Surprise! Samsung's Windows Phone 7 handsets can tether over USB

So, you’re reading that headline, thinking, “But Greg! Microsoft said Windows Phone 7 won’t support USB tethering at launch!“

You’re right, they did. And it doesn’t. At least, most Windows Phone 7 handsets don’t. Mysteriously, Samsung’s do — they just tried to hide it.

Italian gadget blog HDBlog.it spotted the option lingering deep within Windows Phone 7′s debug menu. The catch? It only seems to work with Samsung’s WP7 handsets.

Got an Omnia 7 or Focus? Here’s how to access it:

• Go to the phone dialer
• Punch in ##634#, hit dial. This opens Diagnosis mode.
• Punch in *#7284#, hit dial. This opens the tethering configuration window.
• Select “Modem, tethered call”. Follow the prompts, and then the phone will restart.
• Tada! Tetherable phone. Plug it in via USB, and your computer should see it is a modem/data device.

Good luck!