connecting my desktop to Samsung Galaxy S3 hotspot

[fishboat]

I have a Dell 531 Inspiron desktop without a wireless card that I'd like to use to access the internet through my S3 hotspot.

I thought(??) I had the connection addressed by picking up a Trendnet 644ub usb wireless adapter thingy, however trendnet tells me it won't connect to my S3 as it needs to pointed to a router...oh well.

Soo..what do I need to create a wireless connection between my desktop and the web through my S3? Something fast, cheap, & reliable would be best. I can only pick two?..then I'll take fast & reliable. (a make & model number would be great as I'm not overly fluent in this area)

I also have a laptop that connects through the S3 hotspot no problem..using it right now...so everything seems to be working fine in general.

thx..

 

[meyerweb#CB]

Since the hotspot seems to be working OK, the issue is probably with the configuration of the Trendnet card. Start off by comparing settings with those of your laptop: SSID, Encryption Key, Channel come to mind. Do you have access control enabled on your phone? If so, you'll need to enter the MAC address of the Trendnet adapter in the hotspot configuration.

Does the desktop even see the hotspot?

 

[fishboat]

Does the desktop even see the hotspot?

No it doesn't. I received an email from trendnet today (in response to a ticket I created last night) and they flat out said that the unit I have can't connect to my phone. They said it needs to connect to a router or "access point". So I think I'm back to square one. I did some research and I thought I figured it out(that got me to the trendnet adapter)..but guess not.

 

[Trees]

No it doesn't. I received an email from trendnet today (in response to a ticket I created last night) and they flat out said that the unit I have can't connect to my phone. They said it needs to connect to a router or "access point". So I think I'm back to square one. I did some research and I thought I figured it out(that got me to the trendnet adapter)..but guess not.

Not doubting what TRENDnet support told you, but it would be interesting to see more details why beyond than it just can't and requires a router or access point. Not picking on your here, but rather like myerweb, would like to know more. Understand that the 664UB TRENDnet | Products | N150 Wireless Adapters | TEW-644UB is a few years old or so, however, it does appear to support fairly current WiFi technology and protocols.

 

[tayswg20]

No it doesn't. I received an email from trendnet today (in response to a ticket I created last night) and they flat out said that the unit I have can't connect to my phone. They said it needs to connect to a router or "access point". So I think I'm back to square one. I did some research and I thought I figured it out(that got me to the trendnet adapter)..but guess not.

I'm really curious about this because I have an old laptop that also doesn't have wifi built in. so a few years ago I bought a cheap USB wifi adapter. It wasn't trendnet but just a cheap ebay one. (gsky I think) Granted I'm sure not all USB dongles are the same but I'm convinced that they are very similar. The reason I saw this is because I did a little research about the boards that are inside these dongles. Almost all of the main brands use 3 or 4 different boards. So most of the difference is just the name on the outside. I'm saying all this because mine worked fine with my HTC bolt and now my gs3. So maybe trendnet is just telling you that because it's not officially supported but actually might work with a few settings being tweaked. But if you don't want to mess with it I'd just look for a gsky wifi USB adapter. (i think I paid less than 20$) The gsky ones don't look like the one you have but it still plugs into any USB port.

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[GMJeff]

From all that I have read, the s3 is supposed to act like a router when in hotspot mode. You are then supposed to be able scan for a network, find the hotspot and connect.

I may be over simplifying it, but that is my understanding of how it is supposed to work.

It's not wrong to fondle the s pen.

 

[fishboat]

No joy yet. I talked with my nephew and he suggested picking up an Engenious EUB-9706 300Mbps Wireless N USB Network Adapter

Amazon.com: Engenius EUB-9706 300Mbps Wireless N USB Network Adapter: Computers & Accessories

I got it yesterday, set up the driver, plugged in the adapter, rebooted, turned the S3 hotspot, nada. It doesn't see the S3 signal & from that point I have no idea where to start. I keep hearing this should be a no brainer, but I'm failing to understand why the setup is so easy with my laptop (it sees the S3 hotspot signal, I entered the network password, success & it works fine) and with these usb adapters..it doesn't see the signal & the adapter config manual instructions from that point requires an IT degree/systems analyst. ??

