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Internet down? 3 ways I use an old Android phone as a backup connection for my home router

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Why This Matters

This article highlights how repurposing an old Android phone as a backup internet connection can enhance network resilience during outages, which is increasingly important amid extreme weather events affecting infrastructure. It offers a practical solution for maintaining connectivity without reconfiguring multiple devices, ensuring continuous access for consumers and the tech industry alike.

Key Takeaways

The best way is to use a USB-C to Ethernet adapter. Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET

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ZDNET's key takeaways

An Android phone can help keep your home network online.

Router-level backup keeps more devices connected during outages.

You can avoid changing Wi-Fi settings on every device.

The weather's been a little warm here in the UK, and by a little warm, I mean record-breaking temperatures, where the mercury hit 99.1°F/37.3°C. Not only is this the sort of temperature that's risky for the elderly, young children, or those doing heavy physical work, it's hard on physical infrastructure like power and phone lines. The cables above ground get hot, expand and sag, get caught on stuff or cross over, and bad things happen.

And that's exactly what I've been seeing -- a lot of power outages and downed phone lines. I've had my power station out and working more in the past few days than over winter. And I suspect that I'll need it more over the coming months and years.

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One solution that I've been working on is a backup for when my internet goes down. Sure, I have my hard-working SpaceX Starlink dish, and plenty of phones -- both old and new -- that I could put into service as hotspots, but I've been looking for something that my router can fall back on when the phone line goes dead.

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