Topic: Switch + Mobile Hotspot = AWESOME

Mobile hotspot feature is now built in to almost every phone sold. I never used the feature because I never had a need, but now with Switch being a hybrid that offers online games via portable play, I decided to investigate the viability of using a mobile Hotspot to play online... and I have very, very good news to share.

I simply went into settings, turned on mobile Hotspot, and gave the wireless network a name and new password.

This morning I came into work and right away, turned on my mobile hotspot on my phone, connected my Switch to the network and played a full hour of Splatoon 2... perfectly... with zero lag... and no disconnects. It was so buttery smooth, in fact, it was even better than my home wifi!

Online Gaming Data Usage via Hotspot
One of my concerns was how much data online gaming would consume. Well as it turns out, barely any at all! My new monthly data cycle just started over at midnight, so I was at 0 usage when I started playing the Testfire Demo. One full hour of online Splatoon 2, and it only used 100mb of data. I must have played 15 matches. Meaning each match is less than 10mb of data used. That's... incredibly viable.

Bottom Line
It's fast, it's lag-free, it's available everywhere you go, and it barely uses any data at all. I was prepared to Switch from 5gb monthly data to an unlimited plan, but now I realize I don't need to. By using our phones as a mobile Hotspot, the Switch just became a whole heckuva lot more awesome.

Now, mobile hotspot does drain your phone's battery kinda fast. I dropped from 92% to 75% in the 50 minutes I was playing Splatoon 2. Thankfully, you can just tuck a phone charger in your Switch case along with your Switch charger and portable battery, and you will have everything you need to play Switch as long as you want, online, anywhere you want.

I know this tech has been around but I was kind of oblivious to it because I never needed to use it before. Now it's hitting me as I discovered I can play Switch anywhere, and I can do it online. No more "gotta wait til I'm home to play online games".

This is the most amazing thing- I hope others who weren't aware how easy it is and how smooth it is and how little data it uses... I hope this opens some eyes and people start spreading the word about using mobile hotspot from your phone with Switch

This is really cool. My Switch won't connect to wifi when upstairs (all my other devices do) so this might be a helpful workaround

Great stuff,I will certainly be making use of this.I'm surprised Nintendo haven't made a big deal about it.

This needs to be reported by Nintendolife!

@OorWullie
Ya know, I realize this technology is nothing new, but I just never used it, and didn't know how to set it up or anything, and I didn't care much tbh.

But it really is a game changer for the Switch. It's like, one of those things that's slowly been making progress behind the scenes, and now is it's time to shine.

I've heard so many people complain about not having good Wifi, or talking about the poor value of online games portably since you won't have a connection... this really is the answer. As long as your phone was made in the last 5 years it should have the feature built right in. A few years ago you had to pay for the feature separately but now, it's just included with every cellular plan for free.

I truly hope NintendoLife does end up doing a piece on this because people need to know. After the wonderful experience I had this morning, my eyes have been opened. It's a brave new world for portable gaming.

I am unlimited data and restricted from using Mobile Hotspot (AT&T). I think I can pay an extra charge to add Hotspot capability, or hack my phone to disable the blocked capability.

Thanks for posting that it works so good - I will be researching this now.

@JohnBlackstar
Ooh, ya AT&T may make you pay for it separately, but they may have a plan which includes it.

I use Verizon, and every plan they offer includes mobile hotspot. The data just comes out of your normal plan. It may be useful to start compiling a list of all the plans and carriers which include mobile hotspot.

That's quite impressive.

Yup. We played each round of the test fire over mobile hotspots and encountered zero problems. No significant lag or disconnects. My mobile devices were getting 2-3 bars as well, so this is very promising. I wanted to push it with two Switches playing on the same hotspot, but didn't get the chance.

(Unrelated, but I can get two Switches to connect and play FAST in two adjacent rooms, through walls on separate TVs, with both switches docked deep in entertainment centers. Thrilled with that possibility!)

By my calculation each Turf War match used about 10mb and an hour equated to ~120-140mb, which is in the neighborhood of half what Splatoon used. (TW~20, Ranked~20-30). Great improvement, but would nice if it were even less yet. Black Ops 2 (which is a lot less computationally intensive) uses ~45mb on Wii U for comparison. However, the first Splatoon is in the upper end of data usage, so I didn't expect such a decrease, no matter how necessary..