 

[fishboat]

I managed to get the desktop connected to the web via a hardwire usb tether to the phone..it's a step, but wireless would be nice..

 

[Trees]

Are the operating systems different for the desktop and laptop? Same question for antivirus and firewall software. Besides the different Wireless adapters between the two systems, suggest mirroring the setup from the laptop for the desktop.

 

[fishboat]

Are the operating systems different for the desktop and laptop? Same question for antivirus and firewall software. Besides the different Wireless adapters between the two systems, suggest mirroring the setup from the laptop for the desktop.

Yes, they are different. The laptop is running XP SP3 and the desktop is Vista home premium (32b). The anti virus & firewall is the same for both..zonealarm/checkpoint.

Connecting the laptop to the phone the first time was zero problems..checked to see what wirelsss neworks were available, it saw the phone hotspot, I clicked on it, entered the password..done. It's hasn't been a problem since.

The desktop..zero..two adapters now, the driver installed for each, and neither even see a wireless network is available to try to connect to. I live in the country so the only wireless available will be my S3..but the desktop/adapter combo doesn't see it.

 

[GSDer]

Are you sure that the USB dongle is installed correctly:
- If you look in Device Manager, it shows no yellow bangs?
- If you check the properties of the actual device it says that it's working properly?
- When you look in the System Tray, do you see the usual wireless icon like you do on your laptop?
- Have you tried different USB ports on the desktop?
- Was there additional software that came with the USB dongle (there often is), and did you install it? There's usually a configuration app that you can run.
Vista is an unfortunate OS to have; too bad you didn't upgrade to Win7.

Sent from my rooted, debloated, deodexed Sinclair ZX-80 running CM -0.001 using Tapatalk 2

 

[fishboat]

Are you sure that the USB dongle is installed correctly:
- If you look in Device Manager, it shows no yellow bangs?
Nope..I checked everything and everything looks normal
- If you check the properties of the actual device it says that it's working properly?
I checked this and it says the device is working properly. I then check the Advanced tab and saw the "Adhoc support 802.11n" was disabled..so I tried "enable" and rebooted..no change, the device doesn't see any wireless networks
- When you look in the System Tray, do you see the usual wireless icon like you do on your laptop?
No, nothing like the normal bar chart showing an active wireless netwrok. The icon for the Engenious Wireless Utility is there, if I open it, this iw where I'mnot seeing any active wireless networks..the manual indicates I should see thenm here.
- Have you tried different USB ports on the desktop?
yes, makes no difference
- Was there additional software that came with the USB dongle (there often is), and did you install it? There's usually a configuration app that you can run.
Yes, the device came with a CD & I installed the driver for windows (the trendnet device didn't come with a driver, but I found it on the web & installed it..didn't help. I uninstalled the trendnet device & driver before trying the Engenious unit.

Vista is an unfortunate OS to have; too bad you didn't upgrade to Win7.
I'd have to agree. It seems MS was sprinting away from Vista at the same time they were launching it. I never have liked it. 90% of my time is spent on a work laptiop (XP, SP3 professional) & my home laptop (same OP). I only seldom use this desktop. I only learned about the deal to upgrade to Win7 after it was past. Now it'll cost normal price. This desktop is only a few years old, but before I invest any real money in it I'd have to take a hard look at seeing what's out there & this thing could get punted.


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[GSDer]

When you open the icon for the device from the System Tray, is there an option to enable/disable the device? It may sound obvious, but my wireless dongle has that capability, and there have been times when it's been off for no apparent reason, even though the last time I shut the PC down it was turned on.
Is there any way that you can try this dongle out on a friend's system just to see if it's working?
It really should be pretty simple (not that anything on Windows is ever that simple)...

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