How to Password Protect WiFi Hotspot in Android

Once in a blue moon, when my ADSL internet connection fails to work, I switch to the 3G network on my Android smartphone. I usually create a portable hotspot in the Android and connect to it through the Windows PC over WiFi adaptor. But many people do not know that by default Android does not assign any password to the portable WiFi hotspot – it creates an open access point. So if you create a portable WiFi hotspot in your phone, your neighbor can also connect to it and use your expensive 3G bandwidth. To prevent such mishaps of your bandwidth theft, you can easily assign a password to the portable WiFi access point in your Android device.

Here is how you can assign a password to the portable WiFi hotspot in Android:

  1. In your Android device, open the system settings and touch on More under the Wireless & Networks section. Then select Tethering and portable hotspot.Set Portable WiFi Hotspot Password in Android
  2. Turn on the WiFi hotspot and touch on the WiFi hotspot name shown to a little left to the hotspot on/off switch. This will open the WiFi hotspot settings.
  3. In the WiFi hotspot settings, touch Set up Wi-Fi hotspot under the Basic settings category.
  4. In the screen that appears, you would be able to choose a new SSID name, choose a security type (you should select WPA2 PSK), enter a password and finally touch the Save button to save the settings.Set Portable WiFi Hotspot Password in Android
  5. Now you will have to enter a password when you try to connect to this hotspot from your PC.

Conclusion: Using a password to protect your portable hotspot in Android saves you from situations where your internet bandwidth gets stolen by other devices and users. It also restricts the users who can use this hotspot. Only those people who are given the password would be able to connect to the hotspot and use the internet.