The use of the smartphone as an Internet access point for other mobile devices or even personal computers, is a good practice to provide a connection to third parties when we do not have a Wi-Fi wireless network or access to a fiber wired network or ADSL.
And the fact is that the intelligent mobile has become a miniature computer, increasingly larger and more powerful, and with extraordinary versatility for many tasks. Taking into account that we always carry them with us, that most of them have a permanent connection to cellular Internet and that the new 5G broadband networks are spreading strongly throughout the planet, sharing your connection is a method that we can use in various circumstances. And it is very simple to do as we are going to remind you in this practical article.
The mobile as an access point to the Internet
Public Wi-Fi wireless networks can be found in many places, but they often have range, performance, and especially security issues. Highly insecure by default , we cannot trust them except for emergencies or inconsequential navigation. And if we are on vacation or working at home and our fiber fails, where do we connect then?
To the cellular connection once the mobile has been converted into an access point. A method with higher performance and more secure, although it should be noted that not all service operators allow it and that, to use it, we need to have a good amount of data available, preferably an unlimited data connection of which Now with the performance of 5G we will be able to obtain great benefits and in some cases, avoid hiring additional services such as fixed Internet for the home.
Also note that most smartphones cannot connect to Wi-Fi networks while in access point mode as they will use their antennas to allow other devices to connect. And if autonomy is a problem, keep in mind that under this mode your terminal will consume much more battery.
Finally, if you pay per use or your data rate is very low, forget about this article (except for an emergency) because consumption is high, especially if you dedicate yourself to performing large tasks bandwidth such as streaming, P2P or large file downloads.
How to create a Wi-Fi access point
Having pointed out the previous warnings to take into account (especially the amount of available data you have), it must be said that using this function of Hotspot is extremely simple. The management varies according to the manufacturer of your terminal, but it will not be very different from the one carried out from a Samsung Galaxy S with Android that we use as an example:
- Access the general “Configuration” or “Settings” tool and look for the “Connections” section. Depending on the terminal, the Android version or the manufacturer’s user interface, you can find it under another name.
- Access the “Shared connection and Modem” section.
- Activate and click on «Shared connection».
- Change the name of the connection that other devices will see to your liking, for the example “HotspotMC”. Enter the access password, as long and strong as possible.
From here you will be able to share your smartphone’s Internet connection. Simply connect from the desired device or PC to the Wi-Fi network by selecting the access point and password created.
As advanced functions for to increase security , you can use the “Hide the device” function so that no one can see that it is active. If you want to add even more security, you can enable only those devices that you specifically allow to connect. It is done in the settings of the shared connection based on the filtering of the MAC address, a unique encoded identifier of origin, which we have reviewed in other practical articles on router configuration.
USB modem
Another option for shared connection in Android is even simpler than the previous one, although it is not as powerful (up to 10 computers can be connected wirelessly to an access point) and also requires a connection physical between the smartphone and the device to which we are going to connect. For the example we connect a Samsung smartphone to a PC with Windows 10 with its corresponding drivers enabled and the connection between them made correctly.
- If we access the configuration page> Shared configuration and Mobile modem, we will see that the possibility of sharing has been added via «USB Modem».
- We simply activate it to see that the Windows PC adds new connection possibilities, both a new network using the mobile data of the smartphone or its connection.
- This type of connection is ideal when we want to provide connectivity to only a specific device. Besides being a very simple function to enable, the best thing is that you can use the terminal’s Wi-Fi connection and not just its data rate . It can be managed to control the connection from
Bluetooth modem
Similar to the previous one, but in this case without cables wirelessly . In this way you can share your phone’s Internet connection by linking it to another device using the Bluetooth standard. From here, the connection occurs by pairing devices. If the device has been connected before, you can reconnect it whenever you need it in the list of redirected devices.
An interesting function is to turn the mobile into an Internet access point to share the connection, which we can use for emergencies if we do not have a good mobile rate and for more powerful uses if we have lots of data to be able to spend. The lucky ones who have an unlimited mobile data rate and with 5G, will be able to extract the full potential of this feature and potentially do without other types of fixed or mobile Internet services.