How to Turn your Android Phone into a WiFi Hotspot

Need to connect your laptop to the Internet, but can’t find a public Wi-Fi hotspot? If your carrier allows it, you can use your Android phone to create a mobile hotspot that allows other devices to use your phone’s mobile data to connect to the Internet. If your carrier doesn’t allow it, you still have another way to use a third-party app.

Table of Contents

Set up an access point with a service plan

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Check network carrier. While some services allow the use of mobile hotspots for free on all plans, that does not mean that all wireless services allow the use of mobile hotspots at no additional cost. If your plan does not support mobile hotspot, you cannot enable the hotspot.

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Open the Settings menu. You can access this from Settings on the home screen or apps tray, or by tapping your phone’s menu button and selecting “Settings”.

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Tap “More” in the “Wireless & networks” section.

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Tap the “Tethering and portable hotspot” menu. This menu is usually located in the Wireless & Networks section of the Settings menu. You’ll probably need to tap “More…” to find that menu.

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Tap the “Set up Wi-Fi hotspot” option to change the settings. Adjust the settings of the access point. Before activating the mobile hotspot, you should ensure that it is properly secured and that the SSID (network name) does not contain any personal information.

Network SSID – This is the name of the network to be made public. Anyone nearby can see the name, so make sure there’s nothing to claim it’s you.
Security – Unless you’re trying to connect older devices that don’t support the new security protocol, you should set this to WPA2 PSK.
Hotspot frequency band – Leave the default as 2.4 GHz. Usually you can keep this setting, but sometimes need to change to 5 GHz in crowded area. The 5 GHz level will reduce the distance.
Password – You should always set a password, there should be no exceptions. Make sure the password is strong but easy to remember, as you will have to type it on the devices connected to the access point.

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Check the box “Portable Wi-Fi hotspot” to enable the hotspot. The service plan will be checked to see if you are allowed to create it.

If you get an error, you need to contact your carrier and ask about setting up a mobile hotspot according to your plan. You may not be able to access until you pay.

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Connect to the hotspot on another device. Open the “Connect to network” menu on the device you want to connect to the access point. You will see the new access point in the list of available networks. Select the access point and type the password you created. Your device should now be connected to the hotspot.

Find out for yourself the specific steps on different devices.

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Tap the “Data usage” option in the Wireless & Networks section of the Settings menu to manage data usage. Using an hotspot will usually eat up data much faster than just using your phone to surf the Internet. Be prepared to see data usage increase when using the hotspot.

Using third-party apps

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Download FoxFi if your carrier blocks hotspot creation. If your carrier plan doesn’t allow tethering, you can try using a third-party app. These apps are not as reliable as the built-in hotspot app, and can cost your carrier if detected.

FoxFi is one of the most popular hotspot apps.
You can download more reliable apps if your phone is rooted.
Some carriers block versions of apps like FoxFi from the store because they can be used to circumvent carrier policies. To install these apps, you need to download the APK file using your phone’s browser and tap it in the Notification bar to install it.
You need to allow third-party apps if you want to download APKs from websites. To do this, open the Settings menu, open the Security section, then check the “Unknown sources” box. This step allows you to install apps downloaded from sources outside the Play Store.

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Customize the access point. When running the application, you can adjust the access point settings before turning on the access point. Make sure these options are set before enabling the access point.

Network Name – This is the name of the network that will be visible to everyone within broadcast range of the access point. Make sure that there is no personal information in the network name.
Password – Every wireless network should have a password. This option also allows you to choose the security type, which is usually always set to WPA2.

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Check the box “Activate WiFi Hotspot” to enable the hotspot. Once turned on, any device with the correct password can connect to the access point.

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Connect to the hotspot from another device. Open the “Connect to network” menu on the device that needs to be connected to the access point. You can see the new access point in the list of available networks. Select the access point and type the generated password. Your device should now be connected to the access point.

Study the detailed steps yourself on different devices.

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Manage data usage. Usually, using the hotspot will eat up data much faster than just using your phone to surf the Internet. Be prepared to see data usage increase when using the hotspot.

You can control data usage by tapping the “Data usage” option in the Wireless & Networks section of the Settings menu. The figures given may not be accurate.

Warning

Using a third-party application to create an access point is a violation of many carriers’ terms of service. If found, you may be charged additional fees or even have your account locked out. Please accept your own risk.

Steps

Set up an access point with a service plan

Using third-party apps

Warning

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