By Click&Clean - Saturday, June 18, 2022. These days, if you're looking for a way to stay connected on the go on your laptop, free Wi-Fi hotspots are available in many public areas. But what to do if there's no Wi-Fi where you are? How to get safe and secure internet access while you traveling?
Luckily, you can easily share your smartphone's internet with your laptop or PC to get online while on the go. There are three different hotspot connection ways you can do this: with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and USB.
The best way to use a hotspot is Wi-Fi, because you have the ability to connect multiple devices. Plus, this gives you the fastest connection, and, for more security, you can choose a specific hotspot name and password.
Before connecting your laptop or PC to a smartphone hotspot, you first need to set up a hotspot on your mobile phone.
The process for doing this is slightly different depending on your device and whether it is an iPhone or Android.
On the Home screen, launch the Settings app → tap Personal Hotspot → turn On the Personal Hotspot toggle switch and remember the Wi-Fi password. You will need it to connect your laptop or PC to this hotspot.
Note: If you don't see "Personal Hotspot" in the "Settings" screen, then tap on Cellular → tap Personal Hotspot → turn On the Personal Hotspot.
Go to Settings → tap Network & Internet → tap Hotspot & Tethering → tap Wi-Fi Hotspot → turn On the Wi-Fi hotspot toggle switch and remember the Wi-Fi password.
Start up your laptop → select the Wi-Fi icon in the taskbar → locate your smartphone hotspot in the list → select Connect → type the hotspot password when prompted, and that's it.
Start up your Mac → click the Wi-Fi symbol in the top-right status bar → locate your mobile hotspot in the list and select it → type the hotspot password when prompted, and you're done.
Note: If you don't see the "Wi-Fi" symbol in the Mac status bar, go to Apple Menu → select System Preferences → click Network → select Wi-Fi in the sidebar → select Show Wi-Fi Status in Menu Bar.
As we said earlier, Wi-Fi hotspot is the best option for sharing your smartphone's internet with your laptop or PC. However, you should be aware that the Wi-Fi hotspot drains your battery quickly, especially when you connect more than one device, so you'll likely have to keep charging your mobile phone.
In addition, the mobile hotspot uses your phone's data plan to access the Internet. This means that everything you do on your laptop or PC while connected to your phone's hotspot consumes your mobile data. Keep this in mind if you have a limited data plan.