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 connection with your Android phone's internet connection via USB tethering, giving you faster upload and download speeds and a more reliable connection.

What You'll Need

  • A 4G/5G USB cellular dongle
  • An Android phone with an active mobile data plan
  • A USB cable to connect your Android phone to your Mac
  • HoRNDIS, a free third-party driver that enables Android USB tethering on macOS
  • Speedify installed on your Mac
Note: HoRNDIS doesn't work on Apple Silicon (M series chip) Macs.

Let's Get Started

Step 1: Connect your USB cellular dongle to your Mac

Plug your cellular dongle into a USB port on your Mac.

To confirm the dongle is recognized, go to System Preferences > Network and look for your dongle listed on the left. It should show as connected.

Step 2: Install the HoRNDIS driver

macOS doesn't natively support Android USB tethering, so you'll need to install HoRNDIS first. Download and installation instructions are available on the HoRNDIS website.

Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the installation, then restart your Mac if prompted.

Step 3: Enable USB tethering on your Android phone

Connect your Android phone to your Mac using a USB cable. A notification will appear at the top of your phone's screen. Swipe down from the top > touch and hold Hotspot > turn on USB tethering.

Need help finding this setting? Visit Google's support page on USB tethering for device-specific instructions.

Important: If your Android phone is connected to a Wi-Fi network, USB tethering will share that Wi-Fi connection rather than your mobile data. To bring your phone's 4G/5G cellular connection into the mix, make sure Wi-Fi is turned off on your phone and mobile data is enabled.

Step 4: Confirm your Mac recognizes the Android tethered connection

On your Mac, go to System Preferences > Network, then select your Android phone from the list on the left. In the right pane, make sure the "Disable unless needed" checkbox is unchecked under Status.

Your Android phone's connection should now appear as an active network interface alongside your cellular dongle.

Step 5: Open Speedify

Launch Speedify on your Mac. Speedify will automatically detect both your cellular dongle and your USB-tethered Android connection and begin combining them into a single, faster and more stable internet connection.

Speedify's Pair and Share Feature

Want a wireless way to combine your Mac's Ethernet connection with your Android phone's 4G/5G cellular connection? Use the Speedify Pair and Share feature.

  1. Install Speedify on both your Mac and your Android phone.
  2. Make sure both devices are on the same Wi-Fi network or local network.
  3. In Speedify, open the Pair and Share settings and tap the device you want to pair with to send an invitation.
  4. Accept the pairing request on the other device.

Once paired, Android will share it's Cellular connections with the mac. All internet traffic between devices is fully encrypted, and you stay in full control over which devices can share what. You can set permissions, apply limits, or unpair devices at any time.

Did you know - Speedify can combine more than just two internet connections at once? Add another connection to the mix for even faster upload and download speeds. Learn how to combine multiple internet connections with Speedify.