Hotspot & tethering
Mobile hotspot and tethering are two strategies for allowing other devices, such as laptops, tablets and other phones, to access the Internet through the connection on your Android device.
Mobile hotspot
A mobile hotspot works by letting your device act as a Wi-Fi access point, allowing nearby devices to access the Internet via Wi-Fi while in range of your Android device.
You may enable Mobile hotspot mode while you are connected to the Internet via a cellular network and not Wi-Fi. Enabling Mobile hotspot mode effectively disables your device's Wi-Fi client, instead using your device's Wi-Fi capability in access point mode so other devices can connect to it.
Network name
You may change the Wi-Fi network name (Wi-Fi SSID) of the network you will be creating by tapping on the existing name and entering a new one. To prevent confusion, or your other devices accidentally connecting through your phone, it is recommended you choose a different name to any other Wi-Fi networks you have.
Password
Usually your device will come with a default network name and password configured that may already be relatively unique, but for your own privacy you may want to set your own.
The password you set here will be the password that clients connecting to your mobile hotspot will need to enter.
Allowed devices
It is possible to restrict access only to certain clients. Note that using a secure password already prevents unauthorised devices from connecting; this feature may be of use if you wish to prevent certain clients who have your password from connecting.
Configure Mobile hotspot
Located in the overflow menu, this screen allows you to modify certain properties of the Wi-Fi network you will be creating. It is recommended to enable WPA2-PSK mode for greatest security, in order to require a password and prevent eavesdropping by unauthorised devices in the area.
Bluetooth tethering
Bluetooth tethering is an alternative solution for allowing nearby devices to connect to the Internet, using Bluetooth instead of Wi-Fi.
Bluetooth has a shorter range (usually with around 30 feet / 10 meters) than Wi-Fi and is usually much slower. It is compatible only with Bluetooth-supporting devices capable of accessing the Internet over Bluetooth.
This feature is of limited use unless you have devices without working Wi-Fi support.
USB tethering
USB tethering allows computers connected to the device via USB to access the Internet through your Android device's Internet connection. This option is only available while connected to a supporting computer over USB. This feature must explicitly be enabled to use it, and while enabled it may disable the ability to use the USB data connection for browsing files or photos on your device.