When I don’t have access to a Wi-Fi network, I rely heavily on my iPhone’s personal hotspot to get my work done. While iPhone personal hotspot is reliable, there are times when it is lost or not working as expected. That’s why I always put it among the most annoying iOS problems in existence for years. Fortunately, there are some effective solutions to fix iPhone personal hotspot not working issue. If your iPhone is facing this issue and you are looking for ways to troubleshoot personal hotspot on your iPhone, try these 10 tried and tested tips.
Tips to Fix Personal Hotspot Not Working on iPhone and iPad (2021)
First of all, let’s find out the possible causes of the personal hotspot not working problem. Once this is done, we will go ahead and detail each solution.
What Causes Personal Hotspot Not Working Issue on iPhone?
Most of the time, the personal hotspot issue is caused by a random software glitch that you can get rid of by resetting the radios. Other times, the problem can be related to the poorly functioning cellular network or even a bug that might have sneaked into the operating system. So, you are looking at three main scenarios when you encounter this issue.
On top of that, make sure that the required settings for the personal hotspot are enabled on all your participating devices. With that said, here is a list of possible solutions to fix iPhone personal hotspot not working issue:
1. Toggle Airplane Mode
Turning airplane mode on and off to reset the network is a reliable way to fix random network related issues. So be sure to give this simple but effective tip a try before checking out other solutions.
- On iPhone and iPad without a home button: Swipe down from the top-right corner of the screen to open the control center and tap the airplane mode icon to open it. Now wait a few seconds and turn off airplane mode.
- On iPhone and iPad with home button: Swipe up from the bottom of the screen to access the control center. Then tap the airplane mode icon to turn it on. Now wait for a while and press the airplane mode icon again to disable it.
2. Getting an Incorrect Password Error? Check Password
If you’re getting an incorrect password error when trying to join your iPhone hotspot, make sure the Wi-Fi password you entered is correct.
To do this, open the Settings app on your iPhone/iPad and navigate to: “Personal Hotspot” to control Wireless network password. Tap the Wi-Fi Password option to see the access point credentials.
3. Maximize/Disable Compatibility
iPhone 12 and later has a new setting called Maximize Compatibility. It is designed to push the faster 5GHz band, if available, and is enabled by default. Turning this setting off Create a 2.4GHz personal Wi-Fi hotspot. It allows you to connect smart TVs and other smart devices that usually only come with 2.4 Hz Wi-Fi support.
You can enable or disable Maximize Compatibility on your iPhone by going to: Settings -> Personal Hotspot Section. Turn on/off the “Maximum Compatibility” toggle depending on the type of devices you plan to connect to your iPhone personal hotspot.
4. Make sure “Allow Others to Join” is Enabled
Didn’t any solution work to fix the problem for you yet? Don’t worry, we still have a few convenient tips to fix badly working iPhone hotspot. The personal hotspot section also has a setting called “.Allow Others to Join“. Make sure it’s turned on so others can use your personal hotspot without any issues.
- get over your head Settings -> Personal Hotspot Make sure the “Allow Others to Join” toggle is enabled on your iPhone.
5. Restart Your Device
Another simple yet reliable solution that you should try to fix the personal hotspot not working issue on your iPhone is to restart your devices. But before you do that, go to: Settings -> Cellular/ Mobile Data and turn it off. Now reboot the device and turn on cellular data and personal hotspot once again.
6. Pair Your Devices and Then Connect via Bluetooth to Personal Hotspot
The personal hotspot tends to work more reliably after pairing the two devices – the iPhone used to create the hotspot and the device using the wireless network. So, if the iPhone hotspot not working issue persists for you, give this solution a try as well.
Pair Your iPhone and Other Devices (Mac or Windows)
- On your Mac: Click Bluetooth icon in the menu bar/control center and select Bluetooth Preferences. Now, “ConnectThe ” option next to the name of the device providing the personal hotspot.
- On your Windows PC: Click the Bluetooth icon in the system tray and Join Personal Area Network. After that, right-click your device and move the pointer over “Connect using” and select “Access point”.
