Fix iPhone Personal Hotspot Not Working: 19 Quick Tips

Personal Hotspot is a portable Wi-Fi provided by mobile devices. When you need to use your computer or iPad and find that there is no wireless network, you can turn on the Personal Hotspot on your iPhone so that your computer or iPad can connect to the network.

But sometimes, you may find that mobile data working but hotspot not working on iPhone.

Why Personal Hotspot Not Working on iPhone?

It is clear that iPhone Personal Hotspot is turned on, but there is still no way to use it after the computer is connected, why is that? We have compiled some of the reasons about why my hotspot is not working iPhone.

• The cellular data is turned off.
• Insufficient cellular data traffic.
• The iOS system has not been updated.
• The compatibility of iPhone is not enough.
• APN data is lost.

How do I get my iPhone hotspot to work? Here are 19 tips that may help you.

19 Ways to Fix iPhone Hotspot Not Working Issue

When iPhone personal hotspot doesn't work in iOS 18/17, please follow the methods one by one to troubleshoot the problem.

Tip 1. Make Sure Personal Hotspot is Turned On

When connecting your computer or iPad to Personal Hotspot, you need to make sure that Personal Hotspot is enabled so that your computer or iPad can access the Internet.

1. Open Settings on your iPhone.

2. Tap Personal Hotspot.

3. Check if Personal Hotspot is already turned on.

Tip 2. Turn Personal Hotspot Off and On

If hotspot doesn't work on iPhone, you can turn off the personal hotspot first and then turn it on again, and then check if the computer or iPad can use the personal hotspot afterward.

Tip 3. Turn Cellular Data Off and On

Try turning off cellular data and then turning it on again. The check whether the computer can use the personal hotspot.

Tip 4. Change iPhone Name

Some users say that deleting the extra spaces in the iPhone name can solve the hotspot problem in iPhone, so you can also try to change the iPhone name. Note that you need to delete the extra spaces in the name.

1. Open Settings app.

2. Then tap About.

3. Then you will see the name in the first row and tap it to enter the new name.

Tip 5. Restart iPhone and Devices that Need to be Connect to the Hotspot

When hotspot not working iphone, you can turn off the iPhone and then restart it. At the same time, you also need to shut down and restart the device connected to the personal hotspot. 

Steps to restart iPhone:

1. Press and hold the power button, when the shutdown prompt appears, slide the slider to shut down, and then the iPhone will shut down.

2. After waiting for a while, turn on the iPhone, enter the lock screen password, and turn on the personal hotspot again.

3. Connect the computer again and try to see if Personal Hotspot works.

Tip 6. Enable Maximize Compatibility for iPhone 12 and Later Models

There are some different network features on iPhone 12 and later series models, such as 5G. These different features sometimes cause the problem of not being able to connect to Personal Hotspot, or not being able to use Personal Hotspot after connecting. At this time, you need to turn on the Maximize Compatibility option.

1. Open the Settings app.

2. Tap Personal Hotspot.

3. After opening the personal hotspot interface, find and turn on Maximize Compatibility.

After opening the Maximize Compatibility, please try to use the personal hotspot to connect to the computer again, and then check whether the hotspot can be used.

Tip 7. Update iOS

Personal Hotspot is not working probably because you haven't updated your iOS. If there is a new iOS and you haven't updated it, then some functions on iPhone will be restricted. So please check if there is a new iOS system.

1. Go to Settings.

2. Tap General.

3. Tap Software Update to check if there is a new iOS system, if so, please update it. After the update is complete, connect to the personal hotspot and check whether the personal hotspot can be used.

Tip 8. Update Carrier Settings

Apple will regularly release software updates and carrier settings updates to improve network connectivity and improve iPhone’s ability to connect to carrier’s networks. Personal hotspot not showing on iPhone issue will occur when you haven’t updated carrier settings. You can check whether there is an update, if there is an update, complete the update, and then use the iPhone personal hotspot.

1. Open Settings on your iPhone.

2. Tap General.

3. In the General screen, find and click About.

4. If there is an update, a pop-up window will appear after waiting for about ten seconds on the page, then hit Update to update.

Tip 9. Confirm Your Phone Plan includes Personal Hotspot

If you have recently changed your phone number, your personal hotspot may not be available - the plan does not include personal hotspot. Although most phone companies include personal hotspot in their data plans, there are also a small number of companies that do not.

So when the iPhone personal hotspot not working, go to have a check whether your personal plan includes personal hotspot. If not, please add it.

Tip 10. Reset Network Settings

iPhone has the function of storing network settings. This function is to control the way you connect to Wi-Fi, cellular data, Bluetooth, and other networks.

If there is a problem with the network settings, it may cause the iPhone hotspot not working problem. So you can try to reset your network settings to fix the problem. The specific steps are as follows:

1. Open the Settings app.

2. Tap General, and then tap Reset (In iOS 15, you should first tap Transfer or Reset iPhone, then tap Reset).

3. Tap Reset Network Settings > Enter your passcode to confirm.

After completing the network reset, your network will be restored to the factory settings mode, after which you can turn on your personal hotspot again to have a try.

Tip 11. Make Sure Your Phone Company Account Has No Problems

When your iPhone hotspot cannot be used normally, you can call your phone company to see if there is a problem with your account, and then ask them for help.

Tip 12. Try a Different Connection Method

In addition to connecting via Wi-Fi, personal hotspot can also be connected using Bluetooth and a reliable USB cable. Connecting to a computer or other device using a different connection method also requires you to turn on your Personal Hotspot,. Please make sure your Wi-Fi is turned off before you start.

