Using Bluetooth for Laptop Dial-up

I've been trying to find details on using my Audiovox SMT5600 Smartphone as a modem backup when there's no WiFi available. Having a keyboard solution like the Stowaway is certainly passable for replying to a critical mail or sending an IM in under an hour per sentence, but some things require the full functionality of a PC. I've run into several situations where public Internet connections blocked mail sending, FTP and other functions that are potentially vital. I'm paying for the data connection on my phone, so why not make it useful. With a few configuration tweaks, I set up my laptop to use my SMT5600 as a dialup connection and sustained upload and download speeds around 2.8KBps which is like living in 1995, but will manage in a pinch. Someday I hope we get the transfer rates experienced by people in Japan and Korea. My house gets poor signal from ATT Wireless in general, so I'm hoping that's very representative of real world performance.

Bluetooth makes a decent connector for short range wireless connectivity between a cell phone and a PC, but the configuration is potentially tricky depending on what you have to work with. On the phone side of the equation all you need to do is make the Bluetooth discoverable. You can add a password to keep other people from hijacking the connection but for testing purposes, I don't recommend it because that adds an additional layer of troubleshooting. In the real world, a password is highly recommended.

On the PC side of the equation, the first thing you need is a Bluetooth adapter. A few laptops have these built in, but for most cases, you'll need an add-on. I picked up an adapter from Kensington with a nice set of pre-configured connection options for about $40. There are plenty of other options, although I recommend going with the newer Bluetooth v1.2 standard.

After installing your adapter software and connecting it to your PC you need to browse for other Bluetooth devices nearby. The Kensington software automatically recognizes my SMT5600 as providing Dial-up Networking services. By double clicking on the service, I'm presented with a connection box asking for a username and password, as well as a number to Dial. Assuming you have ATT Wireless service (this may also work for other providers), leave the username and password blank, but enter *99# in the Dial box and click the Dial button. That number is the magic bullet to get you in.

By default, the connection is configured to be secure, so you'll be prompted to enter a password on both the laptop and on the phone. As long as you enter the same number on both ends, you'll be in. As I stated previously, don't expect amazing performance from the connection speed. It's fast enough to read some email and download RSS feeds before hopping on a plane and it will handle FTP transfers both directions in a pinch, but you're still better off with WiFi when you can find it.

If the software that came with your Bluetooth adapter isn't so hot, you may need to manually configure a dial-up connection. In that case these steps should get you through:

1. Launch the Create a new Connection wizard in your Network Connections
2. Choose Connect to the Internet
3. Select Setup my connection manually
4. Connect using a dial-up modem
5. Choose your Bluetooth modem as the Device
6. Name the connection
7. Enter the phone number *99#
8. Leave Username, Password and Confirm Password blank
9. Finish the connection wizard

To test your newly created Bluetooth dial-up account, double-click it in the Network Connections window and click the Dial button. Assuming your phone is set to Discoverable, you should be connected and ready for early Nineties surfing speeds.

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