Imagine this: the electricity has gone out and has taken the home internet with it and you have an urgent document to email. Time is scant, and the situation is dire. What do you do? Go to a friend’s house? Maybe to an internet café? What options do you have?

Fret not — at least not if you own a smartphone. Turn your smartphone into a mobile internet router and connect your devices(s) like a regular wifi connection. Here’s how:

In case of emergency, turn your smartphone into a mobile internet hotspot

The steps for iOS are first outlined below:

Step 1: Open Settings:

Step 2: Tap Personal Hotspot:

Step 3: You will be greeted with this window:

A pop up will then appear:

Step 4: Now you have successfully configured your personal hotspot and can use the password provided in a window like this to successfully connect your laptop or tablet:

The process is similar for Android operating systems:

Step 1: On your home screen, head into settings
---->Wireless & Networks--->Tethering & Mobile Hotspot:

Tap the square button in the arrow above to turn on mobile hotspot. Tap onto mobile hotspot settings and click on configure mobile hotspot:

Once you have successfully configured your mobile hotspot on your Android device, you can use the password to connect any laptop, smartphone or tablet to it.

One note of caution: turning on a mobile hotspot on any smartphone — whether on iOS or Android — greatly chews battery charge. Whatever smartphone you are using, do ensure that it is fully charged. Wifi & cellular tablets may last a touch longer on mobile hotspot mode due to their larger batteries. While mobile hotspots can be lifesavers, it does consume significant mobile data. Make sure you have a 2GB bucket or more at hand, otherwise your mobile bill will shoot through the roof!

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, October 26th, 2014