January 14, 2015 
2 Comments 
Have you ever needed internet while working on the move? Or have you arrived at a hotel room to find there’s either no wifi internet access, or internet that is so slow it’s not worth using? Or maybe your home network has gone down and left you without access to the web? Well, the solution could be as simple as using your smartphone to get internet access wherever you have phone connectivity.
Here’s how to turn your smartphone into a personal wifi hotspot.
iPhone
Step 1: On your iPhone, go to “Settings”
Step 2: Tap “Personal Hotspot” and slide the switch to ‘on’. Make a note of the network name (the name of your iPhone) and your new wifi password
Step 3: On your tablet or laptop, make sure wifi is enabled and search for wireless networks. Select the one that matches your phone’s name and then enter the password to ‘pair’ your device.
Android
Step 1: Tap “Apps”
Step 2: Scroll to and tap “Settings”
Step 3: Tap “More settings”
Step 4: Tap “Tethering and portable hotspot”, on some models this will be found in “Network settings” or an equivalent, rather than “More settings”
Step 5: Tap “Portable Wi-Fi hotspot”
Step 6: Tap “Configure”
Step 7: Enter a new name for your hotspot
Step 8: Tap “Password”
Step 9: Delete the existing text and enter a password
Step 10: Tap “Save”
Step 11: Tap “Portable Wi-Fi hotspot”. The portable wifi hotspot should now be active. You can also connect other devices to it by using the network name in step 7 and the password you entered in step 9.
One of the main problems with using your phone as a portable wifi hotspot is that it can use up your monthly data allowance quite quickly. If you are using your phone as a device for connecting your laptop or tablet, it is important to remember that it is your phone’s data plan which will be depleted. It can be quite expensive should you go over your monthly data usage. So you should disable automatic updates or downloads and keep a close watch on how much data you use. Oh, and remember to disable the hotspot when you’re not using it, otherwise you will shorten your battery life.
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My son recently made a trip by road from N S W to Alice Springs where he stayed for about a week all recoded and sent to us via Facebook and he uses his mobile all there time as his internet.
If you have a smart phone with internet data why would you need to run the laptop from the phones more expensive internet data? These days with “cloud” set up Google, DropBox, YouTube, e-mails & anything I ever seem to need internet for is available on my android phone anyway which is on Telstra network & seems to work most places I go (it’s a Galaxy Note 3), screen is a bit smaller than a tablet/laptop, desktop etc but I have glasses & it is still bigger screen than a regular smart phone/iPhone, etc much to my friend’s & work collegues amusement but works well for me – in fact I seldom use desktop or laptop at home & I don’t even have a tablet, etc I try to use the mobile phone connected to my home wi-fi as much as possible when I am home & internet is working tho as it so damn convenient & portable!