iPhone Hotspot With Wi-Fi Not Working? Fix

Several users have reported that the iPhone Hotspot feature is not working as expected. This article will assist you in troubleshooting your iPhone Wi-Fi Hotspot problems. Your friend(s) can connect to your iPhone’s Personal Hotspot so that you can share the cellular data connection, as long as it has service from your carrier. But sometimes you may experience that Hotspot does not have Internet access.

The focus of this article is on personal Hotspot issues. See this article if your device cannot connect to a public Hotspot.

Using your iPhone’s Hotspot, you can provide Internet access to another mobile (other iPhones, Android phones, tablets, iPad devices, etc) and non-mobile devices (Macs, or PCs). Basically, your phone becomes a Wi-Fi hotspot that other devices can connect to.

Are you having trouble with Hotspot? And you do not know what do to. Then this article is for you.

See this article if Instant Hotspot is not working

Basic Hotspot troubleshooting tips:

Use the tips below first to fix your Hotspot problem. Please test to see if Hotspot is working, after each step:

• Make sure that Hotspot is enabled on your iPhone that provides Hotspot (Settings > Personal Hotspot). And make sure that the iPhone is not on Airplane Mode.
• On the iPhone provides Personal Hotspot, disable Personal Hotspot, wait for about a minute and then enable it (Settings >Personal Hotspot > Allow Others to Join).
• Make sure that your iPhone is running the latest version of iOS. You can check for updates by going to Settings > General > Software Update. And if there is an update available,  follow the onscreen instructions to update your device. Also, it is a good idea to make sure that the devices you’re trying to connect with are up to date to as well.
• Make sure that your iPhone is within 15 feet of your connecting device. Make sure that all devices are within range. Try to move them as close together as possible to see if that makes a difference.
• Make sure that your wireless carrier plan supports Hotspot. You may not know if the Hotspot feature is attached to your phone service. If you are not sure, contact your carrier. If this is the case, you may not see the Hotspot settings on your iPhone. Likewise, another possibility is that you may have used all your Hotspot tethering data. Again, contact your carrier to make sure.
• On your iPhone, check for carrier settings updates. Tap Settings > General > About. A popup will appear if a new carrier settings update is available. Tap Update.
• Make sure that your connecting device is trying to connect to the right Wi-Fi network (your iPhone’s Hotspot). Also, make sure that the correct Hotspot password is entered.
• Restart both the iPhone that provides Personal Hotspot and the device that needs to connect to Personal Hotspot.
• On both devices, enable Airplane Mode, wait for about one minute and then disable it.
• On your iPhone, go to Settings >Personal Hotspot > Wi-Fi Password and change the password. Make sure that this password is at least 8 characters. And then tap Done. Changing the password will disconnect connected devices. And enter the new password on connecting devices. And try again.

If you are still having this problems, then try the following:

Hotspot connects but no Internet

This is another issue you may be having. It appears that some users could connect to a Wi-Fi Hotspot, but there’s no working Internet connection. Resetting network settings may fix your problem.

Please reset network settings on your iPhone that provides Hotspot. You can do so by going to Settings > General > Reset, then tap Reset Network Settings. Please note that resetting network settings will erase your network settings such as your Wi-Fi or VPN settings, passwords, etc.

Resetting network settings will rename your iPhone to “iPhone”. On your iPhone, go to Settings > General > About > Name and change the name. Then try again.

Furthermore, it is possible that the problem is on the device that attempts to connect to Personal Hotspot. You may want to that device’s reset network settings. If it is an iOS device, simply go to Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network Settings. If the device is a Mac, you can reset Mac’s network settings as well.

If you are still having this issue, contact Apple.

See also: iPhone Wi-Fi not working.