Your iPhone hotspot not working? You are not alone. Unfortunately, network
issues are a common problem in the smartphone tethering world.
If your iPhone fails to activate your personal hotspot, your iPhone hotspot
cannot be found, or you are facing other hotspot issues. We will see how to
fix iPhone tethering.
Make Sure Tethering Is Enabled
Sounds obvious, but are you sure that you have enabled tethering in your
iPhone settings? Even if it was previously enabled, you may have disabled it
by mistake via Control Center, or perhaps an iOS update turned it off without
your knowledge. If it's not turned on, your iPhone hotspot won't be found.
To check if your personal hotspot is enabled, go to
Settings > Cellular > Personal Hotspot and make sure the switch
is in the On position. You'll see a message underneath that says Now
Discoverable, along with the name of your hotspot network. If it's not
enabled, make sure you know how to use the hotspot feature as well.
(Note: The hotspot name exactly reflects the name of your device. To change
the name, you need to head to Settings > General > About > Name)
When you are in hotspot settings, it's a good idea to make sure that your
hotspot password is correct. You can change the hotspot password by tapping
Wi-Fi Password.
If Tethering Settings Are Not Available
For reasons that are not always completely clear, some carriers disable
tethering on their devices. The problem is most common with locked devices
that you buy directly through a carrier store, but it can occur on unlocked
phones and tablets.
This problem manifests itself in a number of ways. You may find that the
tethering option is completely grayed out in the Settings menu, or you may see
an on-screen message that says To enable personal hotspot on this account,
contact [carrier]. Often, there will be a spinning wheel on the side.
Sometimes, a quick search of your carrier's FAQ will solve the problem. The
solution may be as simple as texting your carrier to activate the settings.
Missing APN data can also be the cause. If you know the code, you can add it
by going to
Settings > Cellular > Cellular Data Options > Cellular Network
> APN Settings.
However, on some occasions, the carrier may permanently disable the option on
your account. For more information, you should contact your carrier's support
team and raise the issue.
Your Device Cycle Power
It's always worth following the old advice of turning your device off and on
again if your iPhone's hotspot isn't working. For a faster solution, you can
try turning on airplane mode instead. Turn it on, wait 10 seconds, then turn
it off again.
You should also try turning on the power of the device you are trying to
connect to your iPhone hotspot. Remember, the problem might be with the other
device, not with your iPhone.
Try Another Connection Method
Most people assume that to use a personal hotspot, you need to use a Wi-Fi
connection. That is not true. You can also use Bluetooth or even a reliable
USB cable to make the connection.
By trying alternative hotspot connection methods, you can rule out (or
create!) problems with your phone's Wi-Fi hardware. To use a different
connection method, you still have to enable your personal hotspot in
Settings > Cellular > Personal Hotspot.
If you're trying to use Bluetooth, you'll need to pair your iPhone with the
computer or mobile device you're trying to share the hotspot with. On iPhone,
that means you have to go to Settings > Bluetooth and tap on the name of
the device in question.
Processes on your other devices will be operating system specific. See the
manual, or see our guide on connecting your mobile device to a PC with
Bluetooth for more guidance. If this is your first time connecting another
device, you may have to go through a PIN verification process.
Using a USB cable to connect to a hotspot is as easy as connecting your phone
to a computer and selecting a hotspot from the list of available networks. USB
also benefits from the fastest type of connection. If speed is important to
you, this is the best solution.
Reset Network Settings
iOS offers a built-in way to wipe user data and restore settings to factory
defaults. However, you can also take a more granular approach by only deleting
certain types of data.
If your iPhone's personal hotspot is not working, you just need to clear the
network settings. To do so, go to Settings > General > Reset > Reset
Network Settings. You must enter the passcode before the phone will allow you
to proceed.
The reset process will erase all of your Wi-Fi and carrier settings and remove
your custom iPhone name. This will give you a blank slate to make sure there
are no erroneous network settings causing the hotspot issue.
Sign out of iCloud
Some people also claim that logging out of your iCloud account can solve
personal hotspot not working. It's not clear why doing so would fix the
network issue, but it's worth a shot if nothing else resolves it.
To sign out of your iCloud account, go to
Settings > [Username] > Sign Out. Make sure you log back into
your account to reactivate the service.
Reset Your iPhone
The final solution is to wipe the operating system along with all your user
data and reset the entire iPhone.
You can go to
Settings > General > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings
to start the process. Alternatively, you can also achieve the same result by
using iTunes. Open the app on your computer and navigate to [iPhone name] >
Summary > Restore iPhone . Make sure you have backed up your iPhone before
doing this so you don't lose anything.