Windows 11 to soon feature instant smartphone hotspot access

Windows 11 and Samsung Galaxy users will soon be able to utilize the Phone Link app  to simply activate their Galaxy phone’s Wi-Fi hotspot instantly straight from their Windows PC.

This simply means when your phone is within close range, it will appear in the Wi-Fi network list on your PC where you may simply click to turn on your phone’s hotspot.

Furthermore, this means you wouldn’t need to remember or type passwords and search for hotspot settings on your phone. This has also been a much requested feature since MacOS and ChromeOS both have similar features.

To use the feature, you will need:

• Samsung device with One UI 4.1.1 (Android 12) or higher
• PC must have both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth adapters
• Sim card with hotspot-capable plan
• Windows 11, version 22H2 Build 22621 and higher
• Phone Link desktop app in version v1.22082.111.0 or greater
• Link To Windows phone app (pre-installed on Samsung devices) in version v1.22082.142.0 or greater. Please ensure that your app is up to date on your Samsung device.

You set up to instantly access your Samsung Device’s hotspot in the following places: 

• The What’s New dialog, which should pop up on your screen. You can click on “Get Started” to launch the flow.
• From the Phone Link settings page -> Features -> Instant Hotspot. If you haven’t completed set up yet you should see a button to begin the process.
• Overflow menu (…) button on top right of Phone Link

The new instant hotspot feature is now rolling out to Windows devices running the the Preview Build of Windows (build 25231) and will only be available among certain Samsung devices right now.

If you wish to give feedback in regards to the Phone Link app and Hotspot feature, you can file feedback in the Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Apps > Phone Link.