What Are Hotspots And How Do They Work?

You must have seen hotspots all over the country. Whether you were at a university, café, or workplace, you have scrolled through numerous hotspots point in your surroundings. Hotspots are wireless access points that allow you to connect your phone, tablet, laptop, and other devices to the internet while you are outside the home and on the go. That is how you find most Wi-Fi connections in your phone’s wireless internet settings. For instance, Comcast Xfinity, which is one of the most widely available internet service providers in the US, also has millions of Xfinity Hotspots in cities in the US. They’re available to subscribers of Xfinity internet plans and serve the purpose of providing you with an internet connection while you are in movement.

There are multiple types of hotspot internet connection;

• Wi-Fi Hotspot. As the name suggests, a Wi-Fi hotspot is an internet access point connected to a router. You need to be subscribed to Xfinity internet services if you want to access Xfinity Hotspots that are available in public places, otherwise, you cannot access them, Other public Wi-Fi hotspots allow you to have internet access for free.
• Mobile Hotspot. You can also use your phone as a Wi-Fi hotspot. Your phone will use cellular data to create a Wi-Fi hotspot that various devices, including laptops, can connect to. There are also purpose-built mobile hotspots that can turn cellular data into a strong Wi-Fi connection, and that is mostly used by people who travel a lot for work.
• Dongle Hotspot. This is another kind of portable Wi-Fi hotspot which is to be plugged into the USB port of your computer or laptop to provide an internet connection. These devices have SIM cards installed and connect to the cellular network for an internet connection. Dongle hotspot is also reliable if you only prefer an internet connection on your laptop, and by plugging it in, you are free from any interference between your laptop and cellular connection.

Either of these internet hotspots could be the best option for you if you are always on the go.

Hotspots – are they secure?

If you have your own personalized hotspots such as mobile or dongle hotspots, it is as secure for you as is making a phone call. These hotspots use WPA2 encryption which refers to having a password of at least 8 characters. You can also use a VPN to build a stronger wall of security around your wireless communication.

However, when it comes to public wireless hotspots, then their security can vary. It is recommended that you do not do anything on the internet that would compromise your security and personal data. For instance, providing your payment information when you’re shopping online, or accessing your medical records.

How to find Hotspot connections?

You can look for available wireless hotspot internet connections by going through the list of available networks being shown on your computer or device. In a public area, there tends to be a lot of public Wi-Fi connections that are free to use. You will also find Wi-Fi hotspots being offered by your ISP, much like the example of the Xfinity Wi-Fi hotspot being used earlier in the article. You can log in to those hotspots by using your internet credentials.

How to turn on the hotspot on your phone?

How you can turn on the hotspot in your cell phone depends on the kind of phone you have. If you have Apple iPhone or iPad, you can turn on the hotspot through the following steps;

• Go to Settings, then Personal Hotspot. If you have a different phone model, you can try going to Settings, then Cellular, and then finally Personal Hotspot.
• Tapping on Personal Hotspot will turn on the hotspot in your cell phone.
• Click on Allow Others to let other devices join your hotspot.

You can go through the following steps if you have an Android phone or tablet;

• Go to your phone’s Settings.
• Search for ‘hotspot’ or ‘tethering’, could be labeled as Mobile Hotspot and Tethering or Network and Internet.
• You can Switch On your hotspot from there.

Once the hotspots have been switched on from either of your devices, you can go to the Wi-Fi menu of your device or laptop that you want to connect to the internet. Find the available hotspot that you just turned on, enter in the username and password and that will connect your device to the internet.

Wrapping up, the beauty of having a hotspot connection is that you are not limited to where you are located. Rather you can have access to the internet from anywhere, as long your laptop, phone, or device is connected to your service provider’s network connection.