Android Cheapest 5G phone to use as hotspot?

[9xsearch]

I've been running a Huawei 4G CPE as a backup connection but would like to explore using 5G. However, I couldn't find any 5G CPE available within India and even those available in other countries cost a lot more (around 20 to 25K?) which is just too much, not to mention customs is a pain... not worth the hassle.

I'd like to try using a 5G phone as a hotspot, probably via the usb OTG and get ethernet through it. I hear latest Androids can all do that, but what about power and keeping it topped up?

(note: I know we can do usb tethering, and I do have a router that can accept it but I'd like to run ethernet so that I can place the mobile as open to the outside as possible to get the most out of 5G since placing it indoor is probably not going to be speedy)

Which 5G phone is the cheapest, that supports all the bands currently available here? Budget is probably as cheap as possible; will also need to buy the OTG dongle and figure out how to charge. Any help is appreciated!

 

[gokul.ece22]

Avoid using mobile as hotspot for longer duration.
Battery charge will deplete rapidly, when used as hotspot. so you will keep charging it. As a result the battery will die sooner or will get bulged.
Next the motherboard will also die sooner, or the network ic gets damaged due to heat.

My colleagues tried to use 4G mobiles as hotspot during WFH and the mobiles died.
Network ic gone in few mobiles and motherboard died in remaining.

If it is for backup connection and will be used for less hours, then no problem.
avoid xiaomi, poco phones, recently seeing more motherboard failures in these models.

 

[solo_wing]

Avoid using mobile as hotspot for longer duration.
Battery charge will deplete rapidly, when used as hotspot. so you will keep charging it. As a result the battery will die sooner or will get bulged.
Next the motherboard will also die sooner, or the network ic gets damaged due to heat.

My colleagues tried to use 4G mobiles as hotspot during WFH and the mobiles died.
Network ic gone in few mobiles and motherboard died in remaining.

If it is for backup connection and will be used for less hours, then no problem.
avoid xiaomi, poco phones, recently seeing more motherboard failures in these models.

Good points put forward.

I am so glad I went for 5G iPad pro instead of just wifi.

I keep using my mobile for hotspots and trust me battery has show depletion now.

My friend had come to stay with me at got his iPhone 14 pro Max and I was using his hotspot . Even if he was complaining "Bhai mobile kafi garam hogaya hai band kardoon" and I went and touched his mobile ...it was frying hot. I could cook egg on it.
I realised how damaging it is to use hotspot.
Though i still use it sometimes because of jio 5G very good connection at my remote area and being unlimited for now.
( Sorry for diverting a little bit anyone can also answer how long will jio give 5G unlimited...it is too good to be continued for long I guess).

Anyways back to topic and straight to point. Avoid mobile as 5G hotspot unless you are ready to throw your mobile after a while.

 

[9xsearch]

Thanks both for your inputs! So the main problem is heat and battery bulging.

Some phones have capability to limit battery to x %, what if we use that to limit, will heat still be a problem? Or, If I remove the back cover and solder a similar voltage connection to the battery terminals (of course after removing said battery) then there won't be any issue right?

Unless mobiles are inherently inferior to CPEs, i.e not capable of running 24/7?

 

[solo_wing]

Thanks both for your inputs! So the main problem is heat and battery bulging.

Some phones have capability to limit battery to x %, what if we use that to limit, will heat still be a problem? Or, If I remove the back cover and solder a similar voltage connection to the battery terminals (of course after removing said battery) then there won't be any issue right?

Unless mobiles are inherently inferior to CPEs, i.e not capable of running 24/7?

Bit technical for me.
Will leave the more experience to answer.

Hope you find a better solution. I am interested to know too what people suggest here.

 

[ze_cook]

Thanks both for your inputs! So the main problem is heat and battery bulging.

Some phones have capability to limit battery to x %, what if we use that to limit, will heat still be a problem? Or, If I remove the back cover and solder a similar voltage connection to the battery terminals (of course after removing said battery) then there won't be any issue right?

