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Learn how to use the Hotspot feature in your Android smartphone to share your cellular or mobile data with other devices.
#androidhotspot
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0:00
Being able to use your Android
0:01
smartphone as a hotspot is quite a
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useful and handy feature in a number of
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scenarios.
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I'll walk you through how to do it.
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To set up your hotspot, you're going to
0:21
your phone settings first.
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Scroll down, look for settings.
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And here you are.
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And then under network and internet,
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this phone is running Android 16.
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If you have an older version,
0:41
maybe by a few years, the locations may
0:43
differ, but
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it can't be difficult to find. You can
0:47
just type hotspot into the search
0:49
settings and that should help you find
0:52
it faster. So, I tap in network and
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internet.
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And then if you look down here, you see
0:57
hotspot and tethering.
1:01
And we step in there.
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You can enable it by just tapping on
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this.
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But there are a number of things you
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have to sort out first.
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So, tap here to go into the settings.
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Give it a name
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so that you can recognize it when you
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need to connect to it.
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Then you have to choose what type of
1:25
security
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you are assigning to your hotspot.
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You can select none,
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in which case anybody can connect to
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your hotspot without needing a password.
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If that's okay by you, go ahead.
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WPA2 Personal
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is an older security protocol for Wi-Fi
1:48
hotspots.
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It's more prone to vulnerabilities and
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to hacking, whether someone knows your
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password or not. WPA3 is latest, the
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most advanced security protocol for your
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Wi-Fi hotspot at this time. The problem
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is that WPA3 may not be compatible with
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all available devices right now.
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So, there is a middle ground, WPA2/WPA3.
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That's a middle ground between WPA2 and
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WPA3. And what it does is that it
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provides the advanced security of WPA3,
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but also allows your device to fall back
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to WPA2
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where devices connecting
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are unable to support WPA3. So,
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I'd say, unless you're absolutely sure
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that all your devices are recent and
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have the latest protocols and all that,
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I'd say go for WPA2/WPA3,
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personally.
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Now, all these three
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require a password for your Wi-Fi
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hotspot. So, only people who have a
2:55
password or who have your password can
3:00
connect to it. Then you go back.
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The next thing to set is your hotspot
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password.
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Now, you need at least eight characters,
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a mixture of numbers and alphabetical
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characters.
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Pick whatever you want. I have used this
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XXX only for demonstration purposes.
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This is not my password. Try it at your
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own risk.
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Now,
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it's a nice feature to be able to set
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the hotspot to turn off automatically
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when no devices are connected, usually
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after 5 minutes or 10 minutes, and
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nothing is connected, it will turn off.
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That way, it saves your phone's battery
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because when you have your hotspot on,
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your phone actually consumes much more
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battery than normal.
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Next,
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we're coming to speed and compatibility.
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Now, this has to do with the frequency
3:59
that your hotspot functions on, and this
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affects the connection speed.
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2.4 GHz is highly compatible with most
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devices,
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but gives slower speeds.
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5 GHz is a newer frequency, and while it
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gives faster speeds and is compatible
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with many devices,
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but there are limitations. If your
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device the device you're trying to
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connect to is much older, an older
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laptop, an older smartphone, an older
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tablet,
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you might have connection issues.
4:34
So, for the widest compatibility, go for
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2.4 GHz.
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I have 5 GHz set here because I'm not
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looking for the widest compatibility. As
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a matter of fact, the fewer people who
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are able to connect
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to my personal hotspot here, the better.
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Thank you.
4:50
Now, that done, you've selected your
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preferred frequency, and you can come
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back and change it anytime. If you
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select 5 GHz and you're experiencing
4:58
compatibility with your laptop with,
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you know, devices connecting, you can
5:03
come back here.
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Pretty much every setting that I'm
5:06
walking you through can be changed
5:08
later, whenever you want. So, nothing to
5:10
fear.
5:12
Go back,
5:13
and then you have to determine the
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maximum number of connections, maximum
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number of devices that can connect at
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the same time. My phone gives me up to
5:22
16,
5:24
and I've never connected up to 16
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anyway. Maybe I should just limit it to
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four. I mean, why am I
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allowing up to 15 people to connect?
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So, that's it. Everything has been set
5:35
up. You've given your hotspot a name.
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You've set the security. You've given it
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a password.
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And whatever you've chosen here is fine.
5:44
You've set the speed and compatibility.
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You've decided how many devices get
5:48
connected. Now, you can turn it on.
5:53
All you have to do, you have to turn it
5:54
on, you tap that,
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and your hotspot is on.
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Take note that you can share your
6:00
hotspot credentials using a a QR code.
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Just take the device you want to share
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with and scan this code, and it sets up
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the right settings on that device and
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connects automatically. It's a nifty
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feature that you might find useful
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someday.
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But, so,
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the hotspot is on,
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and here is the icon, this radiating
6:27
icon here.
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That's the hotspot icon.
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Also, note that you can use
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your drop-down menu
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to turn it on and off. Here is the icon.
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Off.
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On.
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If you check in in this menu and you
6:47
can't find it, you can always edit it or
6:51
modify it to fix it there. You tap on
6:54
that edit button,
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and you go to the list of available
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icons and shortcuts.
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You You select it, gets moved here, and
7:03
then you come back, and then you can
7:05
find it and enable and disable anytime
7:09
that you want easily.
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The shortcut here is a superb usability
7:15
win.
7:16
That's how it works.
7:18
You set it up once, and then all you
7:20
need to do, you don't have to go into
7:21
your settings every time you need to use
7:23
it. You just need to come, swipe down
7:26
um your shortcut drawer, tap it on and
7:29
off
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as needed.
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Note that it's using your mobile data.
7:36
Of course, you should know that. It's
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using your cellular data or your mobile
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data.
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If you are sharing it with a
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that's doing heavy downloads or software
7:44
updates, you have to keep your eyes on
7:47
your data consumption.
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Otherwise, you'll burn through your data
7:52
bundle quickly and you'll wonder what
7:56
happened.
7:57
Let me know if you have any further
7:59
questions
8:00
about how to use your hotspot on
8:03
Android. I hope this video has been
8:05
helpful to you. Thank you for watching.
8:08
Do like it. Tap on the follow button
8:12
below to follow my channel. Turn on your
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notifications
8:16
and look forward to seeing you around
8:17
again.
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