I have a Balance 30 and would like to use a mobile phone to provide internet access by using tethering via the USB port (rather than using a broadband ‘dongle’).
According so the recent release notes I can see that Android phones are supported, but there doesn’t seem to be any additional detail provided.
Can you provide further details of which makes/models of mobile phones (Android or not) have been tested etc?
I would purchase a mobile phone specifically for this requirement so I’m interested in a basic model, although having HSDPA/HSPA+ would be very useful.
Sorry for the delay in response. As of firmware 5.4.x, USB tethering is supported with Android v2.3 phones but you do need to be subscribed to your carriers tethering service for use.
I’ve also had a reply by email from Steve (which I’ll add here for the benefit of any other readers).
The USB port of Balance 30 does support tethering using an Android phone, however we don’t have a list of supported devices of this kind of connection. Normally, USB tethering will work with basically all of the Android phone as long as it’s using the internal USB Tethering feature starting from Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) or later. Although Android USB tethering is using the generic drivers so typically it should work with all the Android phone, many manufacturers like to customize the system with special features that may break the compatibility, I’d suggest you try to get one to try before you make your decision