I recently moved and do not currently have a fiber connection, but 5G mobile service is available cheaply and usually reaches over 100 Mbps, sometimes much higher. Wi‑Fi hotspot works with my laptop, but the latency is noticeably worse than on the phone itself. USB tethering gives me much better ping, although the phone's USB-C port or cable connection is loose and unreliable. I still have the modem/router from my previous fiber service and was wondering whether a USB-C-to-fiber cable, or a USB-C-to-Ethernet adapter connected to the modem, would let me share the phone's USB-tethered connection through it. Would this setup work, or do I need different hardware?
3 Answers
A USB-C-to-fiber cable will not turn a fiber modem into a USB-tethering device. Those cables are generally just USB cables that use fiber internally for longer distances, while a fiber modem or ONT expects an optical fiber signal and authentication from the provider. They are not interchangeable with USB networking.
The simpler option is a 5G router or travel router that explicitly supports Android USB tethering. Some routers can use a phone connected by USB as their Internet source, while others accept Ethernet from a USB-C adapter. Otherwise, look for a 5G modem/router with its own SIM slot. That should be more stable than relying on a loose phone port, though a wired landline connection would still be more reliable when available.
A USB-C-to-Ethernet adapter can provide a wired Ethernet connection from the phone, but the old fiber modem still needs to support the correct kind of input. Most fiber ONTs or provider-supplied modem/router units will not accept USB tethering through their WAN port. It might work only if the device can operate as a normal router and supports using Ethernet as its WAN connection.
So a USB-C-to-Ethernet adapter would be the right way to connect the phone to the modem?