If youre taking your laptop away from the safe environs of your home or office desk and still want to stay online, youve got a couple of choices (assuming it doesnt have cellular connectivity built in): hunt around for a Wi-Fi network you can connect to or run a Wi-Fi hotspot from your phone.Running a hotspot from your phone comes with advantages and disadvantages. Its more secure than a public Wi-Fi network, as youre in charge, and you may well get better upload and download speeds, too though this will, of course, depend on the 4G and 5G coverage in your part of the world. On the downside, you may be limited in terms of your data allowance, and battery life on your phone will take a hit.RelatedHow to set up Wi-Fi calling on Android and iPhonesIf you want to take the mobile hotspot route, heres how to do it.Set up a hotspot on a PixelWith Android devices, as always, the exact steps vary depending on the manufacturer. These are the steps for using a Pixel device with Android 15:Open Settings on Android.Choose Network & Internet > Hotspot & tethering.You can toggle Wi-Fi hotspot from here to enable it, but if youve never used the hotspot before, tap on it to set your options.Youll see options to set the Wi-Fi name and password, which other devices need to connect. You can also set the hotspot to turn itself off automatically if its no longer being used and use Instant Hotspot to automatically sign in other devices on your account.Enable the Use Wi-Fi hotspot toggle switch.Note: if you use Androids Data Saver, which stops some apps from sending or receiving data in the background, youll have to turn it off in order to use the hotspot.Set up a hotspot on a Samsung GalaxyThe steps are slightly different for a Samsung Galaxy device loaded with One UI 7:Open Settings.Select Connections > Mobile Hotspot and Tethering.Again, you can toggle Mobile Hotspot on from here, but you may want to tap on it instead to check the network name and password. Theres also an Auto Hotspot feature so you can automatically share with other devices signed in to the same Samsung account and info on how much mobile data has already been shared.When youre ready, toggle Mobile Hotspot on.1/3Hotspot options on a Pixel phone. Screenshot: GoogleSet up a hotspot on an iPhoneIf youre using an iPhone with iOS 18:Open Settings in iOS.Tap Personal Hotspot.Turn on the Allow Others to Join toggle switch.Enable Maximize Compatibility if you want to use 2.4GHz Wi-Fi (rather than 5GHz) for the hotspot. Its slower, but it ensures compatibility with older devices.The name of the Wi-Fi hotspot will be the name of your iPhone (set in General > About > Name in Settings). The password will be shown on the Personal Hotspot screen, and you can tap on the entry to change it.Apple also offers a feature called Instant Hotspot. If the hotspot is enabled on your iPhone, you can connect to it with a tap from iPads, Macs, and other Apple devices using the same Apple account you wont need to enter the password.The cost of hotspotsIts now the norm for carriers to offer unlimited or very generous amounts of data in their plans, but most of the time, hotspot data will be handled separately. If youre going to be using your phone as a Wi-Fi hotspot, you need to check whats included in your plan.For example, Verizons $40 per month Unlimited Plus plan gives you 30GB of high-speed hotspot data per month, while you get the same amount with the $41 per month Unlimited Extra EL plan from AT&T. In both cases, once you go over that limit, youll be restricted to much slower speeds for the rest of the month.There is another option, which is to buy a dedicated hotspot device, like these sold by T-Mobile. Youll need to pay for an extra SIM with its own data plan to use with the device, so it can be an expensive option but youll usually get better performance than you would from a phone hotspot (especially if youre connecting multiple gadgets), and you dont have to worry about draining your phones battery).Something like the Netgear Nighthawk M6, which varies in cost from about $500 to $600, will deliver Wi-Fi 6 speeds to up to 32 devices when supplied with a SIM card. Definitely not cheap, but itll offer better range and speeds than your phone, and its good enough to be used as a backup home router if your broadband goes out.See More: