Increase Starlink Bandwidth and Reduce Latency on Ubuntu by Combining with a Tethered Android
Ubuntu Linux can use Starlink and a USB-tethered Android phone at the same time, so the phone’s 4G/5G cellular covers for Starlink when it slows down or drops.
Speedify is an app that combines two or more internet connections at once, such as Starlink and an Android phone’s 4G/5G cellular connection, so you get faster uploads and downloads and stay online if one connection drops. With the phone unplugged, Speedify has nothing to switch to: on Starlink alone, it works as an encrypted VPN and cannot stop Starlink from dropping.
This guide shows how to combine Starlink with a tethered Android phone on Ubuntu Linux using Speedify.
Note: Combine internet connections from different sources. Connecting to the same router over both Wi-Fi and Ethernet does not add speed, because both share one internet connection.
3 Steps to Combine Starlink Internet and Tethered Android on Ubuntu Linux
Step 1: Connect to Your Starlink Wi-Fi Hotspot
First, set up your Starlink with the instructions that came in the box. This includes your Starlink Wi-Fi network name and password.
On your Ubuntu computer, open the system menu at the right side of the top bar and click the arrow next to Wi-Fi. Choose your Starlink Wi-Fi network and enter its password to connect. On Ubuntu 22.04 and earlier, choose Wi-Fi > Select Network instead.
Step 2: Connect Your Android Device to Linux and Enable USB Tethering
Connect your Android phone to your Ubuntu computer with a USB cable. A notification shows at the top of your phone's screen. Swipe down from the top of the screen, touch and hold Hotspot, and turn on USB tethering.
You can also turn it on in Settings: Connections > Mobile Hotspot and Tethering > USB tethering on a Samsung Galaxy, or Network & internet > Hotspot & tethering > USB tethering on a Google Pixel.
Ubuntu starts using your tethered Android phone, and the system menu shows it as a wired connection.
Note: If your Android phone is also connected to Wi-Fi, USB tethering shares that Wi-Fi connection, not its 4G/5G cellular. To share 4G/5G cellular, turn on Mobile data and turn off Wi-Fi on your phone.
Step 3: Download and Install Speedify
Download and install Speedify. Speedify is an app that combines your Starlink with the other internet connections on your device, so your internet is faster, more reliable, and more secure.
Once running, Speedify finds your internet connections on its own and splits your traffic across them. If Starlink drops, Speedify moves your traffic to the internet connections that still work. Video calls and live streams get priority over background downloads and updates.
To see how each internet connection is doing, or to set a data limit on one, click or tap it in Speedify.
Speedify's cellular sharing adds more 4G/5G cellular: phones and computers running Speedify on the same local network share their 4G/5G cellular with each other.
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