If you find yourself needing to use the Internet in a sticky situation and there is no Wi-Fi available, it’s possible to use a smartphone’s 3G or 4G connection to connect your laptop to the Internet. You may have to pay your phone service provider a monthly fee for this service, called tethering or personal hotspot. In addition, your laptop has to be Wi-Fi capable (newer laptops all are).
Check with your service provider before tethering. Each provider differs on how they charge for this service and you don’t want to incur unwanted fees.
- Start by turning on the hotspot feature on your phone (typically this is found in Network settings).
- On your laptop, press Win+I, and then click Network & Internet.
- Click Show Available Networks and then click your phone’s Wi-Fi connection.
- Click Connect and enter the security key.
- Click Next.
Be aware of the drain on your phone’s battery when tethering. Connect your phone to a power source when tethering, if possible, and turn off hotspot when you’re not using it.
