How To Share Your Android Phone Connection With Wi-Fi Hotspot

How to Share Your Android Phone Connection With Wi-Fi Hotspot

BY GreenBot Staff

GreenBot Staff

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Published 26 Jan 2017

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Your Android phone is connected to the Internet. But you might need to learn that your other devices can take advantage of it, too. Suppose you’re traveling with a tablet or laptop with only a Wi-Fi chip. As a result your Android phone can magically be transformed into a Wi-Fi hotspot. So your cellular-challenged devices can use to access the Internet. And it’s not hard to do. With just a few taps in the Settings app. You’ll be able to securely broadcast your signal to any device that may need it. Letting you work as if you were connected to your home Wi-Fi. There are a couple caveats, however. For one, you’ll be using your phone data. So you probably shouldn’t use it to stream movies or download large files. Furthermore, some carriers block the feature for specific plans. So you might need to call your wireless provider if you can’t get it to work. And finally, it can be a significant battery drain on your phone. So make sure you have a battery pack handy.

Tethered

Head over to the Wireless & networks section of Settings to start the setup process. Click the three More dots below Data usage. You’ll see a section called Tethering & portable hotspot. Tap it, and you’re in.

hotspot 2 — To find the Tethering portable hotspot menu, tap More under Wireless & networks.

Inside you’ll find four options. The first is USB tethering, requires a USB cable; it’ll be grayed out if one isn’t plugged in. To use it, connect your phone to your laptop via USB and toggle the switch to begin sharing your connection. If your plan supports it, an icon will appear in the quick settings panel, and you’ll be ready to go.

Wireless

Next up is a Portable Wi-Fi hotspot. Toggle it on, and you’ll see a message below it; Portable hotspot Android active. This will be the temporary name of your Wi-Fi network; if you go to your laptop Wi-Fi panel. You’ll see Android in the list of available networks. Select it, you’ll have to fill in a password before it can connect.

hotspot 3 — You’ll be able to change the network name and password inside the Set up of Wi-Fi hotspot settings.

You’ll need to head to the third option, Set up a Wi-Fi hotspot. Tap it you’ll be able to edit the network SSID name and disable the Lock security. If you do not want to, switch the hub frequency from 2.5GHz to 5GHz. You’ll also be able to change the password or write down the default one by checking the Show password box. You’re done tweaking, press save then turn the hotspot on. Then it’s just a matter of selecting the network, Android, or whatever you’ve renamed on your other device. Typing in the auto-generated password or the one you’ve changed it to.

hotspot 4 — You’ll need to pair your phone with your laptop or tablet before you can use Bluetooth tethering.

The final option is Bluetooth tethering; it’s the same as USB tethering except without the cable. After you flip it on, you’ll need to take a trip to Bluetooth settings. On your laptop or tablet to pair it with your phone. Once you identify your phone in the Bluetooth panel. Press it, then head over to the Bluetooth settings on your phone. The two devices have successfully linked. In that case, you’ll get matching verification codes allowing the two devices to connect. Select it when prompted, and you’re on your way.