Hotspot sharing enables you to use your iPhone or any other smartphone as a router.

This feature uses your cellular network to feed other Bluetooth and WiFi devices. However, using hotspot sharing has some disadvantages.

First, using a hotspot requires more data; cellular data is usually more expensive than a WiFi connection, and using a hotspot connection drains the battery. This article discusses where you can monitor your hotspot sharing stats.

Further, we show you how to check hotspot usage on your iPhone or iPad. Thus, you can identify freeloaders who soak up your internet without your permission.

Checking hotspot usage on iOS devices

Check the following steps to find out your total network usage and the amount of data used for sharing your iPhone’s hotspot.

Open the Settings on your iOS device.
Tap on Cellular Data
Scroll down to Cellular Data to see hotspot usage

Note that the numbers depicted above are not how much of the data package you got from the service provider is used. Even if you have unlimited data, you can check your mobile data usage for your mobile hotspot.

Your iPhone shows the amount of data used from the last time you had reset your statistics.

How to keep track of your cellular and hotspot consumption

To measure your monthly or weekly data usage more accurately, you have to reset the statistics on your Apple device.

Pay attention that battery usage and other stats will be reset after taking this action.

Open Settings on your iPhone
Go to Cellular
Tap Mobile Data
Scroll all the way down and press the “Reset Statistics” button
Press the red button again to confirm.

Now you can start tracking your cellular data usage from scratch, which will show you data consumed and precisely what devices are using that data.

Find out how much data each device has used

Knowing how much data was totally used by hotspot gives you a hind on how much your next bill is going to cost you.

However, follow the instructions below to find the device that uses the most data or detect unauthorized devices that have connected to your private hotspot network;

Go to Settings on your home page
Select cellular Data
Under Cellular Data, tap on Personal Hotspot to view the devices that use hotspot

If you find a device that is not yours or one of your family’s, it’s time to change your hotspot password. Someone has figured out your password, and they’ve been using your cellular data as free WiFi!

How to change your hotspot password on iPhone

If your hotspot on your iPhone has been compromised, you can change the password by following these steps:

Go to Settings
Tap on Personal Hotspot, below cellular data
Tap the WiFi password field to change your password.
Use a password with at least 12 characters, including uppercase letters, lowercase letters, and numbers.
Keep your password somewhere no stranger can access to avoid hotspot theft.

Bonus tips to save cellular data and battery

Here are some tips on using your iPhone’s hotspot with minimal power consumption and cellular data cost.

Whenever possible, use WiFi. Using a hotspot consumes more battery and is not economical in most cases.
The closer your device is to your phone, the faster your connection; in addition, keeping your device close means less energy consumption.
When you don’t use the hotspot turn off your Personal Hotspot. Also, check if the WiFi and Bluetooth connections are off and not on standby.
Limit the applications that can access the internet using cellular data. You can change the permissions in your cellular data settings. Settings > Cellular Data

You can reduce battery consumption by directly connecting your iPhone to the laptop or PC you want to connect with the hotspot. Tethering allows your phone to charge while using cellular data; in addition, you don’t have to turn on Bluetooth or WiFi.
If you have to choose between Bluetooth and WiFi, go with Bluetooth, especially if both devices use Bluetooth 4, which supports low battery consumption.

Conclusion

Hotspot sharing and tethering are lifesaving features available on most modern phones.

Using hotspots allows users to turn their phones into routers that receive cellular networks and share the data with other authorized devices via USB, Bluetooth, or WiFi.

However, suppose your cellular data packages end sooner than expected. In that case, you can make sure nobody is stealing your hotspot by checking your phone’s data usage log. Seeing how much mobile data you’ve used is a good idea if you want to stick within a data limit.

If you detect a suspicious device, disconnect your hotspot, reset the hotspot password, and check the devices that can use your cellular data afterward.