Mobile Hotspot

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A Mobile Hotspot lets you share your phone’s data connection with other devices, like laptops, tablets, or other phones. It’s built into most smartphones and is handy when there’s no WiFi available.

Heads up: Using a hotspot will use data from your plan and can drain your phone’s battery faster, so keep an eye on both.

How to turn on Mobile Hotspot

Using iPhone

Open the Settings app.

Select Personal Hotspot.

Toggle Allow Others to Join on.

Toggle Personal Hotspot on.

Note the WiFi password shown — you’ll need this to connect the device that will use your hotspot data.

Using Android

Steps may vary slightly depending on your device and Android version. These instructions work for most phones running Android 10 or later.

Open the Settings app

Tap Network & internet (or Connections)

Select Hotspot & tethering

Choose Wi-Fi hotspot.

Toggle it on.

On the other device, open WiFi settings, select the phone’s network name, and enter the password shown in the hotspot settings.

Customize your Hotspot name and password

Using iPhone

Open Settings

Select Personal Hotspot

Tap WiFi Password

Enter a new password (minimum 8 characters) and tap Done

Your hotspot name will be the name that you’ve set for your iPhone. This can be found and changed by going to:

Open Settings

Select General

Tap About

Tap Name and change the name displayed.

Changing your hotspot name or password will disconnect any currently connected devices. You’ll need to reconnect using the new credentials.

Using Android

Open Settings

Select Network & internet

Tap Hotspot & tethering

Select Wi-Fi hotspot

Tap Hotspot name (SSID) to change the network name

Tap Hotspot password to change the password

Enter a new password (minimum 8 characters) and save

Make sure your hotspot is toggled on after making updates

Note: Steps may vary slightly depending on your Android device and software version. Use the Settings search bar if you don’t see these options.

Changing your hotspot name or password will disconnect any currently connected devices. You’ll need to reconnect using the new credentials.

Manually configuring APN for SmartLess Mobile

If your hotspot isn’t connecting right away, updating your APN settings can help get it working smoothly. Follow our APN Settings article for step-by-step instructions for iPhone and Android.