[SOLVED] Mobile Hotspot Connected but No Internet

In today's Internet centric society, having issues with your connectivity is something you have to avoid. Whether you're working from home, live streaming or playing games online, the lack of a reliable Internet connection means losing productivity, your audience or the game respectively.

When you're traveling, on the go, or cellular is simply the best Internet connection you have in your area, you are probably using a mobile hotspot device. This can be a dedicated device, such as a MiFi, or your own smartphone. "Mobile hotspot connected but no Internet" - does this sound familiar? What about "Connected, no Internet access"?

This article will help you understand why this mobile hotspot connected but no Internet error happens, how to easily troubleshoot and, most important, how to avoid this in the future.

When you're accessing the Internet through a mobile hotspot, the connectivity comes from your cellular connection, which is shared via WiFi to your laptop and other devices you connect. So, there are two parts involved:

• the mobile hotspot - a WiFi network created locally by the dedicated device or by your smartphone / tablet.
• the cellular Internet - uses the network provided by your carrier.

So, if your mobile hotspot is connected, but you have no Internet, that means it's got something to do with your network operator:

• you may have very poor network coverage (just one bar of signal, for example).
• the cellular connection speed is slow - 2G, 3G.
• the is a network outage or some maintenance work done by the carrier.

Here's what you can do to troubleshoot your Internet connection when you have no connectivity when using a mobile hotspot device:

1. Make sure mobile data is on and working. Check that the MiFi device has been properly configured with the cellular network's access points. On some smartphones / mobile devices, you can enable the mobile hotspot without necessarily turning on the cellular data. But in order to access the Internet, you need that.
2. Maximize the cellular signal strength and speed. If you're only getting one or two bars of cell signal, try to position your mobile hotspot so it's got better cellular reception. Ideally you'd want at least 3 bars and 4G / LTE speeds for cellular data.
3. Get your mobile hotspot closer to the devices you're connecting to. Try to use the devices you're connecting to the mobile hotspot as close to it as possible, to avoid speed drops and packet loss.
4. Restart your mobile hotspot (MiFi, smartphone, tablet, etc.). Sometimes that's all you need.
5. If you have Internet access from other devices connected to the same mobile hotspot, restart the computer or other devices you get the "No Internet access" error on. Also - check for updated drivers for your WiFi adapter on Windows.
6. Forget the WiFi network created by your mobile hotspot on the devices you're having issues on and reconnect to it. Sometimes the information can be altered, leading to mobile hotspot connected but no Internet access problems.
7. See if there's an Internet outage in your area or if your ISP has  reported any issues. You can check that using your carrier's service status page or using websites such as downdetector.com.

Did any of those solve your Internet connectivity issues? If so, you probably want to avoid spending the same amount of time troubleshooting and fixing it the next time it happens. If you have other Internet connections available along with your mobile hotspot, you can use Speedify to combine all your available connections at the same time.

Speedify is a fast bonding VPN that allows you to use all of your Internet connections at the same time, providing speed, stability and security. As long as you're connected to more than one Internet source, chances are you will not get disconnected completely from the Internet, thanks to Speedify's automatic failover protection.

The video above illustrates one of the possible combinations you can do to get reliable Internet. But basically you can use any combination of Internet connections on your Windows PC / Mac / Linux computer. And you can combine WiFi and cellular together on your Android or iPhone. Check out our YouTube channel for more.

Having a reliable Internet connection is especially important when being disconnected can impact your real time online activities:

• working remotely - being unable to attend online meetings and video conferences, as well as being in touch with your colleagues.
• live streaming - Speedify actually prioritizes live streams over other types of Internet traffic. So your Twitch, YouTube or other streams should be protected.
• online gaming - you shouldn't lose the game because of an Internet glitch.

To wrap this up, whenever possible, use multiple Internet connections at once to avoid the mobile hotspot connected but no Internet access error. Whether it's a nearby public WiFi hotspot or a second cellular connection (preferably from a different carrier), Speedify helps you get uninterrupted and fast Internet connectivity.