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Stay Connected on the Go: How to Turn Your Phone Into a Mobile Hotspot
For individuals seeking internet access while traveling or working remotely, utilizing a mobile hotspot is a practical solution. When venturing away from your home or office and needing to get online with your laptop or tablet, you have essentially two primary choices for maintaining connectivity: searching for a public Wi-Fi network or creating a Wi-Fi hotspot using your smartphone. This article guides you through setting up a phone hotspot on various devices, allowing you to establish your own secure and portable internet connection.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Your Phone as a Hotspot
Employing your phone as a mobile hotspot presents both benefits and drawbacks. A personal hotspot offers enhanced security compared to often-unsecured public Wi-Fi networks. Furthermore, you might experience improved upload and download speeds, although this factor is contingent on the strength of 4G or 5G network coverage in your geographical location. Conversely, using your phone as a hotspot may deplete your phone’s battery more rapidly, and your data usage could be restricted by your mobile plan’s allowance.
If you decide to use the mobile hotspot option, follow these instructions for different smartphone platforms:
Set Up a Hotspot on a Pixel Device
The procedure for activating a hotspot on Android devices can differ slightly depending on the specific manufacturer. Below are the steps for Pixel phones running Android 15:
- Navigate to Settings on your Pixel phone.
- Select Network & Internet, then proceed to Hotspot & tethering.
- To activate the hotspot, you can toggle the Wi-Fi hotspot switch. For first-time setup or to modify settings, tap on Wi-Fi hotspot.
- Configure your hotspot options, such as setting the network name (SSID) and password that other devices will use to connect. You can also enable automatic shutdown of the hotspot when it is no longer in use and utilize Instant Hotspot for automatic login on your other devices linked to your Google account.
- Activate the Use Wi-Fi hotspot toggle switch to finalize and enable your personal hotspot.
Important note: If Android’s Data Saver mode is active, which restricts background data usage for certain applications, it must be disabled to enable hotspot functionality.
Set Up a Hotspot on a Samsung Galaxy Device
The process is marginally different for Samsung Galaxy devices operating on One UI 7:
- Access Settings on your Samsung Galaxy phone.
- Tap Connections, and then select Mobile Hotspot and Tethering.
- You can quickly turn on Mobile Hotspot with the toggle switch. To review or change settings like the network name and password, tap on Mobile Hotspot. The settings also include an Auto Hotspot feature for easy sharing with other Samsung devices logged into the same Samsung account, as well as data usage information.
- Toggle Mobile Hotspot to the on position to activate the hotspot feature.
Set Up a Hotspot on an iPhone
For users with iPhones running iOS 18, adhere to these steps:
- Launch Settings on your iPhone.
- Select Personal Hotspot.
- Turn on the Allow Others to Join switch to enable the hotspot.
- Activate Maximize Compatibility if you require the hotspot to broadcast on the 2.4GHz Wi-Fi band instead of 5GHz. The 2.4GHz band offers broader compatibility with older devices but provides slower speeds.
The Wi-Fi hotspot name will be the same as your iPhone’s name, which can be customized in Settings > General > About > Name. The hotspot password is displayed on the Personal Hotspot settings screen and can be modified by tapping on it.
Apple also provides an Instant Hotspot feature. With hotspot enabled on your iPhone, other Apple devices like iPads and Macs associated with the same Apple ID can connect to it effortlessly with a single tap, bypassing the need to manually enter the password.
Data Plan Considerations for Mobile Hotspots
While many mobile providers now offer plans with substantial or unlimited data allowances, it’s crucial to understand that hotspot data may be treated separately from regular mobile data. If you plan to frequently use your phone as a Wi-Fi hotspot, it is essential to verify the specifics of your data plan to understand any limitations.
For instance, Verizon’s Unlimited Plus plan, priced at $40 monthly, includes 30GB of high-speed hotspot data per month. AT&T’s Unlimited Extra EL plan, costing $41 per month, also provides 30GB of high-speed hotspot data. Exceeding these data limits typically results in significantly reduced speeds for the remainder of the billing cycle.
Dedicated Hotspot Devices: An Alternative
Another option to consider is purchasing a dedicated mobile hotspot device, such as those offered by T-Mobile. These devices require a separate SIM card and data plan, which can represent a more substantial investment. However, dedicated hotspots often deliver superior performance, particularly when connecting multiple devices simultaneously, and eliminate battery drain concerns on your primary phone.
Models like the Netgear Nighthawk M6, priced between $500 and $600, can provide Wi-Fi 6 speeds to as many as 32 devices with a suitable SIM card. Although a considerable expense, these devices offer enhanced range and speed compared to phone-based hotspots and can even serve as a backup internet solution for your home network in case of broadband outages.