How to use Mobile Hotspot without using Data?

Learn how to use mobile hotspot without using data in under 5 minutes. See what a hotspot is and how we can use it on our devices. Learn how you can boost up your hotspot speeds with a few simple tricks. But if you want to share the internet without a hotspot then check out the USB tethering. If you want to take a short way in then check out the video on our youtube video.

In the article, we are going to see what is a hotspot on your phone and how you can use it. But if you already know about hotspot then you can skip to the section with steps on how to use them.

What Is Mobile Hotspot?

You must remember the old days when you needed to use a cable to share data with your desktop or laptop. But with the introduction of the hotspot, we do not need to use any cable since the whole process is wireless. The most common use of hotspots is sharing the internet with another device, but there are also other uses. This is known as a mobile hotspot which we use in our daily use to share data or share files. Or we can say that it allows you to create a wireless access point with which gives you a portable hotspot and tethering option.

This also means your data will slowly drain leaving you with no data balance, this is why people heritage to use mobile hotspots. Because if you turn it on and forget about it, then the user can finish your data which will give you a big phone bill. But we will see later in the article, how we can set a data usage limit after which hotspot will stop the internet connectivity.

How Does Mobile Hotspot Work?

We can understand hotspots like turning on Wifi at our homes, but the only difference is that it uses your cellular data and is portable. You can use it if your friend needs internet on his phone or you want to connect your laptop with the internet. With the introduction of 4G and 5G capable phones, we can create a high-speed WiFi (hotspot) connection on the go. (Hotspot uses 802.11ac and 802.11ax protocols.)

All you need to use a hotspot is any smartphone that came after 2012 and a strong/fair cellular connection and you are all set to go. Check if your phone is connected to the internet or else the hotspot will connect but will show “no internet”. So if you are in an area with bad reception like in the countryside or the woods. Then there is no use in trying the hotspot.

In the next section, we will see how much data is used by different apps and what things you should keep in mind.

How Much Data Does Mobile Hotspot Use?

We all know that apps nowadays use a lot of data since they perform many functions which require data. Now you should keep in mind that hotspot data usage depends on your friend (or the person using your hotspot) and they have control over it. If your friend decides to stream high res videos or download anything big then your data will be finished in no time. Since multiple devices can be connected to your hotspot, the data can be finished faster than you can realize it. Take a look at how much data can be consumed by different apps with different settings.

NOTE: You can ask your friend to not download or watch anything to avoid finishing your data. But if you can not ask them then set a usage limit on your hotspot. We will learn how to achieve that in later sections.

Netflix: The data usage will be around 0.3 Gb on Low quality for 60 mins, 0.7 Gb on Medium quality. 3 Gb on High quality for 60 mins and 7 Gb on UHD quality for 60 mins.

Gmail: It can use up to 3 Mb if there is only text, but more if images or videos are attached in the mail.

YouTube: The data usage will be around 1.5 Gb on 720p for 60 mins, 3 Gb on 1080p. Now if we see the usage per minute, then for 1080p it will use 50 Mb.

Zoom: Depending on the quality it can use 800 Mb to 2.4 Gb per hour, which comes around 13 Mb to 40 Mb per minute.

Instagram: It depends on what kind of media you consume, on average 35 Mb of data in 5 minutes or 420 Mb in an hour.

As you can see, apps can consume a lot of mobile data if you are not careful enough. You should be worried about data usage unless you have an unlimited data limit provided by Sprint or Verizon. But if you have a monthly limit then we will suggest you do not leave your hotspot on to avoid paying for additional data.

How to Set up Mobile Hotspot

Setting up a hotspot is very easy as you can turn it on and off with a few taps. Requires only one tap if you have already set it up. On both Android and Apple it’s very simple to use a hotspot.

How to Set up on Android

Follow these steps to set up hotspot on your Android device:

Turn on your device and open “Settings”
Look for “Connections” or “Network & Internet”, tap on it, and then search for “Mobile Hotspot & Tethering”
Tap on it and then tap on the toggle beside “Hotspot”, this will turn on your device’s hotspot
From here you can also change the hotspot’s name and password along with other settings.

