Apart from allowing you to enjoy budget-friendly cell phone plans, Cricket Wireless allows you to enjoy mobile hotspot services. With these services, you can keep other devices connected to the internet. To put this into perspective, you can keep your extra smartphone, tablet, laptop, or desktop connected. This way, you can work online, learn online, access emergency healthcare services and so forth. Better still, your friends and family members will not have to purchase extra data as you will be at liberty to share your mobile data with them.
Although Cricket Wireless hotspot might be working optimally, there are moments when it might not work as desired. As a result, you might experience connection issues among other problems. Since most Cricket Wireless users are victims of such circumstances, we shall take a closer look at the various reasons why Cricket Wireless mobile hotspot might not be working, how to fix those issues, alongside any other related ideas.
What Is A Mobile Hotspot?
Simply put, a mobile hotspot allows you to share your phone’s cellular data with other devices. As long as you have mobile data on your phone, you will be able to allow other devices to get connected to the internet seamlessly.
Besides allowing other devices to remain connected, it allows you to enjoy good internet whenever you are far away from your home’s Wi-Fi network. This goes a long way in enabling you to enjoy unmatched convenience.
How Does A Mobile Hotspot Work?
Since you want to enjoy Cricket Mobile hotspot, you have to first ensure that you have an eligible phone and then subscribe to one of this carrier’s hotspot plans. Here, you are free to subscribe to the Cricket Core plan that goes for $55 per month (Unlimited plan) or an eligible grandfathered plan. Better still, choose the Cricket More plan that goes for $60 per month (Unlimited plan).
Once you meet these requirements, you stand the chance to enjoy up to 10GB of high speed mobile data. Thereafter, you can then go ahead and set up the Wi-Fi hotpost feature on your phone. Here, your phone will not only work like a typical cell phone but also as a mobile hotspot device. Depending on the model that you are using, the procedure for setting up a Wi-Fi hotspot might vary.
During the setup process, you will asked to create a Wi-Fi name and password. Once you come up with these details and save them on your device, you will be good to go. Here, you will just need to switch on the Wi-Fi feature of your desired device and then choose the current Wi-Fi network that you have just set up a while ago. After keying in the correct password, your other device will be connected to the internet right away.
As long as you are in an area that has a good Cricket Wireless network coverage, your connected devices will remain connected to the internet all the time. As far as data usage is concerned, you will be using the mobile data package that you have been allocated by this carrier. Once this package is over, you might have to purchase another bundle and then get started.
Reasons Why Your Cricket Mobile Hotspot Is Not Working
There are many reasons why your Cricket Mobile hotspot might not be working optimally. Some of the reasons why you might experience this problem include:
- Your carrier’s is experiencing an outage
- Your Cricket Mobile hotspot device is not receiving the strong network signals
- You have connected multiple devices to your Cricket Mobile hotspot device
- You did not configure your Cricket Wireless mobile hotspot device with the right APN settings
- You have enabled a VPN app on your Cricket Mobile hotspot device
- You have not turned on the current APN settings on your Cricket Mobile hotspot device
- Your device has glitches and bugs
- You are in an area that has a poor Cricket Wireless network
- You have enabled the battery saving mode feature on your phone
- Your Cricket Wireless hotspot device has pending firmware updates
- You have enabled a lower frequency band on your Cricket mobile hotspot phone.
- Your Cricket Wireless mobile hotspot device is old or damaged and thus need to be replaced soon.
- You have exhausted your mobile hotspot data package.
How To Fix Your Cricket Mobile Hotspot Not Working
Since you already know the various reasons why your Cricket Mobile hotspot device might not work optimally, time is ripe for you to know the various solutions that can help you solve these issues once and for good. Some of the solutions that can help you get started include:
- Restart your Cricket Wireless mobile hotspot device. By restarting your device, you will be able to get rid of any existing bugs and glitches. Once your device restarts, try and connect it to the network and establish if it will work again or not.
- Go to the phone’s setting and switch the mobile hotspot feature on. This works magic as the notification section might show you that your hotspot is switched on, yet your phone has not turned on. Sometimes, switching it on manually can help resolve the connection issue.
- Switch the mobile data on and then off. After that, restart your phone. This hack can also help resolve the connection problem right away.
- Although the power or battery saving mode can help you conserve more power, it might affect the efficiency of your Cricket Wireless mobile hotspot device. Therefore, it is advisable that you turn it off. If possible, ensure that your phone is fully charged before you can utilize it as a mobile hotspot device. In case it needs a battery replacement, replace it promptly so that you can enjoy a good connection in the long run.
- Ensure that your Cricket Mobile hotspot device relies on the 5.0 GHz Wi-Fi band. Unlike the 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi band, the former allows faster internet connection compared to the latter band. However, if your device cannot support the 5.0 GHz Wi-Fi band, select the 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi band and see how it goes.
