Personal Hotspot Not Working on iPhone? 12 Fixes

Sharing your iPhone's mobile data with a laptop or another phone is essential when there is no Wi-Fi at home, at work or while traveling. When Personal Hotspot stops working, here is how to find the cause.

First, which problem do you have?

• The Personal Hotspot option is missing or greyed out. See fixes 1 to 3.
• Other devices cannot see or join the hotspot. See fixes 4 to 8.
• Devices connect but there is no internet, or it keeps dropping. See fixes 9 to 12.

Option missing or greyed out

1. Turn on Cellular Data

Personal Hotspot shares mobile data, so Settings > Cellular > Cellular Data must be on, with an active data plan.

2. Check that your plan allows tethering

Some carriers block or charge extra for hotspot use. Ask your carrier whether tethering is included.

3. Check the carrier settings (APN)

Go to Settings > Cellular > Cellular Data Network (available on some carriers). Under Personal Hotspot, the APN fields should contain the same values as Cellular Data. Your carrier can give you the correct APN. Then restart the iPhone.

Devices cannot see or join the hotspot

4. Stay on the Personal Hotspot screen

The iPhone stops advertising the hotspot after a while to save battery. Open Settings > Personal Hotspot and keep this screen open while the other device searches.

5. Turn on "Allow Others to Join"

It must be on. Note the network name (your iPhone's name) and the Wi-Fi password shown on the same screen.

6. Turn on "Maximize Compatibility"

On iPhone 12 and later, the hotspot may use the 5 GHz band, which older laptops and Android phones do not support. Turn on Maximize Compatibility on the Personal Hotspot screen to switch to 2.4 GHz.

7. Change the iPhone's name and password

Some devices struggle with special characters or accents. In Settings > General > About > Name, choose a simple name such as "SteveiPhone", and set a simple 8+ character password without symbols.

8. Forget the network on the other device

On the laptop or phone, delete the saved iPhone network and join again with the current password.

Connected but no internet, slow or disconnecting

9. Turn off Low Data Mode

Settings > Cellular > Cellular Data Options > Data Mode: choose Standard or Allow More Data on 5G. Low Data Mode limits hotspot traffic.

10. Turn off Low Power Mode

Low Power Mode can cut the hotspot when the screen is locked. Charge the iPhone while sharing.

11. Use a USB cable instead

A cable connection is more stable and charges the iPhone at the same time.

• Windows: install the Apple Devices app (it includes the drivers), connect the iPhone, tap Trust, and the connection appears as a network adapter.
• Mac: connect the cable and select the iPhone in System Settings > Network.

12. Reset Network Settings and update iOS

Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset > Reset Network Settings, then install the latest iOS (iOS 27.0.1).

Instant Hotspot with your Mac or iPad

If your devices use the same Apple Account with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on, your Mac or iPad can join the iPhone's hotspot from its Wi-Fi menu without a password. If it does not appear, sign out and back in to iCloud on one device, and check Bluetooth. See Bluetooth fixes.

Still not working?

• Test with another SIM: if it works, the limitation comes from your carrier or plan.
• If Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are both greyed out, it is a hardware problem: see Wi-Fi not working.
• Official reference: Apple Support (iPhone).

Save data while sharing

Laptops can use a lot of data in the background (Windows Update, cloud sync). On Windows, mark the connection as metered in Wi-Fi settings; on Mac, macOS treats iPhone hotspots as low-data connections automatically and pauses some background tasks.