Top 10 Ways to Fix iPhone Personal Hotspot Not Working

Problem: Personal Hotspot not working

Personal Hotspot is a convenient built-in feature on iPhone. When it’s turned on, your iPhone will create an encrypted wireless network. Other Wi-Fi supported devices can connect to your iPhone and share your cellular data. It’s the best option when there’s no Wi-Fi available for your iPad or laptop.

Why personal hotspot not working?

However, this convenient function sometimes fails and does not work. Many users have reported iPhone Personal Hotspot not working problem, such as can’t connect to iPhone Hotspot, Personal Hotspot missing, iPhone Hotspot not showing up on PC.

Why isn’t my hotspot working on iPhone? Well, many reasons can cause this problem, it is difficult to know which specific reason is. To make the Personal Hotspot work again, you should check the various settings one by one. Here in this guide, we will explain the most common causes and the solutions.

How to Fix iPhone Personal Hotspot Not Working?

Try these methods in turn to troubleshoot iPhone Personal Hotspot not working problem.

Works for all iPhone models including: iPhone 6s/6s Plus, iPhone 7/7 Plus, iPhone 8/8 Plus, iPhone X/XR/XS (Max), iPhone 11 (Pro Max), iPhone SE 2020, iPhone 12 (Pro Max/Pro/mini), iPhone 13 (Pro Max/Pro/mini), iPhone 14 (Pro Max/Pro/Plus)

1. Confirm Your Phone Plan Includes Personal Hotspot

First you should make sure that your phone companies' data plans include Personal Hotspot. Otherwise, others can’t connect to iPhone Hotspot. If you have changed your plan, go to have a check whether it includes Personal Hotspot or if it needs to be renewed.

2. Check Related Settings

Make sure that you have turned on all settings. Personal Hotspot will work when all conditions are met.

● Go to Settings > Tap Personal Hotspot > Turn off Allow Others to Join > Then enable it again.

● Make sure that you have entered the correct password. Or you may change the password to another to have a try.

● Make sure that the Wi-Fi/Bluetooth work well, otherwise, other devices may have trouble connecting to iPhone.

3. Hard Reset iPhone

Force restart can help clear out all background apps and refresh iPhone’s memory, which can fix minor glitches that cause the iPhone Personal Hotspot not working issue.

● Force restart iPhone 8 and later with Face ID :

Quickly press and release the Volume Up button > Quickly press and release the Volume Down button > Press and hold the Side/Power button until you see the Apple logo.

● Force restart iPhone 7/7 Plus:

Press and hold the Top button and Volume Down button together > Release both buttons when the Apple logo appears.

● Force restart iPhone 6s, SE and earlier with Home button:

Hold down the Home button and the Top (or Side) button at the same time > Release both buttons when the Apple logo appears.

4. Turn Cellular Data Off and On

iPhone uses cellular data to create the hotspot network. When something goes wrong with cellular, you may find that Personal Hotspot not working on iPhone. You can try to refresh the cellular data connection. Go to Settings > Tap Cellular > Turn off Cellular Data > Turn it on again after 10-20 seconds.

5. Update Carrier Settings

Carrier settings will be updated from time to time to improve the iPhone’s ability to connect to your carrier’s network. When Personal Hotspot not working on iPhone, you can go to have a check if there’s Carrier Settings Update available.

Open Settings app > Tap General > Tap About. If there’s a new update available, the Carrier Settings Update screen will pop up. Just follow the on-screen prompts to download and install the update.

6. Reset Network Settings

Any issues with the network will lead to iPhone Personal Hotspot not working problem. You can reset network settings to place your network settings back to the factory default mode and thus eliminate all network errors.

Go to Settings > Tap General > Tap Reset (Transfer or Reset iPhone in iOS 15 and later)> Tap Reset Network Settings > Enter your passcode to confirm > Wait for the restart > Enter the Wi-Fi passcode to rejoin the Wi-Fi to see if it resolves the issue.

7. Update iOS to the Latest Version

iOS update brings new features as well as bug fixes. If iPhone Personal Hotspot not working because of some bugs or system data corruption, updating to the latest software version is the key to solve the problem.

Go to Settings > Tap General > Tap Software Update and see if there is a new version of iOS available. If there’s a new version, just tap Download and Install and follow the on-screen prompts to install it.