- Reconfigure the APN settings on your device. Here, you should ensure that you key in the right details so that your Cricket mobile hotspot device can work optimally. Once you key in the APN settings, confirm that you have entered all the details correctly before you can restart your device.
- Ensure that your Cricket mobile hotspot is receiving the much-needed network signals. For instance, you can check your locality and establish if it has a good coverage or not. In case your locality has a poor network coverage, it does not hurt to relocate to a location that has a better network signal. In addition, ensure that you eliminate barriers or objects that might be interfering with the reception of these signals. If possible, ensure that your device is located in an open space so that all the connected devices can enjoy a good internet connection.
- Contact this carrier’s customer support and enquire if there is an outage in your area or not. In case there is an outage or there is some maintenance activities taking place, you might have to wait for a while before you can regain a good network connection.
- Ensure that your Cricket Wireless mobile hotspot is using the latest firmware. If you are yet to update your device’s firmware, update it so that you can enjoy all the newest features that come with the latest updates. This will go a long way in resolving any existing connection issues, among other problems.
- In case your Cricket mobile hotspot was damaged or fell down, you might have to either repair it or purchase a new one. However, the decision to repair it will depend on the extent of the damage. If possible, you can purchase a new model as it will come with better features that will allow you enjoy a good internet connection in the long run.
- Reduce the number of devices that you have tethered to the mobile hotspot device. For instance, if you had connected 8 devices, reduce this number to about 5 or even 4. The fewer the number of connected devices, the better the connection.
- Moderate the way you use the internet on your connected devices. For example, if you are using all these devices to play online mobile games, chances are that you are drawing huge data at once. Instead, try to play online mobile games with one device and use the other devices for other purposes that do not consume more mobile data.
How Can I Make Cricket Mobile Hotspot More Optimal?
Like we mentioned above, Cricket Mobile hotspot’s performance might be affected by a number of issues. From network coverage issues to bugs and glitches, there is a myriad of issues that can affect the way your device works. If you want to make your Cricket mobile hotspot more optimal, consider doing the following:
- Always ensure that you device uses the latest firmware. Thankfully, most devices allow you to update their firmware with a click a button. Within a few minutes, your device should have the latest firmware, thereby improving its overall performance.
- Ensure that your locality has a good Cricket Wireless network coverage.
- Keep an eye on background apps as they can end up consuming more data in the long run. This applies to laptops, smartphone,s and tablets. If possible, disable these apps and only enable them once you are connected to a different Wi-Fi network.
- Ensure that your connected devices are within range. This means that they should be closer to the Cricket mobile hotspot devices.In case there are barriers between these two devices, eliminate them so that you can improve signal reception.
- In case your Cricket Wireless hotspot has seen better days, purchase a new model and use it as a mobile W-Fi hotspot. Newer devices come with better features such as 5G connectivity, 5.0 GHz Wi-Fi band, better battery life and so forth. All these features will help improve the efficiency of your mobile hotspot device.
- Keep an eye on your overall mobile hotspot data usage. In case you have exhausted your package, you might have to purchase another bundle so that the other devices can be connected to the internet.
How Can I Keep My Mobile Hotspot Secure From Unauthorized Access?
If you want to keep your Cricket mobile hotspot secure from unauthorized access, ensure that you set up the security feature (WPA2) of your device. Here are the steps that you should follow:
- Get your device ready
- Go to the ‘Settings’ option and then click on the ‘More’ button.
- Thereafter, tap on the ‘Mobile hotspot’ option.
- Click on the ‘Set up Mobile hotspot’ feature so that you can set up security.
- Key in a unique name for your mobile hotspot
- Choose the type of security you intend to have. Here, you can choose either the ‘Open’ option or ‘WPA2’ option. In case you choose the latter, key in a unique password that is hard to guess. Ideally, the WPA2 security is highly recommended by most professionals.
- Your password should be at least 8 characters. Once you key it in, tap on the ‘Save’ button.
- All the devices that will be connecting to your Wi-Fi network will be require that you key in the password you choose during the set up process.
My Battery Is Losing Its Charge Really Quickly When Mobile Hotspot Is On. What Should I Do?
In case your phone’s battery is draining fast whenever you switch on the mobile hotspot feature, try to consider the following ideas:
- Ensure that your phone is plugged into a power supply. With the correct charger, you can plug in your phone to a power supply and ensure that it gets charged as you use it as a mobile hotspot.
- Reduce the number of devices that are connected to your mobile hotspot
- Ensure that you have a backup battery just in case your phone’s battery charge gets depleted completely. Also, you can have a power bank to charge your phone whenever you are in an area that does not have a nearby power supply.
If your device has a removable battery, try to replace it with a newer model. After all, newer batteries tend to last longer than old batteries.