I know iPhones make you pay for hotspot but not sure on all androids. I have a OnePlus and I can hotspot without needing to unnecessarily pay for it. I was thinking of upgrading to an s23 ultra but I can’t find this info anywhere.
With a factory unlocked Samsung phone or one flashed with U1 firmware yes.
If you do this https://www.reddit.com/r/samsung/comments/z28wo4/guide_bypass_tethering_provisioning_check_us/
Hotspot is simply turning your device into access point for others to use the data or WiFi you are already connected to & pay for. I would challenge any provider who wants you to pay for making your phone a hotspot. You already paid them for the data. How you use it is up to you. Certainly in Australia there is no such thing as charging for hotspot & equally my times in USA i have never had to pay for making my phone hotspot USA sources data
Unfortunately for most providers in the U.S. they want to charge for it. It’s up to the phone’s OS to decide whether to honor it or not. iPhones always make you pay but a lot of android phones ignore that and let you do it anyways.
I believe it depends on the plan that you have. I do remember having an issue with hotspotting on a previous plan.
Not with the android 14 update on verizon it is saying i dont have a plan for it now after upgrading