Share your internet connection

About hotspots and tethering

Want to use the internet on a laptop computer or tablet but don't have a connection? You can share your phone's cellular data connection with multiple devices by turning your phone into a Wi‑Fi hotspot. You can also share your internet connection with a single device using USB tethering or Bluetooth tethering.

NoteYour cellular plan must support data sharing. If you don’t know, contact your carrier.

Set up Wi‑Fi hotspot

  1. Check that cellular data is on. If cellular data is off, your phone doesn't have an internet connection to share.
  2. Go to Settings > More > Tethering & portable hotspot.

  3. Touch Set up Wi‑Fi hotspot and do any:

    • To make it easier to identify your hotspot when connecting to it, change the name for your hotspot.
    • To see the current password, check Show password.
    • If the hotspot signal is experiencing interference, change the broadcast channel/band to 5GHz. If the hotspot signal seems weak, change it to 2GHz. (This feature is not available in all countries.)
  4. Touch Save.

Connect devices to hotspot

  1. Check that cellular data is on. If cellular data is off, your phone doesn't have an internet connection to share.
  2. Go to Settings > More > Tethering & portable hotspot.

  3. Turn Portable Wi‑Fi hotspot on and plug in your phone to charge. Using the hotspot really drains the battery!

    When your hotspot is active, you'll see in the status bar.

  4. To connect a device, open the device’s Wi-Fi settings, select your phone’s hotspot and enter the hotspot password. Learn how to find the hotspot's password.

Manage hotspot connections

By assigning a password for your hotspot, you ensure that people can't connect to your hotspot without your knowledge or permission.

To disconnect all devices and prevent them from reconnecting:

  1. Turn the hotspot off.
  2. Change the password.
  3. Turn the hotspot back on to continue using it.

View or change hotspot password

  1. Go to Settings > More > Tethering & portable hotspot.
  2. Touch Set up Wi‑Fi hotspot.
  3. To see the current password, check Show password.
  4. To change the password, type over the current password.
NoteAlthough you can turn off passwords for your hotspot, keeping a password prevents unauthorized usage of your cellular data.

USB tethering

To connect a device to the internet using your phone's cellular data and a USB cable:

  1. Check that cellular data is on. If cellular data is off, your phone doesn't have an internet connection to share.

  2. Connect your phone to your computer with a USB cable.

  3. On your phone, go to Settings.
  4. Make sure Wi‑Fi is off.
  5. Touch More > Tethering & portable hotspot.

  6. Turn on USB tethering to start the connection.

    You'll see in your notifications.

To stop the connection, touch the notification and turn off USB tethering, then disconnect your phone and computer.

Bluetooth tethering

To connect a device to the internet using your phone's cellular data and a Bluetooth connection:

  1. Check that cellular data is on. If cellular data is off, your phone doesn't have an internet connection to share.
  2. Turn on Bluetooth on your phone and pair with the other device.
  3. Set up the other device to get its network connection via Bluetooth.
  4. On your phone, go to Settings.
  5. Touch More > Tethering & portable hotspot.

  6. Turn on Bluetooth tethering to start the connection.

    You'll see in your notifications.

To stop the connection, touch the notification and turn off Bluetooth tethering.

Fix an issue

If you're having issues, try these troubleshooting steps: