Don't deal with bad public wifi, just use your Galaxy S5's connection instead
Turning your smartphone into a mobile hotspot can save you from painfully slow public WiFi or the crappy free internet your hotel provides. With a battery that can last hours, the Galaxy S5 is the perfect companion for times when you need your own dedicated wireless connection. You may need to make sure you've got a proper plan with your carrier, though.
Here's how to use the mobile hotspot feature:
How to turn the Samsung Galaxy S5 into a wireless hotspot
- Swipe down from the Home screen of your Galaxy S5 to pull now the Notifications shade.
- Tap on the Settings icon in the top right.
- Now find Tethering and Wi-Fi hotspot and tap on it to select it.
- In the next menu, tap on Mobile Hotspot.
- Turn it On at the top by tapping on the On/Off toggle.
- Hit OK on the Attention screen advising you that WiFi will be turned off.
- Follow the directions at the bottom of the screen to connect another device to your Galaxy S5.
How to change the password and security type for wireless hotspot on the Galaxy S5
By default your Samsung Galaxy S5 adds a password to the mobile hotspot feature. It also defaults to WPA2 for security. If you want to change either of these settings, follow these steps:
- Swipe down from the Home screen of your Galaxy S5 to pull down the Notifications shade.
- Tap on the Settings icon in the top right.
- Now tap on Tethering and Wi-Fi hotspot.
- Choose Mobile Hotspot.
- Tap on the three dots in the upper right to view more options.
- Select Configure.
- In this screen go ahead and change the password or any other settings you'd like, including security type and then tap Save.
Keep in mind that some data plans may not work with mobile hotspot if your carrier doesn't allow it. If you run into issues or have problems, the first thing you should do is make sure you're on a compatible data plan with your carrier.
Reader comments
How to use your Samsung Galaxy S5 as a mobile hotspot
"proper plan" to use data you've paid for... fscking joke thesr carriers are
I own a Galaxy S5 phone and have Sprint service. If you choose SETTINGS>MORE NETWORKS>MOBILE NETWORKS>NETWORK MODE>LTE/CDMA for your networks setting the hotspot will not work. This is not just a problem on my phone. I had a Sprint customer service person try it on the phone they had on display in their store and it also does not work. If you select CDMA instead of LTE/CDMA as the network mode then the hotspot does work. This in unfortunate since the LTE is the faster network. Sprint is not helping solve this and I also get no response from Samsung either.
I just got a Samsung s5 and have some problems turning on the mobile hotspot. Each time I turn it on, it will bring an error say 'MOBILE DATA IS NOT AVAILABLE OR INVALID SIM'
please note that I have been using this same sim in my techno n7 phone and blackberry for several years.
I have a Samsung Galaxy S5 - bought recently. When I follow the instructions above, the wording "tethering and wi-fi hotspot" does NOT appear.
Any ideas?
Eddie,
I did following on my Galaxy S5.
1. Swipe down from top
2. Touch on settings icon
3. Touch on More Networks
4. Touch on Mobile Hotspot
5. Swipe off-on on top where it says Mobile Hotspot to turn on or off
6. Touch on 3 dots on top right and select configure
7. Here you can configure network id/password and time outs etc for Mobile Hotspot
Thanks and enjoy,
Kal