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User profile for user: Community User
Community User Author

How to make hotspot on iPhone great again (like it should be)

Not a question, just a tip not a lot of people know about. I have this issue, and wanted to share this fix.


We all know Hotspot on iPhone is terrible, always has been, always will be. I’m sure you’ve experienced one or more of the following issues and restrictions:

  • Hotspot disconnecting on other devices after a few minutes of inactivity
  • Slow speeds, even in the best areas and the data on your phone is fast, but not hotspot
  • The inability to back up other devices to iCloud
  • The inability to restore devices from an iCloud backup
  • The inability to install apps from the App Store without a pop-up harassing you for each one you install


And many more. Assuming you have unlimited data and unlimited high-speed hotspot like me, this is what you do.


Requirements: A MacBook running macOS Big Sur or later (unconfirmed if it works on older Mac versions, please check) and a charging cord. You may need an adapter to use USB cords as newer Macs don’t have USB ports. You can use a USB-C to Lightning Cable to bypass the adapter. Once you have these, you can follow along below:


Step 1. Disconnect your Mac from any Wi-Fi networks it may be connected to.

Step 2. Plug in iPhone or Cellular iPad into Mac.

Step 3. Go to System Preferences > Network. On the left side, keep in mind what USB your device is connected to. Should be iPhone USB 1-4 by default. It should light up green. Wi-Fi should be yellow as it’s not connected.

Step 4. Click the Back button, and return to System Preferences. On the main menu, select “Sharing”.

Step 5. On the left side, click Internet Sharing. On this screen, click the drop down menu and choose whichever USB your iPhone / iPad is connected to.

Step 6. Once selected, in the menu box below it, hover your mouse in the box and scroll down until you see Wi-Fi. Tick the box on the left of that and modify your network settings Name (SSID), Channel, and Password. Once your happy, click Done.

Step 7. On the panel on the left side, tick the box next to Internet Sharing. A pop-up will appear, alerting you to potential network issues if your currently using your iPhone / iPad on its Cellular network. This won’t happen however, so click Start.

Step 8. And you’re done! Be sure to always keep your iPhone connected to your Mac from now on, otherwise you (may) have to repeat these steps once you disconnect and reconnect your iPhone / iPad again. Do not put the Mac in sleep mode. When the Mac is connected to power, you can close the lid. When on battery power, which I don’t recommend as this uses lots of battery, the Mac MUST remain open at all times, with the auto-lock set to Never. You can change this in your Battery preferences. Turn down the screen brightness to save battery, and to prevent burn-in (burn-in only for 2021 MacBook Pros).


Doing this will fix ALL the issues stated before. Your Mac is now your portable Wi-Fi modem / router, and any connected devices won’t disconnect.


Please note: This won’t fix the inability to connect more than 5 devices at the same time. However, you can have the hotspot on your Mac AND on your iPhone active simultaneously, allowing up to 10 connected devices at any one time combined. Your Mac is connected using iPhone / iPad hotspot, so actually make that up to 9. Beings that your Mac is already connected to your hotspot, you will never have to connect to any Wi-Fi again. Your Mac will automatically use the hotspot without any user interaction. If you intend to use the hotspot on your iPhone as well to connect more than 5 devices at any one time, the issues mentioned at the start will apply. You’ll have to sit on the Personal Hotspot screen forever, and set your Auto-Lock to never. This will keep your hotspot always discoverable on the iPhone side. Lower your screen brightness to prevent burn-in (iPhone X, Xs, Xs Max, 11Pro/Max, 12 and 13 series and later only). Your iPhone / iPad may get really warm or hot to the touch while doing this, I’d recommend removing the case to reduce heat and placing the device face down on a flat surface like a table, or keeping the device placed on an air vent in the summer with the A/C kicking on from time to time.


Below is a photo of this working. Your Mac will broadcast the hotspot as Wi-Fi, meanwhile your iPhone / iPad will choose to use the “chain links” as shown here. I named my iPhone my Wi-Fi name but with “EXT” at the end to indicate that I can have more devices connected. You don’t have to do this, haha. It’s just for my OCD really.


Hope this helps!!

Add me on Xbox!