8. Enable Maximize Compatibility

If Personal Hotspot not working on iPhone 12, you can go to Settings > Personal Hotspot to turn on Maximize Compatibility. iPhone 12 series phones have some different network functions and options. Turn on Maximum Compatibility can avoid problems that may occur when some old models connect to them.

9. Reset All Settings

iPhone Personal Hotspot not working problem issue may happen due to wrong settings. You can try to reset all settings to troubleshoot the problem. After the reset, all settings will return to default but no data will be erased.

Go to Settings > Tap General > Tap Reset (Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset in iOS 15 and later) > Tap Reset All Settings > Enter your passcode > Tap Reset All Settings again to confirm.

10. Rename personal hotspot

The next solution is to change the personal hotspot's name. Your device will renew the connection when your change the name, which may solve this problem.

Your hotspot's name usually takes the name of the device. So you can follow the steps below to change the device name.

1. Go to Settings > General > About.

2. Tap the device name, and change the name. Then tap the Done.

Now you can restart your personal hotspot to check if the problem is solved.

11. Restore iPhone in DFU Mode

If all the above methods cannot help you fix the iPhone Personal Hotspot not working problem, you may try to restore your iPhone in DFU mode. The problem may be caused by some comprehensive software issues and DFU restore can help eliminate all faults.

The restore will erase all content and settings on iPhone. So please remember to backup your iPhone if you haven't. You can backup all iPhone data with iTunes or iCloud. If you just want to backup some important data, you can rely on FoneTool.

It’s one professional iPhone backup tool specially designed for Windows computer. It allows you to back up what you really want but not all the data, helping you save time and storage space. Click the download button to get it and backup your iPhone in a few clicks.

1. Make sure you have downloaded latest iTunes on computer > Plug in your iPhone and run iTunes.

2. Put your device in DFU Mode.

● For iPhone 6s/6s Plus

Press and hold the Power button and Home button together for 8-10 seconds > Release the Power button but continue to hold the Home button until your device appears in iTunes > Release the Home button.

● For iPhone 7/7 Plus

Press and hold the Power button and Volume Down button together for 8-10 seconds > Release the Power button but continue to hold the Volume Down button until your device appears in iTunes > Release the Home button.

● For iPhone 8/8 Plus

Quickly press and release the Volume Up button > Then quickly press and release the Volume Down button > Then press and hold the Side button until the screen goes black.

When the screen turns black, press and hold the Volume Down button while continuing to hold the Side button > After 5 seconds, release the Side button but continue to hold the Volume Down button until your device appears in iTunes.

Your iPhone screen display will be completely black if you have successfully entered DFU Mode. Try again if it’s not.

3. Follow the on-screen instructions to restore your device.

Frequently asked questions about personal hotspot

Now you have known how to deal with the hotspot not working problem. This post also includes some questions and answers that may help you better use the feature.

Q: Why the hotspot can't be enabled?

A: When you are unable to open the hotspot, please check if the carrier is opened and supports your hotspot. Then reboot your device.

Q: How does a hotspot work?

A: A hotspots transmit an internet connection with special wireless equipment, creating a Wi-Fi network to which someone can connect a device, like a tablet, smart phone.

Q: How can I get hotspot to work on my iPhone?

A: Go to Settings > Cellular > Personal Hotspot or Settings. You can allow other people to join on the screen. And you can set a password for connecting.

Q: Why laptop can't connect to hotspot?

A: This problem is not rare. This issue usually can be solved by updating your iOS version and resetting the network settings.

Q: How can I connect my iPhone to a Windows PC hotspot?

A: To connect an iPhone to Windows hotspot, you need to turn on the Bluetooth (ensure your PC support Bluetooth) On the Bluetooth window, choose "Join a Personal Area Network" > "Add a Device". Then select your iPhone and follow the instruction to complete.

Q: How can I connect a Windows 10 PC to iPhone?

A: You can connect your iPhone hotspot with PC via WiFi network. Go Settings to enable personal hospot on PC> Choose the iPhone from the Wi-Fi Settings and enter the passwords.

Conclusion

That’s all about how to fix iPhone Personal Hotspot not working problem. Confirm that all settings are set correctly on your iPhone. If all methods don't work, you may need to contact Apple support online or visit the nearest Apple Store to let Apple specialists help you solve the problem.