How to Use Your Android Phone as a Wi-Fi Hotspot?

android-wifi-hotspot

Most of the smartphones can be used as Wi-Fi hotspot which makes it possible to share the Wi-Fi network of a phone with any other Wi-Fi enabled devices, even a non android device.  Many think that, you require a Wi-Fi connection for this; of course it requires a connection and it can be your phone’s 2G/3G/4G or the GPRS.  Using your phone as a Wi-Fi hotspot will be useful for you when you are in need of an internet access and your home network is down.The feature we make use here, is called ‘Tethering’ that makes your device work like a router and will allow you to have a connection. You won’t need to root to your device to accomplish the task. Hence the process is potentially harmless but has downsides as every tricky process does.

You can use your Android phone as a Wi-Fi Hotspot in 2 different methods:

Method 1 – The native feature

  1. First, Make sure your phone has an active internet connection.
  2. Now go to Settings – Wireless & Networks > Mobile Networks > Use Packet Data, and Enable Packet Data.
  3. Then once again go to settings > Wireless & Networks > Tethering & Portable Hotspot and enable the Portable Wi-Fi hotspot. Now click on the portable Wi-Fi hotspot setting and click configure Portable Wi-Fi hotspot.
  4. Now you may change the Network SSID to any name that you wish since it’s the name of your device’s Wi-Fi network.
  5. Then hit the Security section and select WPA2 PSK and give your Wi-Fi network password. This will make your network accessible only to those who know your password, if you need to make it public, you may choose Open under the Security section.
  6. Now you are done and you phone will work as a Wi-Fi hotspot.
  7. First download and install the FoxFi app from the Google Play Store.
  8. After the installation, open the app and check the box saying Activate Wi-Fi Hotspot.
  9. The app will start the processing during which you will get two notifications in the status bar.
  10. At the completion, the app will ask you to perform additional setup or to go through the network activity.
  11. Then you may change your network name to a unique one, so that it will be distinguished easily.
  12. Now you must enter a password for your network, so that no one else accesses your network without your permission and that’s it, you have a Wi-Fi hotspot on your phone.

Method 2 – Using the FoxFi App

Remember, activating this feature will drain your phones battery noticeably and hence don’t forget to turn off the feature when you are entirely done with it. Also, don’t consider it as a free internet, of course your provider will charge you per the plan you have chosen. Sometimes they may charge you higher, since most of the carriers don’t like your idea of hotspots without subscribing to their advanced plans. Hence don’t forget the data used from your hotspot will be counted as the one from your plan itself. So keep all those in mind and start enjoying the hotspots from your phone.