- The Instant Hotspot feature in Microsoft’s Phone Link app is no longer exclusive to Samsung phones.
- The feature, which lets you quickly connect your Windows PC to the Internet using your phone as a mobile hotspot, is now available on some OnePlus phones.
- So far, we’ve spotted it on a OnePlus Open and OnePlus 12.
Having long since given up on its own mobile OS ambitions, Microsoft has shifted focus towards making Android phones work better with Windows PCs. One of the principal ways it’s making this happen is by introducing new cross-device features through the Phone Link app. Although the app is available for any Android device through Google Play, some of its best features are only available on select devices. Phone Link’s Instant Hotspot feature, for example, has been exclusive to Samsung phones since it was introduced in late 2022. Recently, though, Microsoft has quietly dropped that exclusivity.
Microsoft introduced Instant Hotspot in the Phone Link app back in October 2022. The feature lets you quickly connect your Windows PC to the Internet by turning your phone into a mobile hotspot. While you can set up a mobile hotspot on almost any Android phone, Instant Hotspot saves you from needing to manually turn on the hotspot on your phone and then enter a password on your PC to connect to it. It’s a fast and convenient way to get Internet access on your Windows PC, especially if you’re on the go.