Forum Discussion

TenOC's avatar
TenOC
Nomad
Jul 06, 2021

AT&T Netgear AirCard 815S - Tethering to laptop

I have an AT&T Netgear AirCard 815S. It is working well. But I have 2 questions

The battery is charged from a USB3 cable. Once the battery is fully charged it says “please disconnect from charger”. Since I do not use this as a mobile hotspot but as a permanent hotspot in my RV, will I damage the battery by leaving it plugged in continuously?

If I plug the USB3 cable into my laptop I believe this is “tethering” the air card to my laptop. Does this mean that my laptop is connected directly through the air card to the Internet without using the Wi-Fi feature? What is an advantage of this tethering versus using the Wi-Fi? Is one faster than the other?
  • magicbus's avatar
    magicbus
    Explorer II
    Jul 06, 2021
    There have been reports of swelling batteries if the charger is left plugged in. Before my 815S died and I switched to an LB120 modem (so I could use a better router) I used to leave it plugged in all the time with the battery removed.

    I think when you plug into the laptop USB you will be just charging. I suspect that the 815S could use this connection in place of wifi but I imagine you would have to configure that.

    Dave
  • jcpainter's avatar
    jcpainter
    Explorer
    Jul 06, 2021
    SOME of the Nighthawks (815s) have been reported to continue working when they are plugged in and then the battery is removed. . . but not all of them will work this way.

    What you can do to prolong battery life is to remove the rear cover while it's plugged in. That keeps the battery cooler and delay the battery from swelling.
  • Dutch_12078's avatar
    Dutch_12078
    Explorer II
    Jul 06, 2021
    I have my 815s power supply plugged into a simple timer that turns it on for an hour every three hours.
  • LouLawrence's avatar
    LouLawrence
    Explorer
    Jul 06, 2021
    The router should work just fine without a battery. I left it plugged in with the battery and the battery did swell and I had to order another. I then left the battery out and only but it back if I had to take it out of the RV. I would leave the battery out and the router plugged in and call it a day. You don't have to plug it into your computer, any charging cable will keep it alive.

About RV Must Haves

Have a product you cannot live without? Share it with the community!8,793 PostsLatest Activity: Aug 22, 2023