How To Use Hotspot On Samsung Galaxy S8 And Galaxy S8 Plus

Mobile Hotspot on Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus is known to use your data service and battery power. But being able to turn your smartphone into a portable Wi-Fi hotspot and share an Internet connection with other devices, your PC connected to the phone through a USB cable included, or any other device connected wirelessly to your phone, is a great experience indeed. So, if you have a tethering plan on your account and you’d like to try this, here is what you should know.

First, you need to turn Mobile Hotspot On

Even with all the settings in place, as long as you’re not activating this feature, no other device can connect to your Mobile Hotspot. Begin by learning how to turn it On or Off, which implies to:

Access the Home screen;
Launch the Apps icon;
Select Settings;
Tap on Mobile hotspot and tethering;
Select Mobile hotspot;
Tap on it to turn it On, tap once again if you want to turn it off.

Since you’re here, you should also bear in mind that when you activate the Mobile Hotspot, the feature won’t have any protection at all. This means that as long as you leave it On, any other device in the nearby can connect to it. This brings us to the next step of the process…

Second, you need to configure the Mobile Hotspot settings

If you want to connect another device to the newly activated Mobile Hotspot of your Samsung Galaxy S8, you need to tackle the Wi-Fi settings of that second device. Therefore, after you have followed the instructions from above:

Access the device you’re planning to connect to the hotspot;
Activate its Wi-Fi;
Initiate a scan for Wi-Fi hotspots;
Select your Samsung Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S8 Plus from the results list;
Type the mobile hotspot password that you previously set and you’re in.

Third, discover the Allowed Device list

This special list dictates what devices can actually connect to your Mobile Hotspot. You are the one who configures this list, right from your smartphone. As long as a device is mentioned on the Allowed Device list, once it scans for available hotspots and finds your phone, it will be able to use the Mobile Hotspot name and the password and have wireless internet from you.

Just like mentioned from the very beginning, keeping the Mobile Hotspot active will result into using exclusively your mobile data. Not only for the devices that connect to the hotspot, but also for your own Samsung Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S8 Plus. Whatever apps are running on your device, whenever they need to connect to the Internet, they will do it using the mobile data plan.

When you’re traveling abroad, this latter aspect should particularly concern you. That’s because roaming charges can be quite high. To use the roaming service with the Mobile Hotspot activated, you will have to get back to the Mobile Hotspot menu under Mobile Hotspot And Tethering, in the general Settings.

Activate the hotspot and then tap on the MORE option. Under the allowed devices, use the ADD menu to enter the name of the device you are trying to connect to your Samsung Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S8 Plus mobile hotspot and the MAC address. Hit the OK button when you’re ready.