I Tried Using My Mobile Hotspot at Home. Here’s Everything That Went Wrong - CNET

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A mobile hotspot can be a convenient way to stay connected on the go. But how valuable is it if you use it at home?

I didn’t realize how convenient it is to stay connected by using my phone as a mobile hotspot until I found myself without service in New York City on a random Thursday last year.

On my way to the office, I used my cellphone to work on the train. But shortly after I exited the train station, like many other AT&T users who experienced a sudden network outage, I had no service or access to 5G internet data.

It took me a few visits to different coffee shops in the area to finally find free Wi-Fi I could connect to. After finally finding a place that allowed me to use their public Wi-Fi, I texted my family and let them know that they wouldn’t be able to contact me until I reached the office, which was still a ways away.

Locating local internet providers

Looking back at this moment, I realized that this unplanned network outage could've been a lot worse had I not found a hotspot to connect to and get back online.

But have you ever thought about using a mobile hotspot at home? I know what you might be thinking: Isn’t that counterintuitive when you can just use your traditional home internet connection? Probably, but there are some unique benefits, as well as some suspected limitations. Here’s what I discovered after using my mobile hotspot at home.

Locating local internet providers

A hotspot is a physical location where people can connect wirelessly to the internet. There are three different types of hotspots: private, public and mobile. Each type of hotspot serves a different way for you to connect to the internet. Let’s take a closer look at the types of hotspots available.

Public hotspots are specific locations established by businesses or public spaces that provide free Wi-Fi. You can find these in libraries, cafes and even shopping malls. Public hotspots allow anyone within range to connect to the internet and usually lack the security you'd find with a private hotspot. Most public hotspots are not encrypted with passwords, which makes it easier for hackers or outside threats like malware and viruses to intercept connected devices. If you are handling sensitive information while connected to a public hotspot, you should take extra security measures, such as using a VPN.

On the other hand, a private hotspot is not free, but it is more secure than a public hotspot. For example, your home network can be characterized as a private hotspot. A private hotspot can wirelessly connect devices to the internet using a router supported by your internet service provider. Your network will likely be encrypted with a strong Wi-Fi password and only certain people will be able to access it.

The cellular network that your mobile phone is connected to can also be used as a hotspot. If your phone is nearby, you can connect devices such as your computer, tablet, smart gadgets and more to the internet. Many mobile providers such as AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon offer users the built-in personal hotspot feature.

I tested my mobile hotspot for three days as my primary internet connection method. Before setting up my mobile hotspot, I ensured my phone was near my computer. First, I simply disconnected from my Wi-Fi on my phone, went into my IOS settings and turned on my personal hotspot. From here, I opened the Wi-Fi panel on my computer, waded through the different networks and connected to my phone's hotspot. My mobile provider is AT&T, and I was on the 60GB Unlimited data plan. Here’s what I found.

The first thing that leaped out at me was the speed. On average, I was getting less than 10 megabits per second in download and about 10Mbps in upload. Yeah, that's a no from me.

When using my mobile hotspot, I received an average download speed of less than 10Mbps and only 10Mbps in uploads.

Speed is usually not a deal-breaker, since I don't game excessively or stream that frequently. But working from home means conducting video conferences, which require at least 10 to 20Mbps, as per CNET’s speed guide. I used Ookla to perform an internet speed test over my mobile hotspot. (Disclosure: Ookla is owned by the same parent company as CNET, Ziff Davis.) I averaged less than 10Mbps in downloads and 10Mbps in uploads daily. Comparatively, I saw much faster speeds when I used my traditional Wi-Fi router, which was receiving an average of over 530Mbps in downloads and 240Mbps in uploads. Besides the intermittent lagging during video conferences, sending large files and emails also took a hit.

CNET’s How-To expert Nelson Aguilar encourages users to avoid connecting their computers to a mobile hotspot.

“The only time I ever use a mobile hotspot is when I’m sharing it with someone else’s phone or tablet," says Aguilar. "A mobile device typically uses less data than a computer, and so the performance is much higher than with a computer, which often runs several high-bandwidth tasks in the background that can quickly consume data and slow down performance.”

My mobile hotspot use abruptly stopped while I was on the train on my way to the office. I was attempting to connect my computer to my mobile hotspot in hopes of accessing the internet to send some emails. My laptop would say connected on the Wi-Fi panel, but there was no internet. Thankfully, I was on the way to the office and could access the internet there. But the next day, I was working from home, and the looming question came: What do I do now?

I was on AT&T’s 60GB Unlimited data plan and as you can imagine, I was very confused. Did I really burn through 60GB of data in the two days I used my mobile hotspot? Thankfully, I was on the unlimited data plan, so I would not be charged data overage fees if I reached maximum data.

That said, besides the slow speeds, you should always consider that your mobile hotspot is less reliable than traditional Wi-Fi. There could be different factors, such as network outages, poor signal, proximity from your provider’s nearest cellular tower, and or, in my case, technical issues (which I’ll get into in a bit). These things are outside your control and ultimately disrupt how you stay connected. The following day, I had to call AT&T and troubleshoot my mobile hotspot in order to continue working from home.

There are different ways to diagnose issues with your mobile hotspot from home. Whether you’re an iPhone or Android user, sometimes the easiest action to start with is to simply turn your phone on and off. If that doesn’t solve it, try:

If you’re like me and these tips did not improve your mobile hotspot, the next thing to do is contact your mobile provider.

I called AT&T’s tech support number and expressed my issue to them. The AT&T representative confirmed over the phone that I still had plenty of usage left in my data, so my concern about burning through my data was not why I was facing issues.

The AT&T rep gave me the following instructions on how to restart your network settings. While I followed these steps on my iPhone, I also included instructions for Android users.

iPhone:

Android:

If you’re still stuck, I would consider contacting your mobile provider for further assistance.

While using a mobile hotspot has some unique benefits, you should also be aware of a few drawbacks if you’re aiming to use it at home.

A mobile hotspot makes staying connected easier when you’re on the go. But it doesn’t really make sense as your primary means of connecting while you’re at home. The purpose of having a mobile hotspot at home is to act as an alternative option for home internet users in times of emergency. When your power goes out, or your internet provider is experiencing a network outage, a mobile hotspot is a great place to turn to stay connected. However, using a mobile hotspot as your primary way of connecting to the internet isn’t ideal. You’ll find a faster and more reliable connection with your traditional Wi-Fi router or gateway. If you love traveling, then a mobile hotspot might be something you use quite frequently. For typical household usage, you'll want to turn to your mobile hotspot only as a secondary option.

The two are related. A hotspot is a specific location where you can connect wirelessly to the internet. It can be public (typically libraries, airports, malls, cafes and the like) or private (your home network, for example, or using your phone to connect other devices wirelessly). Wi-Fi is a broad term used to describe connecting to the internet wirelessly.

Not really. While a mobile hotspot is convenient and portable, which makes it easier to stay connected on the go, it shouldn’t be your primary way of connecting to the internet at home, unless its your only option. Usually, a fixed internet connection will provide you with better performance at home.

Generally, no. I tested this theory by conducting a speed test over my mobile hotspot and comparing it to my typical Wi-Fi gateway at home. On average, I was getting below 10Mbps in downloads and at least 10Mbps in uploads. With my gateway connection, I saw speeds above 500Mbps in downloads and 200Mbps in uploads. With a mobile hotspot, your speeds will be slower and less reliable since it depends on how strong the signal is between your phone and your provider’s nearest cellular tower. If you want to learn more about cellular internet, check out our full guide to cellular internet.