Pixel 9a and tethering. Can't get it to work

[pgitta]

RouterOS v6.49.19 (stable)
Pixel 9a

Tethering works with cheap travel router. Using same cable. No Lte appears. Any ideas?

[BartoszP]

Hi,

Trying to understand the post

What model of Mikrotik do you use? Does it have WiFi at all?
Did you manage to install ROS 6.49.19 on it?
What type of cable? What does it connect and how?
Where Lte does not appear?
What ideas do you expect?

[pgitta]

No Wifi
Yes, using latest firmware version.

USB-C cable, used to connect smartphone to router for USM internet tethering

LTE should appear when connected as a new interface under interfaces. It does not.

Here is the procedure:

Steps for USB Tethering to a MikroTik Router

1. **1.** **Enable USB Tethering on your Phone:**

  * Connect your Android phone to the MikroTik router via a USB cable.
  * On your phone, go to the Settings app.
  * Navigate to Network & internet, then Hotspot & tethering.
  * Turn on USB tethering.

2. **2.** **Configure the MikroTik Router:**

  * The MikroTik router will detect the new USB connection as a new interface (e.g., [LTE1](https://www.google.com/search?cs=0&sca_esv=e126eb4d051b0442&q=LTE1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjosOH7t86PAxXwv4kEHRaTOMwQxccNegQIGxAB&mstk=AUtExfBDIbbrPwKctid-5WlAot7oOfxdkMuhuqQcOQDWqBZNyEM1ZD2Rb1jP5wmBtmXPEcQk80DlfEOGMjEggDHlaan-p4WH1cuzDFDkiNGdPCWpTJetUpejEf984CjifI4LGsiQ6DDkXZor6wBrOtoKaP1ePvD7ibbKOLRESW9n7N5XWKc&csui=3)).
  * You will need to configure the router's firewall settings to allow devices on your local network to access the internet through this new phone connection.
  * You can also set up the router to use the phone's connection as a primary, secondary, or backup internet connection for the entire network.

[BartoszP]

Where you have the procedure from? Any kind of Chatbot?

[pgitta]

Yes. The instructions were from an AI search, HOWEVER. After upgrading to the 7.19.4 firmware, now an inactive interface called "lte1" exists. Then if I connect my phone, after a VERY long wait (5-7 minutes) activity starts happening on that interface. But in DHCP Client, where the instructions say to create a new client, one already exists and has no options available to configure.

Disconnecting main WAN still results in no internet. Tether does not failover to provide internet

[BartoszP]

You are just the next victim of AI creativity.

As I wrote earlier: AI serves answers that have high enough level of acceptance of a reader, then you are on your own.

[pgitta]

Of course that dumb AI is far from perfect, but I am not familiar with this router's interface, so I used it to try to get a general idea of where to look.

So what is my solution then?

[tangent]

Let's clarify: are you running a USB cable from the hEX to the smartphone and expecting that this will turn the router into an LTE/5G-connected router?

[pgitta]

I am running a USB cable from my smartphone (with USB tethering enabled) to the HEX so that the internet data from the phone is shared on the HEX's lte1 interface for backup use if/when the main internet source is down.

[BartoszP]

That idea is generaly good as an idea per se.

The problem is that the solution is just a general idea how it should work if it were designed to work that way.

If you ask AI "how to make a router model XYZ branded XCV a LTE hot spot?" then the answer would be the same.

MT devices are there picky about recognizing external USB stuff, let alone supporting them.

[pgitta]

Well, I have a chepo $25 travel router that does it fine, and I doubt AI would have spit out such specific instructions if the HEX was not able to as well. I assume it's a firmware version issue or something. As I said, with the newest firmware, the interface does eventually show traffic from my phones connection. I just cant figure out how to associate that [lte1] interface to DHCP so the network devices can utilize its internet

[BartoszP]

@pgitta

I doubt AI would have spit out such specific instructions

DO you fully believe the AI? Lucky you.

@pgitta

I have a chepo $25 travel router that does it fine

Does it also do BGP, OSPF, MPLS, SMB ... etc? Not? Just because it is specialized to be cheap LTE router?

[jaclaz]

Well, if a Lte1 interface appears, it appears.

From that to having the router work there might be a long way, and the configuration needs to be adapted, besides simply attaching a DHCP client to it.
Typically the LTE1 interface needs to be categorized as WAN (to allow connection through default firewall and use the default masquerade) but there may be additional settings needing to be changed .

Post your configuration twice, once without the phone connected and once with It (if they are different), instructions here:

Forum rules

Hello and welcome to the Mikrotik forum For all new users that uses RouterOS for the first time and have some questions regarding their config here is short tutorial on how to access RouterOS configuration using “WinBox” and how to export their configuration and posting it properly in their topic. So after you unpack your new device and connect it to the power supply you need to connect it to the PC. Be careful when connecting because to access your new router you need to use one of…

@BartoszP
Some phone devices being recognized as Lte1 has been reported starting from early v7 releases, example:

No LTE interface when router tethered to Android phone

I’ve got a new Moto G Power running android 10. When I tether it by USB to my RB951ui-2HnD no LTE interface is created. The only sign of the tethering in the router is in System-Resouces-USB where it is listed. This phone replaced a Moto G 6 which had no problem being tethered and creating an LTE interface. The router is running v6.46.6. I’ve tested with several other routers (hAPac, hAPacLite & hAP ac2) and all failed to create an LTE interface. The phone has no problem when tethered to a…

[BartoszP]

@jaclaz

@BartoszP
Some phone devices being recognized as Lte1 has been reported starting from early v7 releases, example:

That is why I wrote

@BartoszP

MT devices are there picky about recognizing external USB stuff, let alone supporting them.

[jaclaz]

Yep , we have no way to know if the specific device will work, but the concept in itself is not completely wrong, at least starting from v7.x, though there are reports of some devices working also on v6.x, namely some Samsung devices:

Android USB Tethering

Thanks for sharing, yeah I managed to get it working. I did some silly mistakes. I’m sharing my steps for those who finds it hard to get things around and need more specific details. Step 1. Make sure your android phone is plugged into your Mikrotik. Step 2. Power on your Mikrotik. Step 3. Enable USB tethering on your Android phone when the check box is active. Step 4. Noticed that in your “Interfaces” will show “lte1” Step 5. Go to IP-> DHCP Client an obtain IP address for your “lte1” …

I seem to remember that the Pixel's (at least earlier models) are somehow more picky/tricky than other devices so it may be the specific device/Android version that creates the issue[1].

[1] As a parallel example, years ago, it was common with PC's in the world of BartPE's the exclamation "Oh, noes, it's a Dell!" because the good Dell guys used to make some (slight) BIOS modifications that made booting a PE more troublesome.

[pgitta]

Well, I actually figured it out. Involved adding a NAT entry and setting up Netwatch to allow it to failover to the lte1 interface when the main WAN goes down.

Thanks to everyone for your help and comments!