I hate Samsung and their dumb software design choices, and this is one of them. Why do I need a SIM card to enable a hotspot whereas every other phone works without one?
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.
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.
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.
Absolutely yes. So many phones have USB 2.0, so the Wi-Fi speed is often going to be faster than cable.
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.
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.
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.
But didn't you know that teeth are just luxury bones?
Both of those are such a scam. Greed has ruined this country.
On that note, I finally tried Comcast's xfinitywifi service this month, and was pleasantly surprised. They run a WiFi hotspot service accessable to Comcast users, but non-Comcast subscribers can also get a la carte access for $10/month. It's not a full drop-in replacement for cellular data --- no system of WiFi access points is going to have that degree of coverage --- but if you live in an urban area, an awful lot of the place is within range of an access point, and my experience thus far has been that it's considerably faster than running off cellular data.
Yeah, I'm definitely blocked from turning on my hotspot with AT&T until it can verify that I'm allowed specifically from the cellular network.
This could very well be a carrier lock-in.
OP, how old is the phone / what version of android is it running?
Just tested this on my s24u, connected to wifi with no physical SIM and my eSIM turned off I can still turn on mobile Hotspot. Seems weird that you can't especially since iirc Samsung let's you share your wifi connection through Hotspot as well.
Edit: goto settings>connections>mobile Hotspot and tehtering>mobile hotspot> click on the network name field. You'll be taken to a screen to change the name but at the bottom there's an advanced button. Click that and near or at the bottom will be "wifi sharing" turn that on and you can share your wifi connection through hotspot.
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?
"Hotspot" is always going to be referring to having the phone act as a WiFi wireless access point, rather than USB or Bluetooth tethering.
I don't know if it's android or Samsung doing this. Both are trash.
On the android side it'd be because Google seemingly hires the dumbest project managers possible for the thing.
Samsung side I'd waver itd be because they think their customers would be too stupid to diagnose an issue with hotspot without a sim (such as if WiFi is working)
One or the other
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.
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".
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?