcodeImage-large c-shortcodeImage-hasCaption\">\n<div class=\"c-shortcodeImage_imageContainer\">\n<div class=\"c-shortcodeImage_image\"><picture class=\"c-cmsImage\"><!----> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.zdnet.com\/home-and-office\/networking\/how-to-use-old-android-phone-as-backup-internet-connection-for-home-router\/\" alt=\"Most routers have a USB-A port you can use.\" width=\"1280\" height=\"720\" fetchpriority=\"low\"><\/picture><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div><figcaption>\n<div class=\"c-shortcodeImage_caption g-inner-spacing-right-small g-color-black\" readability=\"6\">\n<div class=\"c-ShortcodeContent\" readability=\"32\">\n<p>Most routers have a USB-A port you can use.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p> <span class=\"c-shortcodeImage_credit g-outer-spacing-top-xsmall u-block\">Adrian Kingsley-Hughes\/ZDNET<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Now go to your smartphone, tap Settings, then Network &amp; internet, followed by Hotspot &amp; tethering. There you should see USB tethering.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Toggle the option on, and the handset will share its mobile data connection over USB.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"c-shortcodeImage u-clearfix c-shortcodeImage-large c-shortcodeImage-hasCaption\">\n<div class=\"c-shortcodeImage_imageContainer\">\n<div class=\"c-shortcodeImage_image\"><picture class=\"c-cmsImage\"><!----> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.zdnet.com\/home-and-office\/networking\/how-to-use-old-android-phone-as-backup-internet-connection-for-home-router\/\" alt=\"Toggling USB tethering in Android.\" width=\"1280\" height=\"720\" fetchpriority=\"low\"><\/picture><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div><figcaption>\n<div class=\"c-shortcodeImage_caption g-inner-spacing-right-small g-color-black\" readability=\"6\">\n<div class=\"c-ShortcodeContent\" readability=\"32\">\n<p>Toggling USB tethering in Android.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p> <span class=\"c-shortcodeImage_credit g-outer-spacing-top-xsmall u-block\">Adrian Kingsley-Hughes\/ZDNET<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Many internet routers will auto-detect a USB-tethered Android device as an Ethernet connection on the WAN port. However, budget routers and those supplied by your ISP might not, so the only way to be sure is to log in to the router&#8217;s admin panel and check that the WAN\/internet status shows connected.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Also:&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.zdnet.com\/home-and-office\/energy\/home-solar-power-myths-debunked\/\">Years of living with solar power taught me these 12 myths are simply wrong<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A good way to unlock advanced features on a basic router is to install third-party firmware like <a href=\"https:\/\/openwrt.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" class=\"c-regularLink\">OpenWrt<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/dd-wrt.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" class=\"c-regularLink\">DD-WRT<\/a>. If your router is supported (see more information&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/firmware-selector.openwrt.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" class=\"c-regularLink\">here<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/dd-wrt.com\/support\/router-database\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" class=\"c-regularLink\">here<\/a>), this technique is a good way to turn a basic router into a super internet hub.<\/p>\n<h2>Option 2: Wi-Fi hotspot<\/h2>\n<p>If you&#8217;re annoyed because I said I wouldn&#8217;t bring up hotspotting, you can chill out, because I&#8217;m not talking about just turning off your router and hotspotting directly to your smartphone the traditional way. No, this technique is about connecting your router to the smartphone&#8217;s Wi-Fi hotspot, keeping your router as the main router.<\/p>\n<p>To use this tactic, your router has to support a feature called WWAN, an acronym for Wireless Wide Area Network (sometimes referred to as WAN over Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi as WAN, WISP, Wi-Fi tethering, or a myriad of other terms).