Sharing your phone's data with the children's tablets on holiday, without running out
Your phone's hotspot can keep the children's tablets online on a trip, but a tablet treats any Wi-Fi as unlimited home broadband and starts updating, syncing and streaming in high quality. Two settings fix most of it: Low Data Mode for your hotspot on an iPad, or marking it as metered on an Android tablet. Add films downloaded at home and you can share a modest plan with the whole back seat.
See the Europe packThe tablet thinks your hotspot is the home Wi-Fi
Joining a phone's hotspot looks, to a tablet, exactly like joining the router at home. It has no idea the connection comes out of a travel plan, so it does what it would do at home: download app and system updates, upload the photos to the cloud, refresh every app in the background and pick the highest video quality the screen can show.
None of that is a fault, and none of it needs the hotspot to be any different. What needs changing is how the tablet behaves on that one network. Both iPadOS and Android let you tell the device that a particular Wi-Fi network is limited, and once they know, they hold back most of the traffic that nobody asked for. It takes two minutes per tablet, and it is worth doing at home before the trip, while you can still find the menus calmly.
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Will it work on my phone?
On iPhone: Settings → General → About, and scroll to EID. If there is an EID, your phone takes eSIMs. Every iPhone from the XS (2018) onwards does.
On Android: Settings → About phone → Status, and look for EID. If there is an EID, your phone takes eSIMs. Most Galaxy S20, Pixel 3 and later do.
It also has to be carrier-unlocked. If you bought it outright or your contract is over, it almost certainly is.
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How it works
- 1Choose and payCard, Apple Pay or Google Pay. No account.
- 2Install it at homeThe QR arrives by email. Scan it on wifi in a minute.
- 3Connect when you landTurn on data roaming for the eSIM and you are online.
On an iPad: Low Data Mode for your hotspot
Connect the iPad to your phone's hotspot once, then open Settings, then Wi-Fi, tap the info button next to the hotspot's name and turn on Low Data Mode. Apple says it restricts background network use: automatic downloads and backups stop, App Store updates and downloads stop, background app refresh is switched off, and updates for services such as iCloud Photos are paused.
Apple also notes that iCloud syncs this setting across your devices, so on an iPad signed in to your own Apple Account it may already be set once you have done it on another device. Children's iPads usually have their own account, so check each one. The setting applies only to that network, so the tablet goes back to normal on the hotel or holiday flat Wi-Fi, which is exactly where you want the updates and backups to happen.
On an Android tablet: treat the hotspot as metered
Connect the tablet to your hotspot, then open Settings, then Network and internet, then Internet, tap your hotspot and choose Network usage, then Treat as metered. Google describes it as the setting for networks with a data limit, giving you more control over how much data the device uses through downloads and other apps. Menu names vary between manufacturers, but the option is always in the details of that Wi-Fi network.
If the phone sharing its data is also an Android, Google recommends switching on the option that turns the hotspot off when no devices are connected, where the phone has it. It saves battery, and it means the hotspot is not left open after the children have finished.
Letting the children join without giving them the password
On an iPhone, the hotspot has a Family Sharing option. Open Settings, then Personal Hotspot, then Family Sharing, and choose for each family member whether they join automatically or have to ask for approval. With Ask for Approval, your phone shows a prompt every time a child's device tries to connect, which turns the hotspot into a simple switch for when the tablets are online. Apple's conditions are that the devices are in the same family group or Apple Account, with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth turned on.
Without Family Sharing, the children need the hotspot password, and a password shared with a child tends to be shared further. If that happens, change it in the hotspot settings and every device has to ask again.
Fill the tablets before you leave home
The single biggest saving is to need no data at all for the long stretches: the flight, the car, the evening at the flat. Films and series from the streaming apps that allow downloads, music, audiobooks and games that work offline can all be loaded on the home Wi-Fi the night before. Our guides on downloading films and music before a flight and on how much data Netflix uses explain what to download and at what quality.
Check the downloads open with the tablet in airplane mode before you pack. Some apps need to confirm the download online every so often, and you do not want to find that out on the motorway.
Older children with their own phones
A teenager with an eSIM-compatible phone may be better off with their own data than on your hotspot: they can go off for the afternoon, and their use does not empty your plan. The family travel guide weighs one eSIM each against one shared, and Snoozim lets you buy several in one purchase, each with its own QR code for its own phone.
If you manage a child's iPhone with Screen Time, Apple's Content and Privacy Restrictions include an option under Allow Changes for Cellular Data, which you can set to Don't Allow so that the mobile data settings cannot be changed on the trip. Set the line for data and the roaming switches the way you want them first, then lock them. The hotspot drains your phone's battery faster, so a power bank in the day bag is the other half of this plan.
Why do the kids' tablets use so much of my hotspot data?
Because they treat any Wi-Fi as unlimited and run updates, cloud sync and high-quality video. Turn on Low Data Mode for the hotspot on an iPad, or mark it as metered on Android.
Can my children join my iPhone hotspot without the password?
Yes, through Family Sharing in the Personal Hotspot settings, where you choose for each member to join automatically or ask for approval.
Does Low Data Mode on the iPad affect the hotel Wi-Fi?
No. On Wi-Fi it is set per network, so it applies only to the network where you turned it on.
Is it better to give each child their own eSIM?
For older children who split off from the group, often yes. For young children who stay with you, a shared hotspot is usually simpler.
Get your eSIM before you fly: the QR arrives by email in minutes and the plan only starts when you connect at your destination.
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