Linux users and the age old WiFi problem
A Linux die-hard, who'd rather distro-hop, than run any non-Linux based OS. After spending hours trying to figure it out, managed to get the problematic WiFi module to work with the home WiFi router. The laptop connects reliably to the Internet. Life is bliss. Or it is, until the fateful visit with the laptop to a friends or relative's place, a hotel room, or a local coffee shop, that has graciously allowed its patrons to use the Internet connection over WiFi, and the Laptop refuses to connect to the WiFi.For best impact read the above again, this time in Rod Sterling's voice, like the opening from "The Twilight Zone".
Those familiar with this scenario can feel the frustration one goes through in this situation. I've gone through it many times over the years, and recently, my wife had to as well. The biggest cause for this is that, majority of WiFi modules that are packaged with laptops these days, come with little or no manufacturer support under Linux. That is the unfortunate state of WiFi networking under Linux.
For situations like this, I started carrying with me a USB WiFi module known to work under Linux, as a fail-safe. I sacrifice bandwidth for reliability and it has proved useful over the years. The flip side of this was that, the Android phones I've used over the years, always connected successfully to almost any WiFi network, and I could reliably access Internet over them.
The irony of the situation was that, the solution to my problem was in my pocket all this time, if only I had cared to check it there.
Android Phone comes to the rescue
Almost all modern Android phones natively provide multiple forms of tethering options: WiFi tethering, USB tethering, and Bluetooth tethering. The good news is, some of these options could come in handy when faced with the WiFi connectivity problems.
WiFi Tethering
WiFi Tethering allows you to share your phone's data connection (3g, 4g, LTE, etc.) with computers that are within range, over WiFi. It transforms your phone into a WiFi Hotspot. The problem with this approach is, you are burning through your phone's data, which doesn't come cheap. Many carriers also impose additional charges to even allow data sharing over WiFi.USB Tethering
This one took me by surprise. I had used USB tethering before; to share my phone's data connection with my laptops. Setting it up used to be more involved, requiring running a few commands, but newer Android phones have made it seamless to the point, where, it only requires one to check a checkbox on their phone, to activate it. What I hadn't thought of, or tested, earlier was that I could use USB tethering to even share the network that the phone was accessing over its WiFi connection. You do need a data capable USB cable for this to work. You'll know if your USB cable is data capable, if your laptop identifies your phone, and the phone identifies that it is connected to a computer.
Using this option, you'll be able to access your phone's Internet connection over a USB cable connected to you laptop. The connection speed will vary depending on your laptop and the phone capabilities. I was able to get nearly 15Mbps downloads and around 5.5Mbps uploads using this approach with my Nexus 5 phone.
Bluetooth Tethering
Modern laptops are shipping with WiFi modules that also have a Bluetooth radio. This allows the users to share files with other paired Bluetooth devices, as well as, do some other fancy Bluetooth things. For instance, I can pair my phone with my laptop over Bluetooth, and then all of my phone's sound notifications and other media playing, can be heard on my laptop. Another thing you can do over Bluetooth is share the Internet connection.
Like the earlier two options, you can extend your phone's data connection to the paired device. You may incur additional charges, but it is good to know you have that as an option. You could also, like with the USB tethering option, share your phone's WiFi network connection over to the paired devices - in this case, your Bluetooth enabled laptop.
Don't expect phenomenal speeds. This is Bluetooth we are talking about. My TWC Internet connection clocks nearly 20Mbps over WiFi. But when tethered over my phone's Bluetooth, it drops to mere 0.6Mbps. It's still better than your laptop's WiFi if it doesn't connect at all.
Initial issues with Bluetooth Networking
One issue I ran into, while attempting to setup Bluetooth tethering, was that, while the laptop identified the phone's Bluetooth network, and I could transfer files back and forth over Bluetooth, I wasn't able to connect to the Bluetooth network on my phone. Network Manager would show "configuring network interface" message, but always failed to connect.
I later realized that somehow the default configuration of the Bluetooth pair on my phone was interfering with this. The paired connection on my phone, for the laptop, did not expose "Internet Connection Sharing", as an option. I only saw "Media audio" and "Contact sharing", and both were checked. When I unchecked "Media audio" and tried to connect to the Bluetooth network "Nexus 5 Network" from my laptop, I was able to connect to the network. Checking the paired connection's option again on my phone revealed the a new checkbox option, "Internet Connection Sharing", which was already checked.
