Connecting to a Personal Hotspot

Occasionally, you may be working offsite at a location where there is no or limited WiFi connectivity.  In these cases, you may want to use your smartphone's personal hotspot option to connect your laptop to the internet.

To do this, verify that your cell phone is capable of hotspot functionality and has this feature enabled.

• iPhones: Open the Settings app --> Personal Hotspot will be listed below Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Cellular.  Open it to ensure "Allow Others to Join" is turned on and a password is set for the WiFi connection.
• Android: https://support.google.com/android/answer/9059108?hl=en

Once it is turned on, you can go to your laptop's WiFi options and look for your cell phone name in the list.  To connect to it, provide the WiFi password when prompted, then it should allow you to connect.  After that, ensure you connect to Sophos Connect for VPN connectivity.

Troubleshooting:

You might find that your computer is not letting you connect to your hotspot although you have successfully connected to it in the past.  If you see the option in your WiFi list and click Connect, it may give you the following error: "Can't connect to this network"

To fix this, try the following: 

• Right-click the WiFi icon in the bottom right corner of your screen and select Open Network & Internet settings
• In the left-hand column below Status, click Wi-Fi
• In the middle of the window, click the third blue link that states "Manage known networks"
• Find your cell phone name in the list, click on it, and select "Forget"
• Close the window and go back to the list of WiFi options.  Verify that you are able to connect to your hotspot now.

If you continue experiencing issues, please contact the Service Desk.