Hotspot icon at the top of a Samsung phone: what does it mean?
On a Samsung Galaxy it means Mobile Hotspot is on and may be sharing your mobile data.
What Samsung says
- Samsung Galaxy — Mobile Hotspot active. Mobile Hotspot is enabled and may be sharing the phone’s mobile data connection with other devices, which can increase mobile data use and battery drain.
Turn it off: Swipe down from the top right to open Quick settings and tap Mobile Hotspot.
Source: Samsung Canada support: Identify and understand the icons displayed in the top right corner of your Samsung Galaxy (checked 2026-09-29)
- What it looks like
- A dot inside two open arcs, like ripples round a point, opening at the bottom.
- Shown by
- Samsung Galaxy
Icons to compare
Sources
Each meaning above is taken from the maker’s own support page, fetched and read on the date shown. The drawing is ours; the real icon on your phone may be drawn a little differently and can change with software updates.
- Samsung Galaxy — Samsung Canada support: Identify and understand the icons displayed in the top right corner of your Samsung Galaxy. OS: One UI; some icons marked One UI 7; last updated 4 September 2026. Checked 2026-09-29.