This phone is broken (broken screen) and was given to me, so I figured I'd use it as a WiFi extender, but I guess I can't.
Do you normally have SIMless service? 🤨
The hotspot function basically just lets you connect other devices to the Internet through the phone's cell service. No service == no hotspot.
Apps may allow you to use it as a range extender tho.
My phone will hotspot when it's connected to WiFi. I can even tether it to a desktop PC and use it as a WiFi adapter.
Well, technically that's not a "hotspot". ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ it's a Wi-Fi extender.
And a poor Wi-Fi extender as well, since you halve your network bandwidth by using an extender with a single radio chip.
I've only seen that option on phones with two radios, it uses the 2.4GHz radio for one connection and the 5GHz radio for the other
I am not entirely sure what kind of radio fuckery happens, but my phone (Oneplus 6 with LineageOS) can be connected to a 5 Ghz wifi network and have a 5 GHz hotspot open at the same time.
I am assuming the wifi chip has two (or more) somewhat independent frontends, since my home wifi and the phone hotspot are on two different 5 GHz frequencies.
That's kinda required. I doubt one antenna can simultaneously send and receive.
Anyway, there's still only one controller, so your bandwidth is still halved.
An antenna can absolutely send and receive at the same time. It's called duplex .
Oh, I should clarify; this is more than send and receive - there's some amount of network routing involved with being a Wi-Fi extender or relay or whatever.
What I probably meant to say is one antenna cannot send/receive simultaneously on more than one network.
But, yes, duh, thank you for calling me out on that one!
I am not sure if the bandwidth is really limited by the controller, or by the modulation / signal-to-noise ratios in practical scenarios.
I'll have to disagree on that one, WiFi extenders extend an existing network, keeping the same network and DHCP is done by the original access point.
A hotspot creates a new network, and DHCP is handled by the hotspot, not the network on the WAN side.
Might be someone wanting to share the WiFi on something like a tablet. Or someone using an Android phone as an “iPod Touch”, basically everything the phone has minus cellular capabilities but still wanting to share the WiFi with other devices.
I could see this being very popular on flights and cruises where they charge you per device to pay for this one device and then share with other devices.
The device can just connect to whatever wifi network the tablet is connected to. There's no reason to "share the wifi connection".
I could see this being very popular on flights and cruises where they charge you per device to pay for this one device and then share with other devices.
My phone does that just fine. It's a Samsung limitation. All it does is create an access point and forward traffic via its default route.
Your phone works without service?
Of course it does(*).
(*): assuming you mean "works" in the sense of "turns on, lets me use it just fine, does everything that does not require an active cell connection"
Hotspots share your phones mobile data as a local wifi access point. If you don't have a sim, you don't have mobile data, and so, no hotspot.
you can do "wifi sharing" which shares the phones wifi connection.
Not all phones can act as a repetitor. I've had several where wifi gets disconnected when hotspot is activated.
Thats not the same thing, though.
Well to be fair, on my pixel at least, those are literally the same setting. Which it actually is just depends on if you're currently on WiFi or not. Kinda Google's fault for labelling it like that.
Its in the same menu
There's Bluetooth and USB (with Ghirehtet over ADB or external wireless/Ethernet card) that you can use to make a Wi-Fi internet hotspot without mobile data. Also, you could NOT connect to the internet and use LAN-based apps (KDE Connect, network printers) without extra hardware in a pinch, or just broadcast an SSID in a public space for fun.
what if you want to use the wifi hotspot for a LAN party in a plane?
I find it hard to believe all your other phones could do this as it required dual antennas.
If you just want a local network with DHCP and WPA to do whatever, no uplink is necessary.
Totally useless for 99.999% of users (not even exaggerating). Would be nice to have the option though but would mostly just confuse users with was would appear to most to be a totally useless option.
It is useful for LAN games so not 99.999% but more like 90%
Maybe 90% back in the good ol' days 🥲
Yeah but he said wifi extender.
Does it have to be a SIM card with service on it? If not, maybe grabbing a random old SIM card would work.
Random sim card work thankfully
Custom ROM also
Samsung used to have their WiFi sharing under the Hotspot setting. Then they changed the layout, and now WiFi sharing is buried deep in menus to make sure (for some terrible reason, I'm sure) it's not found without a web search. They change the exact location of it with every OneUI update also, to further piss me off. They are surely the company that is actively trying hardest to lose customers.
Many carriers sell hotspot as a data capped premium feature. They probably want a SIM so you can be monitored and charged for using your own device on your own network and services that you've already paid for. Because greed.
I really hate how mobile hotspot is considered separate from regular data. It's the same especially if your mobile speeds are are capped anyway. It's like dental not being included in your health insurance as if your teeth aren't part of your body.
Both of those are such a scam. Greed has ruined this country.
Unless specifically using the phone as repeater, just connect directly to wifi?
Any laptop can also be converted into repeater.
Edit: Missed the little paragraph, look for wifi extender apps.
What kind of tethering?
How would a hot spot work without a sim? Isnt it using the sim 5g to rebroadcast locally?
Some phones essentially function as wifi repeaters if wifi is connected and mobile hotspot is enabled.
Not all phones can do this.
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