I was using a Linksys Wireless-G router and a DSL modem for internet access in my house. My desktop was connected via ethernet cable to the router, and all the other clients in the house were accessing the network wirelessly. (The router connects to the DSL modem by ethernet cable also.) Now I have switched to using a "Clear Spot 4G Personal Hotspot" which has no ethernet ports, just a USB port. It's working great for all the wireless clients in the house. And when I plug it into my desktop (which has no wireless adapter/device of any kind attached) I can access the internet through the hotspot's USB connection. However I have found an odd conflict (which I could also use help with) — when the hotspot is plugged in at the same time my USB TV Tuner is plugged in, the TV tuner doesn't work. I can be watching TV, and plug in the hotspot, and suddenly the TV stream will just freeze and all attempts to access the device freeze the program attempting to do so, and I can't even shut down windows cleanly (system hangs on shutdown). As soon as I unplug the hotspot, the TV programs become responsive again. It took me a while to find the connection between this freeze on the TV tuner and the hotspot USB connection, but it's pretty clear.
So now I'm trying to find another way to access the wireless network without buying a wireless network adapter. I tried configuring my Linksys Wireless-G router as a Gateway, but I don't think that works between wireless networks because there's no place to enter into the router the parameters of the wireless network that I want it to connect to, and the only connection I can make between my desktop and the Linksys WRT54G is an ethernet cable. Am I missing something? Is there a way to configure the Linksys router to "participate" in an existing wireless network, or do I just need to get a wireless network adapter? I thought maybe I can try to set the router up with the exact same wireless network parameters that I am using on the hotspot, but that just seems like a recipe for conflicts… any chance it would work itself out and just form a larger version of the same network?
Best Answer
USB is cooperative, it could be bandwidth, power or it could be that the two devices don't play nicely. If you haven't already tried, try putting the two devices in different USB ports on the computer, (i.e., not off a hub or anything).
You can use a wifi router to do what you're trying, but not normally with the default firmware. Check the following projects to see if your router can run the non-standard firmware:
Then configure the wifi router for bridge-mode. E.g.
http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Client_Bridged