How to Connect Personal Hotspot Using Bluetooth

1. Open the Settings app.

2. Turn on Bluetooth.

3. After turning on Bluetooth, turn on the Personal Hotspot, and enable Allow Others to Join.

4. Then go to Settings on computer, and find Devices, click Bluetooth.

5. If the Bluetooth slider is off, turn it on, and then select Bluetooth or other devices.

6. Select the type of Bluetooth.

7. Select the Bluetooth type of your iPhone and enter the pairing password for pairing.

8. After the password is confirmed, your iPhone will be connected to the computer.

9. After the Bluetooth connection is successful, you can try again whether the personal hotspot can be used on the computer.

How to Connect Personal Hotspot with USB Cable

This method requires that you have the latest version of iTunes on your computer.

1. Enable Personal Hotspot on iPhone.

2. Connect the iPhone and the computer with a USB cable.

3. Then find and view your iPhone in iTunes.

4. Find Network in System Preferences, select iPhone USB. If there is no iPhone USB, please click the “+” icon add it.

5. Click the More button, select Make Service Inactive, and then click Apply.

6. Click the More button again, select Make Service Active, then click Apply. If you have already connected to another network, your personal hotspot will not be activated unless you uncheck "Disable unless needed".

Tip 13. Sign out of iCloud

No one understands why this can be successful for the time being, but if it can help fix personal hotspot not working on iPhone problem, it is OK to give it a try.

1. Open the Settings on the iPhone.

2. Tap your Apple ID.

3. Then tap Sign Out.

4. Sign in to your account again, and then restart your iPhone.

5. Connect to the personal hotspot again and check whether the personal hotspot can be used.

Tip 14. Disable Low Power Mode

The low-power mode may make the personal hotspot unavailable, so you can turn off the low-power mode.

1. Go to Settings on your iPhone.

2. Find Battery.

3. Turn off the Low Power Mode.

4. After turning off low-power mode, try again to see if you can use Personal Hotspot.

Tip 15. Turn Airplane Mode On and Off

Sometimes turning on and off Airplane Mode can help fix iPhone Hotspot not working problem. So you can turn Airplane Mode on and then turn it off and then check if Personal Hotspot works.

Tip 16. Check If APN Data is Missing

Missing APN data can also cause iPhone Personal Hotspot not working problem. You can add them in General if you know the APN code.

1. Go to Settings and tap Cellular.

2. Choose Cellular Data.

3. Tap APN Settings.

4. Tap APN in the personal hotspot section and enter the website access point you want to visit, such as internet.

5. You don’t need to fill in the user name and password.

Tips: For the details, please refer to the instructions provided by your service provider.

Tip 17. Reset iPhone

You can reset your iPhone as a way to fix iPhone Personal Hotspot not working problem, but resetting your iPhone will erase all your iPhone data, so you need to backup your important data on your iPhone first. You can click here to go the next part to learn more.

1. Open iPhone Settings.

2. Tap General and select Reset. (In iOS 15, you should first tap Transfer or Reset iPhone, then tap Reset)

3. Select Erase All Content and Settings.

4. Enter the password to start the process.

5. After the iPhone is reset, you can connect to personal hotspot again to see if it works.

Tip 18. Restore iPhone with DFU Mode

This is the last choice. When the iPhone personal hotspot not working, you can put iPhone into the DFU mode. However, it will erase all content and settings on iPhone. So please backup your iPhone in advance to prevent the iPhone from losing data when using the DFU mode. Specific steps are as follows:

1. Connect your iPhone to your computer with a USB cable.

2. Enable iTunes and find your iPhone in iTunes.

3. Forcibly shut down your iPhone until the Apple logo appears.

4. At this time the iPhone is in DFU mode.

5. After iPhone enters DFU mode, iTunes will remind you whether to restore or update your iPhone, just click Restore.

Tip 19. Ask Apple for Help

If all the methods cannot help you fix iPhone failed to enable personal hotspot problem, you can go to Apple Store and let the professionals check your phone, maybe they can help you solve this problem.

How to Quickly Backup iPhone Data with Professional & Safe Tool

There is a possibility of losing data when you reset iPhone and enable DFU mode, so you need to be backed up your iPhone data. You can use iCloud to backup or iTunes to backup, however, they only support full backup and restore, which can take a long time. In this case, you can let third-party backup tool AOMEI FoneBackup help you backup all data or selected files.

AOMEI FoneBackup is a professional iPhone data backup software that can back up the data on your iPhone to a safe place. 

💡 You can fully back up all iPhone data to PC via a USB cable in one click.

💡 Or you can selectively back up photos, videos, contacts, etc. as you like.

💡 Fast backup speed allows you to back up GBs of data in minutes.

💡  The operation method is simple and easy to use.

So how to use AOMEI FoneBackup to back up your iPhone data, the specific steps are as follows:

How to Backup iPhone with AOMEI FoneBackup

1. Download and install AOMEI FoneBackup.

2. Connect your iPhone to computer with USB cable, when you connect to computer for the first time, iPhone will prompt you if you trust this computer, just click Trust.

3. Open AOMEI FoneBackup, then click Phone Backup, choose Full Backup, or click Selective Backup to selectively backup your photos, videos, messages, etc.

4. You can choose the backup path. After setting the backup path, click Start Backup.

Conclusion

When you find iPhone Hotspot not working in iOS 18/17, you can try the 19 ways we provide for you in the article to fix the problem.

Some methods may erase your data, you can backup your files with iCloud or iTunes, or backup your iPhone with AOMEI FoneBackup, which allows you to backup your iPhone data to a safe place as soon as possible when iCloud and iTunes are not available.