www.makeuseof.com What to Do if Your Android Mobile Hotspot Is Not Working

In today's world, not a minute goes by without being us being connected to the internet in some way. Whenever you find yourself in a situation where you don't have access to Wi-Fi, most chances are you'll be using your smartphone's hotspot. It's a great feature and workaround when the situation calls for it.

However, mobile hotspots are not always as reliable as we want them to be and can malfunction. If you are ever in a position where your mobile hotspot isn't working, here are the best solutions to fix your problem.

1. Restart Your Device

Sometimes the simplest solution is the best one. When you use your phone frequently and have several programs running in the background, your phone's processing can become slower, and even experience some bugs. There is a chance your hotspot problem can be resolved simply by restarting your phone.

To do this, hold the power button, select Power off, and leave your phone off for 30 seconds to a minute before turning it back on. Then check to see if the problem is resolved.

2. Enable Airplane Mode

Airplane mode disables a device’s wireless transmission functions, this includes cellular radio, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. Sometimes when you're facing network issues, enabling and disabling airplane mode can help resolve them by restarting your network connections.

To do this, pull down your notification bar and select the Airplane mode icon and wait for 30 seconds to a minute before disabling it again. Then check to see if the problem is resolved.

If you cannot find airplane mode on your notification bar, follow these steps:

1. Go to Settings.
2. Select Network & internet.
3. Select Advanced.
4. Tap Airplane mode.

3. Confirm Your Phone's Internet Connection Is Working

To determine if your problem lies with your internet connection, make sure that your cellular data is switched on. Perform a quick Google search to confirm if your data is slow or getting bad reception.

Check your cellular data limit for the month to make sure if you have exceeded it or not. If you're on a prepaid plan with a limit, your data speeds will be throttled when you pass it, rendering your hotspot unusable. You will have to contact your data provider to fix the problem.

Check Your Data Limit

Another thing to check for is your phone's data limit. Android allows you to set a custom limit to ensure that you don't accidentally exceed your monthly limit and save you from extra-billing from the carrier. If you have surpassed the data limit on your Android device, you will need to set the data limit higher from the Settings menu to enable the mobile data on the phone.

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To check and set your phone's data limit, follow these steps:

1. Make sure your mobile data is turned on.
2. Go to Settings.
3. Select Network & internet.
4. Choose Mobile network > App data usage.
5. Click the Settings icon.
6. Enable Set data limit and set a custom number.

Related: How to Speed Up a Slow Mobile Data Connection

4. Turn Off Battery Saver and Data Saver Mode

Battery saver mode conserves battery life by limiting certain non-essential functions on your phone. Enabling battery saver mode is not supposed to affect your phone's hotspot connection but users have reported this occurring as a bug before. Try turning battery saver off and see if that fixes the issue.

To disable battery saver mode, follow these steps:

1. Go to Settings.
2. Select Battery.
3. Select Battery saver.
4. Tap Turn off now.

Similarly, data saver mode helps reduce data usage by preventing some apps from sending or receiving data in the background. This may interfere with your hotspot connection so it's advised to turn off data saver mode.

To disable data saver mode, follow these steps:

1. Go to Settings.
2. Select Network & internet.
3. Select Data Saver.
4. Disable Use Data Saver.

5. Disable Your VPN

Using a VPN (Virtual Private Network) is a smart way to protect your online privacy but it can also cause issues with mobile connectivity on the phone. A VPN routes your traffic through its servers, and this can cause decrease your connection speed.

It is recommended to disable VPNs when using your mobile's hotspot to prevent connection problems.

To disable your VPN, follow these steps:

1. Go to Settings.
2. Select Network & internet.
3. Select Advanced > VPN.
4. Disable any active VPNs

Read more: The 5 Best VPNs for Android

6. Disable Automatic Hotspot Switching

A recent feature that Android introduced is automatic hotspot switching. When this is enabled, the hotspot will turn itself off if no device is connected to it for a few minutes. This can give you issues if you leave your device idle for too long or your phone enters sleep mode. You can experience continuous hotspot disabling and get frustrated without realizing why.

To prevent this from occurring, disable it by following the steps below:

1. Go to Settings.
2. Select Network & internet.
3. Select Hotspot & tethering.
4. Select Wi-Fi hotspot
5. Select Advanced > Turn off hotspot automatically.

7. Switch to a Different Wi-Fi Band

Another recent feature that the latest Android phones have is the ability to change the frequency of the signal you send out to create the hotspot. Most new phones support both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi bands, but that’s not the case with some old Android models.

While a 5GHz band is faster, many devices are not able to pick it up. The receiving device might only support the 2.4GHz band and if you have set your phone on a 5GHz band then the receiving device won’t be able to catch that. This will also prevent it from appearing under possible connections on the device you're trying to connect to your hotspot.

To switch back to the standard 2.4GHz band, follow these steps:

1. Go to Settings.
2. Select Network & internet.
3. Select Hotspot & tethering.
4. Select Wi-Fi hotspot.
5. Select Advanced > AP Band.
6. Select 2.4 GHz Band.

Resolving Your Android Phone's Hotspot Errors

It can be frustrating dealing with hotspot issues as they always happen to occur when you need the internet the most. The solutions presented here should fix any problem you may face on your phone. Network issues often occur when you're in an area with a weak connection, so make sure to always check your area when using your phone's hotspot.

Why is Wi-Fi so slow on your phone? Here's how to speed up slow phone internet.

Maxwell is a software developer who works as a writer in his spare time. An avid tech enthusiast who loves to dabble in the world of artificial intelligence. When he isn't busy with his work, he is off reading or playing video games.

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