Can Mobile Hotspot Be Used For Accessing Any Streaming Service

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Streaming Media with a Mobile Hotspot One of the questions I get asked occasionally is whether you can utilise a streaming media player using a mobile telephone's hotspot feature, unremarkably by people who don't have access to high-speed cablevision or satellite Internet service but practise take an unlimited data plan from their cellphone service provider. I did a quick check on this in one case a while agone and provided this reply in the Streaming Media Oftentimes Asked Questions post:

If your phone has a hotspot feature, you may exist able to use it as the Internet connexion for your streaming media thespian. All the same, it can apply up a lot of data quickly and even if you have an unlimited information plan, make sure that includes when you use the phone as a hotspot. A lot of times, information technology doesn't apply to that situation.

Too note that cell service is oftentimes not as strong, fast, or reliable equally Wi-Fi, so you lot may have problems with buffering and motion picture quality.

Recently, nonetheless, I received an electronic mail from T4L reader Sue who has run into problems streaming content from certain providers (Vudu and HBO) through her second-generation Chromecast, so I thought I'd do a little more than testing with all of the Big Four streamers (Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Apple TV, Google Chromecast) and report back on what I establish. So that'southward what this post is! 🙂

Before I become into the details, though, a few important caveats:

Every bit I mention on the FAQ page, even if you have an unlimited data programme with your cellphone service, it may non apply to when yous're using your phone every bit a hotspot. Or they may let unlimited information with a hotspot but at a lower speed, which will touch how it handles streaming. So brand sure you know the full terms of your program and so you lot can avoid super high overage charges.
As with anything tech related, what works for me may not work for you, or may not work for y'all in the same way. For this situation, the variables include (but are not limited to): y'all cellphone provider, information speed for your program, streaming content provider, resolution of the content you lot're streaming, the TV you're streaming to… Well, you go the picture.
I'm certain there are options I'm not mentioning here and then if you have a good one, please share it in the comments below or shoot me an email and so I can bank check information technology out.

Now, on to my findings!

Setting upward a streaming role player using a hotspot

Testing Environment

I set up the hotspot from my Samsung Milky way S5 telephone using a Verizon prepaid prison cell programme. The streamers I tested were the 2nd-generation Burn down TV Stick, current-generation Roku Streaming Stick and Roku Ultra Streaming box, second-generation Apple TV, and second-generation Chromecast connected to a forty″ Samsung 4K TV. For content providers, I tried Netflix and HBO Now. Netflix lets y'all choose the quality yous want to stream and I set it to High (which uses a lot more information). HBO Now automatically adjusts the quality based on the download speed it detects.

The Fire Tv set and Roku are both pretty straightforward. You set them upwards simply like you would with a Wi-Fi connection, and when you become to the screen request for your wireless connection, you select your mobile hotspot.

I wasn't able to gear up the Apple TV at all. When I entered the login info for my hotspot, it tried to connect and then displayed a message that at that place was no Internet connection. Note that the Apple tree Tv set does let yous modify IP addresses and other settings that I tin't explicate, so information technology's possible something in that location would let you connect to a hotspot. Merely because the Apple TV is much more expensive than its competitors for a worse feature set, I really don't recommend information technology to anyone simply a diehard Apple user anymore.

Chromecast Update, June 2017 With the release of Google Play Services eleven.0.55, you tin no longer connect a Chromecast to a mobile hotspot from your Android phone. This commodity has more information, including a link to where you can download an earlier version of Google Play Services to become back this functionality:

Latest Google Play Services seems to have broken casting using Android hotspot for WiFi (Android Police, 06/05/17)

If yous practise roll dorsum to the earlier version, here's my experience using a Chromecast through a hotspot.