Now try using iPhone personal hotspot on your Mac or Windows computer to see if the issue is resolved.
Turn Off/Explain Bluetooth and Reconnect Your Devices
Now, if your iPhone personal hotspot is not working even after turning on Bluetooth and pairing the two devices, try turning Bluetooth off and on to reset the connection.
- On iPhone or iPad: Go to Settings -> Bluetooth and turn Bluetooth off/on.
- On your Mac: Click the Bluetooth icon in the menu bar/control center and turn the Bluetooth toggle off/on.
- on your Windows computer: Go to “Settings -> Devices -> Bluetooth & other devices” and turn the Bluetooth toggle off/on. You can open the System Tray and click the Bluetooth icon to access the settings page.
Disconnect/Reconnect Devices
If turning Bluetooth off/on didn’t fix the issue, disconnect the devices, reboot them all and then try reconnecting.
- On iPhone or iPad: Go to Settings -> Bluetooth and information icon Next to the name of the iPhone providing the personal hotspot. After that, tap . Forget This Device and confirm your choice.
- On your Mac: Click the Apple menu icon in the upper left corner of the screen and System Preferences -> Bluetooth. Now select the device providing personal hotspot and To pick up (x) button.
- On your Windows PC: Click the Bluetooth icon in the System Tray and Show bluetooth devices. Next, select the device providing the personal hotspot and click Uninstall. Make sure to click OK to complete and save the changes.
- Now reboot all your devices. Once your devices have restarted, pair them and try to connect to your iPhone’s personal hotspot and see if they work.
7. Update Carrier Settings
Carrier providers often release updates to improve overall performance and fix various issues. Therefore, we recommend that you update the carrier setting from time to time. To do this, open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad and General -> About. Now, if any carrier updates are available, you will get a prompt for the update.
8. Reset Network Settings
If your personal hotspot is still not working as intended on your iOS device, try resetting the network settings. Since it is a popular solution for troubleshooting network related issues, it is likely to help you fix the problem.
- On iOS 15 or later: Go to the Settings app on your iPhone and go to General -> Transfer or Reset iPhone -> Reset -> Reset Network Settings.
- On iOS 14 or earlier: go to settings -> General -> Reset -> Reset Network Settings. This might be one of the easiest fixes for personal hotspot not working issue on your iPhone.
9. Try Connecting Your Mac to a Personal Hotspot via USB
You can connect your Mac to your iOS device’s personal hotspot via USB. It would not be wise to miss this solution as it is known to offer a more stable connection. Now, follow these steps to connect your Mac to your iPhone personal hotspot via USB:
- Use a USB to lightning cable to connect your iPhone to the Mac. Now, you may receive a prompt trust device. Make sure you trust the device to continue.
- then go System Preferences -> Network and choose iPhone USB in the left sidebar.
- After that, click the “More” button at the bottom of the left sidebar and Select Make Service Inactive and click Apply.
- Next, click the “More” button once again and Activate Service and click Apply.
- Note that if you already have a different network connection, you will need to uncheck it first. “Disable unless needed” box and click Apply. Otherwise, the iPhone’s personal hotspot connection may not be activated via USB.
10. Update Software
If your iPhone’s personal hotspot is still not working, try updating the software. Since most iOS updates come with a few bug fixes and performance improvements, I think a software update might help fix the issue.
To do this, open the Settings app on your iPhone and General -> Software Update. Now, let your iOS device check for the latest updates. If there is an update pending, download and install it now to fix various bugs.
How to Fix Personal Hotspot Not Working on iPhone
So yes, these are all the possible tips and tricks you can try to fix personal hotspot not working issue on iPhone and iPad. I hope you finally managed to fix the problem and connect to iPhone Wi-Fi hotspot. If so, let me know which of these nifty tips and tricks helped you fix the problem. And if there is another trick that has been instrumental in fixing this problem, be sure to let our readers know about it in the comments section below.