Best regards,

BitScorpion6082

Posted on Aug 16, 2022 11:00 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply
User profile for user: Community User
Community User Author

Posted on Aug 17, 2022 12:21 PM

Okay, so a few more things that didn’t quite make it into the initial post:


  • Your speeds will vary depending on which iPhone or iPad you use, obviously older models will have slower data speeds and therefore will have slower hotspot speeds. It also depends on the cell coverage in your area. Your speeds will not be consistent if you are constantly moving around (like in a car for example). This is Hotspot, not Wi-Fi so keep that in mind.
  • If you don’t already have unlimited data, this trick will not magically give you unlimited data. If you don’t have unlimited high-speed hotspot, this won’t give you high-speed hotspot.
  • The speed will vary on which MacBook you use. Older Macs can only transmit certain amounts of speed at a time just like older iPhones and iPads. Some Macs may not support this feature at all, despite running macOS Big Sur. I’m unsure if you can use a desktop Mac, I don’t have one so you’ll have to check into that yourself. It’s recommended to use a newer MacBook (tested on MacBook Pro 13-inch, M1, 2020) using macOS Monterey 12.4.
  • This will also allow you to update the iOS version on other devices connected to your network. Sometimes on hotspot you cannot download a software update, this will fix it because your other device will be tricked into thinking you’re connected to Wi-Fi, but in reality it’s just your hotspot.
  • This will allow you to upload Messages in iCloud, update iCloud Photo Library as well as many more things related to iCloud without having to turn off Low Data Mode which is on by default when using iPhone / iPad hotspot. Using this method, it’s off by default.
  • If you use a VPN on your hotspot device, you must turn it off. This is because iOS disables background apps while the phone is locked, including VPN. The VPN will always be trying to connect because of this, even when it’s locked, and when it is in the process of connecting, it kills your data, therefore killing your hotspot. If this happens, you’ll have to turn off the VPN, and turn off and on the hotspot again. To turn off the VPN, go to Settings > General > Scroll down to VPN & Device Management > VPN then tap on the information thing next to the VPN and turn off Connect on Demand. Go back and turn off the VPN at this point if it’s not already off. It will never connect again without user interaction.
  • The more devices you have connected to your hotspot at the same time the more slower and unstable the network may get. Especially if you have multiple devices streaming 1080p HD video on YouTube at the same time, it will have to buffer and it will get slower because you’re overloading the hotspot. Keep in mind it’s not exactly designed for this kind of behavior.


And that’s it! Thanks for reading. If you have any issues post them here and I’ll try my best to get back to you.


[Edited by Moderator]

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2 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply
User profile for user: Community User
Community User Author

Aug 17, 2022 12:21 PM in response to Community User

Okay, so a few more things that didn’t quite make it into the initial post:


  • Your speeds will vary depending on which iPhone or iPad you use, obviously older models will have slower data speeds and therefore will have slower hotspot speeds. It also depends on the cell coverage in your area. Your speeds will not be consistent if you are constantly moving around (like in a car for example). This is Hotspot, not Wi-Fi so keep that in mind.
  • If you don’t already have unlimited data, this trick will not magically give you unlimited data. If you don’t have unlimited high-speed hotspot, this won’t give you high-speed hotspot.
  • The speed will vary on which MacBook you use. Older Macs can only transmit certain amounts of speed at a time just like older iPhones and iPads. Some Macs may not support this feature at all, despite running macOS Big Sur. I’m unsure if you can use a desktop Mac, I don’t have one so you’ll have to check into that yourself. It’s recommended to use a newer MacBook (tested on MacBook Pro 13-inch, M1, 2020) using macOS Monterey 12.4.
  • This will also allow you to update the iOS version on other devices connected to your network. Sometimes on hotspot you cannot download a software update, this will fix it because your other device will be tricked into thinking you’re connected to Wi-Fi, but in reality it’s just your hotspot.
  • This will allow you to upload Messages in iCloud, update iCloud Photo Library as well as many more things related to iCloud without having to turn off Low Data Mode which is on by default when using iPhone / iPad hotspot. Using this method, it’s off by default.
  • If you use a VPN on your hotspot device, you must turn it off. This is because iOS disables background apps while the phone is locked, including VPN. The VPN will always be trying to connect because of this, even when it’s locked, and when it is in the process of connecting, it kills your data, therefore killing your hotspot. If this happens, you’ll have to turn off the VPN, and turn off and on the hotspot again. To turn off the VPN, go to Settings > General > Scroll down to VPN & Device Management > VPN then tap on the information thing next to the VPN and turn off Connect on Demand. Go back and turn off the VPN at this point if it’s not already off. It will never connect again without user interaction.
  • The more devices you have connected to your hotspot at the same time the more slower and unstable the network may get. Especially if you have multiple devices streaming 1080p HD video on YouTube at the same time, it will have to buffer and it will get slower because you’re overloading the hotspot. Keep in mind it’s not exactly designed for this kind of behavior.


And that’s it! Thanks for reading. If you have any issues post them here and I’ll try my best to get back to you.


[Edited by Moderator]

Reply

How to make hotspot on iPhone great again (like it should be)

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