Help *Hotspot and Wireless USB adapter for Windows Desktop help

[azyardies]

I am helping an elderly friend who lives in a different city as I do.
She has a desktop Windows XP sp2 Older pc. Does not have built in wireless card.
She has an LG F6 Optimus phone using Tmobile. Her mobile Data limit is small, maybe 1g, but will still have connectivity to data just slower till the new month cycle begins.
There is NO internet connection (No wifi, no router, no service provider, etc) in the home.

We are going to be using her cell phone as a hot spot for her PC so that she can:
Surf web, read email, maybe you tube, maybe go to CBS web site to see a show that she might
have missed seeing when aired. Since her PC is does not have wireless card installed, we need to
get her an wifi adapter (maybe easier than getting an internal card)

I need advice on which wifi USB wireless adapter is a good one (not expensive either) to get her.

I had got online a generic cheapy nano dongle that came with a CD. I fussed with it trying to set up a profile, & at times it was working, then not working. But got it to work fine finally. So I thought. Anyways, I left town and when she tried to use it the next day, it had to be configured all over again and troubleshoot. By phone we tried troubleshooting to get this working again and the dongle would not connect, and needed to be configured (which I tried so many steps the night before when I dont even remember what worked or didnt).
But I am now looking another one that is an easy Plug n play usb dongle that will require less fuss to set up AND STAY set up. They all claim to be plug and play with little configuration, so maybe the cheapy generic one we tried to use could not cut it.

I have researched a few but would like your input on a USB dongle to make her Desktop wireless so that she can use her phone as a hotspot. As I said her Cell phone will be the only internet in the home (though there is dial up now, but we are going to remove that soon since it is worthless.)

Some reviews I saw online suggest getting one that is 801.11g or n. Some stated that certain usb models of Linksys gets too hot, drops connection, etc. Since she can place her cell near the PC, distance shouldn't be an issue.
Please advice, thanks in advance

 

[Fox Mulder]

The phone also has built-in USB tethering so you should be able to use that without having to buy a WiFi adapter. Metro as of a few days ago has made the hotspot feature free and this should apply to the USB tether as well, although you'd have to try it. Doing so would be as easy as plugging the phone into the PC with a standard data/charging cable and making sure the LG drivers are installed.
The real problem will be the low data limit on that plan. I believe Metro has raised the limits somewhat but it won't take much to burn through it especially with any amount of video downloading or streaming. Once you hit throttling the data speed drops to 128K which is all but useless for most internet stuff. If this is going to be her only internet connection it may be worth upgrading to the $60 unlimited plan which has a 6GB high-speed tethering limit and separately unlimited high-speed data for the phone. That said, using a phone as a primary connection in place of cable is not the best idea. The network isn't designed for it and it may technically violate Metro's terms of service. (Just saying that as an FYI, in this case it's not likely that her usage would raise any red flags).

 

[azyardies]

The phone also has built-in USB tethering so you should be able to use that without having to buy a WiFi adapter. Metro as of a few days ago has made the hotspot feature free and this should apply to the USB tether as well, although you'd have to try it. Doing so would be as easy as plugging the phone into the PC with a standard data/charging cable and making sure the LG drivers are installed.
The real problem will be the low data limit on that plan. I believe Metro has raised the limits somewhat but it won't take much to burn through it especially with any amount of video downloading or streaming. Once you hit throttling the data speed drops to 128K which is all but useless for most internet stuff. If this is going to be her only internet connection it may be worth upgrading to the $60 unlimited plan which has a 6GB high-speed tethering limit and separately unlimited high-speed data for the phone. That said, using a phone as a primary connection in place of cable is not the best idea. The network isn't designed for it and it may technically violate Metro's terms of service. (Just saying that as an FYI, in this case it's not likely that her usage would raise any red flags).

Hi Fox Mulder,
I did consider doing the usb tethering with the physical cables, but did not consider that drivers would need to be installed. So, we would have to get drivers online & install to support the usb cable tethering feature, right? Or would windows search for them when prompted? I could use the generic dongle already installed in her PC, next time I go to her town to search online. Or can I copy the driver to a flash drive and install from that? Would you know where I can locate the drivers?

I may consider USB physical tethering, if she is. I just want to make this as simple as possible where all she has to do is turn on the hotspot on her cell, and the pc connects automatically once detected. But, will definitely keep this option open. Still, a USB dongle is my first choice if possible.

And I dont believe that she will be using the Hotspot internet at home as much non stop. I myself, when home, use CABLE internet non stop. I do everything online. She more likely wont. She just started using & Liking Social sites and uses that more than anything & uses her phone for that. And when her PC gets going, she may use it there too. And of course it is possible that she may like the faster speed see gets from using her hot spot on the PC so much, and be tempted to use more her PC. Dont blame her, though, since all she has had is dial up ever.
She said once that she didnt want to get dsl, cable, etc internet at home because she doesnt use her PC that much. And uses her cell for cell things. But It is an area that we will research to compare prices if upgrading data on her phone is
too high.

Which she already stated that she could upgrade her plan some, but we havent got that far into looking into prices.

BTW, she is on a family plan with T-Mobile. ... Not metro.
I appreciate the info. Any other info on USB dongles would be appreciated too.
Thanks

 

[Fox Mulder]

Oops sorry I missed the mention of T-Mobile in your first post, I saw F6 and my brain went to Metro as I know they offered that phone.
So the available plans will be different than Metro even though T-Mo owns both, as they do maintain separate marketing. My advice about data plans and throttling still applies, that current 1GB plan will be of little use for this purpose. I'm not familiar with the current T-Mo offerings but they have also made the hotspot feature free with their prepaid plans. This is all due to the net neutrality rules taking effect, it's not out of the goodness of their hearts. You'd have to check with T-Mo for what she is entitled to with her current plan and what the upgrade options are. Any of the plans are going to have a limit on the hotspot/tethered data with throttling thereafter, and I wouldn't be surprised to see her exceeding the limit regularly if she watches TV shows. Ultimately my guess is she may end up getting a proper broadband connection to her house.
As for drivers, I believe there may be some built into the phone that it will install when plugged into a PC. However the best way to proceed is to go to the LG website and download the latest drivers for the phone.
One last note, while her old XP machine may still work the operating system is now end-of-life and Microsoft is no longer providing security updates. This may not have been an issue up to now since she hasn't gone online with it, but it could be once it has an internet connection. Be sure Windows Firewall is turned on and consider security software.