The process of tethering allows you to connect your computer to the internet via your phone's 3G mobile connection. This is a life saver if you are working in a location where you don't have access to other internet connections. Broadly speaking, there are two methods of tethering: plugging the phone directly into your computer via USB, or setting up the phone as a mini Wi-Fi hotspot. I prefer to plug in directly because Wi-Fi uses up battery power on the phone (and the laptop if unplugged) very quickly. Unfortunately, I have an Android phone and a Mac computer. The official Android website says that you can use a USB cable for tethering with computers running Windows or Linux but not with Mac OS X. Nevertheless I have found a way to do it with OS X, read on for more information.
Warning: Always check your network tariff before doing this. You could be charged extra by your phone network if internet data is not included in your mobile price plan.
I've tested this with the following setup:
- LG Optimus One (LG-P500) running Android 2.2 (FroYo) on the Three UK network.
- Apple MacBook Pro running Mac OS X Snow Leopard (10.6.5).
With Android 2.2 and newer you have a few other options that I chose to avoid:
- Setting your phone to act as a WiFi hotspot - Works with all WiFi-enabled computers regardless of OS but slower than USB and a massive waste of battery power.
- Other ways of USB tethering – Officially supported on Windows and Linux but not OS X.
The solution
I was very close to paying (digital) cold hard cash for an App so that I could USB tether with my Mac computer but then I discovered a surprisingly simple way round it:
- Connect your phone to the Mac with USB cable (mine works regardless of whether USB storage or USB tethering is selected in Android, although other phones could be different).
- Go to Network Preferences in OS X (Apple Menu > System Preferences... > Network).
- If it hasn't been added automatically, click the “+” button to add a new network interface. Select “LG Android USB Device”.
-
Leave the Telephone Number, Account Name and Password fields blank.
Select the new interface and click “Advanced...” - Select the following:
Vendor: Generic
(It's possible that your phone manufacturer appears in the Vendor list but LG doesn't)Model: GPRS (GSM/3G)
APN: three.co.uk
(If you're on a different network try looking this up in: Android Settings > Wireless & network settings > Mobile Networks > Access Point Names.) - Click OK, then Apply, then Connect and hopefully you'll be able to connect to the internet via your mobile network.
Note: ticking "Show modem status in menu bar" is very useful if you're using this feature a lot.
Related information
I used to USB-tether my Mac with my old Skypephone S2 on the Three UK network. I found out how to do it by following this article. The article itself only explains how to do this in Windows but one of the comments gives instructions for how to do it on a Mac.
Screenshots below
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Comments
Troubleshooting: Juice Defender app
I've recently discovered one thing that stops OS X USB tethering from working with Android.
For a while it was really unreliable for me, sometimes it would work and sometimes it wouldn't.
I've found that it was because I had an app called Juice Defender installed on my phone. This app is very good at saving battery life but it does so by switching your phone's data mode off and on according to a set of rules that you specify.
I found that when I uninstalled Juice Defender it was no longer controlling the way my phone connected to the network and therefore Android was able to tether with OS X more reliably.
Obviously this will only be of any use to you if you happen to have Juice Defender installed. Apart from this discovery I'm sorry to say I can't think of anything else to suggest.
LGP500 Optimus works with OS-X!
Hello Ben,
Thanks a lot! Your solution worked fine for my LGP500 and OS-X 10.6.6.
Cheers
Olaf
Thanks for this post. Helped
Thanks for this post. Helped me a lot!
But in addition, I had to enter my phnoe number to get it work.
best,
/m
thanks for sharing this. it
thanks for sharing this. it is working with LG Optimus ME and OS X 10.6.8.
Works for Samsung Galaxy Ace, too!
Thank you very much!
The exact same steps work for a Samsung Galaxy Ace, running Android 2.3.3, with OSX 10.6.8 on the Italian Wind network.
I tried quite a lot of combinations of similar settings in the past, with no success. Maybe I was misled by the availability of the "Samsung" vendor in the modem options, but it works with the "Generic" setting instead.
I do not need to enable USB tethering on the phone, either.
G1 Cyanogen mod
Is there any way for usb thetering with my G1 without install another useless app like you did?
HTC desire HD
Works perfectly but connection network comes up as ethernet rather than Android phone. Not sure why but don't really care!
Tethering was working for me (with Mac OS x) for ages but suddenly stopped. Thanks for bringing it back to me!
How to USB tether an Android phone with a Mac OS X computer
Great thanks for this I kept missing a step and was frustrated it wasn't working with my Samsung.
Many thanks and much appreciated.
Thank you sir
Been trying to get this working for a few years. Finally working now.
Samsung Galaxy Bean
Three HK
Enabled USB Debugging, but NOT USB Tethering.
When I first got my Android
When I first got my Android phone, Evo 4G, "Android Phone" was available as an interface in the Network control panel. I'm pretty sure that I deleted it at one point, because I couldn't get it to do anything. Not it's still gone and I want it back! When I click + there is no option for the droid in the Interface menu.
Anyone know how to get that back? I never installed it in the first place, it must have loaded from the phone. But now that I've deleted it it must be remembering that and not adding it again.
Any ideas?
Worked for me
After many, many false starts I followed these instructions properly and they worked.
I have a Mountain Lion MBP connecting to a Samsung Galaxy S2 on Android 4.0.3 (ICS) with O2
Points to note:
* *Don't* check the USB tethering on the Android device; just connect the cable (and enter the password on the phone).
* Look up the APN as instructed above: in my case it was mobile.o2.co.uk (not 02.co.uk as I had initially assumed).
Galaxy tab P1000
Tq vmuch for the share and finally I was able to connect to the internet using galaxy tab to the macbook. At first I wanted to give up after so many tries using other ways as I googled it. Thinking about how my husband wants my help to solve his prob, so I just keep trying and trying and walaaa tq vmuch...
Change in trick for Samasung galaxy ACE with MAC 10.7.3
Thanks. I was searching from many days finally i got it worked.
In Samasung galaxy ACE with MAC 10.7.3 i was not able to connect by your trick also, But finally little bit change in your trick worked for me :-)
In configuration Drop down select Add Configuration. Type any name let say (AAA) and then go to advanced
Select samsung then 3g/Gsm and enter your APN(can be found under Access Point Name of mobile network setting).
and in mobile Do not select any Tethering option. Uncheck both USB tethering and Mobile Ap(Go to Tethering Option and uncheck both) otherwise it won't work.
Then Save and try to connect.
Hope it will helpful too.
Change in trick for Samasung galaxy ACE with MAC 10.7.3
Thanks. I was searching from many days finally i got it worked.
In Samasung galaxy ACE with MAC 10.7.3 i was not able to connect by your trick also, But finally little bit change in your trick worked for me :-)
In configuration Drop down select Add Configuration. Type any name let say (AAA) and then go to advanced
Select samsung then 3g/Gsm and enter your APN(can be found under Access Point Name of mobile network setting).
and in mobile Do not select any Tethering option. Uncheck both USB tethering and Mobile Ap(Go to Tethering Option and uncheck both) otherwise it won't work.
Then Save and try to connect.
Hope it will helpful too.
Thanks,
Keshav Chainani
Android Phone to Macbook Pro
Thank you very much.This information is very helpful and solved the issue
-Sriram
Nice workaround, thanks
Great! It worked for me on OSX 10.8.2 and the good old lg P500.. thank you very much!
Quite different on my 10.6.8 with HTC Desire/Android 2.3.x...
...there is no "Modem" tab in Networks and I hence can't enter the APN, it's recognizing the device automatically as "Android Phone" and configures it via DHCP. Ok so far, the problem is that the connection is breaking up randomly and I have to "reset the device" (switch the phone to "charge only" and back to "USB tethering") all the time. There are reports about this all over the net. Yet another letdown by Apple as it seems since USB tethering works great on my Windows computers. They should drop the desktop/laptop mess they create nowadays altogether and focus on making useless overpriced phones you can't drop on a carpet without shattering to pieces. :(
it worked on my Air and LG Optimus One
Big thanks to your post.
Once I had everything configured, it worked seamlessly.
Samsung Mobile Service Center in Center in Chennai
Hi
Thanks for sharing this article with us. I searched many days finally, I got it from this article.This information is very helpful and solved that problem. Nice.
Regards
Fathima
Disable USB-Debugging (In developer options) to make it work!
I found that you need to disable USB-Debugging (In developer options) to make it work!
Does this still work? + Alternatives
Hi, does this method still work for the current versions of macOS? I have tried on Big Sur (11.2) with no luck - could not get it to recognize my Android device in network settings tab.
- - -
For anyone also wondering, here are some alternatives I've managed to make work -
HoRNDIS (starting in Big Sur, the installation became chaotic. Visit its GitHub for details)
PdaNet+ (plenty of guides all over the internet)
Both are free, and only for Android.
Re: Does this still work? + Alternatives
Unfortunately we don't have an up to date Mac to test with, so the answer is "I'm not sure". If we manage to test I will update the article. In the meantime, maybe a helpful person will find a solution and post it up here...
I tried your solution, but it's not my luck, doesn't work.
I already enable USB tethering in 'Wireless & networks', and choose USB tethering in USB connection type.
Is there any other turn around solution ?