Find out everything you need to know about hotspotting or tethering with iD Mobile:
What is hotspotting or tethering?
A mobile hotspot isn’t tied to a location, allowing your smartphone to act as an internet router using mobile data. This lets you connect devices like tablets or laptops to your mobile and access the internet, with usage counting against your data allowance. The main difference between hotspotting and tethering is the connection method: a hotspot uses Wi-Fi to connect devices, while tethering links a device to a smartphone via a USB cable, with the mobile acting as a router for internet access.
Can you create a personal hotspot on Pay Monthly plans?
All our Pay Monthly Phones and SIM Only Deals allow you to create a personal hotspot. If you have a plan with a limited amount of data, your hotspot usage will be taken from your monthly data allowance. However, if you are on an unlimited data plan, you can use your personal hotspot as much as you want without worrying about the cost.
If you do not have an unlimited data plan, you will want to carefully monitor your data consumption when using it as a hotspot, as streaming on other devices like a laptop uses a lot more data than on mobile. You can also set up a bill cap, so if you run out of data and start accumulating out-of-plan charges, you won’t pay more than you want to.
Can you create a personal hotspot on Pay as you Go?
You can create a personal hotspot on Pay as you Go using your standard top-up credit, eliminating the need for a data package. This makes the process similar to Pay Monthly. Remember, streaming videos or playing games on a laptop or tablet consumes more data than on a mobile phone. Tethering or using a hotspot will use more data than you might expect. Whether on a Pay as you Go or Pay Monthly plan, monitor your data consumption when hotspotting or tethering. Check your remaining allowance via the iD Mobile app or My Account online.
How do I set up a personal hotspot?
It is easy to set up a personal hotspot no matter what kind of phone you have.
iPhone.
- Open Settings.
- Tap ‘Personal Hotspot’.
- Tap the toggle switch to Allow Others to Join.
- Using the device you would like to connect to, open the list of available Wi-Fi connections.
- Find your phone’s hotspot name in the list and enter your unique password.
Samsung Galaxy.
- Open Settings.
- Tap ‘Connection’ and then ‘Mobile Hotspot and Tethering’.
- Tap ‘Mobile Hotspot’ and turn it on.
- Using the device you would like to connect to, open the list of available Wi-Fi connections.
- Find your phone’s hotspot name in the list and enter your unique password.
Most other Android phones.
- Open Settings.
- Tap ‘Network and Internet’.
- Tap ‘Hotspot and tethering’.
- Tap ‘Wi-Fi hotspot’.
- Turn on Wi-Fi hotspot.
- To see or change a hotspot setting, such as the name or password, tap it.