Objective

• Turn your phone into a WiFi hotspot so you can access the benefits of a WiFi connection without having access to a WiFi network

Environment

• Your smartphone settings
• Halo App

Background

If you are in an area without WiFi or LTE connection available, you can turn your phone into a mobile wireless Hotspot that allows your collar to connect to the Halo System. Setting this Hotspot up will allow you to perform actions like changing your collar’s mode, creating/editing fences, or downloading and applying a wireless firmware update. While you can use a hotspot to connect the collar to wifi, it is not necessarily a long-term solution as the hotspot wifi will use your cellular plan data and is not as robust as a traditional home wifi network. 

The collar can connect to cellular, but when indoors the cellular signal is liable to degrade and drop from the collar.

Procedure

To activate your iPhone as a personal Hotspot (Android instructions below):

1. Go to Settings > Cellular > Personal Hotspot or Settings > Personal Hotspot.
2. Tap the slider next to ‘Allow Others to Join’ so that it turns green. 
   • Take note of the Wi-Fi Password listed below the slider
   • If using an iPhone 12, check that "Maximize Compatibility" is toggled on so that it is emitting a 2.4ghz wifi band. Older iPhones only use the 2.4ghz band.
3. Go into your Halo App. Click Settings > Collars and select the collar that you want to connect.
4. Click the Wi-Fi menu, then select your Hotspot from the Available Networks (it should appear as the name of your phone, i.e. “Jason’s iPhone 12”).
5. Enter the password you previously took note of. Your collar should now be connected to your Hotspot. 

If you don’t see the option for Personal Hotspot, contact your carrier to make sure that you can use Personal Hotspot with your plan. 

You can now use your Hotspot to perform actions that require an internet or WiFi connection. 

To activate your Android phone as a personal Hotspot:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Tap the Network & Internet option.
3. Select Hotspot & tethering.
4. Tap on Wi-Fi hotspot.
5. This page has options for turning the Hotspot feature on and off. Additionally, you can change the network name, security type, password, and more.
   • Make sure the band that the hotspot is emitting is a 2.4ghz band
6. Go into your Halo App. Click Settings > Collars and select the collar that you want to connect.
7. Click the Wi-Fi menu, then select your Hotspot from the Available Networks.
8. Enter your Hotspot password, and click Connect. 

You can now use your Hotspot to perform actions that require an internet or WiFi connection.

Note: You may need to use two smart devices (phone/tablet) when trying to connect a collar to a mobile hotspot from your phone. One device emits the hotspot signal and another device that has the Halo app open. Connect the collar to the second device's Halo app and go through the wifi setup and look for the hotspot name (SSID). You can connect the second device to the wifi hotspot signal that is being emitted from your main/first device too but it should not be necessary as the collar connects on its own to the wifi and only uses the app to facilitate the initial connection.