Turn your Samsung Galaxy S4 into a wifi hotspot to share internet with your laptop wirelessly Marshmallow vs Lollipop vs Connect to a Mobile Hotspot with a Windows Laptop ... and 1 more
Edited by Mark Joel Cristobal, Leomar Umpad, Eng, Melsan and 20 others
Have you ever wanted to browse the web on your Laptop or Tablet but couldn't because there was no WiFi signal around? If you have a Samsung Galaxy S4, you're in luck: through a process called tethering, you can create a WiFi network using your phone as a wireless router.
There are several important things to remember when tethering. Be sure to read the Tips Tricks & Warnings section after you read through the rest of the guide.
*Please Read* Not all cell phone carriers allow their users to use mobile hotspots. If you follow the steps below for your operating system and notice the Tethering/Mobile hotspot option isn't available, your carrier may not offer with your plan. Contact your customer support branch for further inquiries.
Method 1: Marshmallow
The steps below will take you right through the entire process of setting up and configuring a WiFi Mobile Hotspot on your Galaxy S4. The first thing you need to do is turn your data on.
Please remember to watch your data usage carefully when you share your device's network connection.
- 1From the home screen, tap the "apps" icon.
- 2Inside Apps, tap "Settings".
- 3On the Settings screen, scroll down to and tap "Data usage".
- 4Here inside Data usage, make sure the little box is checked.Once data is enabled, tap the white arrow in the upper left corner to head back to Settings.
- 5Back on the main Settings screen, scroll to and tap, "Tethering and Mobile Hotspot".
- 6Inside Tethering and Mobile Hotspot, tap "Mobile hotspot", then tap "OK" when the message pops-up.
- 7If you use the default credentials, skip to #connect to a mobile hotspot with a windows laptop.With Mobile hotspot enabled, you can either use the default network name and password (located halfway down the screen) or, you can set a custom name/password.To customize your Mobile Hotspot, continue to the next step.
- 8To change the network name/password, tap the three-dot menu in the upper right corner, followed by "Configure hotspot".
- 9Change the name and choose a new password, or change "Security" to "Open" if you don't want a password at all.Now you can configure your Mobile Hotspot further.You can also hide your device/hotspot. This will make your connection invisible to devices within range. You'll have to search for it specifically on your laptop/tablet to connect.
- 10From the Mobile hotspot screen, tap the three-dot menu in the upper right corner, then tap "Allowed devices".You can also set your Hotspot to only allow certain devices to connect.
- 11Enter the name and mac address of the device (laptop/tablet), then tap "OK".On Allowed devices, tap the "+" symbol in the upper right corner.
- 12To adjust your Hotspot's Timeout settings, tap the three-dot menu in the upper right corner, followed by "Timeout settings".
- 13When no devices are connected, the timeout timer will begin.Here you can select how long you want your device to wait before disabling Mobile Hotspot.
Method 2: Lollipop
Follow the steps below to enable and configure a WiFi Mobile Hotspot on your Samsung S4. We'll first ensure that your data is turned on.
Please be very careful with your data usage when you share your device's connection. Unless you have an unlimited data plan, you'll want to watch your usage with a careful eye.
- 1On the home screen, tap "Apps".
- 2While on Apps, tap the "Settings" gear.
- 3On the Settings screen, tap the "Connection" tab, followed by "Data usage".
- 4Inside Data usage, make sure "Mobile data" has a checkmark next to it.When data is turned on, head back to Settings by tapping the white arrow in the upper left corner.
- 5On Settings, tap "More networks".
- 6Inside More networks, tap "Tethering and Mobile hotspot".
- 7Here in Tethering and Mobile hotspot, tap the switch in the upper right corner.When the pop-up appears, tap "OK" to enable a Mobile hotspot.
- 8Tap "Mobile hotspot" at the top to get the default password or configure your Hotspot further.Now that Mobile hotspot is turned on, you have the choice of creating your own network name and password, or using the default.
- 9If you wish to use a custom password, continue to the next step.If you go with the default network name and password, skip to #connect to a mobile hotspot with a windows laptop.
- 10From Mobile hotspot, tap the menu button below the screen, followed by "Configure".
