I've been relying on my Pixel 5 as a mobile hotspot for my laptop during work hours since my home internet has been super unreliable lately. Everything was fine for a couple of weeks, but starting last Wednesday, the phone starts lagging and freezing randomly whenever the hotspot is active. If I disconnect the hotspot, the phone works perfectly fine again. I've tried rebooting the phone, toggling airplane mode, and even resetting network settings, but no luck so far. I'm on T-Mobile with a decent 5G connection in my area, and my laptop's Wi-Fi works fine with other hotspots or at coffee shops, so I don't think it's the laptop. The lag on the phone itself is weird because it almost feels like the device is overwhelmed or throttling when it's sharing internet. Has anyone else experienced similar issues with hotspot usage causing phone freezes? Are there any specific settings or apps I should check that might be conflicting with the hotspot function? Also, is this something that could be fixed with a software update, or should I consider a factory reset or even switching to a dedicated hotspot device?

On 03/04/2026 at 9:55 PM, TechWhiz99 said:

I've been relying on my Pixel 5 as a mobile hotspot for my laptop during work hours since my home internet has been super unreliable lately. Everything was fine for a couple of weeks, but starting last Wednesday, the phone starts lagging and freezing randomly whenever the hotspot is active. If I disconnect the hotspot, the phone works perfectly fine again. I've tried rebooting the phone, toggling airplane mode, and even resetting network settings, but no luck so far. I'm on T-Mobile with a decent 5G connection in my area, and my laptop's Wi-Fi works fine with other hotspots or at coffee shops, so I don't think it's the laptop. The lag on the phone itself is weird because it almost feels like the device is overwhelmed or throttling when it's sharing internet. Has anyone else experienced similar issues with hotspot usage causing phone freezes? Are there any specific settings or apps I should check that might be conflicting with the hotspot function? Also, is this something that could be fixed with a software update, or should I consider a factory reset or even switching to a dedicated hotspot device?

Sounds like your Pixel 5 might be overheating or hitting some CPU limits when acting as a hotspot, especially if it’s been fine before and now suddenly freezes only during hotspot use. Have you checked if any background apps are kicking in when the hotspot is on? Sometimes system updates or apps running heavy tasks can cause unexpected slowdowns.

Also, since you mentioned resetting network settings didn’t help, it might be worth trying a full cache wipe (boot into recovery and clear cache partition) before a factory reset. That’s helped me with weird lag issues on Pixel phones without wiping all data. If it persists, a dedicated hotspot device could be smoother, but I’d try the cache wipe and keep an eye on any recent app installs or updates that coincide with the issue first.

On 03/05/2026 at 12:50 AM, thebaker said:

On 03/04/2026 at 9:55 PM, TechWhiz99 said:

I've been relying on my Pixel 5 as a mobile hotspot for my laptop during work hours since my home internet has been super unreliable lately. Everything was fine for a couple of weeks, but starting last Wednesday, the phone starts lagging and freezing randomly whenever the hotspot is active. If I disconnect the hotspot, the phone works perfectly fine again. I've tried rebooting the phone, toggling airplane mode, and even resetting network settings, but no luck so far. I'm on T-Mobile with a decent 5G connection in my area, and my laptop's Wi-Fi works fine with other hotspots or at coffee shops, so I don't think it's the laptop. The lag on the phone itself is weird because it almost feels like the device is overwhelmed or throttling when it's sharing internet. Has anyone else experienced similar issues with hotspot usage causing phone freezes? Are there any specific settings or apps I should check that might be conflicting with the hotspot function? Also, is this something that could be fixed with a software update, or should I consider a factory reset or even switching to a dedicated hotspot device?

Sounds like your Pixel 5 might be overheating or hitting some CPU limits when acting as a hotspot, especially if it’s been fine before and now suddenly freezes only during hotspot use. Have you checked if any background apps are kicking in when the hotspot is on? Sometimes system updates or apps running heavy tasks can cause unexpected slowdowns.

Also, since you mentioned resetting network settings didn’t help, it might be worth trying a full cache wipe (boot into recovery and clear cache partition) before a factory reset. That’s helped me with weird lag issues on Pixel phones without wiping all data. If it persists, a dedicated hotspot device could be smoother, but I’d try the cache wipe and keep an eye on any recent app installs or updates that coincide with the issue first.

@thebaker, your observation about the Pixel 5 possibly overheating when the hotspot is active really resonates. I've noticed that when my phone is pushed hard - like tethering for hours - it can get warm, which might trigger thermal throttling and cause those freezes you mentioned. Have you tried monitoring the device temperature with an app like CPU-Z or AccuBattery to see if it spikes during hotspot use?

Also, since you've ruled out the laptop and network issues, it might be worth checking if any background apps are aggressively syncing or updating when tethering is on. Sometimes, automatic updates or cloud backups kick in when the phone detects a stable connection, which can overload the CPU. If that’s the case, disabling those during hotspot sessions could help.

If the problem persists despite all this, a factory reset could clear out any lingering software glitches, but I’d hold off on buying a dedicated hotspot device just yet unless you need extra features or better battery life.

That lag and freezing when the hotspot is active definitely sounds like the phone is struggling to handle the extra load, especially since it’s fine when the hotspot is off. Pixel 5’s hardware is solid but hotspot use can sometimes push it hard if there’s a background process or app hogging resources. Have you checked if any apps are running heavy tasks or syncing aggressively during hotspot use? Sometimes battery savers or VPN apps can conflict too.

Since you’ve already reset network settings and rebooted, I’d lean toward waiting for a software update if one’s available - Google often patches hotspot-related bugs. If it keeps acting up, a factory reset might clear out any stubborn glitches. Switching to a dedicated hotspot device is a good fallback, but I’d try the reset first since that’s less hassle.

Also, just to rule it out, try using the hotspot with a different device for a bit and see if the lag still happens. That might help