How to use your Samsung Galaxy S5 as a mobile hotspot

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

  1. Swipe down from the Home screen of your Galaxy S5 to pull now the Notifications shade.
  2. Tap on the Settings icon in the top right.
  3. Now find Tethering and Wi-Fi hotspot and tap on it to select it.
  4. In the next menu, tap on Mobile Hotspot.
  5. Turn it On at the top by tapping on the On/Off toggle.
  6. Hit OK on the Attention screen advising you that WiFi will be turned off.
  7. 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:

  1. Swipe down from the Home screen of your Galaxy S5 to pull down the Notifications shade.
  2. Tap on the Settings icon in the top right.
  3. Now tap on Tethering and Wi-Fi hotspot.
  4. Choose Mobile Hotspot.
  5. Tap on the three dots in the upper right to view more options.
  6. Select Configure.
  7. 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.