There are lots of public Wi-Fi hotspots around nowadays. This makes it a lot easier for travelers to get online. But, sometimes, it is just inconvenient to go to one of these places.

So, if you want to use fast internet while traveling on all your devices, people often get mobile hotspot plans. But that means having an extra device you have to keep charged and carry around.

If you have a mobile data plan, you are just as good. You can share the Internet with all your devices and friends by turning your device into a Wi-Fi hotspot. But how will that affect you? Here are 9 pros and cons of turning your laptop or smartphone into a wireless hotspot.

1. Easily provide fast Internet for all your devices and friends while traveling

You can provide fast and reliable internet from your laptop or smartphone to your other devices, family and friends. Most public Wi-Fi networks ask for credentials when connecting to the Internet. Plus, public Wi-Fi is often slow, since it needs to provide internet on a large scale. When sharing the Internet from your device, you provide a fast connection for your friends and family only.

2. Own a small business? Meet the demands and get new customers

Providing free internet for your customers is a great marketing tactic to meet the demands and also attract customers. Most places nowadays provide free Wi-Fi on their premises. If people know you have free internet, they are likely to stay longer, buy something and also mention that in the reviews they post.

The quality of the internet you provide can set you apart from your competitors. Therefore, make sure you provide fast internet for the customers in your wireless hotspot. And you don't need any dedicated routers for this - if your laptop's running, you can also use it to create the Wi-Fi hotspot for others to connect to.

3. More flexible and cost effective than a MiFi device

Turning your computer into a Wi-Fi hotspot is more economical compared to getting a MiFi device or purchasing a business internet plan to provide internet in your shop. There is free software like Connectify Hotspot which you can use to turn your computer into a fully featured virtual router. This way, you can share any type of connection via Wi-Fi, be it another Wi-Fi network, a wired Ethernet connection or your tethered phone.

Also, it is easy to set up a smartphone to work as a Wi-Fi hotspot.

4. Internet becomes slower through sharing

If you use your computer as Wi-Fi hotspot, any bandwidth-consuming activities like streaming or online gaming will slow down the internet connection for the others. For example, if you want to edit a PDF document online, you should avoid using online editor, just to be sure you'll not lose connectivity. In this example, get a desktop PDF editor and use it to edit your document.

5. Battery will drain faster

If you set up your device to be a Wi-Fi hotspot, your laptop or smartphone battery will drain faster. To fix this problem, we recommend you keep your device plugged in for as long as other devices are connected to the internet through your hotspot. Use an external battery if you don't have access to a power outlet.

6. Open Wi-Fi networks are vulnerable to security risks

It is always important to secure your Wi-Fi network by simply requiring a password for the other devices to connect. This will minimize the chances of hackers to intercept traffic between the devices in the network you created and the internet.

Most software apps that ‘help’ you create a Wi-Fi hotspot do it without bridging. This means that clients that join your hotspot don’t get real IP addresses from the network they’re extending. They can get on the Internet through the hotspot, but they’re not really on the network to do any peer-to-peer networking:

• Game consoles will report NAT problems,
• Chromecast apps won’t find your Chromecast,
• your Apple TV won’t show up for your Mac to stream to… the list goes on.

Connectify Hotspot is the most popular virtual router software with virtual router functionalities such as:

• Mobile hotspot: turn your laptop into a WiFi hotspot with the only software app that works on all Windows versions!
• Easily bridging other devices onto your home network with WiFi Bridging Mode: eliminate all game consoles (Nintendo, Playstation, Xbox) and smart TV issues with your home WiFi network!
• Save money while traveling: Get all devices online for the price of one when being charged for Internet per device at hotels, on airplanes, etc.
• Share any type of Internet connection with all your devices: share Internet from existing WiFi networks, LAN, DSL, 3G/4G, even tethered smartphones! You can even share VPN connections via WiFi so all your devices are protected.

Download Connectify Hotspot on your laptop for free.