Not all routers have USB ports, but a good number of them do, especially those that do not come standard with an operator price. And they have many more functions than they seem; like powering an accessory, using a hard drive to back up photos, or using that USB drive to create an emergency internet connection. It’s perfect as a safety net for the holidays.
At home I have Movistar fiber with a fiber optic cable that goes from the input jack to the ONT of the Movistar router, which is an all-in-one with WiFi 6 (ONT, router and access point ). To improve the WiFi network, I connected the Movistar device to a neutral Asus router, a device that offers me a exhaustive and careful control of everything that happens on my intranet. And it has USB expansion ports, they are so useful that I couldn’t live without them.
What does fiber fall off? Warm up, Android, you’re out
Android as modem connected to router via USB
An Android mobile can share the Internet connection with which the SIM card is associated in several ways. The usual thing is to set up a WiFi hotspot so others can connect wirelessly; it is also possible to do this by taking advantage of Bluetooth connectivity, slower than WiFi. And there is a third way: with USB cable. This is precisely what I do with my Asus router.
There are models that can be configured to take advantage of a second WAN using a mobile phone and the ability to share the cable connection. This is exactly what my Asus router offers: I chose the main WAN to connect said router to the Movistar router with an Ethernet cable; leaving USB and an Android with SIM as secondary WAN and for cases where the main fiber network fails.
Configuring the secondary WAN on the router
This “shed” is perfect because I can take advantage of any old Android I have stored in a drawer to provide the router with wireless connectivity in the simplest way possible: by connecting them via USB. And it works really well, it’s my safety net for running all the home automation in my house.
The mobile phone delivers internet to the router and keeps the phone battery full. perfect symbiosis
This won’t be the first time I’ve been on vacation and I can’t control the cameras or sensors inside my house. And without knowing why the error occurred, which adds notable uncertainty. Did the fiber go down, did the router disconnect, did someone break into my house? With the second WAN and an Android mobile connected to the USB of the router, I reduce the worries and possibilities of network failure. All I have to do now is connect a backup battery to the router, that will be my next purchase.
A generally underutilized and extremely useful port
I admit that it hasn’t been long since I used the USB ports on my router for something other than simply powering nearby accessories (I had the home automation switchboard and the thermostat). And since I took advantage of it, my WiFi network has further increased its possibilities: not only have I set up my own internal cloud system, but now I I secured the Internet against fiber cuts. All with an Android phone that I had unused in the drawer.
After a fiber outage, the router automatically switches to the shared mobile connection
A prepaid SIM in the mobile and that’s it: the security system against Internet and electricity cuts is now working. I should have done it sooner.
Cover image | Ivan Linares
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