How to Use an Android Phone as an Internet Hotspot

One of the best consequences of the endless catchup game between the Android development team and the iOS (iPhone) development team is that we users get a lot of cool new features added every update. If one device has a key feature, it won’t be long before the other has it too, better and smarter. Just wait until all the AI-powered updates really begin to drop on these devices too!

While there are lots of intriguing options and capabilities, however, one of the  most pedestrian is also one of the most useful: using your smartphone as an Internet hotspot. Both the iPhone and Android have elegant solutions, and Android 14 even hints at something very future-forward, but we’ll get to that in a bit!

Shortcuts: Enable Hotspot | Advanced Settings | Connect Device

For now, I’m going to show how I use my Google Pixel 8a running Android 14 (Aug ’24 release) as an Internet hotspot with my Apple MacBook Pro. Yes, they do all work nicely together!

ENABLE HOTSPOT ON THE ANDROID PHONE

To start out, you’ll want to ensure that your Android phone is fully updated with the latest software and apps. Not because this feature has changed, but just because it’s a good practice. 🤓

Now go into Settings…

You can see that this phone is currently on the AT&T cellular network and connected to an Internet hotspot called AmanteCoffee. Just below airplane mode is what you seek, however: “Hotspot & tethering“. Tap on it.

There are quite a variety of different ways that you can connect a device to your Android phone and use it as a hotspot, including Wi-Fi, USB, Bluetooth, and Ethernet. The latter, of course, requires an Ethernet adapter, but if that’s what ya gotta do, it will give you the best possible performance.

For our task, however, Wi-Fi hotspot is going to be fine. Tap to enable it, then tap on the words “Wi-Fi hotspot” to reveal a hidden settings and preferences screen:

Here’s where you can change the name of your hotspot – mine is “Pixelated” – and, more importantly, set the password. Tap on Hotspot password and you can type in whatever you want:

Easy enough. You’re good to go, but…

A FEW ADVANCED SETTINGS TO CONSIDER

There are two more settings to consider before we switch to the other device: Instant hotspot and Speed & compatibility. The first is particularly helpful if you have other Android devices signed into the same Google account: With “Instant hotspot” enabled, you can then connect, say, an Android tablet with your Pixel hotspot with a single tap, no password needed.

Speed & compatibility is also quite interesting. Tap on it.

You can choose between 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz here – I recommend the 5 GHz for faster performance – but what’s really interesting is that “6 GHz”. What’s that? Here’s what I dug up: “Android 14 Beta 2 also shows a 6GHz frequency band. You can’t select it but it suggests that a future Pixel phone will support 6 GHz Wi-Fi hotspots. It’s rumored to be even faster than 5 GHz, so we’ll have to keep an eye out for that one!

SWITCHING TO THE OTHER DEVICE

Now let’s jump onto the MacBook Pro and connect to the Pixel 8a as our Wi-Fi hotspot. It’s easy, it shows up as just another Wi-Fi network:

Notice that Apple has a much fancier display of the iPhone-based “iDave 15 Pro” personal hotspot, making it quite clear that it’s not the same as the other Wi-Fi options. It also includes signal strength, connection type, and even battery status. Not with an Android phone!

Choose the new Android Internet hotspot and, as you would expect, you’ll be prompted to enter the network password:

Once the password’s entered, the Mac switches to using the Pixel and it works great. Zippy and seamless.

Meanwhile, there’s now a subtle indicator on the Android phone that the hotspot’s in use:

Can you spot it? Very subtle!

Pro Tip: There are lots of ways to manage your Android devices and ensure the best possible experience. Learn more by checking out my extensive Android help area while you’re here too!