paperboy via Linux Questions

Wednesday, October 28, 2026, 7:13 PM

paperboy
Wednesday, October 28, 2026, 7:13 PM

Can I make a portable modem out of a linux phone?

Hi all,

I would like to use a linux phone with Ubuntu Touch or PostmarketOS to make a sort of mobile modem which, when my laptop connects to the phone's hotspot, would have Pihole for DNS and a VPN. Is this possible, and which general steps would you recommend to go about it? I have installed PostmarketOS on a Poco F1 and connected to my VPN using openvpn in the terminal, but then when I open a browser on the same phone and check my ip address it shows the address of the wifi I'm connected to, not the VPN. So it seems I have no idea about the architecture of this endeavor.

I hope to have this working by Christmas when I go to visit my parents. The intended internet connection would be

home wifi ---> linux phone [some level of privacy]---> my laptop wifi

Thank you in advance!

#linuxquestions

in reply to paperboy

zewm

in reply to paperboy Wednesday, October 28, 2026, 7:30 PM

Sounds like a travel router with extra steps.

https://a.co/d/0aSGVqpZ

Here is one for $40. Save you all the headache. Just plug in your VPN info and gg.

in reply to zewm

moonpiedumplings

in reply to zewm Wednesday, October 28, 2026, 7:58 PM

I'm not sure if this works for OP's usecase. This one doesn't seem come with the ability to connect to cellular networks.

in reply to moonpiedumplings

zewm

in reply to moonpiedumplings Wednesday, October 28, 2026, 8:38 PM

Homeboy said he was doing WiFi from parent house 🤷‍♂️

in reply to zewm

moonpiedumplings

in reply to zewm Wednesday, October 28, 2026, 8:39 PM

Oh I can't read smh my head

in reply to zewm

paperboy

in reply to zewm Wednesday, October 28, 2026, 8:03 PM

I'm a Linux user, I like all the extra steps ;)

in reply to zewm

qkall

in reply to zewm Wednesday, October 28, 2026, 8:58 PM

thanks for this. insta added to cart. i'm not sure why i never considered this!

Linux Questions reshared this.

in reply to paperboy

moonpiedumplings

in reply to paperboy Wednesday, October 28, 2026, 8:46 PM

I think this project requires for your device's wifi card(s) to be simultaneously serving as a wifi hotspot (technical term is Access Point), and be connected to a wifi. Not every device supports this, and I doubt phones do, but you have to check.

in reply to moonpiedumplings

eyesaremosaics

in reply to moonpiedumplings Wednesday, October 28, 2026, 8:49 PM

Using it in tethering mode over a USB cable might be a better option, I use it all the time instead of a wifi hotspot

in reply to eyesaremosaics

paperboy

in reply to eyesaremosaics Sunday, November 1, 2026, 6:41 PM

This is a great idea, I'll give it a try. I have never tethered an internet connection via USB... is it easy? I'm using debian.

in reply to paperboy

moonpiedumplings

in reply to paperboy Sunday, November 1, 2026, 8:14 PM

It's very easy, consuming USB tethering support is built into all Linux distros.

You just enable it (on the Android phone), plug it in, and then your computer will detect it as an ethernet connection.

wiki.archlinux.org/title/Andro…

Android is easy and requires no config on Debian's side. Iphone's require some support, although I think many distros preinstall the needed tools: wiki.archlinux.org/title/IPhon…

USB tethering from Linux (or a Linux phone) should be possible as well, via NetworkManager: fedoramagazine.org/internet-co…

Internet connection sharing with NetworkManager - Fedora Magazine

NetworkManager is the network configuration daemon used on Fedora and many other distributions. It provides a consistent way to configure network interfaces and other network-related aspects on a Linux machine.

^{Beniamino Galvani (Fedora Magazine)}