Connecting iPhone hotspot to router

[JTScotland]

I have a B535-232 unlocked router and an iPhone

Rather than constantly swapping the sim between the iPhone and router, is there a way of connecting the phone virtually to the router? (using the phone's hotspot?)

If not viable with the Huawei router, what other options are available?

 

[CarlO1460]

I have a B535-232 unlocked router and an iPhone

Rather than constantly swapping the sim between the iPhone and router, is there a way of connecting the phone virtually to the router? (using the phone's hotspot?)

If not viable with the Huawei router, what other options are available?

Take out a sim only deal for the router?

 

[THB]

You could try a lightning to ethernet adaptor: set the router to bridge mode (if available) and tether your iPhone. I'm not 100% certain if it will work but if you get an adaptor from a well-known online website then you should be able to return it if not.

 

[Pheasant]

I have a B535-232 unlocked router and an iPhone

Rather than constantly swapping the sim between the iPhone and router, is there a way of connecting the phone virtually to the router? (using the phone's hotspot?)

If not viable with the Huawei router, what other options are available?

This blog is several years old but covers one possible solution to your topic:

network | John's Musings

tl;dr - it can be done, but only where the router can effectively emulate a host PC for the Apple hotspot software on the phone to allow the connection.

Effectively the router needs to be running DD-WRT or OpenWrt. Otherwise you would need to tether the phone to a PC and then share the connection to the router using the Ethernet port on the PC.

 

[eccles]

Does the iPhone support ethernet tethering?

 

[Pheasant]

Does the iPhone support ethernet tethering?

Not as a hotspot to my knowledge, only as a client.

 

[eccles]

 

[Meatball]

I have an ongoing project regarding using mobile phones as a modem as an alternative to dedicated routers whether it is for a cheaper broadband option, primary source, balanced or backup.

iPhones can be tethered as a client or via the hotspot functionality via USB for PC/Router etc. Both TP-Link and GL.iNet provided travel routers worked well previously but these are now regarded as slow devices if considering 4G+ and 5G. Later GL.iNet routers (Slate and Beryl) are faster but iOS 14 caused issues regarding iPhones. Hence why I am going back to test again.

Compatible USB to Ethernet adaptors for iPhone and Android 11 can be very problematic.

An alternative is a Router that supports Client/Wisp and using the phone's WIFI Hotspot. Yes there is an overhead and the network purists will have a heart attack but it is a practical solution if internet use is basic. A secondary benefit is accessing the free minutes via Bluetooth at the same time. The router can be either a cheap travel router or a monster. IP issues can be an issue and mitigated with a VPN and I am finding Wireguard performance encouraging.

Just need to put man hours in to test currently available solutions. Others may be able to assist.

The reason I like the idea of mobile phones as opposed to mobile routers is that control will continue to be centralised and increasingly complex in future with UPF/slicing. The service providers will have far more control regarding how eMBB devices behave. If using a leading manufacturer (e.g Samsung S20 or iPhone 13) they are less likely to discriminate (just a theory).

 

[aesmith]

Mikrotik routers can be configured as a wireless client, and should do what you are looking for, although I haven't actually used the function myself.

 

[johnro]

Not as a hotspot to my knowledge, only as a client.

you could link it to a pc and feed your lan network from there.
itunes allows PC cable connections
it might be triple nat though

 

[Pheasant]

you could link it to a pc and feed your lan network from there.
itunes allows PC cable connections
it might be triple nat though

Yep