Knowing how to use your phone as a mobile hotspot is a must for online teachers. As online ESL teachers, it’s our responsibility to teach a class and to overcome technical issues, and no other tech issue is more annoying than your home internet going out.
While we would all like online teaching companies like VIPKID to understand why we were a teacher no-show, it still does not negate the fact that we missed class, and it was our responsibility to teach during that booked class.
To avoid being a no-show for your class, you should use your mobile phone as your backup internet source. It’s saved me more than once from missing a class.
Check your data plan.
Please note that carriers sometimes differentiate between your mobile data plan and how much data you can give out to tethered devices. So while you may have a 30 GB data plan in the United States, you may only be allowed 5 GB of data for tethering. Again, this is just something to be aware of.
Using your phone as a backup for the class will come far from using this sort of data. From my testing, ten courses for VIPKID were 700 mb of data.
How to turn your phone into a hotspot for Android
- Find settings on your phone.
- Next, you’ll want to find an option for “connections” or “wireless and networks,” depending on your phone.
- Find and tap “tethering and mobile hotspot” on your device.
- The last is to configure your hotspot with a password.
- Done; your phone is now a hotspot, and other devices can connect.
How to turn your phone into a hotspot for IOS
- Find settings.
- Select Cellular.
- Tap on Setup personal hotspot.
- Find settings again.
- Select personal hotspot.
- Turn on your hotspot using the on-screen button.
- Agree to Wi-Fi and USB only.
- Your phone is now a hotspot. To turn it off, select the on-screen control to turn your hotspot off.
How to Connect Your Laptop to Your Phone
Once your hotspot is active, you can select your phone from your laptop. Just click the Wi-Fi icon on your desktop and pick up your phone. You will have to input the password you set, and that’s it. Your laptop is now connected to your phone, which is connected to the internet.
Please note, do this BEFORE you need it, as it takes time to set up. As an online teacher, you may lose internet 5 minutes before class. You don’t have the time to do all this in 5 minutes. Once set up correctly, however, if you lose internet, you can quickly and easily turn your phone into a hotspot with a button, and your laptop will automatically connect.
Happy teaching! Make sure to checkout our portable, mobile hotspots buying guide:
From teaching abroad, online or in the classroom, we have the tools and resources you need. Master your craft with these exceptional online courses for teacher development:
LEARN MORE