How to Fix: iPhone Hotspot Not Working in iOS 13

If your iOS 13 hotspot is not working, you cannot share your phone’s Internet connection with the devices around you. The following post offers some of the tips you can apply to your device to get rid of the hotspot issue on your iPhone.

Joy Taylor Last Updated: Sep. 15, 2020

iOS 13 has brought over dozens of new features and improvements. If you have installed this update on any of your devices, you have likely noticed all the cool new things it has brought for you. One of the features that has received a major update is the personal hotspot feature.

Starting with iOS 13, personal hotspot works in a completely different way than it did in previous versions of iOS. Because of this new significant change in the functionality of the feature, you might find it difficult to use it. The following guide shows why you have the issue and offers nine tips for you to get around it on your iPhone.

Reasons Why Personal Hotspot Not Working After Update to iOS 13

It is natural to wonder how come the personal hotspot feature stopped working all of a sudden in iOS 13. Well, it has not stopped working but the way it works has changed. In iOS 13, the personal hotspot feature remains turned on all the time. This then allows all of your iCloud signed devices to connect to your iPhone and enjoy access to the Internet.

You might find that you cannot share your Internet with other devices that do not use your iCloud account. In order to let those devices access your hotspot, you need to enable an option in the Settings menu on your iPhone. Head into Settings, tap on Personal Hotspot, and enable the Allow Others to Join option.

Allow Other Devices to Use Your iPhone’s Personal Hotspot

Allow Other Devices to Use Your iPhone’s Personal Hotspot

Your other devices should now be able to discover and connect to your iPhone’s personal hotspot. That should fix the iPhone hotspot not working issue on your device.

Fix: iPhone Hotspot Not Working [9 Tips]

If your iPhone hotspot in iOS 13 is still not working even after following the above steps, you might find the following tips helpful as they help fix the issue on your device.

Tip 1. Toggle the Mobile Data Option

The first thing you will want to do is disable the mobile data option on your device and then enable it again. This gives your iPhone a fresh chance to disconnect from your carrier and then establish a completely new connection. It often helps resolve issues related to Internet on the iPhone. The following shows how to toggle mobile data on an iPhone:

Step 1. Launch the Settings app from the springboard on your iPhone.

Step 2. You will find an option that says Mobile Data. Tap on it to open it.

Step 3. The following screen has a toggle saying Mobile Data. Turn the toggle to the OFF position and wait for about half a minute.

Disable mobile data

Disable mobile data

Step 4. Turn the toggle for Mobile Data back to the ON position to enable mobile data on your iPhone. Try using personal hotspot and see if your other devices can connect to your iPhone’s Internet connection.

Enable Mobile Data

Enable Mobile Data

Tip 2. Update Your Carrier Settings

One of the reasons why the personal hotspot feature is not working after the iOS 13 update is because you have not updated the carrier settings on your device. It is important that you keep your carrier settings up to date and it is pretty easy to do that.

Install New Carrier Settings

Install New Carrier Settings

On your iPhone, open the Settings app and tap on General followed by About. If an update for your carrier settings is available, it will be shown on your screen with a button to install them on your iPhone. Once the settings are updated, connect to your iPhone’s personal hotspot from another device and see if you can access the Internet.

Tip 3. Update Your iOS Version

iOS 13 is a major iOS update but there have been a few minor updates after that as well. Launching the update menu on your iPhone should help you update your device to the latest minor updates for iOS.

Update to the Latest iOS Version

Update to the Latest iOS Version

Open Settings, tap on General, tap on Software Update, and select Download and Install to update your device to the latest iOS version. Enable the personal hotspot feature and you should be able to use it without any issues.

Tip 4. Reboot Your iPhone

While rebooting your iPhone cannot solve any major issues on your device, it does help with resolving minor issues like the one you are currently experiencing on your phone.

Rebooting an iPhone is easy and all you need to do is press and hold down the Power button for a few seconds. You will then see a slider that you need to drag to turn your phone off. Then press the Power button again for a few seconds to boot up your device. The hotspot issue should likely be fixed on your iPhone.