Either way, this is a good sign for the viability of online multiplayer on Switch.

I've been telling people to do this before the Switch is released. Even my Wii U can connect to my mobile hotspot, though that defeats the purpose of the latter in terms of the portability.

I'm super excited about this. I travel for business a lot and I already picked up the deluxe travel case that let's you pack literally the whole system (dock and all). With mobile hotspot I can still play my games and not have to try to use the slow hotel internet that would be worthless.

Not that I know whether it matters or not, but are these smooth experiences using a mobile hotspot based on 3G or 4G?

@JohnBlackstar
Right. Especially if you have 4G, though I've heard even 3G provides a nice, stable and lag-free connection as well (I still feel better having 4G though). But chances are if you have a phone recent enough to provide hotspot, it's probably on 4G also.

I think this could ultimately prove to be a factor going forward pertaining to what phones and plans people go with. As I mentioned before, all of Verizon's plans include mobile hotspot free of charge, but I imagine there are plans out there which do not. I count myself fortunate to have a phone (Galaxy S7) and plan (My Verizon Plan- Unlimited Talk/Text + 5gb 4G LTE data $40/mo... well, $60 after $20 Line Access Fee) which is all good to go, but if I didn't, I'd certainly be considering getting a phone/plan that did offer it, at the very least the next time it came up to get a new phone.

@Azooooz
I guess, when people don't have a need they don't pay much attention (myself being a perfect example of this- I just wrote off mobile hotspot as some complicated thing I didn't need, and couldn't care less about figuring out how to use it). But now that there is a clear need for something like this, my ears perked up. I saw my friend at work turn on a hotspot on his phone within seconds and connect, it made me realize this is not complicated... this is easy- The only question was data usage. And that too is not an issue. Don't they call this an epiphany? That's what this is.

@gcunit
My experience was with 4G. However, I did some research on the matter and apparently 3G also provides a nice, smooth experience. You could always try it and see for yourself. It would certainly be beneficial to have someone here with first-hand experience with 3G...

@JaxonH I used a mobile hotspot once before on my Wii U when my wifi went off,funnily enough it was for Splatoon.I remember it being very smooth.I think I played about half hour but it had done some damage to my 1gb per month of data.I think I dismissed it then as a viable alternative.It's interesting to read they've cut at least in half how much it uses on the sequel.I bet a game like MK8D will use even less.Something like Puyo Puyo Tetris or USF 2 will hardly use any.For a portable console where you'll play 30 minutes to an hour at most when out and about,this is definitely viable.

Edit: The short time I tried it on Wii U,I would have been on 3G,it gave me no issues.Now I'm on 4G plan,my signal switches between 4G and LTE.Not sure which one is faster.I'd say 4G in Thailand isn't much faster than 3G in the UK though.When I was back home I noticed a big improvement in speed.

@OorWullie
And... plans have gotten alot better these past couple years. Most people now probably have at least 2GB, maybe even more... and I don't think it would be out of the question considering an upgrade to a larger data plan if people know they're gonna use it to game on. Like, pay an extra $5/mo and get an extra 2gb for gaming, or an extra $10-20 and go for unlimited (despite having 5gb with rollover, which usually means 7gb after carry over data, I'm considering paying an extra $20/mo for unlimited and not have to worry about ever being stingy with it. I mean, it obviously would benefit more than just online gaming- it'd be nice to watch videos constantly without wondering if it's too much

I checked and found out that I must pay $20 more a month to get mobile hotspot capability turned on for my unlimited data. And then it only allows me to use 10gb of the data through hotspot before throttling the connection speed. I'll have to think about my plan and what is best.

@JohnBlackstar
And... that's why I'm not a fan of AT&T. Although even Verizon says they'll throttle after 10gb mobile hotspot data but only during congested traffic which is probably seldom, and I don't foresee using that much data for hotspot anyways.

At least you now know where you stand and what it would take.

I know Verizon can't be the only provider that offers free hotspot though...

@JaxonH See you are making me want to switch. I miss Cingular so much. To think I got them to AVOID ATT back in the day.

@JaxonH Unfortunately AT&T is my only viable option in my current area. I have a work phone with a Verizon plan and it drops calls all the time at my house. I might have to drop my unlimited plan and just get a large data plan.

@JohnBlackstar
Ya, gotta go with what works best in your area. Usually Verizon is great but like all providers, there's some areas they just don't have as many towers in.