Unless mobiles are inherently inferior to CPEs, i.e not capable of running 24/7?

1. Replacing the battery with a fixed voltage (say 4v) source is a good bet, as long as you don't try to charge. A lot of heat is produced from charging the battery as well as power conversion, you're essentially eliminating that.

2. Cell phones cram a lot of tech in a smaller volume, hence higher energy density, lower heat capacity and dissipation. They also run SoCs that consume more power than a traditionally purpose built hardware, and in my experience (at least now), 5G generates more heat (though provides a far better experience).

 

[9xsearch]

Thanks!

I wish we had phones with easy removable back/batteries, guess I'll have to try this experiment carefully.
There's a Lava 5g phone for 10k brand new and its one of the cheapest I could find but it feels like I should buy a used one first since this experiment is likely going to void any warranty whatsoever.

Any other input from other members is much appreciated.

 

[gokul.ece22]

Bit technical for me.
Will leave the more experience to answer.

Hope you find a better solution. I am interested to know too what people suggest here.

You can use a dc power supply machine to power the mobile without battery.
Using 5g network makes the mobile hot compared to using 4g network.

Samsung f14 5G was being sold under 10k in flipkart. Compared to lava, Samsung is better.

https://www.flipkart.com/samsung-galaxy-f14-5g-omg-black-128-gb/p/itmae94033406fb2

9.7k after federal card discount +300 supercoins
10k after federal card discount
one of the 5g best phone with great performance( non gaming) and camera in this budget, already has A14 update released in india.

 

[burntwingzZz]

Thanks!

I wish we had phones with easy removable back/batteries, guess I'll have to try this experiment carefully.
There's a Lava 5g phone for 10k brand new and its one of the cheapest I could find but it feels like I should buy a used one first since this experiment is likely going to void any warranty whatsoever.

Any other input from other members is much appreciated.

Europe is about to bring the law .

But go with any mi ,poco cheap 5g phone no issue under phone warranty surprisingly they have good battery it will degrade but you can replace them and the battery price are already advertised on websites

 

[SilverEyes]

Like everyone said, using a phone exclusively as a source for a 5G signal isn't good. My brother does that, but only for a few hours at a time (the usual issues - battery, heating, etc.)

So, here's the problem:
India currently has 4 bands for 5G - n78 (used by pretty much everyone), n258 (only used by Jio, Airtel and Vi), n28a (only used by Jio) and n28b (only used by Jio). Most cheap phones will support up to 3 of these bands (but usually 2).
Granted, that's probably all you'll ever need - precious few phones actually support all 4 (I think the cheapest one is the Pixel 7 Pro?).
You can use Kimovil to check for phones that work with your service provider (Link) - just change the filters to what bands you want.

If you're okay sticking to one carrier, they now have the Airtel and Jio Air Fiber devices (I think that's what they're called?). Last I heard, they only available in certain cities, so not sure about the availability.
Hope this helps.

 

[solo_wing]

Europe is about to bring the law .

But go with any mi ,poco cheap 5g phone no issue under phone warranty surprisingly they have good battery it will degrade but you can replace them and the battery price are already advertised on websites

That sounds quite a simple solution.

I wonder why we are not seeing market flooded with 5G dongles.

 

[burntwingzZz]

for most of the market cellphones are enough for browsing ,others are using cellphones and some remining are using jio/airtel hotspots . so why get dongle

 

[Seakar]

For 5G bands iam using Motorola mobile. I think only Motorola gives all 5g bands unlocked. Iam using jio 5g network in moto cell phone as usb tethering for live streaming purposes.

 

[9xsearch]

So, here's the problem:
India currently has 4 bands for 5G - n78 (used by pretty much everyone), n258 (only used by Jio, Airtel and Vi), n28a (only used by Jio) and n28b (only used by Jio). Most cheap phones will support up to 3 of these bands (but usually 2).
Granted, that's probably all you'll ever need - precious few phones actually support all 4 (I think the cheapest one is the Pixel 7 Pro?).
You can use Kimovil to check for phones that work with your service provider (Link) - just change the filters to what bands you want.

