The term "Hot Spot" is modern, and its meaning is known to people associated with the Internet, IT-sphere, electronics. But ordinary users also want to know what a Hot Spot is. They often find such a phrase in their mobile phone.
What is a hot spot?
Translated from English Hot Spot means "hot spot". Such a literal translation does not mean anything, therefore this term requires clarification. So, Hot Spot Wi-Fi is a place where you can connect to the Internet through a Wi-Fi interface. For example, you come to a cafe, drink coffee and read the latest news on your mobile phone, chat on social networks or post new photos. This means that in this cafe there is a Hot Spot, that is, a hot spot. But in this case, we are interested in the functionality of the phone.
What is the Hot Spot feature on a mobile phone?
If the usual access point in the same cafe is a Wi-Fi router, then in the phone he is such a device. That is, this functionality allows you to make a hot spot out of a regular mobile phone that will provide other users access to the Internet. In other words, a smartphone with the Hot Spot function will be able to distribute the Internet to other devices.
Benefits
Imagine a situation: you are sitting in a cafe with your friends, and only you have access to 3g / 4g Internet, and your friends do not have it for any reason. After all, they also want to log into their social network, for example. And if your phone has the Hot Spot function, then you can make an access point from your mobile phone.
Your 3G / 4G Internet will be distributed over Wi-Fi to your friends, as a result of which it will be available to everyone. In fact, your friends will use your 3g / 4g internet.
Also, the function of creating an access point from the phone eliminates the need to buy a 3g / 4g modem for a computer. If in some country house you do not have internet on your computer or laptop, but a GSM network is available on your smartphone, then you can connect to the Internet using your phone and distribute it via Wi-Fi or via cable. So you can provide access to the Network on a desktop computer or laptop.
disadvantages
The main minus is the drop in speed. And again an example: if the standard speed of your Internet connection is 2 Mbit / s, then when you distribute access to another user, the speed will be divided into two. Now, when downloading data, the speed will be 1 Mbps. If other users connect to your smartphone, then the speed will drop even more. Of course, this is all very approximate, but in theory it works that way.
The more devices connected to your Internet channel, the slower the Internet will be. And if the Internet bandwidth is already small, then using the Hot Spot will be unbearable.
Another drawback is traffic billing. Many telecom operators have a tariff at which the subscriber must pay for each downloaded megabyte. The cost may increase if the allowable amount is exceeded. Therefore, when distributing Internet Hot Spot Wi-Fi, it is worth remembering that connected users can download large amounts of traffic. And you will have to pay for it or what this Internet distributes. Of course, with an unlimited tariff this disadvantage does not exist.
How to enable Wi-Fi HotSpot?
Depending on the phone model and operating system, this function is activated in different ways. On Android OS, it looks something like this:
- Make sure your smartphone is connected to the Internet via 3G / 4G or EDGE.
- Go to the main menu of your smartphone.
- Click on the Wi-Fi Hotspot icon. In Russian there can be written "Access Point".
- In some phones, after clicking, a small message may be displayed about what a Hot Spot is. Read and click OK.
- You will see the settings. There you need to enter the name of the access point (SSID). This is the name of the Wi-Fi connection. You can simply enter your name or phone model. You also need to choose an encryption method. Choose WPA2 (AES). Next, set the password to connect to your access point. It must be 8 characters. Create any password. It can be all ones.
- Check the box "Activate access point".
Now other users will be able to connect to your smartphone and use your Internet. They will find your phone by Wi-Fi name and connect by entering the password that you previously set. Now you know what Hot Spot is and how to use it correctly.