Need to connect to the internet in a pinch but don't have anything other than your phone? You've come to the right place.
What is mobile tethering?
Mobile tethering is simply using any mobile device that's connected to the internet to allow secondary devices such as another phone, laptop, or tablet to piggyback off the same connection.
Depending on your mobile phone and the secondary device(s) you can generally share your mobile data via one of three ways: WiFi, Bluetooth, or a cable. In the case of a WiFi-type connection your phone essentially becomes a portable WiFi network, a WiFi hotspot - a neat trick.
How to use your phone as a WiFi hotspot
The exact method for turning your mobile phone into a WiFi hotspot will depend on the make and operating system. It's as simple as toggling a few settings.
We've outlined the steps that should work with most iPhones and Android phones below.
- Open the Settings app
- Tap Personal Hotspot - it has a green icon displaying a link symbol
- Tap the button next to Allow Others to Join
- You can change the WiFi password to whatever you wish, however, it needs to be at least eight characters
- On your other device navigate to your WiFi settings and look for your iPhone in the list of available networks
- Tap to join the WiFi network created by your iPhone, if asked enter the Personal Hotspot password. You shouldn't need to enter the password if connecting from a device that is signed into the same iCloud account
- You should now be connected.
- Open the Settings app
- Tap Connections - it has a blue icon displaying the symbol for WiFi
- Tap Mobile Hotspot and Tethering
- Tap the button next to Mobile Hotspot
- Update the WiFi password as you like, it must contain at least eight characters
- On your other device navigate to your WiFi settings and look for your device in the list of available networks
- Tap to join the WiFi network created by your phone, enter the password when prompted
- You should now be connected. Note: These steps are for Android 9 and up but the steps are very similar on previous versions
WiFi dongles and pocket WiFi modems
A WiFi hotspot is usually something you might use in an emergency. You're at a cafe with no WiFi and need to join an important work meeting. Really any circumstance where you need to do something online that can't be (or you'd prefer it not to be) done on your phone.
It relies on you having enough data on you mobile plan, especially if you're not on an unlimited data plan.
If you find this happening to you regularly you might be interested in a mobile broadband plan. These can be used with portable devices such as a pocket WiFi modem or USB modem (usually referred to as a dongle).
Now, compared to using your WiFi hotspot at no extra cost a pocket WiFi modem will cost you. It's at least $100 for a
modem and then there are ongoing plan fees dependent on how much data you want.
Here are some 4G and 5G
pocket WiFi plans:
|
#1
|
SpinTel
$38/mth
($28 plan + $10 modem)
+ $20 Upfront
Min. cost $58
Link not supplied
|
|
#2
|
Telstra
$39/mth
($33 plan + $6 modem)
Min. cost $160.50
Link not supplied
|
|
#3
|
Vodafone
$99
Link not supplied
|
|
Telstra
$54.83/mth
($33 plan + $21.83 modem)
Min. cost $540.42
Link not supplied
|
The options are fairly limited. Alternatively, you could buy your own pocket WiFi modem outright and then pair it with any data-only SIM plan. Here are some popular plans from our database:
|
#1
|
Vodafone
Editor's Pick
$20/mth
Min. cost $20
Link not supplied
|
|
#2
|
Telstra
$200
Link not supplied
|
|
#3
|
Tangerine Telecom
Editor's Pick
$34.90/mth
Min. cost $34.90
Link not supplied
|
|
#4
|
Aussie Broadband
$40/mth
Min. cost $40
Link not supplied
|
|
#5
|
SpinTel
$28/mth
Min. cost $28
Link not supplied
|
|
#6
|
amaysim
$350
Link not supplied
|
|
#7
|
ALDI mobile
$125
Link not supplied
|
|
#8
|
Belong
$40/mth
Min. cost $40
Link not supplied
|
|
#9
|
More
$55/mth
Min. cost $55
Link not supplied
|
|
#10
|
Lebara Mobile
$37
Link not supplied
|
What is the difference between a mobile hotspot and tethering?
In general, the terms are largely interchangeable in certain contexts. A mobile hotspot is any portable device such a
phone or pocket WiFi that can provide an internet connection for other devices, plural. A mobile tether or tethering refers more specifically to the connection between two devices.
Colloquially most people aren't throwing the word "tether" around. They use terms like "hotspot" and "hotspotting".
Things to keep in mind when using your phone as a WiFi hotspot
There are a couple of things to consider when you're tethered to a WiFi hotspot.
Data allowance
If you're on a plan with limited data it's good to keep in mind how much you have remaining for your billing period. You can usually check via your telco's app or website when logged in.
Terms of use
In general, you can think of your mobile plan as yours to use how you wish. However, telcos do have Fair Use policies in place. They can be quite particular about how you're supposed to their service and breaking those rules may result in your plan being suspended.
Some telcos have specific mention of tethering in their Critical Information Summaries that specify tethering is only permitted for personal use and must not be used as a substitute for a home internet service. In the case of using it as you need, you'd likely be good to go but you'd want to be wary of buying a plan with the intention of say working from home or running a business.
Dylan Crismale
Digital Content Editor
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