Woah, that's a cool site, finally I can drill down which phones have specific bands! I wonder how accurate this is?

If you're okay sticking to one carrier, they now have the Airtel and Jio Air Fiber devices (I think that's what they're called?). Last I heard, they only available in certain cities, so not sure about the availability.
Hope this helps.

I would rather not pay for airfiber specifically because its too expensive. I don't need unlimited data, just need reliability when the wired ones go down, so the backup will likely be dormant until I need it - but always plugged in and connected.

For 5G bands iam using Motorola mobile. I think only Motorola gives all 5g bands unlocked. Iam using jio 5g network in moto cell phone as usb tethering for live streaming purposes.

Which moto phone are you using which provides all bands? I checked for Samsung F14, it also gives access to all bands except the mmwave one, which is used for their airfiber devices I think

 

[Seakar]

Woah, that's a cool site, finally I can drill down which phones have specific bands! I wonder how accurate this is?



I would rather not pay for airfiber specifically because its too expensive. I don't need unlimited data, just need reliability when the wired ones go down, so the backup will likely be dormant until I need it - but always plugged in and connected.



Which moto phone are you using which provides all bands? I checked for Samsung F14, it also gives access to all bands except the mmwave one, which is used for their airfiber devices I think

Iam using Motorola G51 5g model. But this model not available now. This is old model. Iam using through usb tethering for 6 to 7 hrs continuously without any problem.

 

[t3chg33k]

That sounds quite a simple solution.

I wonder why we are not seeing market flooded with 5G dongles.

I was reading somewhere that due to hotspot usage, dongle usage has fallen considerably, making it a niche market. 5G modems are still too costly with thermal constraints, thereby making dongles expensive due to the component cost and cooling requirements. Also, the current draw is considerably higher and as of now most USB-A ports are incapable of providing it.

There are USB to M.2 adapters available that plug into M.2 5G modems and are thus effectively a dongle replacement, but again the cost is high. Probably, some will turn up as modem and manufacturing cost reduces.

 

[solo_wing]

I was reading somewhere that due to hotspot usage, dongle usage has fallen considerably, making it a niche market. 5G modems are still too costly with thermal constraints, thereby making dongles expensive due to the component cost and cooling requirements. Also, the current draw is considerably higher and as of now most USB-A ports are incapable of providing it.

There are USB to M.2 adapters available that plug into M.2 5G modems and are thus effectively a dongle replacement, but again the cost is high. Probably, some will turn up as modem and manufacturing cost reduces.

Thanks . Well explained.Makes sense.

 

[Emperor]

@9xsearch , I'm also in same boat, looking to replace Jio MiFi 4G but unable to find any good cheap device (may be 5G Mobile) that I can use for constant connectivity via USB Tethering. My ideal usage is just 3GB per day.

 

[kuduku]

For the same usage i purchased Techno Gamon 20 Pro , It has a Game Mode in which when any app is selected it bypasses battery if charger connected
You can put any range like 30-70% it wont charge even if connected or charge it 85% put game mode original charger and it will bypass battery
For game mode screen needs to be switched on . This has an OLED screen so using a pure black wallpaper and caffeine app which keeps screen switched on indefinitely or desired time limit
Thats my 10k hotpot

 

[burntwingzZz]

For the same usage i purchased Techno Gamon 20 Pro , It has a Game Mode in which when any app is selected it bypasses battery if charger connected
You can put any range like 30-70% it wont charge even if connected or charge it 85% put game mode original charger and it will bypass battery
For game mode screen needs to be switched on . This has an OLED screen so using a pure black wallpaper and caffeine app which keeps screen switched off indefinitely or desired time limit
Thats my 10k hotpot

and an emergency backup phone