All iPhone models support the personal hotspot feature (sometimes called tethering). It lets you share your phone’s 3G / 4G mobile data connection with other devices, like an iPad.
First, make sure that both your iPhone’s cellular data and Wi-Fi features are enabled. Then follow these subsequent solutions to eliminate common software-related factors that can cause your personal hotspot to stop working:.
Settings
If you have an iPhone 11 Pro Max, you can use it as a mobile hotspot to share your internet connection with other devices. This feature is super easy to enable and works over WiFi, cellular data, or Bluetooth. You can even tether your iPhone to a laptop or PC via USB. This is a great way to get online when you need to do work on the go.
To turn on your iPhone’s personal hotspot, open the Settings app and tap Cellular. This option is usually green and located near the top of your settings page. Next, toggle the “Cellular Data” switch to the On position.
You may be asked to enter a password to connect other devices to your mobile hotspot. The default password is often listed in plain text under the “Personal Hotspot” heading, but you can change it by tapping the Wi-Fi Password field and entering a new one using your on-screen keyboard. The new password must be at least 8 characters long and must contain only letters, numbers, and certain punctuation.
Once you’ve set up the hotspot on your iPhone, you can access it on other devices by selecting the network name from your list of available WiFi networks and entering the hotspot password. The other device will ask you to confirm the password, then it will connect to your iPhone’s mobile hotspot. Once the device is connected, you’ll see a linked chain icon in the upper left corner of your screen.
If you are having trouble connecting to the hotspot on your iPhone, try restarting both your phone and the device with which you want to connect. It is also possible that a software issue is causing the problem. If none of the above solutions resolve the problem, you can contact Apple to troubleshoot the issue.
If you have tried the above troubleshooting steps and still can’t get your iPhone 11 or iPhone 11 Pro Personal Hotspot to work, it is likely that there is a more serious issue at hand. You should contact Apple to discuss more advanced forms of troubleshooting, including a factory reset.
Cellular
When your iPhone’s Personal Hotspot isn’t working, it can be incredibly frustrating. However, you can try several different troubleshooting methods to get it working again. If you are still having problems, it might be time to contact your carrier and ask for assistance.
If your tethering isn’t connecting properly, the problem might be related to your network connection. This can happen if your network is experiencing outages or other issues that prevent your iPhone from connecting to it. You can check your network connection by going to Settings and tapping Cellular Data. You should see a green checkmark next to this option if it is functioning correctly. If it isn’t, you can try changing your wireless network connection or using a different cable to connect your phone.
Another possibility is that you are trying to use Personal Hotspot over a connection type that isn’t supported by your iPhone. Apple’s Personal Hotspot functionality works over WiFi, Bluetooth, and USB connections. To make sure you are using the right connection type, try turning off your iPhone’s WiFi and switching to Bluetooth or USB. It is also possible that the connection is being disrupted by another device on your network.
If you are having problems with a WiFi connection, you can try to resolve the issue by updating your iPhone’s iOS software. This will usually fix any bugs in the system that might be preventing your iPhone from connecting to other devices. To update your iPhone’s software, go to Settings > General > Software Update. If there is an available update, download and install it.
You can also try disabling the Maximum Compatibility hotspot setting on your iPhone. This feature turns your iPhone into a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi access point, which can cause slower connection speeds. Disabling this setting will force your iPhone to function as a 5GHz access point, which can give you faster connection speeds.
Finally, you can also try resetting your iPhone’s network settings to help solve the problem. This process will erase all of your iPhone’s network settings, including your cellular settings, Wi-Fi networks and passwords, paired device information, VPN, and proxy settings. This method may take a few minutes, but it is one of the most reliable ways to troubleshoot any problems with your iPhone’s cellular connection or Personal Hotspot.
Personal Hotspot
Using the Personal Hotspot mode, your iPhone can share its cellular data connection with other devices that have Wi-Fi capability or a USB cable. The process of connecting to the iPhone’s hotspot varies between operating systems, so you may need to consult your device’s manual or online documentation for details. You can also set a password for your Personal Hotspot in the settings menu, which will help prevent others from accessing your network without your approval.
If you have trouble setting up or using the Personal Hotspot on your iPhone or iPad, try these steps. First, ensure that your iOS device is up to date, if it isn’t already. You can do this by tapping Settings General Software Update, and following the onscreen prompts.
It’s possible that a recent software update caused your Personal Hotspot to stop working, so updating your software might fix the problem. If it doesn’t, you can always contact your wireless carrier to see if there are any other updates available.
Sometimes a simple reboot is all that’s needed to get Personal Hotspot working again. You can reset the network settings on your iPhone by tapping Settings General Reset -> Reset Network Settings. This will erase all of the current Cellular, Wi-Fi, and APN settings on your iPhone, so you’ll need to manually enter these again after resetting the network settings.
Another option for fixing the Personal Hotspot feature is to enable the Maximize Compatibility setting in the Personal Hotspot menu. This will cause your iPhone to use the 2.4GHz Wi-Fi band instead of the 5GHz, which can improve the range of the connection. However, this will result in slower Internet speeds.
If you’ve tried these different solutions and still can’t get your iPhone’s Personal Hotspot to work, it may be time to take your phone into the Apple Store for service. However, before you do that, you should contact your wireless carrier to make sure there isn’t a problem with your plan or the hardware on your phone. You can find the contact information for your carrier by searching Google for their name plus “customer support” or by going to their website.
Shared Wi-Fi
The iPhone 11 Pro Max offers the option of sharing your smartphone’s internet connection via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. This feature is useful if you’re travelling in an area with poor or no cellular data coverage, or if you don’t want to use up all of your data plan on streaming media or other online activities. However, it’s important to note that this mode will only last as long as your battery life, so it may be best to only use it for emergencies or short trips.
To turn on your personal hotspot in the shared Wi-Fi mode, tap Settings and scroll down to Personal Hotspot. Make sure the toggle switch is turned on and that the password is set. If it’s not, change the default password to something more secure.
Next, select a device on which you want to connect and enter the password that was assigned when setting up the hotspot. When the connection is successful, you’ll see a linked chain icon in the upper left corner of your screen. If the chain icon isn’t there, or if the password doesn’t work, it’s possible your iPhone 11 Pro Max has an issue with its Wi-Fi hardware and needs to be reset.
You may also need to check the cellular data on your phone to make sure it’s enabled. If you have a prepaid plan, this is especially important as most prepaid plans only allow a certain amount of data usage each month and will throttle your service after that point.
Another possibility is that you need to turn off the Personal Hotspot on your phone. If you use the feature a lot on long train journeys for example, it’s easy to run up a large bill without realizing that your iPhone isn’t turning off the hotspot automatically when you’re done using it.
Finally, you could try a factory reset on your iPhone. This is the only option that’ll remove your wireless network settings and restore the defaults, so it’s a good choice if you’ve already tried the other solutions and nothing worked.