- 11To use it you'll have to manually search for your Mobile hotspot from your laptop/tablet.Here you can add a custom network name and password, or, use no password and switch Security to "Open"..You can also hide your hotspot from other devices within range
- 12To only allow certain devices to connect to your Mobile hotspot, tap the menu button below the screen, followed by "Allow devices".
- 13Enter the name and mac address of the device and tap "OK".To add a device to your Allowed list, tap the "+" sign in the upper right corner.
- 14On Mobile hotspot, tap the menu button below the screen, followed by "Timeout settings".You can also adjust Timeout settings.
- 15If you never want your device to disable Mobile hotspot, select "Never time-out" from the list.When nothing is connected to your Mobile hotspot, it will disable after the amount of time you select here.
Method 3: Connect to a Mobile Hotspot with a Windows Laptop
- 1When the list of available connections opens, locate your network and click "Connect".When your Mobile Hotspot is active, click the Internet Access icon on the taskbar.
Method 4: Jelly Bean/Kitkat
- 1 Turning A Samsung Galaxy S4 Into a WiFi Hotspot
- 2 Configuring a WiFi Hotspot on the Samsung Galaxy S4
- 3 Activate a WiFi Hotspot on Samsung Galaxy S4
- 4 Connect to a Samsung Galaxy S4's WiFi Hotspot
- 5 Hide the device
- 6 Optional: Limit access to specific devices only
- 7 Tips Tricks & Warnings
- 8 Questions and Answers
- 8.1 My hotspot configuration is okay on the phone but my computer is unable to detect this hotspot?
- 8.2 How can I get a free hotspot without paying Sprint for it?
- 8.3 My Samsung Galaxy S4 finds the Laptop, but no response or action is made by Laptop.
- 8.4 Was just looking to see if I could use my blackberry with Galaxy 4. Can access internet through blackberry but wanted to connect video chatting with grandson
- 8.5 After I tap Mobile Networks, I go to a screen which has 6 choices
- 8.6 Need support on obtaining password for tethering?
- 8.7 What kind of PCI WiFi adapter do I need for WiFi from Galaxy S4?
- 9 Comments
Turning A Samsung Galaxy S4 Into a WiFi Hotspot
Using your Samsung Galaxy S4 for tethering consists of three major steps: configuring your phone's wireless hotspot, activating the hotspot so your phone will push a signal out, and connecting your devices to the newly-activated hotspot.
Configuring a WiFi Hotspot on the Samsung Galaxy S4
- 1Go to your Galaxy S4's Home screen by pressing the Home button.
- 2This will open your notification panel.From your Home screen, drag the notification bar from the top of the screen to the bottom.
- 3From the notification panel, tap on the Settings icon to open the Settings app.
- 4Within the Settings app, tap on the Connections tab.
- 5In the Connections tab, tap on More Networks to show the Wireless and Networks page.
- 6From the Wireless and Networks page, tap the Tethering and Portable Hotspot panel.
- 7From the Tethering and Portable Hotspot screen, tap on Portable WiFi Hotspot.
- 8Take a second to read through the descriptions. After you've read them, tap the Configure button (lower-right part of the screen) to start configuring your WiFi hotspot.You will be taken to the welcome page.
- 9The SSID will be your network's name; you can name it anything you'd like.In the Configure menu, type your desired Network SSID.
- 10Pick one of the options, and be sure to set (and remember!) a secure password.In the same menu, under Security, you can choose the kind of security you want for your network.
- 11You have now successfully configured your phone to share its internet connection via WiFi.Double-check your SSID and security settings, and tap the Save button when you are done..
Activate a WiFi Hotspot on Samsung Galaxy S4
After configuring your WiFi Hotspot settings, you can follow these steps to activate a Samsung Galaxy S4 WiFi hotspot.
- 1This is the rectangular button located on the lower-middle part of the front of your Samsung Galaxy S4.Go to your S4's Home Menu by pressing the Home button.
- 2This will open your notification panel.From your Home Menu, drag the notification bar from the top of the screen to the bottom.
- 3From the notification panel, tap on the Settings icon to open the Settings Menu.
- 4Within the Settings Menu, tap on the "Connections" tab.
- 5From the Connections tab, tap on "More Networks" to show the "Wireless and Networks" page.
- 6From the Wireless and Networks page, tap on "Tethering and Portable Hotspot."
- 7The switch will turn from gray to green, indicating the WiFi hotspot is turned on. Your phone is now ready to share its internet connection via WiFi.Tap on the switch to the right of "Portable WiFi Hotspot" to turn your hotspot on.
