How to use your phone’s WiFi connection for several devices

11 July, 2019 —

You have probably found yourself in a situation where you need to connect multiple devices to a Wi-Fi connection, but only your Smartphone has access to Wi-Fi or is in range. Did you know that you can share your phone’s Wi-Fi connection with other devices using Bluetooth? Well, now you know.

Unlike using your phone as a Wi-Fi hotspot, where you share your mobile data with other devices, using Bluetooth tethering allows you to share the Wi-Fi already connected to your phone with several devices. Below are simple steps on how you can use your phone’s Wi-Fi connection for several devices.

Step 1: Connect your Phone to a Working Wi-Fi Network

Since you are sharing your phone’s Wi-Fi connection, ensure that your phone is connected to a working Wi-Fi network.

To connect your phone to Wi-Fi:

Open Settings on your phone by tapping the settings icon

On the menu that appears, tap Network & internet or Wireless & Network in some phones

Tap Wi-Fi on the page that appears

A list of available Wi-Fi networks will be displayed. Select the Wi-Fi network that you wish to connect to.

Key in the right password if prompted to

You will be automatically connected to the Wi-Fi network

Step 2: Turn on your phone’s Bluetooth

Since the sharing of the Wi-Fi will be via Bluetooth, you need to ensure that the Bluetooth receiver on your phone is on.

To turn your phone’s Bluetooth on:

Open Settings on your phone by tapping the settings icon

On the menu that appears, tap on the Connected devices button or the Device connectivity button in some phones

Tap the toggle button next to the Bluetooth menu to turn it on

Step 3: Turn on Bluetooth tethering on your phone

Now that you have successfully connected to a Wi-Fi network and put Bluetooth on, the next step is to turn Bluetooth tethering.

To turn on Bluetooth tethering:

Open Settings on your phone by tapping the settings icon

On the menu that appears, tap Network & internet or Wireless & network in some phones

Select Hotspot & tethering or Tethering & portable hotspot in some devices

Enable Bluetooth tethering

Step 4: Pair your Device via Bluetooth to Receive Connectivity

This is the last step to ensure that other devices connect to your phone for Wi-Fi. To pair devices to your phone:

Open Bluetooth settings on the device you wish to pair with your phone

Create a connection by searching for your phone’s Bluetooth address via the device and tapping PAIR

Once the connection is created, enable Internet access sharing in the connected device by tapping the settings icon next to the device’s name

The device is now ready to use the Wi-Fi connection from your phone