How to activate hotspot

All modern operating systems for smartphones and tablets, as well as the latest editions of Windows and macOS, allow you to create wireless access points to share their connections with other devices. So, if you are wondering how to activate hotspot , know that this is the right place to start, in which you will find all the procedures to be applied on the most popular operating systems for smartphones, tablets and computers.

Before proceeding, make sure that sharing the connection does not have any unwelcome consequences for you: therefore, if you intend to create a hostpot starting from a cellular network, make sure that your mobile operator does not apply surcharges for the use of this feature . To date, almost all Italian companies have abolished the additional costs for using the connection on multiple devices but, in order to avoid nasty surprises, it is always better to check.

Secondly, pay attention to the devices with which you will use the hotspot, if the one to share is a metered connection: some operating systems, such as Windows 10 and Windows 11 , may start downloading data or updates immediately after connecting, going to negatively affect the Giga available in the tariff plan. To overcome this problem, I suggest you set the hotspot as a metered connection, immediately after connecting to it: I explained how to do it in this tutorial .

Index

• How to activate hotspot: Android
  • How to activate hotspot on Samsung
  • How to activate hotspot on Xiaomi
• How to activate hotspot on iPhone
• How to activate hotspot on PC
• How to activate hotspot on Mac

How to activate hotspot: Android

Activating hotspot on smartphones and tablets animated by the Android operating system is really simple: to start, open the device Settings , by tapping on the gear icon visible on the Home screen or on the app drawer, reach the Network and Internet> Hotspot sections and tethering and, if you intend to create a Wi-Fi Hotspot , tap on the dedicated item.

Then, define the access point settings, filling in the following form with the requested information: network name , security algorithm to use to encrypt the network key (preferably WPA2-Personal or WPA3 ) and password to use for hotspot protection. Next, touch the Advanced item and indicate whether or not to turn off the access point when all devices disconnect and specify the operating band of the same ( 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz ).

Once the necessary settings have been defined, return to the previous screen ( Wi-Fi Hotspot ) and, to activate the access point, move the lever at the top of the screen from OFF to ON ; to turn off the hotspot, return the aforementioned switch to the OFF position .

If you want to activate connection sharing via USB , connect the phone to the computer using a cable of the same type and activate the USB tethering option in the Settings> Network and Internet> Tethering and hotspot of the operating system; By acting on the Bluetooth Tethering lever , you can activate or deactivate sharing of the Internet connection with previously paired Bluetooth devices. Also through the same panel you can allow or deny access to the Network using any VPNs configured on your smartphone (or tablet).

Note that the names of the menus and options to use may differ slightly from what you see on your device screen, due to the natural differences between the various Android versions and customizations.

How to activate hotspot on Samsung

For example, if yours is a Samsung device , go to the Settings> Android Connections menu , tap on the Wi-Fi router and tethering item and, if you intend to share the phone / tablet connection via Wi-Fi, press on the ‘ Wi-Fi router option .

Now, tap on the word Configure and fill in the form in the next panel with the information regarding the hotspot you are about to create: name of the Wi-Fi network, security algorithm to be used for the access key, password with the which to protect the network and signal operating band . If you deem it appropriate, you can adjust further parameters such as the network transmission channel and / or the automatic deactivation of the hotspot by tapping on the Advanced item . Once all the necessary adjustments have been completed, press the Save buttonand move the switch located near the Wi-Fi router item to Enabled .

To share, instead, the connection via USB or Bluetooth, activate the dedicated switch from the Settings> Connections> Android Wi-Fi router and tethering section ; remember that before you can activate connection sharing via USB, you will need to have connected your phone to your computer via cable.

How to activate hotspot on Xiaomi

If yours is a smartphone produced by Xiaomi with MIUI ROM , after opening the device Settings , reach the Personal Hotspot and Personal Hotspot Configuration sections and use the proposed module to specify the network name ( SSID ), the password to use for access it, the security protocol (at least WPA2-Personal ) and the operating band , if available. Finally, tap the resident check mark at the top right and, to activate the access point, move the lever corresponding to the itemPersonal Wi-Fi hotspot from OFF to ON .

To activate connection sharing via USB, after connecting the smartphone to the computer via cable, activate the switch corresponding to the USB tethering item ; if you intend to share the cellular network connection to the Bluetooth devices, act on the Bluetooth Tethering lever instead .

