Carry Your Wifi With You

I have been hesitant to write this post because of my concern about abuse.  But this is a feature that can come in handy in a pinch.

WiFi hot spots available on all firm phones

All of the partner cell phones with Verizon now offer the ability to create a WiFi hot spot using your phone's 4g connection.  If you are somewhere that does not have internet, you can create a hot spot on your phone, then connect your laptop or other device to that hot spot and access the Internet.  If you have a personal phone, check your contract to see if a hot spot is available.  Some subscriptions charge extra for this service.  So even if your Android or iPhone has the capability, you still need to have a service provider which allows this option.

Use hot spots sparingly

Before I explain how to do this, I must issue a warning.  The firm pays for a limited amount of shared data each month.  If we go over that limit, we have to pay overage charges.  We usually stay safely within our limits with current usage, but it will be very easy to blow through that limit if people begin using their phone as a WiFi hot spot on a regular basis.  If your data usage begins to spike, we will notice and ask for an explanation.  Don't use this feature except on an occasion when needed for work.  Don't use it for high bandwidth activities such as streaming video or music.

There are other reasons not to use your phone as a hot spot.  It will drain your battery rather quickly. Also, a 4G connection is much slower than most traditional WiFi.  Don't expect to see the same sorts of speeds you see on your home WiFi or at Starbucks.

Set up Android hot spot

OK, with those warnings aside, here's how it works: on your Android, go into SETTINGS, then MORE NETWORKS, then add your hot spot:

Your Network SSID can be anything.  That is the name you will see when you try to connect to your phone.  My SSID is my initials, but you can make it whatever you want.

You have the option to "hide my device".  This will prevent your SSID from being broadcast.  If you are in a public area, this is a good idea as you don't want strangers seeing your hot spot and trying to access it.  If you do hide it however, you will need to remember your SSID and enter it manually when trying to connect to it.

Next, select Security.  I recommend using WPA2PSK.  This provides encryption so that others cannot see what your are transmitting over your network.  It also prevents others from accessing your network without a password.  Again, this is very important in a public place.  Your password can be whatever you want, but I use my cell phone number.

Set up iPhone hot spot

The iPhone has a few less choices.  First, go into SETTINGS, then PERSONAL HOTSPOT.  There, you can turn on the Personal Hotspot and set the WiFi password to whatever you want (you will need to enter this later on your device, so memorize it or write it down).  You have no security choices and your SSID is set to whatever your phone's name is.  Save your settings and you are ready to connect.

Connect your computer to the hot spot

That should be it.  Once turned on, you can look for the hot spot on your laptop and connect to it, just like you would any other WiFi location.  If you hid your SSID, you won't see it and will need to enter it manually.  If you like to prepare ahead of time, don't hide your SSID until  you have connected once.  Then hide it, but you will have that network saved on your laptop and can still connect with a simple click.

Remember to turn it off

When you are done, be sure to go back into your phone settings and turn off the hot spot.  Otherwise, it will continue to drain your battery at a rapid pace.  The hot spot turns itself off after 15 minutes of inactivity, but you don't want it running that long if you are on battery.

Alternative Connections

WiFi is the easiest way to connect, but you can also connect via Bluetooth (assuming your computer has Bluetooth) or via a USB cable (Android calls this "tethering").  These options are set up in the same place as your set up WiFi.  USB is obviously more secure, but requires using cables, making it more cumbersome.  However, it has the advantage of keeping your phone charged through the cord while you are using it.  But since WiFi is easiest, that is my recommended option.

Use as a last resort

Because these hot spots are slow, battery draining, and use up the firm's shared data, it should only be used if no other WiFi is available in the area.  Since you can do most of the same work directly on your phone, that is usually a better option even where Wifi is not available.  Still, there are times when this can be useful for one reason or another.