Mint Mobile Hotspot: Plans, limits, and setup

Angelo Ilumba Senior Writer

Updated 12 December 2025

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How to use Mint Mobile hotspot

Using your phone as a mobile hotspot is a great way to keep your devices connected to the internet when you're away from home Wi-Fi, keeping you safe from untrustworthy and unreliable public Wi-Fi networks. Mint Mobile allows you to use your phone as a hotspot at no extra charge. All of Mint Mobile's phone plans include mobile hotspot, and when I tested out Mint's service, I found that Mint's hotspot speeds were very fast.

Mint offers various data plans that cater to light and moderate hotspot users; however, its plans aren't very suitable for heavy users. We'll take a closer look at Mint's hotspot options and see if its plans are right for your tethering needs.

How Mint Mobile's hotspot works

Mint Mobile does not offer dedicated mobile hotspot data on any of its plans. Instead, any data you use for hotspot is simply taken from your 5G/4G LTE data allotment. So, if you are on Mint's 5GB plan, you can use up to 5GB for hotspot but that will eat up all of your data limit, and you'll have none for your phone's usage (you can still use data, it'll just be slow).

This approach is different from other carriers, who typically offer separate data allotments for phone usage and hotspot usage. It can be an advantage if you don't use much data on your phone but want to have the option to use your hotspot occasionally. However, it may not work well for those who frequently rely on their mobile hotspot for internet access.

Here's a look at all of Mint's plans:

#1	Mint Mobile	Mint Mobile Unlimited Data Plan Unlimited 4G LTE/5G data T-Mobile 5G Network in select areas with compatible devices 20GB mobile hotspot data Deal: Get this plan for just $25/mo. when you switch to Mint Mobile using promo code 15OFF at checkout. Upfront payment required $25.00/mo $75.00 upfront payment for 3 months (equals to $25.00/month). Intro pricing for new customers only. View Plan	$25.00/mo $75.00 upfront payment for 3 months (equals to $25.00/month). Intro pricing for new customers only.	View Plan
#2	Mint Mobile	Mint Mobile 5GB Data Plan 5GB of 4G LTE/5G data T-Mobile 5G Network in select areas with compatible devices 5GB mobile hotspot data Deal: Get this plan for just $10/mo. when you switch to Mint Mobile using promo code 15OFF at checkout. Upfront payment required $10.00/mo $30.00 upfront payment for 3 months (equals to $10.00/month). Intro pricing for new customers only. View Plan	$10.00/mo $30.00 upfront payment for 3 months (equals to $10.00/month). Intro pricing for new customers only.	View Plan
#3	Mint Mobile	Mint Mobile 15GB Data Plan 15GB of 4G LTE/5G data T-Mobile 5G Network in select areas with compatible devices 15GB mobile hotspot data Deal: Get this plan for just $15/mo. when you switch to Mint Mobile using promo code 15OFF at checkout. Upfront payment required $15.00/mo $45.00 upfront payment for 3 months (equals to $15.00/month). Intro pricing for new customers only. View Plan	$15.00/mo $45.00 upfront payment for 3 months (equals to $15.00/month). Intro pricing for new customers only.	View Plan
#4	Mint Mobile	Mint Mobile Mint Kids Plan 5GB 4G LTE/5G data T-Mobile 5G Network in select areas with compatible devices 5GB mobile hotspot data $15.00/mo $45.00 upfront payment for 3 months <br>(equals to $15.00/month). <br>Intro pricing for new customers only. View Plan	$15.00/mo $45.00 upfront payment for 3 months <br>(equals to $15.00/month). <br>Intro pricing for new customers only.	View Plan
#5	Mint Mobile	Mint Mobile 20GB Data Plan 20GB of 4G LTE/5G data T-Mobile 5G Network in select areas with compatible devices 20GB mobile hotspot data Deal: Get this plan for just $20/mo. when you switch to Mint Mobile using promo code 15OFF at checkout. Upfront payment required $20.00/mo $60.00 upfront payment for 3 months (equals to $20.00/month). Intro pricing for new customers only. View Plan	$20.00/mo $60.00 upfront payment for 3 months (equals to $20.00/month). Intro pricing for new customers only.	View Plan

If you are looking to use the most hotspot possible with Mint, you'll want the 20GB plan, as you'll potentially be able to use all of that 20GB for hotspot.

Mint Unlimited and hotspot

Despite its name, the Mint Unlimited plan does not include unlimited mobile hotspot data. In fact, Mint caps hotspot data at 20GB on Mint Unlimited, even though the plan otherwise includes 50GB of high-speed data. This is the only Mint plan that doesn't allow you to use all of your 5G/4G LTE data for tethering. Keep in mind that any hotspot usage also counts against that 50GB general high-speed allotment.

So, if you use 20GB of hotspot data, you'll have none left for the month, and you'll have 30GB left of high-speed data for your phone.

Need more hotspot data?

Mint Mobile hotspots - Buy more data in the Mint Mobile app — *You can purchase more mobile data in the Mint Mobile app for Android and iOS | Image: Angelo Ilumba*

If Mint's plans aren't providing you with enough hotspot data, you aren't totally out of options. Mint gives you the option to purchase more data. Just go on the Mint Mobile app and find Add More Data in the Account menu. Extra data prices are:

1GB for $10.
3GB for $20.

Be careful when buying more data. This extra data doesn't carry over into the next month if you don't use it all.

Mint Mobile hotspot speeds

While Mint doesn't exactly have the best hotspot data allotments, its saving grace is that it doesn't put speed caps on the data it does allow you to use for hotspot. This means you can take advantage of the full force of its network speeds which, in our tests, can reach around 400Mbps. This is different from several carriers that put speed limits on hotspot usage, often making it so slow that it's pretty much unusable.

How to use Mint Mobile hotspot

You will not have to adjust your Mint account settings to activate hotspot—it's already ready for you to use.

On the other hand, you'll need to set up hotspot on your phone. The process will differ depending on your phone.

For iPhones:

Go to Settings and then Cellular.
Tap on Personal Hotspot.
Toggle on Allow Others to Join
Set up a Wi-Fi password to keep your hotspot secure. Make sure it's strong to prevent unauthorized access.

For Android phones:

Open the Settings app and locate and select Network & Internet.
Tap Hotspot and Tethering.
Toggle on any one or all of the tethering options.

Remember, while using your phone as a hotspot can be extremely convenient, it can also drain your battery faster. It's a good idea to keep your phone plugged in while the hotspot is active or consider carrying a portable charger if you'll be using the feature on the go.

Angelo Ilumba

Senior Writer

Angelo is a highly experienced writer for WhistleOut, specializing in unraveling the complexities of the mobile and tech world so that readers can easily understand what is relevant to them. Angelo has been featured on several publications such as MoneyTalksNews, Yahoo Finance, NPR and more.

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