Nowadays every day we have more devices connected to the Internet. When we are at home, thanks to the WiFi connection in our home we will not have problems. The problem begins when we want to access the network of networks away from home. In that sense, it must be remembered that, for example, many laptops and tablets cannot access the Internet by themselves because they do not have an integrated 4G modem. So, it makes sense to be able to use our mobile as a WiFi router to offer internet to those devices.
Before starting to explain its configuration, we are going to explain the reasons why using the mobile as a WiFi router can be very useful. Then we will explain how to configure our mobile to do so and what measures we can take to increase our security.
Reasons to use our mobile as a WiFi router
One of the reasons is the boom in teleworking, which has grown considerably and is here to stay. Some people have a second home, or a house in the country that they go to from time to time. However, having a landline to the Internet may not be profitable when you only occasionally go on a weekend or vacation.
It is also a good way to share our mobile data with family and friends . Sometimes we have a higher rate with a lot more GB than they do, which we don’t get to spend at the end of the month. In addition, it may be the case that one of them has run out of mobile data, and they have lowered the speed to 32 KB or 64 KB.
Another reason is that sometimes we have to go out of our house or office to a meeting on time. In those cases it is very common that we need to work with our laptop. Although it is true that, on some occasions, we could use a public network, that is usually not convenient. In that sense for security, it is better to use our mobile data. This is especially recommended if we use company resources, connect to our bank or email accounts. In this article we have a tutorial where we discuss everything about the dangers of public WiFi .
Requirements to use the mobile as a WiFi router
In order to use our mobile as a Wi-Fi router, the only thing we will need are two things:
- A smartphone.
- A mobile data rate.
We must take the security of that WiFi access point that we are going to create seriously. In this sense, we should apply security measures in the same way that we would do with the router in our house. Otherwise, any user nearby could connect you and see all the traffic of our WiFi wireless connection, in addition, it could also use our valuable mobile data to have Internet.
The first thing we have to do is set a good password that is strong . Ideally, that password should contain uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and symbols. As for recommended length, it would be a minimum of 12 characters. In this sense, what we should never do is put simple passwords style 12345678. Anyone could enter your WiFi network, run out of data all month or even steal personal information.
Another thing that we must check is that this network has at least WPA2 encryption to protect the security of our WiFi connection. Also, if possible, it is better to take the configured devices from home so that no one can see or hear that password. In addition, we must know how to choose which band is best for us to use, if the 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz. We will explain this in more depth when we configure a device. In summary, when creating our WiFi point we must emphasize its password, encryption and band.
First steps to configure the mobile
The first thing we have to do is locate the specific section where it is configured. To carry out this task we could use a mobile with an Android or iOS operating system. In this case I am going to give an example with Android, which is the most used currently. However, although it is not the same, many sections coincide.
One thing that coincides for everyone is that the activation and configuration we do in the Settings section. Each manufacturer calls it in a different way, in iOS it is called Internet Sharing . In Android in “Settings” it is usually found in a section called ” Other wireless connections , Connection and sharing , Network and internet “.
In case you don’t know, in “Settings” in the magnifying glass icon you can put the exact section if you know the name. Here’s an example:
That section that we could put directly into the magnifying glass and do it directly, saving a few steps, usually receives these names:
- Portable Wi-Fi zone.
- Portable access point.
- Share data over Wi-Fi.
- WiFi access point.
Here we are going to do it following all the steps, in this it would be « Settings , Other wireless connections » and this screen will appear:
On this occasion, the one we have to press is called ” Share data over WiFi ” and we will see the following information.
The next step we are going to do is tap on ” WiFi data sharing settings ” to start the configuration of our smartphone.
Configure WiFi security and frequency band
Now comes the time to configure the essential sections to be able to use our mobile as a WiFi router.
The first section is Name , with which we can distinguish our WiFi network from the others when searching for it. It is also very common that this option is called SSID .
The next thing we have to do is check the Security section. There we must have an encryption protocol. As we have already commented previously, minimum WPA2-PSK. Usually one is selected by default. Next, what we have to do is set a strong password. Remember that it must have a minimum of 12 characters, uppercase, lowercase, symbols and numbers. Just below we find the section to configure the band of our AP or access point.
As you can see, we have two possibilities. All devices can be connected to the 2.4 GHz band since it is the frequency band that has always been used in Wi-Fi wireless networks. In that sense we will not have any compatibility problem. It is characterized by better withstanding the distance and having much less speed than that of 5 GHz.
As for the 5 GHz band , here the issue is more complex since not all devices can connect to it. The trend is that most of those that have been manufactured in 2020 are compatible with this type of networks, but this is not always the case, especially in low-end models. It is characterized by a higher connection speed and a considerably lower distance than that offered by the 2.4 GHz band.
In this article, as a general rule we recommend 2.4 GHz for three reasons. One for compatibility and the other because reaching speeds with 4G or 3G that exceed it is not always possible. The third, because our data rates only have a certain GB at full speed.
Activation and additional settings
Once configured to activate it, we must click on sharing data over Wi-Fi . Then, if we have not done it previously, we must enable mobile data to be able to connect to the internet.
Another interesting section is to automatically disable data sharing over Wi-Fi . This is a very common function and it should be activated if you have it. In this case, it will allow us to save the battery of our smartphone. As soon as none are connected, it will turn off the access point automatically.
Now we are going to discuss Connection Management. As you can see, we have a connected device. If we click, it will give us additional information and more options.
If we click on connected devices and press on the BlackShark smartphone we can send it to the black list . From that moment on, that phone will be disconnected and will not have internet access.
The last section we are going to talk about is Data restriction . Thanks to it we can establish a limit after which the AP will turn off. Here every time we start to use it we will start from scratch. This may be different for each manufacturer.
With all these tips, you can configure your mobile as a WiFi router safely and easily, in such a way that you will provide Internet connectivity to both laptops as well as tablets and even other smartphones.