&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Also:&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.zdnet.com\/article\/chromes-next-update-will-kill-your-adblocker-and-make-the-web-less-safe\/\">Chrome&#8217;s next update will kill your adblocker &#8211; and make the web less safe<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Now, here&#8217;s the rub with this method &#8212; there aren&#8217;t many routers that support this feature. To find out if yours does, you&#8217;re going to have to prod in the admin panel, find the manual and read it, or search the web. This approach is definitely one of those methods where you&#8217;ll be looking at your router&#8217;s admin control panel a lot.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"c-shortcodeImage u-clearfix c-shortcodeImage-large c-shortcodeImage-hasCaption\">\n<div class=\"c-shortcodeImage_imageContainer\">\n<div class=\"c-shortcodeImage_image\"><picture class=\"c-cmsImage\"><!----> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.zdnet.com\/home-and-office\/networking\/how-to-use-old-android-phone-as-backup-internet-connection-for-home-router\/\" alt=\"Become friends with your router's admin panel.\" width=\"1280\" height=\"720\" fetchpriority=\"low\"><\/picture><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div><figcaption>\n<div class=\"c-shortcodeImage_caption g-inner-spacing-right-small g-color-black\" readability=\"6\">\n<div class=\"c-ShortcodeContent\" readability=\"32\">\n<p>Become friends with your router&#8217;s admin panel.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p> <span class=\"c-shortcodeImage_credit g-outer-spacing-top-xsmall u-block\">Adrian Kingsley-Hughes\/ZDNET<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Travel routers, such as those by <span class=\"c-commerceLink\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cc.zdnet.com\/v1\/otc\/00hQi47eqnEWQ6T9d4QLBUc?merchant=05kie42h3YvHwjr4G1w80Qq&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FGL-iNet-GL-MT3000-Pocket-Sized-Wireless-Gigabit%2Fdp%2FB0BPSGJN7T&amp;app_deeplink=1\" rel=\"noopener nofollow sponsored\" target=\"_blank\" data-aps-asc-tag=\"zd-buy-button-20\" data-aps-asc-subtag=\"__COM_CLICK_ID__|null|dtp\"><span>GL.iNet<\/span><!----><\/a><\/span> (including the <span class=\"c-commerceLink\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cc.zdnet.com\/v1\/otc\/00hQi47eqnEWQ6T9d4QLBUc?merchant=05kie42h3YvHwjr4G1w80Qq&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FGL-iNet-GL-MT3000-Pocket-Sized-Wireless-Gigabit%2Fdp%2FB0BPSGJN7T&amp;app_deeplink=1\" rel=\"noopener nofollow sponsored\" target=\"_blank\" data-aps-asc-tag=\"zd-buy-button-20\" data-aps-asc-subtag=\"__COM_CLICK_ID__|null|dtp\"><span>Beryl AX<\/span><!----><\/a><\/span>, <span class=\"c-commerceLink\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cc.zdnet.com\/v1\/otc\/00hQi47eqnEWQ6T9d4QLBUc?merchant=05kie42h3YvHwjr4G1w80Qq&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FGL-iNet-GL-BE3600-Portable-Dual-Band-Computer%2Fdp%2FB0F2MR53D6&amp;app_deeplink=1\" rel=\"noopener nofollow sponsored\" target=\"_blank\" data-aps-asc-tag=\"zd-buy-button-20\" data-aps-asc-subtag=\"__COM_CLICK_ID__|null|dtp\"><span>Slate 7<\/span><!----><\/a><\/span>, <span class=\"c-commerceLink\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cc.zdnet.com\/v1\/otc\/00hQi47eqnEWQ6T9d4QLBUc?merchant=05kie42h3YvHwjr4G1w80Qq&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FGL-iNET-GL-MT300N-V2-Repeater-300Mbps-Performance%2Fdp%2FB073TSK26W&amp;app_deeplink=1\" rel=\"noopener nofollow sponsored\" target=\"_blank\" data-aps-asc-tag=\"zd-buy-button-20\" data-aps-asc-subtag=\"__COM_CLICK_ID__|null|dtp\"><span>Mango<\/span><!----><\/a><\/span>, and others), are great because they inherently support this feature. Some <span class=\"c-commerceLink\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cc.zdnet.com\/v1\/otc\/00hQi47eqnEWQ6T9d4QLBUc?merchant=05kie42h3YvHwjr4G1w80Qq&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FDraytek-V2927Lac-DE-AT-CH-DRAYTEK-VIGOR-2927LAC%2Fdp%2FB099BGKFLS&amp;app_deeplink=1\" rel=\"noopener nofollow sponsored\" target=\"_blank\" data-aps-asc-tag=\"zd-buy-button-20\" data-aps-asc-subtag=\"__COM_CLICK_ID__|null|dtp\"><span>Draytek<\/span><!----><\/a><\/span> and <span class=\"c-commerceLink\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cc.zdnet.com\/v1\/otc\/00hQi47eqnEWQ6T9d4QLBUc?merchant=05kie42h3YvHwjr4G1w80Qq&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FUbiquiti-Networks-UDR-UbiQuiti-Router%2Fdp%2FB0F7HBYMGL&amp;app_deeplink=1\" rel=\"noopener nofollow sponsored\" target=\"_blank\" data-aps-asc-tag=\"zd-buy-button-20\" data-aps-asc-subtag=\"__COM_CLICK_ID__|null|dtp\"><span>Ubiquiti UniFi routers<\/span><!