Step-by-Step Guide on How to Combine 10 Internet Connections
You can combine multiple cellular connections on one Windows PC by tethering several phones to it and having Speedify use all of them at the same time; the Speedify team did it with 10 phones. With only two phones, start with tethering two phones to a Windows PC.
Speedify is an app that combines two or more internet connections at once, such as several tethered iPhones and Android phones, so you get faster uploads and downloads and stay online if one connection drops out. On a single connection, Speedify works as an encrypted VPN and cannot make that connection faster. Here is how the Speedify team combined 10 connections into one.
Speedify uses every internet connection your device has, at the same time
How do I use WiFi and 4G/5G cellular at the same time with Speedify?
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What You Need to Combine 10 Connections: Speedify, One Windows PC and 10 Phones
Here is the hardware the Speedify team used to combine the 10 connections:
- a laptop running Windows 10,
- 6 iPhones (6S to X),
- 4 Android smartphones.
Speedify is what makes this possible: its connection-combining technology lets you combine multiple Internet connections at the same time. Speedify is not a load balancer, which sends each download or stream over a single connection; Speedify splits traffic per packet across all of them.
Speedify encrypts those packets and sends them in parallel over all available internet connections to Speedify’s speed servers in the cloud, which put them back together. With 2 or more connections, you get their combined bandwidth. If one of the connections drops, Speedify will automatically route the traffic to the active ones until the connection is restored, so you stay connected.
Ten phones is a demonstration, not a requirement. The same setup works with two or three connections, and they do not all have to be phones: on a Windows PC or Mac, Speedify can combine wired Ethernet, USB Wi-Fi adapters, 4G/5G cellular USB dongles and tethered phones, and on a phone it combines Wi-Fi and 4G/5G cellular. USB Wi-Fi adapters work on a Mac only with an Intel Mac on macOS 11 Big Sur. None of this needs a load balancing router or other combining hardware: the Speedify app does the combining.
Shopping List for a 10-Phone Tethering Rig
Want your own 10-connection rig? Here is all the hardware the Speedify team used:
- 10 Port USB Hub
- 10 Phone Holders
- 10 Lightning Cables (Or Mini/Micro USB Cables for Android Devices)
- 8’ (approx. 2.5 m) Length of 3/4” (approx. 19 mm) PVC for the Frame
How to Build a Stand for 10 Tethered Phones
Here is a photo of the 10-connection stand the Speedify team built from these materials. Any design works, but keep these points in mind:
- make sure you have easy access to the smartphones
- arrange the USB cables neatly
- label each USB cable on both ends with colored tape, so you can trace a faulty cable quickly
Steps for Combining 10 Internet Connections
Once the frame of your rig is in place, follow these steps:
- Connect the USB hub to the PC.
- Put each phone into a holder.
- Connect a USB cable to the phone.
- Plug the other end of the USB cable into the USB hub.
- Turn on USB tethering on the phone. Read the important notes below first.
- After all 10 phones are connected (repeat steps 2 to 5), start Speedify on the PC.
- Speedify detects all 10 connections and combines them. In the Speedify team’s test, ten connections of 3 to 4 Mbps each added up to a 40 Mbps internet connection.
You can also set a data limit for each connection in the Speedify app on your PC, so you do not pay extra for going over a phone plan’s data cap.
Important Notes for Tethering an iPhone over USB
To a Windows PC
- On Windows, install iTunes or the Apple Devices app first. Both include the Apple drivers Windows needs to use a USB-tethered iPhone.
- When you connect an iPhone to your computer, the iPhone asks whether to “Trust This Computer.” Tap “Trust.”
To a macOS computer
- As on Windows, tap “Trust” when the iPhone asks whether to “Trust This Computer.”
- On macOS, you can tether only one iPhone over USB at a time.
- In System Settings > Network (System Preferences > Network on macOS 12 Monterey and earlier), select your connected iPhone (in this example, “iPhone USB”) and uncheck the “Disable unless needed” option. Speedify can then use the tethered connection even while your Mac is connected to a Wi-Fi network.
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