Safaricom’s official B-Live FAQs page insists that you cannot tether or hotspot using B-Live bundles. Sounds pretty clear, right? Except… that’s not really what’s happening.
Here’s a screenshot I took from the FAQs page:
I’m literally writing this on my laptop right now, connected via a hotspot running on B-Live data. My TV? On the same hotspot. My phone? Still hanging in there. So much for “you can’t.”
When I mentioned this to my wife, she laughed at me. Turns out she’s been way ahead of me on this one. She discovered B-Live weeks ago and has even used it to hotspot her chama friends when they needed internet during their meetups. So while I was out here believing Safaricom’s “official” line, she was already proving it wrong.
And it’s not just us. Some of our readers have written in saying the same thing: they’ve been hotspotting with B-Live bundles without any issues. So clearly, Safaricom’s FAQs page and what’s actually happening on the ground don’t quite match up.
What is Safaricom B-Live?
If you’re scratching your head wondering what on earth B-Live is, let me catch you up. Safaricom launched B-Live as a way to make data bundles more affordable for young people. It comes with time-based data bundles that are cheaper compared to regular MB/GB-based data plans. Basically, it’s designed with students, Gen Z, and budget-conscious users in mind. People who are online all the time but don’t want to burn through their wallets.
Why Hotspotting Matters
Now, here’s why this whole “hotspot or no hotspot” issue is such a big deal. Many of us don’t just need data on our phones. We work on laptops, stream on TVs, or even share internet with friends and family when the need arises.
Think of a student who wants to quickly connect their laptop for research. Or a freelancer who’s on the move and needs to get work done on a bigger screen. Or — as in my wife’s case — chama members who suddenly need internet access for some of the things they do over there. Hotspotting makes bundles flexible and practical.
So while Safaricom may officially say “you can’t,” the reality is proving the opposite. And honestly, that’s a good thing.
The Big Question
Is this a deliberate feature Safaricom just isn’t shouting about? Or is it something they’ve listed as restricted but haven’t actually locked down? We don’t know yet. But what we do know, thanks to my laptop, my TV, my wife’s chama, and feedback from you, our readers, is that yes — you can hotspot with Safaricom B-Live data.
Maybe it’s time Safaricom updated that FAQs page.
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