----><\/a><\/span>&nbsp;also support the feature.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>However, this capability is not all that common.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>One of the best ways to try to get WWAN support is to install&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/openwrt.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" class=\"c-regularLink\">OpenWrt<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/dd-wrt.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" class=\"c-regularLink\">DD-WRT<\/a> and see if you can get the feature to work.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Option 3: Ethernet tethering&nbsp;<\/h2>\n<p>This approach, in my opinion, is the best option because it&#8217;s the most widely supported and easiest to use because it works with any router with a WAN port, which is pretty much every router out there.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"c-shortcodeImage u-clearfix c-shortcodeImage-large c-shortcodeImage-hasCaption\">\n<div class=\"c-shortcodeImage_imageContainer\">\n<div class=\"c-shortcodeImage_image\"><picture class=\"c-cmsImage\"><!----> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.zdnet.com\/home-and-office\/networking\/how-to-use-old-android-phone-as-backup-internet-connection-for-home-router\/\" alt=\"For this, you'll need a WAN port.\" width=\"1280\" height=\"720\" fetchpriority=\"low\"><\/picture><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div><figcaption>\n<div class=\"c-shortcodeImage_caption g-inner-spacing-right-small g-color-black\" readability=\"6.5\">\n<div class=\"c-ShortcodeContent\" readability=\"33\">\n<p>For this technqiue, you&#8217;ll need a WAN port.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p> <span class=\"c-shortcodeImage_credit g-outer-spacing-top-xsmall u-block\">Adrian Kingsley-Hughes\/ZDNET<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>First, you need a gadget. You&#8217;ll need a USB-C-to-Ethernet adapter and a short piece of Ethernet cable. While most USB-C-to-Ethernet adapters will work, some &#8212; especially the super-cheap ones &#8212; won&#8217;t. I&#8217;ve used adapters from <span class=\"c-commerceLink\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cc.zdnet.com\/v1\/otc\/00hQi47eqnEWQ6T9d4QLBUc?merchant=05kie42h3YvHwjr4G1w80Qq&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FAnker-Ethernet-PowerExpand-Aluminum-Portable%2Fdp%2FB08CK9X9Z8&amp;app_deeplink=1\" rel=\"noopener nofollow sponsored\" target=\"_blank\" data-aps-asc-tag=\"zd-buy-button-20\" data-aps-asc-subtag=\"__COM_CLICK_ID__|null|dtp\"><span>Anker<\/span><!----><\/a><\/span>,&nbsp;<span class=\"c-commerceLink\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cc.zdnet.com\/v1\/otc\/00hQi47eqnEWQ6T9d4QLBUc?merchant=05kie42h3YvHwjr4G1w80Qq&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FUGREEN-Ethernet-Aluminum-Thunderbolt-Compatible%2Fdp%2FB0CD1FDKT1&amp;app_deeplink=1\" rel=\"noopener nofollow sponsored\" target=\"_blank\" data-aps-asc-tag=\"zd-buy-button-20\" data-aps-asc-subtag=\"__COM_CLICK_ID__|null|dtp\"><span>Ugreen<\/span><!----><\/a><\/span>, and <span class=\"c-commerceLink\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cc.zdnet.com\/v1\/otc\/00hQi47eqnEWQ6T9d4QLBUc?merchant=05kie42h3YvHwjr4G1w80Qq&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FPlugable-Ethernet-5000Mbps-ChromeOS-USBC-E5000%2Fdp%2FB0DTBLB6WY&amp;app_deeplink=1\" rel=\"noopener nofollow sponsored\" target=\"_blank\" data-aps-asc-tag=\"zd-buy-button-20\" data-aps-asc-subtag=\"__COM_CLICK_ID__|null|dtp\"><span>Plugable<\/span><!----><\/a><\/span> with no issues at all. Adapters powered by ASIX AX88179 or Realtek RTL8153 chipsets seem to be OK, but it can be hard to find an adapter with those chipsets.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"c-shortcodeImage u-clearfix c-shortcodeImage-large c-shortcodeImage-hasCaption\">\n<div class=\"c-shortcodeImage_imageContainer\">\n<div class=\"c-shortcodeImage_image\"><picture class=\"c-cmsImage\"><!----> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.zdnet.com\/home-and-office\/networking\/how-to-use-old-android-phone-as-backup-internet-connection-for-home-router\/\" alt=\"The USB-C to Ethernet adapter is a reliable way to connect to the router.\" width=\"1280\" height=\"720\" fetchpriority=\"low\"><\/picture><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div><figcaption>\n<div class=\"c-shortcodeImage_caption g-inner-spacing-right-small g-color-black\" readability=\"6\">\n<div class=\"c-ShortcodeContent\" readability=\"32\">\n<p>The USB-C-to-Ethernet adapter is a reliable way to connect to the router.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p> <span class=\"c-shortcodeImage_credit g-outer-spacing-top-xsmall u-block\">Adrian Kingsley-Hughes\/ZDNET<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>My advice here is to stick to adapters in the $10 to $20-plus price range, and avoid the super-cheap sub-$10 adapters from no-name brands. Better &#8216;buy once, cry once&#8217; than &#8216;buy cheap, buy twice.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Also: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zdnet.com\/article\/why-your-ram-costs-400-more-than-last-year\/\">Why your RAM options cost 4X more now than last year &#8211; even legacy tech prices aren&#8217;t immune<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The process is simple. Connect the adapter to the Android smartphone&#8217;s USB-C port. Android should automatically detect the adapter. Next, connect a bog-standard Ethernet cable between the adapter and the WAN\/internet port on the router (the port should be marked differently to any other ports on the router).&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Now go to your smartphone, tap Settings, then Network &amp; internet, followed by Hotspot &amp; tethering. There you should see Ethernet tethering.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"c-shortcodeImage u-clearfix c-shortcodeImage-large c-shortcodeImage-hasCaption\">\n<div class=\"c-shortcodeImage_imageContainer\">\n<div class=\"c-shortcodeImage_image\"><picture class=\"c-cmsImage\"><!----> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.zdnet.com\/home-and-office\/networking\/how-to-use-old-android-phone-as-backup-internet-connection-for-home-router\/\" alt=\"Enabling Ethernet tethering in Android.\" width=\"1280\" height=\"720\" fetchpriority=\"low\"><\/picture><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div><figcaption>\n<div class=\"c-shortcodeImage_caption g-inner-spacing-right-small g-color-black\" readability=\"6\">\n<div class=\"c-ShortcodeContent\" readability=\"32\">\n<p>Enabling Ethernet tethering in Android.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p> <span class=\"c-shortcodeImage_credit g-outer-spacing-top-xsmall u-block\">Adrian Kingsley-Hughes\/ZDNET<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Toggle the option on, and the handset will share its mobile data connection over Ethernet.<\/p>\n<p>Don&#8217;t mix these steps or you&#8217;ll have problems.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>And that&#8217;s it. No extra configuration is usually needed to get this approach to work.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Also: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zdnet.com\/home-and-office\/why-you-must-get-a-thermal-camera\/\">Thermal cameras can spot problems you can&#8217;t see<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>One rub with this method that you might have already figured out is that if you&#8217;re using a USB cable to connect the smartphone to the router, or you&#8217;re using the Wi-Fi version, the handset should charge over the USB cable, or it&#8217;ll be available for charging. However, the handset won&#8217;t charge with an Ethernet adapter connected. This issue means you must schedule some downtime to charge the handset regularly (turning off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth will make the battery last longer).&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Alternatively, you can use a USB-C multi-port hub as your adapter.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"c-shortcodeImage u-clearfix c-shortcodeImage-large c-shortcodeImage-hasCaption\">\n<div class=\"c-shortcodeImage_imageContainer\">\n<div class=\"c-shortcodeImage_image\"><picture class=\"c-cmsImage\"><!----> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.zdnet.com\/home-and-office\/networking\/how-to-use-old-android-phone-as-backup-internet-connection-for-home-router\/\" alt=\"A USB-C multi-port hub will also work.\" width=\"1280\" height=\"720\" fetchpriority=\"low\"><\/picture><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div><figcaption>\n<div class=\"c-shortcodeImage_caption g-inner-spacing-right-small g-color-black\" readability=\"6\">\n<div class=\"c-ShortcodeContent\" readability=\"32\">\n<p>A USB-C multi-port hub will also work.