Hotel Wi-Fi in Bali cut out for the third time that morning. I had a Zoom call in 20 minutes. Switched on my phone's hotspot, connected my laptop to the eSIM data, and the call went fine. That 5GB plan saved a client relationship.
Most eSIM plans allow hotspot (tethering). Some don't. And even when they do, there are tricks to avoid burning through your entire data allowance in a single afternoon.
Does your eSIM plan support hotspot?
Most GEO plans allow tethering. But not all providers are the same. Before you buy any eSIM plan with hotspot in mind, check the plan details. Look for "tethering allowed" or "hotspot supported." If it says "data only - no tethering," your phone might block the hotspot feature or the carrier could throttle you.
On iPhone, if hotspot is blocked by the eSIM carrier, the Personal Hotspot option either disappears or shows a "contact carrier" message. On Android, the hotspot toggle just won't work with that SIM selected.
How to set it up
On iPhone: Settings > Personal Hotspot > Allow Others to Join. Set a password. Your laptop connects like any Wi-Fi network.
On Android (Samsung): Settings > Connections > Mobile Hotspot and Tethering > Mobile Hotspot. Name your network and set a password.
On Pixel: Settings > Network & internet > Hotspot & tethering > Wi-Fi hotspot.
Make sure your eSIM plan is selected as the data source, not your home SIM. Otherwise you'll be tethering through international roaming on your primary number. That's an expensive mistake.
How much data does hotspot actually use?
This depends entirely on what you're doing on the connected device. Some real numbers from my trips:
- Email and Slack on a laptop: about 50-100MB per hour
- Google Docs and light browsing: 100-200MB per hour
- Zoom or Google Meet video call: 600MB-1GB per hour (video on)
- Zoom audio only: about 100MB per hour
- Streaming Netflix on a tablet: 1-3GB per hour depending on quality
- Software updates (the silent killer): can be several GB without warning
A 1-hour video call uses roughly the same data as 8 hours of email and messaging. Plan accordingly.
Tricks to make your data last
Turn off automatic updates on any device you connect. Seriously. Your laptop will try to download a 2GB Windows update the moment it senses an internet connection. On Mac: System Settings > Software Update > turn off automatic downloads. On Windows: Settings > Windows Update > Pause updates.
Disable cloud sync on your connected devices. iCloud, Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive - they all sync in the background. For a quick work session through hotspot, pause syncing first.
Use Zoom's "low bandwidth" mode if you're on a call. It reduces video quality but cuts data usage by about 60%. Most people on the other end won't notice the difference.
Set your hotspot to the 5GHz band if your phone supports it. It's faster at close range, which means files transfer quicker and you spend less total time connected.
Sharing with travel companions
If you're traveling with someone and only one of you has an eSIM, hotspot sharing works fine for light use. Checking maps, messaging, looking up restaurant reviews. What doesn't work well: two people streaming video simultaneously. That'll drain a 5GB plan in a few hours.
For couples or small groups, it's usually cheaper for everyone to get their own plan. But for a quick "can I check something on your hotspot?" situation, it's perfectly fine.
Battery drain
Running a hotspot murders your phone battery. Expect to lose about 15-20% per hour with an active hotspot connection. Bring a power bank. Not a suggestion - a requirement if you're relying on hotspot for work. A 10,000mAh bank gives you roughly one full phone charge, which means about 4-5 extra hours of hotspot time.
Check GEO's plans at getesimonline.com/countries and look for ones that explicitly support tethering if hotspot is important for your trip.