The personal hotspot function on your phone may be useful in a variety of ways. For example, if your home internet is down or you bring your laptop to a café without Wi-Fi, you may use your cellular data plan to connect your other devices to the internet.

Tech Advice
This capability is available on all newer iPhone and Android phones, and if your cellular plan allows it, you may use your phone’s 4G or 5G connection to connect your laptop or other devices. In an emergency, your phone’s cellular connection may get the job done, even if it might not be as quick as conventional internet.

Unless the hotspot on your phone stops functioning as well. Incorrect settings or a simple software bug might cause your hotspot to go down just when you need it most. To help you fix these difficulties and get your devices online, we’ve put up a few essential instructions for both iOS and Android devices.

If you own an iPhone

• Verify that the personal hotspot on your phone is turned on. Navigate to Settings and choose Personal Hotspot. Try contacting your wireless provider to find out whether this function is activated in your plan if you can’t locate it elsewhere.
• Try rebooting the device you’re attempting to connect to as well as your iPhone.
• Get the most recent version of iOS.
• Try clearing the network settings on your phone. Choose Transfer or Reset iPhone after going to Settings and tapping General. After that, choose Reset Network Settings after tapping Reset. Please note that this will reset all of your previously used VPN and APN settings, cellular settings, Wi-Fi networks, and passwords.
• Verify that Allow Others to Join is turned on on the Personal Hotspot tab if you’re attempting to connect to your phone’s personal hotspot via Wi-Fi. The Wi-Fi network name (which is also the name of your device) and the Wi-Fi password that appear on this page should be easily remembered.
• Try using the Maximize Compatibility option located at the bottom of the screen if you’re using an iPhone 12 or later. By utilizing a slower 2.4GHz connection instead of the typical 5GHz connection, this will increase the number of devices that can connect to your hotspot.
• In the meanwhile, switch off and then back on the Wi-Fi on the device you’re attempting to connect to your personal hotspot. Next, make sure you connect to the Wi-Fi network that was previously indicated (the device name of your iPhone). The Personal Hotspot symbol, which resembles two interconnected ovals, need to be next to it. Verify that you are entering the Wi-Fi password precisely as it appears on the Personal Hotspot page if there is a password problem.
• Another option is to use USB to connect to your phone’s personal hotspot. Before you do this, make sure your Mac has macOS updated. When using a USB cord to connect your phone to your computer, make sure you can locate your iPhone in Finder or iTunes. Click System Settings after choosing the Apple menu (the Apple logo in the upper left corner) on your Mac. Then choose Network. A list of network services will appear, and iPhone USB ought to be on it. After selecting “Make Inactive,” click “Make Active.” Hopefully, this will reset the connection. You may add the iPhone USB by following the instructions to set up a network service if it isn’t listed among the network services

If your phone is an Android model,

• Verify if hotspot is turned on. Navigate to Network & Internet, Hotspot & Tethering, and finally Settings. Turn on the tethering or mobile hotspot feature.
• Make sure your network name, password, and security are set up the way you want them to be when you’re on the Hotspot settings screen.
• Try giving your device a restart. Sometimes connection issues may be fixed with a simple reboot.
• Try resetting the network settings on your phone if nothing else resolves the issue. To do this, choose Reset WiFi, mobile & Bluetooth, confirm, and then go to System and touch Reset. However, be advised that doing so will erase all of your phone’s Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and data settings.
• To find out whether a third-party app is the problem, you may also try starting your phone in safe mode. Google claims that a third-party app can be the cause of the connectivity problem if your phone switches off in safe mode.
• Keep in mind that depending on how your phone’s options menu is organized, some of these options may appear somewhat differently on Android phones. If none of these fixes resolve the issue, it’s possible that your location’s data connection is inadequate. To find out whether there are any network problems, try getting in touch with your carrier.