A mobile hotspot enables you to share your internet data with any nearby device through a Wi-Fi network. Using a hotspot in your smartphone to share data can be confusing if you have not done it before or understand how to operate smartphones very well, this challenge is very typical with elderly people.
The existence and popularity of Hotspot have drastically reduced the use of moderns in laptops and desktops. Many PC internets come from a nearby hotspot provided by a smartphone. However, a computer needs a Wi-Fi cable to be able to see any hotspot nearby this is a very common feature in modern computers.
Setting up your mobile hotspot on your smartphone can be difficult depending on the version of the android phone you are using. the android version from 5.0 upwards has a similar way of setting up its Wi-Fi. By default, your mobile hotspot comes with a default name and a default password and it gets activated the moment you click on the hotspot button located among the list of buttons on the dropdown of your top phone screen. When you click the button your hotspot will be activated but no device can use it because you have not customized it for another device to use.
If your hotspot comes with the ‘open’ settings as a default security setting of the hotspot, your phone data will be vulnerable to stealing by any nearby device if you mistakenly click on the hotspot button of the dropdown from the top screen. This is very possible because the ‘open’ option in the security section means the Hotspot will not require a password from any device that tries to connect to it. In order to secure your hotspot, you must ensure the security option is set at ‘WPA’ or other options that require any user to input a password.
Your hotspot password is your data security key. If anyone has access to your hone and was able to look at your hotspot settings, the person could see the hotspot name and password, this can be used later to be sharing your internet data without you being aware.
This post will show you how to set up your mobile hotspot and secure it with a password. To set up your hotspot follow these steps:
1. Open the settings folder on your smartphone. It should look like the image below:
How to setup Mobile Hotspot
2. From the list of options on the settings folder, click on the ‘Hotspot & Tethering’ option as shown on the image below:
How to setup Mobile Hotspot
3. When you click on the ‘Hotspot & Tethering’ another folder will show up with options such as USB tethering, USB-PC internet share, Wi-Fi Hotspot, Wi-Fi hotspot settings, and user management, Bluetooth tethering, and many others. Click on the ‘Wi-Fi Hotspot settings and user management’ option. The image below shows the option you have to click.
How to setup Mobile Hotspot
4. Once you have executed the number three option you will be taken to another folder meant for the settings and setup of your hotspot. By clicking the ‘Wi-Fi Hotspot settings and user management’, you will be taken to a folder with the following options: ‘OFF/ON Wi-Fi’, ‘Keep Wi-Fi Hotspot ON settings’, ‘Set up Wi-Fi Hotspot’, ‘WPS connect’, ‘Hidden SSID’ and other possible options in your smartphone. From this list of options click on the ‘Set up Wi-Fi Hotspot’ as illustrated in the image shown below.
How to setup Mobile Hotspot
5. The moment you click on the ‘Set up Hotspot’ a screen popup will show up where you can now make all the settings for your mobile hotspot. On the popup you will see things like ‘Hotspot Network Name’, ‘Security’, ‘Password’, ‘Select AP Band’, and ‘Maximum Connection settings’. The picture below illustrates how the screen popup should look like.
How to setup Mobile Hotspot
6. On the first row that states ‘Network Name’, Type any name you will like your mobile hotspot to bear. This name will be visible to any device that has Wi-Fi turned ON. Assuming you Type the name as Stephen, the hotspot will show to other smartphones or computers as Stephen. Therefore carefully write a name that you will refer others to see rather than showing your identity through the phone model you are using which is always the default name for hotspots.
7. On the second row you will see the title ‘Security’ click on it to unveil the list of options available for your security. On the list, you will see something like ‘None or Open’, ‘WPA PSK’, ‘WPA2 PSK’. The ‘None or Open’ option will make anyone access your mobile hotspot with their own phone using Wi-Fi therefore it is not security-wise to choose this option rather choose either the ‘WPA PSK’ option or the ‘WPA2 PSK’ option. These options will make your hotspot to request its password from any device that sees it and wants to connect to it.
How to setup Mobile Hotspot
8.The third row is the password section. In the row you will write your password, the password will be required from any device that wants to connect to your phone. You have the option of seeing your password as you type it instead of showing the dots by clicking the ‘Show password’ button.
9. Though the remaining options are not really necessary for a beginner. But if you want only one person to connect to the hotspot at a time, move to the last row titled ‘Max Connection’ and choose the maximum number of devices that can connect to your hotspot.
THINGS YOU MUST UNDERSTAND WHILE USING MOBILE HOTSPOT
Mobile hotspot consumes a lot of power from the smartphone thereby making the battery power go down within a short time.
Mobile Hotspot can be hacked if you don’t set it up properly.
Mobile hotspot needs your internet data to be ON before you can use it to access the internet.
Using your smartphone steadily for Mobile hotspot to computers can shorten your smartphone life because the hotness it generates inside phones can lead to other problems.
You need a good charger for your phone and must be connected to the power supply if you need your Phone to stay ON with the hotspot otherwise low battery will turn it OFF.
You can set your mobile Hotspot to Turn OFF when no device is connected to it or when the device connected to it is not using it to access the internet. This feature is meant to save your battery power.
I believe this post touched the answer you are looking for regarding mobile hotspot. Please share this post and subscribe to my email list for more how-to-do posts.