NOTE: Drag down the quick access menu from the top of the screen. From there you can turn off and on the hotspot with a single tap. Tap & hold on to the hotspot icon, this will open the hotspot option menu.

How to Set up on Apple

Follow these steps to set up hotspot on your Android device:

Open your iPhone and go to “Settings”
Look for “Cellular” or “Personal Hotspot”, tap on it
Now tap on the slider which says “Allow others to join”, turn it on

NOTE: Drag the quick access menu from the bottom left side of the screen. Tap on the hotspot icon to turn it on and off.

How to Use Mobile Hotspot without Using Data

This is the section where we discuss how to solve the problem of multiple devices connected to your hotspot and using up all your data. This has become a very common problem since background apps can also use a lot of data to update themselves. Since the device connecting to your hotspot will use WiFi. PlayStore sees it as the perfect time to update all the apps.

To solve this problem we can use the feature on your device called “WiFi tethering”, this will allow you to use a Mobile hotspot without data. With the help of this, we can convert our phone into an internet router, and the good thing is you can also use an old phone for it. If you have any old phone lying around useless then you can use it as a hotspot without wasting your precious data. Keep in mind that the old phone must support the hotspot feature and come after the year 2010.

Follow these steps to use a mobile hotspot without data:

Turn on your phone and go to “Settings”
Look for “Wireless & Networks”, tap on it, and then look for “Portable WiFi hotspot”
Tap on it and tap on the toggle next to “Hotspot”, keep in mind to turn off the mobile data before turning on the hotspot
Now open your other device, open “Settings” and search for “WiFi access point” or simply turn WiFi on and it will search for the hotspot itself
Once you see the name of the hotspot, tap on it and you should be connected

NOTE: If you are using an older smartphone then the steps will vary but the general direction and settings name should be similar. Along with changing the hotspot’s name, you can also change the password to remove previously connected devices. Within the hotspot settings, you get the option to see how many devices are connected at any given time. You can remove anyone if you want from the hotspot network.

This is another way of sharing your data with your laptop or desktop. It’s useful if your laptop does not have WiFi capability or the phone battery is low. But you should keep in mind that older smartphones will not support this feature. If they came before 2015. Follow the steps to use USB tethering:

Turn on your laptop and phone, and connect them via a USB cable. Make sure the USB cable is capable of sharing data, some cables only allow charging
Wait for your phone to get visible on your laptop, it should notify you
Once connected, open “Settings” on your Android device and look for “Connections“ or “Network & Internet”
Tap on it and look for ”Mobile Hotspot & Tethering”, tap on it and toggle the “USB tethering”

Now you should be able to use the internet on your laptop at high speeds, you may need to confirm while connecting “Trust this computer?”. But if you want to increase the hotspot speed then check out the next section.

You can find several third-party apps for creating hotspots that have additional features. Here you can find an app that can limit the allowed data usage by the hotspot. And notify you once you react to that usage. Check out Google’s PlayStore for the apps.

How to Make Mobile Hotspot Faster

If you notice that you are suffering from low internet speeds on the device connected to the hotspot. Here are some ways you can speed up the internet connection for the hotspot. Try these tricks to speed up the connection:

Disconnect from charger: Phones in charging state prioritize other tasks other than hotspot, and the opposite may be also possible. You need to try plugging in and out to check if there is any significant change in the internet speed. Every device handles task optimization differently.

Close Background Apps: Closing apps that are running in the background will give the device a boost. And could also lead to higher internet speeds. You need to try it yourself to see if it worked or not.

Location Change: As we discussed earlier, your cell network will affect the hotspot’s internet. And try to go somewhere with a good connection and it will increase the speed. Try turning your phone’s airplane mode on & off to reset the network.

Use a booster: If you are suffering from slow internet speed all the time then you can buy a signal booster online. Which will increase the network connection on your phone.
Reset Network Settings: You can restart your phone or turn the airplane more on & off to reset the network. Chances are that it will make your phone try harder to get a good connection.

Summary

In the article, we learned about hotspots and why they are used. But if you are still confused then we will suggest you perform DIY. Keep in mind, data can get finished if you leave it on and other people have access to your hotspot. And if you want to read more useful articles then check out other articles on our page.

How to use Mobile Hotspot without using Data?