Can I combine a 4G/5G Cellular Dongle and my Android phone's Internet connection on my Mac? You can, with Speedify

This article explains how to use Speedify on your Mac to combine a 4G/5G cellular dongle with your Android phone's cellular connection, so you get faster upload and download speeds and stay online even if one connection drops.

What You'll Need

• A 4G/5G cellular USB dongle with an active data plan
• An Android phone with a data plan
• A way to connect the phone to your Mac (see the note below)
• Speedify installed on your Mac

Important: Because your cellular dongle is using a USB port, your Mac's Wi-Fi is free - so connecting to your Android phone's Wi-Fi hotspot is the easiest way to add its connection. Tethering the phone over USB needs a driver called HoRNDIS, which only works on macOS Mojave (10.14) and older and does not work at all on Apple Silicon Macs. Your options, easiest first:

• Connect your Mac to your Android's Wi-Fi hotspot. Recommended, and it works on every current Mac.
• Tether your Android over Bluetooth. Slower than Wi-Fi, but it works on current versions of macOS.
• Tether your Android over USB. Only on macOS Mojave and older, and not on Apple Silicon.
• Use Speedify's Pair & Share feature to add your phone's cellular connection wirelessly. See the section at the end of this article.

Let's Get Started

Step 1: Connect Your 4G / 5G Cellular Dongle

Note: Before purchasing or connecting a cellular USB dongle, verify that it is compatible with macOS and that your data plan supports it. Some dongles require additional drivers or proprietary dialer software from the carrier or manufacturer before your Mac can use them to connect to the internet.

Plug your 4G/5G cellular USB dongle into an available USB port on your Mac. If the dongle requires dialer software, launch it and follow the on-screen instructions to establish a cellular connection. If the dongle connects automatically, macOS will recognize it as a new network interface.

To confirm the dongle is connected, open System Settings, click Network, and look for your dongle listed as an active connection.

Need help with this step? See Connecting a 4G / 5G USB Dongle on macOS.

Step 2: Add Your Android Phone's Connection

On your Android phone, swipe down from the top of the screen, touch and hold Hotspot, and turn on the Wi-Fi hotspot. Then on your Mac, open System Settings, click Wi-Fi, and join the network your phone is broadcasting.

To confirm both connections are active, open System Settings and click Network. You should see your dongle and your Wi-Fi connection to the phone listed as two separate active connections.

Need help with this step? Visit Google's knowledge base to learn more.

Note: Make sure mobile data is turned on and Wi-Fi is turned off on your Android phone. If the phone is connected to a Wi-Fi network itself, it will share that connection instead of its cellular data - which defeats the point of this setup.

Note: Some mobile carriers limit tethering or charge extra for it. Check with your carrier first. Some of these steps only work on Android 9 and up.

Step 3: Download and Install Speedify

Download and install Speedify on your Mac if you haven't already. Once Speedify is running, it will automatically detect both your 4G/5G cellular dongle and your Android phone's connection and begin combining them. No manual configuration is needed.

If one connection slows down or drops, Speedify keeps you online with the other.

Watch Your Data Usage

Both of the connections in this setup are metered cellular plans, so bonding them means you are drawing down two data allowances at the same time. Speedify's Data Limits feature lets you set a monthly cap per connection and choose whether Speedify stops using that connection or throttles it when the cap is reached.

See Speedify Data Limits Overview to set this up before you start.

Alternative: Combine a 4G / 5G Cellular Dongle and Tethered Android on Mac Easier

Speedify's Pair & Share feature lets your Mac borrow your Android's cellular connection with no cable and no driver. It works on any Mac that runs Speedify, including the newest ones.

1. Install Speedify on all devices
2. Join the same Wi-Fi or local network
3. Pull up the Pair & Share settings in Speedify and tap on the desired device to send an invitation to pair
4. Tap accept on the other device

Once paired, both devices can share and receive each other's connections at the same time. The more devices you pair with, the more connections you have. Traffic between paired devices is fully encrypted, and you stay in control: set permissions, set limits, or unpair at any time.