I could connect the Chromecast, merely the process is different since in that location's no remote for the device. As well, depending on your telephone, you lot may need to use a 2d device (computer, phone, or tablet) to actually do the setup. This is because although you can download the Google Home app to your phone, the app will not work unless the phone is connected to Wi-Fi. And as soon as you lot turn on the hotspot feature, at least on my telephone, information technology turns off Wi-Fi. At that place may be phones that allow both Wi-Fi and mobile hotspot at the same fourth dimension, in which case y'all may be able to exercise the setup with it alone, merely I have no way of testing that.

So what I did was turn on the mobile hotspot and then connected my computer to it (you could also employ a different phone or tablet with the Google Dwelling app). With the computer, you lot need to go to chromecast.com/setup in the Chrome browser merely to go through the setup process. And so when you lot get to the screen that asks you to select a wireless connection for the Chromecast, y'all tin select the hotspot.

NOTE: When y'all plough off your hotspot, your Chromecast Goggle box brandish will say it needs to exist prepare. Merely when you lot turn the hotspot back on and go to cast something to information technology, it will reconnect every bit usual.

Quality of video streaming through a mobile hotspot

Earlier I share my experience, please be aware that I have a pretty flexible definition of "skillful quality." Equally long as the image isn't besides blurry, I can hear the audio okay, and there are no interruptions, I'm totally fine with it. Other people, especially those who have invested in top of the line TVs, may not find the quality acceptable.

Results

With the Fire Goggle box and Roku devices I found the quality acceptable to adept. I would say the Roku Streaming Stick video was slightly degraded compared to the Fire TV Stick, but the latter was as good as the Roku Ultra box.

The Chromecast quality was definitely lower than the other options, but withal watchable.

I tried three different methods with the Chromecast. The first was casting like normal from the Netflix app on my phone and that wasn't besides bad. The second was casting from my Chrome browser on my PC. Information technology was near the same quality as the first method—maybe a wee flake lower quality. The third manner was using the screen mirroring pick through the Google Habitation app on my phone, i.e. I started watching the video through Netflix on my phone and then mirrored it to my Idiot box. That was the worst quality and the video actually stopped playing at points.

Alternatives to straight streaming

If none of the methods work for your item setup, there are a couple of other options you tin try.

The first is screen mirroring, where you're duplicating everything on your screen to your Television set. Although that was the least successful method for the Chromecast, some of the other mirroring options may work better.

Larn more nearly various ways to mirror your computer or mobile device screen to your TV in this T4L post. >>

Another selection is to download the video to your computer or mobile device and and so treat it like any video y'all have stored locally. Options include casting or mirroring it wirelessly to a device, connecting it via a USB cable to players that have that feature, or using a media server.

Some content providers let you download videos now. Both Netflix and Amazon Prime number Video permit y'all download some of their titles equally function of your membership. (With Amazon Video, you can also purchase any of their videos to download them.)

PlayOn is a media server application you can utilise to both stream videos directly to your TV or tape streaming videos and and then stream them from your calculator to compatible devices. I recorded and downloaded an episode of How To Go Abroad with Murder using information technology and tried casting that to my Chromecast and the quality was about the same equally streaming through my phone or browser. I too tried streaming straight from PlayOn but to see if that was whatever meliorate, but it was really worse—frequent buffering.

Learn more about PlayOn in this T4L post. >>

Visit the PlayOn website to larn more than. >>

Plex is some other popular media server application and you can also record streaming videos with information technology. I haven't used it myself to be able to comment on it.

Visit the Plex website to learn more. >>

And then that's how streaming through a mobile hotspot works for me. If you've had different experiences please share them below.

You may also be interested in:

How Many Gigs of Data Exercise Yous Need to Watch Streaming Movies and TV Shows?

Which Streaming Media Actor Is Correct for Y'all?

Comparing Netflix, Amazon Video, and Hulu Streaming Video Providers

Filed Under: Amazon Fire Goggle box, Apple Idiot box, Computer, Google Chromecast, HBO, How To, Mobile Devices, My Two Cents, Netflix, Phones, Reader Questions, Roku, Streaming Media, TV, Video, Wi-Fi

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