Connecting a cellphone to a desktop
 

If my cellphone is connected to the net (3G/4G/whatever), can I get net on my desktop computer by connecting the two? (the desktop does NOT have Wifi). The phone probably has a mini USB socket - can that be used?
Is there some other way to do it? (the desktop doesn't have Bluetooth either).

...and what would I have to do on the phone exactly? (Android) Is "Internet sharing" enough?


Thanks.

it depends on the phone. Usually yes, it should work.

my android 4.4.2 phone has "USB Tethering".
it works perfectly.

Internet sharing usually is a wifi to wifi way to share your data. You'd need a cheap usb wifi if desktop doesn't have it. Like a laptop or other phone might use data.
I've used bluetooth also but again you'd need a cheap adapter.


I've connected a number of modern devices to linux via the micro usb connector.

I've even used a usb ethernet adapter on Android 4x that didn't work on 5 or 6. Some devices should still be in kernel.

Your home router might allow you to also connect to the phone and distribute over lan.