--- title: 3 simple ways I turned my old Android phone into a... description: Three practical ways to repurpose an old Android phone as a backup internet connection: Wi-Fi hotspot for quick wireless sharing, USB tethering for... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/3-simple-ways-i-turned-my-old-android-phone-into-a-backup-internet-lifeline-0clrestld twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: 3 simple ways I turned my old Android phone into a backup internet lifeline | daily.dev og:description: Three practical ways to repurpose an old Android phone as a backup internet connection: Wi-Fi hotspot for quick wireless sharing, USB tethering for... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/3-simple-ways-i-turned-my-old-android-phone-into-a-backup-internet-lifeline-0clrestld og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/0CLrESTLd.png og:image:alt: 3 simple ways I turned my old Android phone into a backup internet lifeline og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # 3 simple ways I turned my old Android phone into a backup internet lifeline **[XDA Developers](https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers)** · 3 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Three practical ways to repurpose an old Android phone as a backup internet connection: Wi-Fi hotspot for quick wireless sharing, USB tethering for lower-latency wired connections to a PC, and Ethernet tethering via a USB-C to Ethernet adapter for devices like smart TVs that lack USB tethering support. Each method is accessible through the same Mobile Hotspot and Tethering menu on Android, and all three can serve as reliable fallbacks during ISP outages or maintenance windows. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [I ditched my travel router for a spare Android phone, and it actually worked](https://daily.dev/posts/i-ditched-my-travel-router-for-a-spare-android-phone-and-it-actually-worked-isxaiobil) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [This old Galaxy phone became my third WAN port, and it actually works](https://daily.dev/posts/this-old-galaxy-phone-became-my-third-wan-port-and-it-actually-works-ul7hztm05) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [I turned my old phone into a device that does something my $300 smart home gadgets can't](https://daily.dev/posts/i-turned-my-old-phone-into-a-device-that-does-something-my-300-smart-home-gadgets-can-t-tughk4r3c) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [A Hotspot Becomes A Handheld](https://daily.dev/posts/a-hotspot-becomes-a-handheld-qnurqm4p0) · Hackaday · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Windows can turn your PC into a Wi-Fi hotspot, but it buries the setting where nobody looks](https://daily.dev/posts/windows-can-turn-your-pc-into-a-wi-fi-hotspot-but-it-buries-the-setting-where-nobody-looks-uhppykcy3) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#android](https://daily.dev/tags/android), [#networking](https://daily.dev/tags/networking) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/3-simple-ways-i-turned-my-old-android-phone-into-a-backup-internet-lifeline-0clrestld) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"3 simple ways I turned my old Android phone into a backup internet lifeline","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/3-simple-ways-i-turned-my-old-android-phone-into-a-backup-internet-lifeline-0clrestld","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/3-simple-ways-i-turned-my-old-android-phone-into-a-backup-internet-lifeline-0clrestld"},"datePublished":"2026-07-20T14:01:00.053Z","dateModified":"2026-07-20T14:01:21.233Z","description":"Three practical ways to repurpose an old Android phone as a backup internet connection: Wi-Fi hotspot for quick wireless sharing, USB tethering for...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/4c6537b6d506732d841c10abbcb92192?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/4c6537b6d506732d841c10abbcb92192?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"XDA Developers","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"XDA Developers","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--kCg6yyAP--/f_auto,q_auto/v1774964407/logos/xda-developers?_a=BAMAMiWQ0","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/3-simple-ways-i-turned-my-old-android-phone-into-a-backup-internet-lifeline-0clrestld","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"android,networking","timeRequired":"PT3M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"XDA Developers","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"3 simple ways I turned my old Android phone into a backup internet lifeline"}]} ```