Connect to a Samsung Galaxy S4's WiFi Hotspot
After setting up and turning on your Galaxy S4's hotspot, you'll want to connect your devices to the network. Follow the steps below to do just that:
- 1Turn on your Laptop or Tablet's WiFi.
- 2Navigate to your device's list of available WiFi networks.
- 3Find the name you gave to your Galaxy S4's network and open it. If you have set a password for the hotspot, enter it when prompted.A list of available WiFi networks will appear.
- 4Repeat the steps above for any additional devices you wish to connect to your new hotspot.
Hide the device
If you wish to hide your network from view while you're in public or when you just don't want the network to show up for anyone around you, just tap Hide My Device and then Save. The network will still exist, but it won't appear in the list of WiFi networks on any device nearby.
Optional: Limit access to specific devices only
It is possible to limit access to your hotspot to specific devices' MAC addresses. A MAC (Media Access Control) address is a unique identity code assigned to laptops, tablets, and other WiFi connected devices. Without enabling MAC filtering, any device with your network's password can connect to it. The simple guide below will show you how to allow access only to approved MAC addresses.
- 1Tap the name of your wireless hotspot.
- 2Change the connection mode to Only allowed devices.
- 3Tap the Allowed devices button at the bottom-left corner of the screen.
- 4From here, you can add the MAC address for the device you want to be able to connect to your hotspot. Repeat each step for each new device.Tap the plus sign in the upper right corner of the screen.
Tips Tricks & Warnings
- Tethering will drain your battery quickly. You may want to keep your phone plugged into its charger while you're tethering so it doesn't die, and you'll want to make sure you turn tethering off when you're done using it.
- The data you use while tethering will count against your data plan. Be sure to watch your data usage carefully so you won't be charged with overages by your cell phone carrier.
- Set a password! If your network doesn't have a password, anyone within the network's range will be able to connect and browse the web.
Questions and Answers
My hotspot configuration is okay on the phone but my computer is unable to detect this hotspot?
If your computer doesn't have a WiFi chip or card, you won't be able to detect the network. You can buy a WiFi dongle that allows your computer to connect to a WiFi network, though. You can buy one from PC World, eBay, or Amazon.
How can I get a free hotspot without paying Sprint for it?
Sprint said I had to pay for a hotspot, but I don't want to.
Unfortunately, you need to pay Sprint for tethering. Using a free tethering application is against the Terms of Service you signed for in your contract and will result in termination of your service and possible fees.
My Samsung Galaxy S4 finds the Laptop, but no response or action is made by Laptop.
If you're using Windows, you'll need to go to the bottom-right part of your task bar, find your WiFi settings, and click your Galaxy S4's hotspot network name. If you're using a Mac, go to the top-right of your screen, find your WiFi settings, and click your Galaxy S4's hotspot network name.
See more questions like this: My Galaxy Mega SGH i527 Hotspot problem
Was just looking to see if I could use my blackberry with Galaxy 4. Can access internet through blackberry but wanted to connect video chatting with grandson
Have blackberry Q5, Galaxy tab 4 - just curious re above question
VisiHow QnA. This section is not written yet. Want to join in? Click EDIT to write this answer.
After I tap Mobile Networks, I go to a screen which has 6 choices
Default messaging app. printing. mobile networks. mobile hotspot. tethering. VPN. say Mobile Hotspot AND Tethering, so I am unsure which to choose with this menu. Any help is appreciated
VisiHow QnA. This section is not written yet. Want to join in? Click EDIT to write this answer.
Need support on obtaining password for tethering?
Trying to set up tethering from my S4 onto laptop - went to settings & set up tethering. However, I've not come across a screen to set up a password. WiFi on laptop shows Android availability but is asking for a password which I don't have. Help!. I have tried: Followed online guide, Tried attaching USB cable to see if that would work
VisiHow QnA. This section is not written yet. Want to join in? Click EDIT to write this answer.
What kind of PCI WiFi adapter do I need for WiFi from Galaxy S4?
Which desktop adapters work with Galaxy S4 hotspot?
VisiHow QnA. This section is not written yet. Want to join in? Click EDIT to write this answer.
If you have problems with any of the steps in this article, please ask a question for more help, or post in the comments section below.
