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Published
30 Jul 2021
Read Time
5 MIN
Did you know you can create your very own mobile WiFi network? Simply follow these easy steps
By Virgin TV Edit
A mobile hotspot is an incredibly helpful tool to have in your back pocket. You can set up a hotspot using any smartphone with an active mobile network connection, and you don’t need to be a tech whiz to make it happen. Let’s find out what’s it’s all about...
What is a hotspot?
First of all, what is a hotspot? If you’ve never heard of hotspots before, but you’d like to know more, you’re in the right place. A hotspot is essentially a mini, personal WiFi source you can easily create using your phone. A WiFi hotspot uses mobile coverage, like 4G, and bounces it onto another device, like a laptop. This is called “tethering”.
What is tethering?
The term “tethering” means sharing a connection between two or more devices in order to get online. When you tether your laptop to your phone, you won’t be using any physical cables or wires, you’ll just be piggybacking’on the smartphone’s mobile connection, so you can get online on your computer. Neat, huh?
How do you set up a mobile hotspot?
Setting up a hotspot isn’t complicated, but the exact route to doing so differs slightly depending on the make and model of your smartphone. Here we’ve listed out step-by-step guides for iPhone, Samsung, Sony, OPPO, and Fairphone users...
It’s important to bear in mind that using your phone as a hotspot uses your personal mobile data. Also, remember to go back to the settings on your mobile and turn off the hotspot when you get home, to make use of the speeds from your home WiFi instead.
And if you’re looking for a new handset, with Virgin Mobile you can pick from all the latest handsets from a range of manufacturers, including Apple, Samsung, Sony, and Oppo. You’ll find loads of great offers and the best pay monthly deals, plus a lot of the handsets are 5G-ready – just keep your eyes peeled for the roundel.
What else to do if you want to get online
You can also create a mobile hotspot using a portable WiFi hub. The Huawei E5573BS-320 4G Mobile WiFi is a small, portable WiFi hotspot that lets you connect up to 16 devices at home or on the go.
You can easily connect your laptop, phone, tablet or gaming console and enjoy superfast download speeds of up to 150Mbps and up to 50Mbps upload speeds.
With a battery life of up to 6 hours when in use, and up to 350 hours on standby, this Mobile WiFi gadget will make sure you easily stay up to date with friends, the news, and the latest TV.
To find more about the latest deals on Mobile WiFi, click here
To find out how to use the Virgin Media Connect app to discover reliable WiFi hotspots that don’t use your personal mobile data (3.5 million hotspots in the UK alone), click here.
Popular Links
Virgin Media Connect app:
Requires iOS 9 or later and Android 5 or later. Virgin Mobile customers: the app will work in a device where a Virgin Mobile SIM is present and setup has been completed. Virgin Fibre customers: the app will work on a device where setup has been completed using My Virgin Media account details. Virgin Fibre customers can use up to 7 devices on Virgin Media WiFi at any one time. For setup: Mobile data connection required for Virgin Mobile customers. Internet (Mobile data or WiFi) connection required for Virgin Fibre customers. UK only. Experience varies by location and number of users. It is not always possible to guarantee that we will be able to offer this app on every device, platform and operating system version or variant. Terms and conditions apply.