How does a hotspot work?

One of the neatest things you can do with a smartphone is turn it into a mobile hotspot.

That means you can use it to generate a WiFi network that your tablet or laptop can use.

You might consider turning your phone into a hotspot if you’re traveling and there’s no WiFi to connect to. Or if you’d feel safer using a password-protected network generated by your phone as opposed to public WifFi.

This is completely optional. If you have no interest in doing it, there’s no need to turn that feature on.

Turning your phone into a hotspot will eat up your data. So, you’ll need to have a plan with your carrier that supports it. Make sure you check with your wireless carrier to confirm how much data you have before getting started. If you have an unlimited plan, just go for it.

Here’s how you make it happen in Android. Go to settings by clicking that settings gear.

Tap on Connections.

Choose Mobile Hotspot and Tethering.

Turn Mobile Hot Spot On.

If you’re currently using WiFi, you’ll be notified that you’re turning it off and get the option to share your WiFi connection using your phone.  Ignore that for now. Once you turn on your hotspot, tap on it.

You’ll see the name of the network your phone is generating along with the password for the network. This may look different on your phone, depending on your model and phone carrier.

Here, I’ve opened up my tablet to look for a WiFi network and there’s the name of my network. I just need to enter the password to log on.

You can also connect using a QR code reader. Tap the icon at the top right of the screen.

Scan the code with the device you want to connect to.

Keep in mind that your phone will consume a lot of battery power when you use it as a hot spot. I’d plug it into a wall charger, car charger, or portable battery for this undertaking.

You can also share your Internet connection via Bluetooth.  Instead of Mobile Hotspot, tap on Bluetooth Tethering.

Then pair the device you want to use the connection with your phone.