Mobile Wi-Fi Hotspot

Set Up a Mobile Hotspot on Your Device

If you’re taking your laptop away from the safe environs of your home or office desk and still want to stay online, you’ve got a couple of choices (assuming it doesn’t have cellular connectivity built in): hunt around for a Wi-Fi network you can connect to or run a Wi-Fi hotspot from your phone.

Running a Hotspot: Advantages and Disadvantages

Running a hotspot from your phone comes with advantages and disadvantages. It’s more secure than a public Wi-Fi network, as you’re in charge, and you may well get better upload and download speeds, too — though this will, of course, depend on the 4G and 5G coverage in your part of the world. On the downside, you may be limited in terms of your data allowance, and battery life on your phone will take a hit.

How to Set Up a Hotspot on Your Device

Set Up a Hotspot on a Pixel

With Android devices, as always, the exact steps vary depending on the manufacturer. These are the steps for using a Pixel device with Android 15:

1. Open Settings on Android.
2. Choose Network & Internet > Hotspot & Tethering.
3. You can toggle Wi-Fi Hotspot from here to enable it, but if you’ve never used the hotspot before, tap on it instead to set your options.
4. You’ll see options to set the Wi-Fi name and password, which other devices need to connect. You can also set the hotspot to turn itself off automatically if it’s no longer being used and use Instant Hotspot to automatically sign in other devices on your account.
5. Enable the Use Wi-Fi Hotspot toggle switch.

Note: If you use Android’s Data Saver, which stops some apps from sending or receiving data in the background, you’ll have to turn it off in order to use the hotspot.

Set Up a Hotspot on a Samsung Galaxy

The steps are slightly different for a Samsung Galaxy device loaded with One UI 7:

1. Open Settings.
2. Select Connections > Mobile Hotspot and Tethering.
3. Again, you can toggle Mobile Hotspot on from here, but you may want to tap on it instead to check the network name and password. There’s also an Auto Hotspot feature so you can automatically share with other devices signed in to the same Samsung account and info on how much mobile data has already been shared.
4. When you’re ready, toggle Mobile Hotspot on.

Set Up a Hotspot on an iPhone

If you’re using an iPhone with iOS 18:

1. Open Settings in iOS.
2. Tap Personal Hotspot.
3. Turn on the Allow Others to Join toggle switch.
4. Enable Maximize Compatibility if you want to use 2.4GHz Wi-Fi (rather than 5GHz) for the hotspot. It’s slower, but it ensures compatibility with older devices.
5. The name of the Wi-Fi hotspot will be the name of your iPhone (set in General > About > Name in Settings). The password will be shown on the Personal Hotspot screen, and you can tap on the entry to change it.

Conclusion

Setting up a mobile hotspot on your device is a convenient way to stay connected when you’re on the go. With the right steps, you can set up a hotspot on your Pixel, Samsung Galaxy, or iPhone device, and stay connected to the internet from anywhere.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: How do I set up a hotspot on my device?

A: The steps for setting up a hotspot vary depending on your device and operating system. For a Pixel device with Android 15, follow the steps outlined above. For a Samsung Galaxy device with One UI 7, follow the steps outlined above. For an iPhone with iOS 18, follow the steps outlined above.

Q: What are the advantages and disadvantages of running a hotspot from my phone?

A: Running a hotspot from your phone is more secure than using a public Wi-Fi network, but it may be limited in terms of your data allowance, and battery life on your phone will take a hit.

Q: Can I use a dedicated hotspot device instead of my phone?

A: Yes, you can use a dedicated hotspot device, like the Netgear Nighthawk M6, which varies in cost from about $500 to $600. It will deliver Wi-Fi 6 speeds to up to 32 devices when supplied with a SIM card.