Tip 5. Reset Network Settings to the Defaults

Your iPhone uses the network settings available on your device to get features like the personal hotspot to work. If your settings are improper or if they haven’t been correctly configured, you might want to set them to the defaults and then reconfigure them if needed.

Reset Network Settings to the Factory Defaults

Reset Network Settings to the Factory Defaults

Resetting the network settings on an iPhone is one of the easiest tasks to do. All you need to do is launch the Settings app, tap on General, tap on Reset, and select Reset Network Settings. You may then try using your personal hotspot to see if it works.

Tip 6. Use a Different Connection Method

WiFi is not the only way you can use the personal hotspot of your iPhone. You can use two other mediums as well to utilize your iPhone’s hotspot feature. The other two modes are Bluetooth and USB.

You can connect your other devices to your iPhone’s hotspot using Bluetooth by enabling Bluetooth on both your iPhone and your other devices. If you are connecting to a computer, you can utilize the USB connection method to establish a connection. Regardless of what connection method you use, it is going to give you the same results. It should likely fix your hotspot issue on your iPhone.

Tip 7. Restore Your iPhone with iTunes

If a personal hotspot still denies working on your iPhone, it is time you get your iPhone restored with iTunes. Restoration often solves many issues and there is no harm giving it a try to see if it fixes your hotspot problem.

Restore an iPhone Using iTunes

Restore an iPhone Using iTunes

Connect your iPhone to your computer and launch the iTunes app. Select your iPhone in the app, ensure you are in the Summary tab and find and click on the Restore Backup button. Follow the on-screen instructions to get your iPhone fully restored. Once it is done, turn on personal hotspot on your iPhone and you should be able to use it without it causing any issues.

Tip 8. Contact Your Cellular Carrier

Sometimes your carrier might prevent you from sharing your Internet connection using personal hotspots on your devices. In that case, even if you turn on the feature on your iPhone, you will not be able to share your Internet connection. The best way to resolve this issue is to contact your carrier. They should have a fix for it.

Tip 9. Get in Touch with Apple

If the carrier says everything is fine from their side, then you may need to get in touch with Apple to seek assistance. They will have a solution to your issue and they should be able to help you get the personal hotspot to function on your iPhone.

Tip 10. Fix iPhone Hotspot Not Working in iOS 13 with a Few Clicks

If you still struggle with iPhone personal hotspot not working issue, you can take advantage of our ultimate effective tool: AnyFix —iOS System Recovery. It allows to repair more than 50 iPhone problems with a few clicks. More importantly, it is very easy for you to get your iPhone device back to normal status. All you need to do is to take the following instructions step by step.

Step 1. Download and install the latest version of AnyFix on your computer. Then click on System Repair in the main interface.

 

Click on System Repair

Click on System Repair

Step 2. Choose 50+ iPhone Problems and then Start Now under System Repair to fix iPhone personal hotspot not working without any data loss.

Choose iPhone Problems and Start Now

Choose iPhone Problems and Start Now

Step 3. Now, select a repair mode for your iPhone. Normally, Standard Repair mode supports the most common system issues and without data loss. So here we take this mode as an example, choose it and tap the Standard Repair button to continue.

Select a Mode to Repair

Select a Mode to Repair

Step 4. After entering into the Standard Repair mode, it will ask you to access recovery mode if you didn’t enter before. Now, follow the instructions on the interface in accordance with your iPhone Models.

Put your iPhone in Recovery Mode

Put your iPhone in Recovery Mode

Step 5. Once you have entered into Recovery Mode, AnyFix will automatically start to repair your device. Wait a while and when the recovery process is completed, you will see the completed page as below.

Repair Completed

Repair Completed

 

The Bottom Line

Personal hotspot not working in iOS 13 is something that is being experienced by a number of users. If you are one of those who need immediate assistance, the above guidance will be of tremendous help to you. In this post, we explained conventional ways of solving this problem, which might take you some time to get out of the dilemma. Therefore, it is time for you to take a shot to use AnyFix since it has got thousands of iPhone devices back to normal!

Author Avatar
Joy Taylor Twitter Share Facebook Share

Member of iMobie team as well as an Apple fan, love to help more users solve various types of iOS & Android related issues.

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