Share your internet connection

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.

Wi‑Fi hotspot: Set up

  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 network name for your hotspot.
    • To see the current password, check Show password.
  4. Touch Save.

Wi-Fi hotspot: Connect devices

  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!

    You'll see in the status bar, indicating that your hotspot is active.

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

To disconnect devices from your hotspot, turn off Portable Wi‑Fi hotspot. When you turn it back on, devices with the password can connect automatically. To prevent this, change the Wi-Fi password.

Wi-Fi hostpot: Control connections

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

To disconnect all devices and prevent users from reconnecting:

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

Wi-Fi hotspot: Change 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. 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, and touch More > Tethering & portable hotspot.

  5. Turn on USB tethering to start the connection.

    You'll see in your notifications.

To stop the connection, 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, turn off Bluetooth tethering.

Fix a problem

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