Use Your Cell Phone as a Modem for Your PC

Connecting via Bluetooth

You can do without the cables if you go the Bluetooth route, though setup is a hassle. To proceed, you'll need a Bluetooth phone and a Bluetooth-enabled laptop or desktop PC. I used a notebook running Windows Vista and a very common phone--the Razr V3--over AT&T's network. (Some of the settings identified below will vary depending on the particular handset and carrier.)

Here are the steps:

1. On your cell phone, go to Menu, Settings, Connections, Bluetooth.

2. Select Setup, highlight Power, click Change, and set it to On.

3. On your Vista PC, click Start (Start, Run in XP), type bthprops.cpl, and press Enter.

4. Under the Devices tab, click Add.

5. Check My device is set up and ready to be found, and click Next.

6. Return to your cell phone, and highlight Find Me.

7. On the PC, highlight your phone's name and click Next.

8. Select Choose a passkey for me, and click Next.

9. Enter the passkey on the handset.

10. After Windows exchanges passkeys and pairs with your Bluetooth phone, click Finish.

11. On the PC, right-click Computer (My Computer in XP), and choose Manage.

12. Select Device Manager, click the + sign next to Modems, right-click your phone modem, and select Properties.

13. Under the Advanced tab, type AT+CGDCONT=1,"IP","isp.cingular" if you're a new AT&T customer, or AT+CGDCONT=1,"IP","proxy" if you're an existing user. Click OK.

14. In Vista, click Start, Connect to, and select Set up a connection or network.

15. Choose set up a dial-up connection, and click Next.

16. Select your phone modem, and in the 'Dial-up phone number' field, type *99#. (If you get an error when you try to connect, enter *99***1# instead.)

17. In the Username field, type ISP@CINGULARGPRS.COM (using all-capital letters).

18. In the Password field, type CINGULAR1 (using all-capital letters).

19. Select Remember this password, and in the 'Connection name' field, type GPRS. Click Connect and then Close.