How to activate hotspot on iPhone

If you want to share the active cellular network connection on the iPhone , go to the Settings> iOS Personal Hotspot menu and, to start, tap on the Wi-Fi password and specify the network key to use to protect the hotspot you are about to use. to create. Then, tap on the word End visible at the top right and activate the hotspot by moving the lever corresponding to the wording Allow others to access to ON. It should be emphasized that if you attempt to connect a device paired with the same Apple ID as the iPhone to the hotspot, you will not have to enter the access point password, as security is ensured by sharing the account credentials.

After carrying out the first configuration of the hotspot, you can quickly activate / deactivate it also from the iOS Control Center : after opening the latter with a swipe from the top right corner of the screen (or from bottom to top on the models with physical Home button), make a long tap on the antenna icon (called Phone data ) and, when you see the Network box , tap on the Personal Hotspot icon to activate or deactivate the wireless access point.

If the Personal Hotspot option was not available in the iOS settings menu, it means that the data connection via the cellular network has been disabled: to enable it again, go to the Settings> iPhone phone data menu and move the lever of the same name to ON . The same procedure is also valid for iPad .

How to activate hotspot on PC

If your computer is equipped with Windows 10 or a later edition of Microsoft’s operating system (eg Windows 11 ), you can enable Internet sharing via hotspot very easily, using the built-in function of the operating system.

So, click on the Windows Start button (the flag symbol on the taskbar), press on the gear icon visible inside it and then on the Network and Internet and Mobile Hotspot icons , visible on the screen that goes to open on the desktop.

Now, proceed with the adjustments related to the hotspot you intend to create: adjust the Share my Internet connection from drop-down menu to the type of connection to share (e.g. Wi-Fi ), set the Share via drop-down menu to the option Wi-Fi (or check the dedicated box) and click on the Edit button , to select the name of the wireless network, the password and the operating band , if available (2.4 GHz or 5 GHz).

Finally, click on the Save button to confirm the changes applied and activate the hotspot by positioning the lever corresponding to the Mobile Hotspot item on Activated ; to deactivate the access point, return the same lever to the Deactivated position .

On Windows 8.1 and earlier versions of Windows, there is no dedicated function for connection sharing; to deal with this, you can use Virtual Router , a third-party program that allows you to turn your computer into a wireless access point in a matter of seconds, as long as the wireless card allows it. To obtain the software in question, open this website , click on the Download button and, once you have obtained the software installation file, open it and click on the Next (three times in a row), Yes and Close buttons , in order to conclude the setup.

During the procedure, you may be asked to install .NET Framework 3.5 : to obtain it, connected to the Microsoft website , click on the Download button and, when the download is complete, start the file of the add-on add-on and install it by clicking on the Yes buttons and Download and install this feature . After this last step, try again to install Virtual Router following the same procedure seen a little while ago.

Once the installation is complete, Virtual Router should open automatically; if not, use the icon that, in the meantime, has been added to the Windows Start / Start Screen menu . We are almost there: now use the module in the program window to define the name to be assigned to the hotspot ( Network name ), the network key with which to protect it ( Password ) and the type of connection to share, Wi-Fi or Ethernet ( Shared connection ). To activate the hotspot, click the Start Virtual Router button ; to deactivate it, press the Stop Virtual Router button instead. That’s all!

How to activate hotspot on Mac

Macs can also be transformed into real Wi-Fi hotspots, but with one condition: the computer must be connected to the Internet via Ethernet , as it is not possible to activate the sharing of any Wi-Fi network in use.

Having said that, let’s see how to proceed: first, go to System Preferences preferences , which you can access by clicking on the resident gear symbol on the Dock bar . Once in the new window, click on the Sharing icon and then on the wording Internet Sharing , located in the sidebar that appears on the left. Now, set the drop-down menu Share your connection from on the Ethernet option , locate the To computers they use box located a little further down and put the check mark next to the word Wi-Fi , present inside it.

At this point, you can customize the parameters of the hotspot you are going to create: click on the Wi-Fi Options … button and, when you reach the next screen, specify the name to assign to the wireless network and the channel to use to transmit the signal ( if you don’t know what to choose, choose channels 1, 6 or 11 or leave the default option unchanged). Next, set the Security drop-down menu to the WPA2 / WPA3 Personal option and enter, in the password field , the network key to be used to secure the connection.

Finally, click on the OK button and activate the hotspot by placing the check mark next to the wording Internet sharing and then clicking on the Start button ; to disable the access point, go to the System Preferences> Sharing menu and remove the check mark from Internet Sharing .