ZTE phones as modems on Beaver - anyone try that?

[Liam Proven]

On Thu, 16 Dec 2021 at 19:36, Bret Busby <bret.busby at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> What is the beaver thing,

Bionic Beaver is the official codename of Ubuntu 18.04, the LTS
release before the current one, Focal Fossa.

> and, do the cellphone and the computer, not have wifi?
>
> Using a wifi cellphone as a wifi hotspot, for use as a 4G modem,
> should be simple.
>
> I switch between 4G wifi modems, and, a 4G cellphone as a wifi hotspot
> (I can switch easily between carriers, by doing this), without any
> problems.

It is relatively easy, *but*
[1] it absolutely kills battery life on most cellphones
[2] People forget and leave it on; my devices see phone hotspots everywhere I go
[3] Unless you are careful and set a password, it's insecure and
people can use your hotspot to piggy-back on your data

Laptop batteries are much bigger than phone batteries. So if you use a USB link:

[1] It's 100% private
[2] Your phone charges from your laptop (so ideally the laptop should
be plugged in)
[3] No passwords or connection or anything are necessary; plug in and surf

I've met multiple acquaintances that told me that their phone battery
life was rubbish. I turned off the hotspot and they were amazed that
it got a day longer. I've also seen people with the phone flashlight
permanently on, also draining battery. Or who didn't know how to
power-cycle their phone. Or who didn't know how to update apps, or the
OS, or both. It is rarely automatic. Or Kindle owners with the
backlight on full who complained it was bright, the battery life was
bad not months as others claimed, that they couldn't read in bed
without glare & partners complaining.

People, on the whole, do not know how to use their devices. Therefore
I advocate the simplest possible solution.

-- 
Liam Proven ~ Profile: https://about.me/liamproven
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