Using mobile phone to connect a laptop to the internet

[Anonymous]

Can someone tell me, when when you use your mobile to provide internet access to a laptop (I am staying at a place where the Internet signal is feeble but the mobile okay) does it use more data and therefore reduce your data allowance by more than simply using your mobile to attach to the Internet ? I'm thinking only of minimum use like emails et cetera. Really for emergency use.

Thanks for any light that can be shed on this.

[MI5 · Accepted solution]

By the nature of the fact that your laptop isn't set up for data saving by default (like your mobile is) it will use more data by downloading the whole emaill in one go.
On your mobile it will only download headers until you open the email, for example. However, unless there are big attachments in the emails, the actual data usage won't be significantly large.
If you are just using it for emails and emergency situations you shouldn't see a big impact, providing you have a reasonable amount of data available to you.

[Fellwalker]

If you are using a Windows laptop , you can define the link to your phone as a "Metered connection", which will ensure that the laptop doesn't do anything daft like download an update to Windows or to drivers or apps you have installed.

Windows 10

Press the Windows key, or click the Windows icon on your taskbar

Type "Network status" and you should get a slide-out list with "Network Status" at the top

(Alternatively click WIndows key>Settings icon>Network and Internet)

Click this, and you will get a new window open, which has a diagram showing your computer on the left, your connection in the middle, and a globe signifying the internet on the right.

Immediately under this is a paragraph about limited data plans and metered connections.

In blue below this is a clickable link "Change connection properties"

Click on this and you will come to another screen, where one of the options is to "Set as metered connection. " Simply click the switch to slide it to On.

This is a once off change, so long as you keep the same name for the link from your phone.  This should work whether you use WiFi, USB or Bluetooth, though you would need to set each connection as metered individually.  If you can get a good phone signal while connected to your PC using USB, that is best as it keeps your phone charged!

[MercedesS]

Hello @Anonymous, welcome to the O2 community!

Hopefully, @MI5 and @Fellwalker explanations helped you. I have learned a lot by reading them! 

But yes, normally laptops use more data than mobile. However, in my personal opinion, sometimes is a must! 

Let us know if we can help you more 

[Anonymous]

Thanks fellwalker MI5 and MercedesS. Vwry helpful indeed.