Share Android Connection: Whether you’re working from the courtyard, a park or a bus, sometimes you need a Wi-Fi connection for your laptop and you’re out of reach of a network or public hotspot. Don’t worry, just have a smartphone at your fingertips and you can provide a personal and private network to your tablet or laptop in seconds.
How to Share Android Connection via Tethering or Hotspot
To get started, you need to go to the network settings on your phone. The function can be called differently depending on the Android phone you are using: network and Internet on Android 10, Connections on Galaxy phones, etc., but it’s still where you select your Wi-Fi network. Inside, look for a card that says hotspot or tethering.
Three options are available: mobile hotspot, Bluetooth tethering, and USB tethering. Here is how each of them works:
Mobile / Wi-Fi hotspot
This is the method you will probably use the most. As soon as you turn the switch on / off, the phone will start sending its WLAN which other devices can find in its list of networks. By default, a random password will be assigned, but both the one and the name can be changed. To connect, simply choose the correct name on the other device, type the password and you will be connected to the Internet.
Bluetooth tethering
When setting up a mobile hotspot, anyone is able to switch to your phone’s network if they know your password. First, you will have to pair the phone with the device you want to share the connection with by going to the Bluetooth settings, tap Pair new device and select the device you want to pair with.
Then go back to your phone‘s network settings and activate the Bluetooth tethering lever. Next, you will need to go to your laptop and select Bluetooth PAN as the network connection and connect to your Android phone. This will start tethering and you can use your phone’s mobile data on your laptop. Note: this method is significantly slower than a hotspot, but will consume less battery.
USB tethering
This option appears disabled unless you have a USB-C cable connecting the phone to the laptop. Once connected and turned on, it should be automatic, with the computer immediately recognizing and connecting to the new network.
Obviously, whatever mode you choose, it will use the mobile data of your profile, so if you have a limited plan, be careful not to exceed it. The websites and email will be fine, but the video streaming could be a problem, especially when the 5G plans become more common. So keep an eye on your data usage.