Maybe you don’t trust using a public WiFi with your laptop, maybe there’s no WiFi at all because the Internet is down at home, or maybe you just want to help a friend getting online with their computer/tablet. Creating a WiFi hotspot with your iPhone (or LTE iPad) can be extremely useful and can get you out of a tight spot if you need to get things done. Here’s how to do it in a few easy steps.
Step 1.
- The process of setting up a WiFI hotspot on your iPhone is easy.
- Go to your phone’s Settings
- Look for “Personal Hotspot” which should be sitting below “Cellular”
Step 2.
- By default it should be off. Turn it on.
- There are several different ways to setup a hotspot.
- You can choose to connect your computer via WiFi; plug your phone into your computer; or use Bluetooth.
- You should probably set a WiFi password so that other users won’t hook onto your network without your permission.
Step 3.
- Open the WiFi settings on your computer and look for your phone.
- Click on it to connect.
- If you put a password, you will be prompted to enter it.
Step 4.
If you have successfully connected to your phone via its hotspot, the top portion of your iPhone will flash blue to show how many devices are connected.
Just in case, we’ve also included a video to show you the same steps, in case you are more comfortable following the steps that way:
Side-note
Some carriers might not allow you to use your phone as a WiFi hotspot. The answer is simple: some users with unlimited data plans might abuse it and use it as their main internet connection on computers. As we have seen in the past, some users have been more than happy to abuse their unlimited data (when such thing exists).
Some carriers will require you to pay a separate plan if you plan on tethering, or in some cases include it in your plan although you do get a limited amount of data.
Also using your phone as an Internet access with your computer is a good way to blow through your data allotment. Web sites and various media loaded on the computer might not be optimized the same way as websites for mobile, so they can consume more data than expected. Either this can lead to you hitting your data cap quickly, or you can expect a hefty phone bill next month.