Hotspot from an eSIM: sharing data with your laptop

How a hotspot works with an eSIM

A personal hotspot turns your phone into a small Wi-Fi router. The phone connects to the mobile network using whichever line is set for mobile data, and shares that connection with nearby devices over Wi-Fi, a USB cable or Bluetooth.

On a dual SIM phone, that means the hotspot uses the same line as your phone's own data. If your travel eSIM is set as the mobile data line, as it should be when you are abroad, the hotspot shares the eSIM's data. Your home SIM is not involved, and it stays available for calls and texts.

You can usually share travel eSIM data this way, including with Spidot plans. Hotspot data counts towards your plan in exactly the same way as data used on the phone itself, so the main thing to manage is how much a laptop consumes.

When sharing data makes sense

Travellers use a phone hotspot for many reasons. The most common ones are:

• Working on a laptop on trains, in airports or in taxis between meetings.
• Backing up unreliable Wi-Fi in a holiday rental or hotel.
• Keeping children's tablets online on a road trip, as covered in our family travel tips.
• Avoiding public Wi-Fi when you need to log in to work systems, banking or email.
• Getting a Wi-Fi-only tablet or e-reader online for a quick download.

Setting up a hotspot on iPhone

Before you start, open Settings, then Mobile Data or Cellular, and make sure your travel eSIM is selected for mobile data and that data roaming is on for it. Our data roaming guide shows where the switch is.

• Open Settings and tap Personal Hotspot.
• Turn on Allow Others to Join.
• Tap Wi-Fi Password and set a strong password.
• On your laptop or tablet, choose your iPhone's name from the list of Wi-Fi networks and enter the password.

Setting up a hotspot on Android

First, make sure the travel eSIM is the line used for mobile data and that roaming is on for it. Menu names vary by brand and software version.

USB and Bluetooth tethering

Wi-Fi is the easiest way to share data, but it is not the only one.

• USB tethering shares data through a charging cable. It keeps the phone charged while sharing and can be more stable than Wi-Fi in crowded places such as conference halls and stations. On iPhone, connect the cable with Personal Hotspot turned on. On Android, connect the cable and turn on USB tethering in the hotspot settings.
• Bluetooth tethering uses less battery than Wi-Fi but is slower. It suits light tasks such as email and messaging on a tablet.

Why laptops use so much data, and how to control it

A laptop treats most Wi-Fi as unlimited. As soon as it connects, it may download system updates, sync cloud folders, back up photos, update apps and load full desktop versions of websites. A phone, by contrast, is designed to be careful with mobile data. That difference is why a laptop on a hotspot can use more in an hour than a phone uses in a day.

The following figures are rough, approximate ranges for planning only.

• Email, chat and documents: often a few hundred megabytes over a working day, more with attachments.
• Video meetings: roughly 0.5 to 1.5 GB per hour, depending on resolution and the number of participants.
• Streaming video on a laptop: roughly 1 to 3 GB per hour or more in high definition.
• Operating system updates: can be several gigabytes each.

Choosing a plan if you will share data

If you will only share occasionally, for a few emails on a train, a normal fixed data plan is usually enough. If you expect to work from a laptop on mobile data most days, or several family members will share, consider an unlimited plan. It is charged by the day with no data cap, though speed may slow after heavy daily use, which is most likely with a laptop tethered for many hours.

Current plans for your destination are on the prices page. If you run low during the trip, you can add more data to the same eSIM without installing anything new. Check how much data is left regularly during heavy hotspot days.

Battery, heat and range

Running a hotspot is one of the more demanding things a phone does. It keeps the mobile radio and Wi-Fi busy at the same time, which uses battery and can make the phone warm. For long sessions, plug the phone in, or use USB tethering so the laptop charges it.

Keep the phone out of direct sunlight and off soft surfaces that trap heat. If it becomes very warm, some phones reduce performance or pause the hotspot to protect themselves.

A phone hotspot has a short range. Keep the phone in the same room as the laptop, and ideally in a spot with good mobile signal, such as near a window. Moving the phone often improves speed more than anything you can change on the laptop.

When the hotspot will not connect

Most hotspot problems are solved with a few quick checks.

• The laptop connects but has no internet. Check that the phone itself has mobile data. Open a website on the phone. If that fails, see our guide to an eSIM with no data.
• The hotspot uses the wrong line. Make sure the travel eSIM, not your home SIM, is selected for mobile data.
• The hotspot option is missing or greyed out. Restart the phone and check that mobile data is on. On iPhone, the mobile data network settings for each line include a personal hotspot section; contact support before changing anything there.
• Devices keep disconnecting. Some phones turn off the hotspot when nothing is connected for a while. Reconnect, or keep the laptop connected.
• Speed is slow. Move the phone nearer a window, check signal strength, and remember that unlimited plans may slow after heavy daily use.

Keeping your hotspot secure

A hotspot is a Wi-Fi network, so the same basic rules apply. Use a strong password rather than the default, and change it if you have shared it widely. Use the strongest security option your phone offers, and only switch to a compatibility setting if an older device cannot connect.

Turn the hotspot off when you are not using it. That saves battery, stops devices joining automatically and prevents unexpected data use. For a wider look at staying safe online abroad, read our article on whether a travel eSIM is safe.