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p> <span class=\"c-shortcodeImage_credit g-outer-spacing-top-xsmall u-block\">Adrian Kingsley-Hughes\/ZDNET<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Again, chipset matters here (not all will work), and the device absolutely needs to be a PC or Power Delivery hub; otherwise, the phone will also have the extra workload of powering the hub, which drains the battery even faster. This issue means you&#8217;ll need another cable and a nearby charger to keep the hub powered and the phone charged.<\/p>\n<h2>What about iPhone?<\/h2>\n<p>You had to ask. And because it&#8217;s Apple, things get complicated.<\/p>\n<p>USB tethering works\u2026 sort of. The iPhone has no problem sharing its cellular data over USB when Personal Hotspot is enabled, and a cable is plugged in.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>However, an iPhone uses a proprietary Apple protocol, so the router needs to support iPhone tethering. In my experience, <span class=\"c-commerceLink\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cc.zdnet.com\/v1\/otc\/00hQi47eqnEWQ6T9d4QLBUc?merchant=05kie42h3YvHwjr4G1w80Qq&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FGL-iNet-GL-AXT1800-Pocket-Sized-Extender-Repeater%2Fdp%2FB0B2J7WSDK&amp;app_deeplink=1\" rel=\"noopener nofollow sponsored\" target=\"_blank\" data-aps-asc-tag=\"zd-buy-button-20\" data-aps-asc-subtag=\"__COM_CLICK_ID__|null|dtp\"><span>GL.iNet routers<\/span><!----><\/a><\/span> have no problems, but many others do. My advice is to check your router&#8217;s manual for &#8216;iPhone tethering support&#8217; rather than just &#8216;USB tethering.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Also: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zdnet.com\/home-and-office\/smart-home\/switchbot-relay-switch-review\/\">I tested a $15 smart switch and uncovered a $1,500-a-year energy waste in the kitchen<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Having a router running OpenWrt or DD-WRT helps, but only if you&#8217;re experienced using the software. You have to install additional packages and go through a one-time pairing every time your phone is rebooted. Also, if your iPhone is locked when the router reboots, it won&#8217;t automatically connect. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The Wi-Fi method should work, and any router that supports WWAN should work in the same way.<\/p>\n<p>As for Ethernet tethering, that&#8217;s a big no for the iPhone.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>The bottom line<\/h2>\n<p>An old Android phone is a great way to maintain network continuity if your main internet connection goes down. You will need to have an active data plan on that phone, but it&#8217;s not hard to grab a <span class=\"c-commerceLink\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cc.zdnet.com\/v1\/otc\/00hQi47eqnEWQ6T9d4QLBUc?merchant=05kie42h3YvHwjr4G1w80Qq&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FEIOTCLUB-Data-Card-Triple-Play%2Fdp%2FB0BL7CKL6T&amp;app_deeplink=1\" rel=\"noopener nofollow sponsored\" target=\"_blank\" data-aps-asc-tag=\"zd-buy-button-20\" data-aps-asc-subtag=\"__COM_CLICK_ID__|null|dtp\"><span>data SIM card<\/span><!----><\/a><\/span> for the job.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>READ MORE <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zdnet.com\/article\/how-to-use-old-android-phone-as-backup-internet-connection-for-home-router\/\">HERE<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I needed a way to connect my phone to my router, and have it work reliably. Turns out, I have 3 options (and I saved the best for last).READ MORE HERE&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_layout":"default_layout","footnotes":""},"categories":[62],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-60959","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-zdnet-security"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Internet down? 3 ways I use an old Android phone as a backup connection for my home router 2026 | ThreatsHub Cybersecurity News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"ThreatsHub Cybersecurity News | ThreatsHub.org | Cloud Security &amp; Cyber Threats Analysis Hub. 100% Free OSINT Threat Intelligent and Cybersecurity News.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/internet-down-3-ways-i-use-an-old-android-phone-as-a-backup-connection-for-my-home-router\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Internet down? 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