Personal Hotspot lets you share your iPhone’s mobile Internet connection with others. This is also known as tethering. Super handy, until it doesn’t work properly! If you’re having problems with Personal Hotspot, we’ve got these solutions to help you fix it.
- What is Personal Hotspot?
- Issues
- Cannot find hot spot
- Hot spot not working
- Connection is slow
Personal Hotspot: what is it?
You can also use your iPhone’s data connection on a variety of other devices. The iPhone then becomes a Personal Hotspot, which multiple devices can connect to. In effect, the iPhone then acts as a kind of Wi-Fi router for all kinds of other devices. If you have a fast 4G connection and your data bundle is large enough, Personal Hotspot is a cheap solution for using the internet on multiple devices. People with an Android smartphone or Windows computer can also use your wireless network – provided they know the password.
A variant of this is an Instant Hotspot, which is only intended for your own devices. We have described in a separate tip what to do with Instant Hotspot problems. In this tip we discuss all kinds of problems that can arise with the ‘regular’ Personal Hotspot.
Troubleshooting Personal Hotspot
You can run into all kinds of problems with the Personal Hotspot. Below we discuss solutions to the following problems:
- I don’t see the iPhone’s Wi-Fi Personal Hotspot.
- I cannot connect to the Personal Hotspot.
- I get an error message that the connection failed.
- The speed of the Personal Hotspot is too slow.
#1 I can’t find the Personal Hotspot
Can’t see your iPhone’s Wi-Fi network on another device? Then go into the Settings app and choose Personal Hotspot. Check if the switch is on and keep this screen open if you want to make the connection. Only when the connection has been established can you close Settings again.
#2 Personal Hotspot not working
Check if your carrier supports tethering. Most Dutch providers allow this, but it is also possible that you (for example abroad) have to deal with providers who have blocked this. In that case you will have to find another provider or change your data bundle. With prepaid, you may not be able to use tethering.
#3 Check whether Personal Hotspot is enabled
If you have not enabled Personal Hotspot, you will of course not be able to find the network. You can enable the feature in Settings > Cellular network > Personal hotspot.
#4 The connection is slow
If you have a bad 4G connection, it will not work well to use Personal Hotspot. You need a faster data connection on a MacBook. With Fast.com or Speedtest.net you can see if the data connection is fast enough. You need about 5Mbit/s to work. With a speed of 24 Mbit/s (comparable to ADSL2+) or more, you can work even more comfortably.
#5 Use the Maximize Compatibility Button
Can the other device see the hotspot, but the connection keeps dropping or the connection fails? Then it can help to enable the option ‘Maximize compatibility’. This is less secure, but can ensure that the hotspot finally functions properly.
#6 Restart the Personal Hotspot
The simplest solution is to restart your Personal Hotspot. You can do this simply by turning the switch off and on again. Then try to connect to the network again.
#7 Restart your mobile data connection
If you have problems with the data connection, it can always help to restart your data connection. Turn Airplane mode on for a few seconds and then back on. Your iPhone will then reconnect to your provider’s mobile network, which will suddenly make the connection work again.
#8 Restart your devices
The iPhone can sometimes freeze or certain functions can’t work properly because there’s something wrong with the software. You can fix this by resetting the iPhone. Then try to connect again. You can also restart the devices you want to connect to, so the Mac or iPad, to see if that solves the problem.
#9 Fix your network connections
If you are having problems with Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or other wireless connections, restarting your network connections may help. You do this via Settings > General > Reset. Then try again.
#10 Switch between different Personal Hotspot methods
You can use Personal Hotspot in three ways: via Wi-Fi, USB and Bluetooth. Try another way, for example via USB instead of Wi-Fi. This is safer and more reliable, but can also be the solution if you cannot get Personal Hotspot to work in other ways.
#11 Reconnect
If it is not possible to connect Personal Hotspot via Bluetooth, it is best to disconnect the devices and then reconnect via Settings > Bluetooth. Make sure that Bluetooth is enabled on the iPhone, then on the Mac, see if you can pair the two devices in  > System Preferences > Bluetooth. If it still doesn’t work, make both devices forget each other and reconnect.
Personal Hotspot via Bluetooth is used a little less because you have to deal with limited distance, but it can be useful because it uses less energy.
If you use Personal Hotspot via a fixed USB connection, then very little can go wrong. Make sure your device is recognized and that your Lightning cable is properly connected. You can test if the connection is good by opening iTunes and seeing if the iPhone is recognized. Via the network settings ( > System Preferences > Network) you can see if ‘iPhone USB’ appears in the list. If not, click the plus sign and add iPhone as a network option.
Read further:
- Enable Personal Hotspot on iPhone and iPad
- Using Instant Hotspot on Mac and iPad: here’s how
- Problems with Instant Hotspot? With these 7 tips you can solve it
