Definitely, in the era where the mobile data speed was barely sufficient for just a single computer, the thought of connecting multiple devices to a single phone to share internet never struck us. But now with 3G and 4G data speed on our smartphones, one can easily share it with multiple devices and not whine about slow speeds. But that’s never going to happen with just Bluetooth and data cable. So today we will see how you can turn your Android smartphone into a portable Wi-Fi hotspot and broadcast your internet connection to multiple devices having Wi-Fi connectivity option.
Using the Built-in Option
If your device is running on Ice Cream Sandwich(ICS) version, open your device settings and tap on the more button under the Wireless and Networks settings. Devices running on previous versions will have to tap on Wireless and Networks option in the settings. When the additional settings show up, tap the Portable hotspot tethering option. Before we start the hotspot, we’ll first have to configure the hotspot settings. To do so, tap on the Portable Wi-Fi hotspot settings and fill in the details like hotspot name and the security password. If you want you can change the security algorithm or leave it open, but that would not be a good idea. After filling the details, simply check the option to start the hotspot. That’s all, your Android will start broadcasting a Wi-Fi network sharing your phone’s data connection. Whenever any device connects to the network, you will get an update in the notifications. Froyo and Gingerbread users might first have to activate the hotspot before they can configure the settings. You can deactivate hotspot the same way. So that was how you can activate the hotspot using the built-in settings, but it can be confusing for some users to dig deep into the settings to get that done. Therefore, let’s see a simple app that can do the exact same thing but ease up the approach.
Using FoxFi Application
FoxFi is a great Wi-Fi tethering app that works on all the devices irrespective of root access. Activating hotspot using FoxFi is a cake walk. Just run the app, provide the details like the Network name(SSID) and Password(WPA) and put a check on Activate Wi-Fi Hotspot. Before you activate the hotspot, just make sure your mobile is connected to the data services. Most of the phones work great with FoxFi but some devices may run into force close issues and thus must use the Android built-in feature we discussed above.
Conclusion
Before I conclude, you should note that Wi-Fi hotspot uses a considerable amount of your battery juice while serving, and thus you must use the feature only when there’s enough charge in the battery (and when you actually need it). Other than this caveat, this is no doubt a pretty cool feature. The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.
