Ifyou'restuckinasituationwhereyouneedaWi-Ficonnection,butcan'tgetitanywhereelse,chancesareyoursmartphonecangiveyoutheboostyouneed.BysettingupahotspotthroughWi-FioraUSBcable,youcanturnyourphoneintoasourceforinternetthatlaptops,tablets,andotherphonescanusetogetonline.

Itmaysoundcomplicated,butyoucanbeconnectedwithjustafewtaps.Mostofthemajorcarriersoffertetheringservices,thoughyourabilitytocreateaWi-Fihotspotdependsonyourserviceplananddataallowance.

Onethingtokeepinmind:tetheringeatsupbatterylifeinadditiontodata.Investinginaportablechargerisagoodideaifyouintendtousehotspotmodefrequently.Ifyou'rereadytotether,here'showtoturnyourphoneintoaWi-Fihotspot.

TurnonWi-FiHotspotWithiOSDevices

TosetupapersonalhotspotonyouriPhoneoriPad(Wi-Fi+Cellular),gotoSettings>PersonalHotspot>AllowOtherstoJoinandtoggleittoon(ifyoudon'tseePersonalHotspotinSettings,tapCellular>PersonalHotspot).MakenoteoftheWi-Fipassword.

OpentheWi-Fimenuonthedeviceyouneedtoconnecttotheinternet.LookforyouriOSdevice(ex:PCMag'siPhone),selectit,thenenterthepasswordthatappearsonyouriPhone'sPersonalHotspotscreen.

iPhoneandiPadalsoprovidealternatewaystoconnectwithyourhotspot,includingBluetoothanddirectUSBconnection.YoumayneedtoturnonMaximizeCompatibilitytomaketheseconnectionswork,butkeepinmindthatthequalityofyourconnectionmaybeimpacted.

Onceyoursecondarydeviceisconnected,youshouldnowbeabletosurftheweb(andconsumemobiledata).Todisconnect,togglePersonalHotspottooffonyouriOSdevice.

TurnOnWi-FiHotspotWithAndroidDevices

HowyouaccesshotspotsonAndroiddeviceswilldependonwhichphoneyouhaveandwhatversionofAndroidyou'rerunning.Youcangenerallyopenthepull-downshadeandturnonyourmobilehotspotfromthereorfinditburiedinsettings.

Whereexactlyandwhatit'scalledwilldifferdependingonyourphone'smanufacturer.SamsungphonesburyitinConnections>MobileHotspotandTethering>MobileHotspot,whileLGonlyasksyoutotapSettings>Tethering.Youcanprobablyfinditquickeronyourspecificdevicebysearchingfor"hotspot"or"tether."

Oncethehotspothasbeenenabled,thereshouldbeanetworknameandpassworddisplayedinthesettingsscreenthatcanbeusedtoconnectanotherdevicetotheinternet.

OtherWaystoGetInternet

Ifyouneedamobilehotspotbutcan'tuseyourphone,therearesomealternativestocheckout.YoucouldinsteadturnyourlaptopintoaWi-Fihotspot.Ifyou'reabusinesstravelerwhoneedstobeconnectedallday,consideradedicatedWi-Fihotspot;wehaveafewfavorites.