What is a hotspot? The 4 most important things you need to know

Have you also asked yourself, “what is a hotspot?” Hotspots now exist almost everywhere. Be it in restaurants, cafes, public places or hotels. The term comes from English and means “Internet access point” in German. Hotspots are therefore nothing more than WLAN access points. WLAN is the wireless connection used to surf the Internet without cables.

Often, the hotspots you come across are free of charge, but for others you have to pay as a user if you want to access the Internet via them.

ATTENTION: Hotspot SECURITY

Public hotspots rarely use a secure encryption method, so these connections carry certain security risks. Thus, it is not recommended to perform sensitive data or even ebanking operations over Hotspot. However, these networks are safe for quickly checking something or sending a few messages.

Set up hotspot on smartphone

However, the term hotspot is most often used in connection with smartphones. What is meant by this?

Modern smartphones allow you to set up a personal hotspot to enable other devices to connect to the Internet via WLAN.

To do this, you need to set this up in the settings.

This can be useful on the go on the train, in the car, or anywhere you don’t have access to wifi. The smartphone then sets up its own WLAN, so to speak, and uses the data from the mobile network provider for this purpose. You can then connect to this WLAN with other devices such as laptops, PCs, etc. and thus use the Internet.

What is important to keep in mind?

• A smartphone can only set up a hotspot with the data from the mobile network provider, so it cannot create a hotspot if it is already connected to the WLAN itself. 3G, 4G or even 5G must appear in the display, but in no case the WLAN icon. If you see the WLAN icon displayed, you must first log out of this WLAN and only then can you set up a mobile hotspot, provided you have mobile data.
• For example, if a device commits crimes over your Internet, you are responsible. So protect your personal hotspot with a secure password.
• The hotspot obtains the data via the mobile network, so make sure that you have a mobile subscription that includes enough data, otherwise there may be nasty surprises on the mobile phone bill.
• Be careful when setting up a hotspot abroad, again it can quickly run into money if you don’t have a suitable data package. Data roaming can be very expensive.

How to set up a hotspot on an iPhone

In this video you will learn how to set up a hotspot on an iPhone: go to video

How to set up a hotspot on an Android smartphone

In this video, you will learn how to set up a hotspot on an Android smartphone:

Do you have any questions about a hotspot, we will be happy to help you.

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