If you’re traveling or just want to use the internet on your iPhone away from a wifi hotspot, your iPhone has a feature called Personal Hotspot that turns it into a mobile router.
It’s handy for connecting devices like tablets and laptops to the internet, but be careful — it uses a lot of data, especially if you have a limited data plan. It’s also pretty expensive to use, and it can drain your phone’s battery quickly.
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi is a way for you to share your internet connection with other devices, such as laptops and tablets. This feature can be useful in situations when your router has malfunctioned or is unable to provide internet access, such as when you’re traveling or staying away from home for an extended period of time.
When you set up a Wi-Fi hotspot, your iPhone acts as a router and connects other devices to the internet. While this can be helpful in a pinch, you should be careful about how much data your phone uses while the hotspot is enabled. This can drain your battery and use up your monthly data plan, so be sure to check with your carrier before turning on this feature.
If you don’t want other people to be able to access your Wi-Fi, you can set up a password to keep them out. You can also configure your hotspot so that it only uses cellular data, which will save your phone’s battery life and help you avoid having to turn on the hotspot all the time.
Alternatively, you can configure your hotspot to only allow other devices that are signed in with your Apple ID to join. This is handy for security purposes and prevents other devices from accidentally joining your hotspot.
To set up your personal Wi-Fi hotspot, tap Settings > Cellular (or on other versions of the English-language iPhone, choose Settings > Mobile Data). Then, turn on Personal Hotspot, and toggle Allow Others to Join to ON.
After that, enter a password into the text field and make sure you save it to your device so you don’t forget it. You can also change the password at any time by tapping Configure and entering a new one.
When you’re ready to connect to your hotspot, open your respective ‘Wi-Fi’ menu on your phone or computer and look for the name of your hotspot network. On a Mac, it will be in the right-hand upper corner of the menu bar; on a Windows device, it will be in the bottom right of the taskbar. When you’re connected, a blue indicator will appear at the top of your screen and on the lock screen, showing how many other devices are using the hotspot.
Bluetooth
If you want to share your cellular data connection on an iPhone or iPad with other devices, you can use the Personal Hotspot feature to create a Wi-Fi network that any number of other compatible iOS devices can connect to. While this is a convenient option, it requires expensive cellular data plans and may be unreliable in certain situations.
Bluetooth is a great alternative, as it uses far less power than Wi-Fi, is more secure and features automatic pairing–meaning that the iPhone automatically reconnects to any other device that has already paired with it. However, Bluetooth connections are slower and require a little more work than Wi-Fi.
To turn on your iPhone’s Bluetooth hotspot, launch Settings and tap General -> Bluetooth. If it shows Not Connected next to your iPhone’s name, press the name again to reconnect. If it doesn’t, try toggling the Personal Hotspot option from off to on or resetting your phone.
Another option is to use Instant Hotspot, a new feature introduced in iOS 8.1 and OS X Yosemite that lets you connect an iPhone to a Mac without having to enter a password. This feature requires both devices to be signed into the same iCloud account and must also have Bluetooth and Wi-Fi turned on.
Once both your iPhone and Mac are set up, you’ll see a new menu called Personal Hotspot in the Wi-Fi status menu. You’ll also be able to see the Personal Hotspot connection in the list of connected Wi-Fi networks on your Mac and other devices.
To use the Personal Hotspot feature, both your iPhone and other iOS device must be signed into iCloud with the same Apple ID. You can also add an additional password to ensure that only you can access the network. This password is required to connect to your Personal Hotspot, so make sure to remember it. You can check it at any time on your iPhone in the Personal Hotspot menu.
USB
Turning on a USB hotspot on an iPhone can be a useful feature when your Internet connection is down, or when you need to use a computer that does not have Wi-Fi. You can also use it to share your device’s data with other devices without having to use iTunes.
To enable USB tethering on an iPhone, you first need to make sure that both your laptop and your smartphone are on the same Wi-Fi network. You can check this by going to Settings > Cellular and tapping Personal Hotspot. Once the hotspot is on, your laptop and any other device can connect to it using a USB cable.
You can also use Bluetooth to tether your iPhone to another device. This is slower than Wi-Fi tethering, but it’s more secure.
Depending on the operating system of your laptop, you might have to pair the iPhone with the other device before it can access the Internet through your smartphone’s connection. See the manufacturer’s instructions for more information.
One important thing to note is that when you tether your iPhone with USB, it’s using your mobile data plan. If you have a cap on your data, this can cause you to go over your limit and get charged. If you use auto-backup software or upload pictures to iCloud, this can also cause you to go over your limit.
If you want to tether your iPhone with a USB cable without having to use iTunes, you can download and install PdaNet on your PC. It will allow you to tether your iPhone with your Windows computer and will also sync your devices automatically.
Mobile Data
A hotspot on your iPhone allows you to share the phone’s cellular data connection with other devices. It’s a great way to access the internet on your laptop or tablet if you’re travelling and don’t have any Wi-Fi coverage.
However, you’ll need to understand how to use a hotspot before turning it on, and be aware that it uses a data plan from your phone carrier. Some carriers offer a specific amount of high-speed data at full 5G or 4G LTE hotspot speeds; others reduce this to 3G or lower for tethering, so be sure to check your data allowance before using a personal hotspot.
In addition, it’s important to note that you may not be able to share your personal hotspot with other people who don’t have your device. To prevent other users from tethering to your iPhone, you can set a password that only you can use.
Some users have also reported that a bug in an iOS update can cause their iPhone’s personal hotspot to stop working. You can try to restore your phone from an older backup to see if it fixes the issue.
If the personal hotspot still doesn’t work, you can take your phone to an Apple Store or Authorized Service Provider for a hardware repair. You might also try using Finder or iTunes on a computer to revert your iPhone back to a previous version of iOS.
Once you have the correct software, connect your phone to your computer, open the Finder or iTunes app, and choose your iPhone in the left-hand panel. If a warning pops up asking if you trust this computer, tap Trust.
Admin