I'm currently using USB tethering to connect my phone to my computer because my ISP's support is terrible. However, the tethering drains my phone's battery really quickly, and I want to know if there's a way to provide additional power while tethering so that my phone doesn't die. I have a wiring diagram that I think could help—do you think it would really work, or could it cause some kind of damage?
4 Answers
Unfortunately, that wiring setup is risky. You could end up frying either your PC or phone ports by messing with the cables. The reason your phone keeps losing power is that the USB power from your PC isn't enough to keep up with what your phone needs while tethering. It's a good idea to share what model your phone and PC are, since that could help pinpoint the issue better.
Chances are, connecting everything the way you're planning to could end up breaking your computer. Those ports on laptops don’t have much protection, and while it’s common to try such setups during prototyping, doing it with a wall charger on a laptop could result in costly repairs.
It's risky to try that setup. Just use an appropriate charger for your phone and grab a USB wireless adapter for your PC to take advantage of the phone's hotspot feature. This way, if your phone supports fast charging, you can effectively use internet without the fear of damaging your devices.
Nope, that wiring trick isn't going to cut it. When your phone detects it's connected to a computer, it restricts its power draw to about 0.5A, so even adding an extra power source won’t help. A smart workaround would be to keep your phone on a charger and use its WiFi hotspot instead since it sounds like wireless is the better choice for you. If you’re set on USB, consider a USB-C dock that allows charging and data transfer simultaneously. That might save your phone from crashing during a long tethering session.
I can't use WiFi on my computer, so I'm stuck with wired. My phone's a Lightning connector.