Everything You Need to Know About AT&T Hotspots

Your hotspot starter pack: The best AT&T hotspot, best hotspot plan, and best hotspot-friendly cellular plan

Mobile hotspots are typically locked to specific cellular carriers, so you have limited choices about what you can use—which is pretty annoying, to be honest. But AT&T’s wireless network supports a handful of fast and dependable hotspot devices. Plus, AT&T has been improving its hotspot plans and hotspot data on mobile plans to stay competitive with T-Mobile and Verizon.

Here are your best hotspotting options from AT&T

The best hotspot: NETGEAR is AT&T’s go-to hotspot manufacturer, and the Nighthawk M1 4G LTE Mobile Router is a versatile device. Outfitted with a gigabit Qualcomm MDM9x50 modem, it gets you reliable speeds over 4G networks (which are still far more widely accessible than 5G) and features extra ports for direct Ethernet connections and phone charging.

The best hotspot data plan: AT&T’s Prepaid 100 GB plan gives you 100 GB of data to use in a month for a flat fee of $90. It’s hard to find a hotspot plan that gives you that much data upfront. Plus, you don’t have to sign up for a contract term or recurring monthly payments, making this plan perfect for short-term vacation rentals and work trips.

The best cellular plan for your phone’s hotspot: AT&T Unlimited Premium costs $85 for one line, and with that you get totally unlimited cellular data and 50 GB of high-speed hotspot data. All the major cellular companies have ramped up their hotspot data options in the last year, and this robust plan makes it a lot easier and more cost-effective to use your phone’s hotspot on a regular basis in lieu of investing in a pricier hotspot device.

Pro tip: 

Download our speed test app to see what kind of performance you’re getting on your hotspot. If you’re on a phone hotspot, a mobile hotspot device could give you a major boost.

Pro tip: 

Take our speed test to see what kind of performance you’re getting on your hotspot. If you’re on a phone hotspot, a mobile hotspot device could give you a major boost.

*Price at time of writing

*Amazon.com prices (as of 3/2/23 17:35 MST). Read full disclaimer.

The Nighthawk M1 is a powerful device that can cover most anyone’s hotspotting needs. But NETGEAR’s Nighthawk M6 Pro really kicks things up a notch with its 5G connectivity and Wi-Fi 6 capabilities. The M6 can hit much faster speeds and support a lot more users, making this the hotspot to get for big groups, intensive work trips, and vacations on which you anticipate a lot of streaming movie marathons.

ZTE’s MAX Connect MF928 and Alcatel’s LINKZONE are budget hotspots better suited for occasional use and fewer devices. They don’t get the most out of AT&T’s wireless network—there’s no 5G, for example, and you can expect 4G LTE speeds to be slower than normal. But these hotspots cost a fraction of what you’d normally pay for a hotspot and work in a jiffy.

What should you look for in an AT&T hotspot?

You should get an AT&T hotspot that has current Wi-Fi standards, supports enough connections for your needs, and meets your budget.

AT&T sells a few mobile Wi-Fi hotspots on its website, but you can also find unlocked hotspots on Amazon that work with AT&T’s 4G LTE and 5G networks. The most expensive of these devices are meant for hitting extremely fast speeds and serving lots of users. Lower-tier hotspots still work great for vacation rentals or work trips, but the cheapest ones have relatively slow speeds and get sluggish as they support more Wi-Fi devices.

Here’s what you can expect from different kinds of hotspots

What you can do with a 5G hotspot

• Get wireless speeds ranging anywhere from 30–300 Mbps, depending on your location and 5G availability
• Maintain a consistent connection for up to 32 users at a time
• Enjoy functionality and ease of use with the help of a touch screen
• Boost security and improve connection with extra features and ports
• Charge your phone or tablet with USB-C port

What you can do with a high-end 4G LTE hotspot

• Get wireless speeds of 10–40 Mbps for up to 20 users
• Improve speeds with wired Ethernet connection
• Boost signal range when using it as a travel router over hotel and other Wi-Fi networks
• Charge your phone or tablet with USB-C port

What you can do with a budget 4G LTE hotspot

• Get wireless speeds of 1–25 Mbps for up to 16 users
• Charge your phone or tablet with USB-C port

Data as of 3/2/23. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.

*Per connected device with AutoPay. Plus Taxes & fees.

AT&T offers a few prepaid data plans that let you buy a chunk of data in 30-day increments. If you run out of data, you can add another 5 GB for $10. We recommend the 100 GB plan the most because, well, that’s a ton of hotspot data for a pretty good price.

If you’re a monthly hotspot user—say, you regularly travel for work or spend a few days a month in your vacation cabin—then you might want to go for the 20 GB plan. You have to pay a $300 lump sum up front, but it costs you less in the long run, shaking out to $25 a month.

Get a prepaid data plan instead of AT&T DataConnect

In addition to the prepaid plans mentioned above, AT&T also advertises a monthly DataConnect plan—but we advise against it because that plan costs a lot more for less data than AT&T’s prepaid data plans. Stick to a prepaid plan for the best deal.

Data effective as of 3/2/23. Pricing and speeds are subject to change. Not all offers available in all areas.

^‡Unlimited talk, text, and 15GB high-speed data. Taxes and fees extra.

While a phone hotspot can’t connect as many devices or hit the same speeds as a standalone mobile hotspot, your phone is still super easy for tethering and hotspot functions. You can get a ton of hotspot data from AT&T’s flagship Unlimited Premium plan. Or you can save money with AT&T’s prepaid 16 GB plan, which comes with 16 GB total of high-speed data—you can use it for both cellular data and hotspot tethering.

MVNO stands for “mobile virtual network operator,” which is a complicated way of referring to budget-friendly cellular brands like Cricket Wireless and Boost Mobile that give you phone service over AT&T’s network.

Phone and data plans from MVNOs are often cheaper than those from major cell companies, and they don’t require things like contracts or credit checks to sign up. Unfortunately, with those lower prices you also get somewhat inferior service, since your cell service always takes a back seat to that of AT&T’s customers. But these plans are worth looking into if you need a quick and easy data plan for occasional hotspottery.

Best MVNO hotspot data plans

Data effective as of 3/2/23. Pricing and speeds are subject to change. Not all offers available in all areas.

Best MVNO hotspots

Data effective 3/2/23. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.

Amazon.com prices (as of 3/2/23 17:35 MST). Read full disclaimer.

Depending on the MVNO carrier, you may have restrictions on which hotspot you can use with your MVNO hotspot plan. Double check with your carrier to see which hotspots work on its network.

Cellular companies have ramped up their hotspot options over the past year, but hotspots still aren’t an adequate replacement for home internet—you simply can’t get the same speeds or amount of data from a mobile plan.

But if you’re looking for a wireless solution to home internet, consider 5G home internet. AT&T’s rivals, Verizon and T-Mobile, both offer affordable 5G internet service with unlimited data and respectable speeds at a flat monthly rate—no need to worry about contracts or extra fees. (AT&T has no plans to release a 5G internet service of its own, but we’d be intrigued if it did!)

5G internet is still pretty new, so it might not work for everybody—you may experience occasional internet disconnections or other bugs. But a 5G home internet plan T-Mobile or Verizon is well worth trying out, especially if you’re looking to get away from traditional fiber or cable internet providers.

AT&T hotspot FAQ

Disclaimer