iPhone Won't Automatically Connect to Vehicle's Hotspot

I’ve got an iPhone 12 running the latest iOS (16.1.1) which had a small data plan associated with it. My car has a built-in hotspot from OnStar which is unlimited. 


I’d like the iPhone to automatically connect to the vehicle’s hotspot similar to how it automatically connect to regular Wi-Fi connections. 


Under the hotspot Wi-Fi network properties I’ve turned off the “Low data usage” option as with it being unlimited I don’t wish to limit the data usage on the phone. I’ve also set the Auto-Join Hotspot option to Automatic, but neither of those options appear to do anything as after several minutes I still have to go under Settings - Wi-Fi and manually tap on my car’s Wi-Fi network. 


I do remember when I first enabled the car’s hotspot it would automatically connect like I want it to…I don’t recall changing anything. Maybe an iOS update changed that behavior??? 


Does anyone have some other ideas to try? Thanks.

iPhone 12, iOS 16

Posted on Nov 13, 2022 6:53 AM

Reply
Question marked as Apple recommended

Double check the following Wi-Fi Setting on your iPhone.

Start the the hotspot on your car. Connect your iPhone to the car’s hotspot. Then open Settings ➡️ Wi-Fi ➡️ Tap on the (i) next to the name of your car’s hotspot: Here, ensure that Auto Join is set to ON.


Axel F.

Posted on Nov 13, 2022 7:01 AM

47 replies

Jan 26, 2023 4:04 PM in response to jfb1357

I had a chance to test the theory someone else on here had where they reset the phone and didn’t restore anything from their backup and same result.


I actually upgraded to a new phone (14 Plus) and never restored anything from the previous one or any of my backups and the first time I paired it up with CarPlay it did automatically connected to the car’s hotspot and worked as it should. Unfortunately it was short lived as it never has connected again, so I’m back to the original problem.


Hopefully Apple comes out with a fix for this as it’s super annoying.

Jan 31, 2023 11:31 AM in response to jfb1357

I've been scouring the internet to find a solution to this as well. The moment I upgraded from an iPhone 11 Pro to a 14 Pro, I lost the ability to auto connect to my vehicle's Wi-Fi. All other home/work Wi-Fi networks, my phone will automatically connect with. My wife has the same problem with her 14. All our old phones will still connect automatically. It's any phone that's on iOS16 or later appears to have the issue.

I've tried complete resets and nothing works.


I really wish Apple would address this issue. Super frustrating!

Feb 13, 2023 1:55 AM in response to rymeyer12

I'm in the UK and have been experiencing the same problem. It definitely only started happening after upgrading to iOS16. Before that, my iPhone 12 would connect to Carplay and the car's hotspot without any problem. I tested with my wife's phone which at the time was still running iOS 15 and that worked absolutely fine every time. in my opinion, it's definitely iOS 16 which has broken it and it seems to affect phones regardless of the vehicle manufacture. Apple must be aware of this so why don't they fix it? it's a real ball-ache!

Feb 13, 2023 10:01 AM in response to RCC49

Out of frustration, I began a live chat with Apple about this problem. That was unable to resolve anything, but led on to a phone call from an Apple technician. After explaining that I'd tried everything he'd suggested, he asked if I had a VPN. I do, but it's off most of the time and certainly when I get into my car (plus the fact that it was there when I was on iOS 15 and my phone connected automatically to both CarPlay and the car's hotspot without problem), but nevertheless, he suggested uninstalling the VPN app, restarting my phone and trying again. He then ended the call and told me I would receive an email with a Case Number if I needed to make contact again. Needless to say, his suggestion didn't work, and I won't bother making contact with Apple again because their technicians seem incapable of offering anything that you can't find in their "help" documentation. They only seem able to offer "generic" solutions, which aren't really solutions at all. It's a great pity that Apple don't look at forums such as this to see the frustrations consumers are experiencing the real world as a result of their breaking a feature which worked perfectly well. I would happily roll back to iOS 15.7 if I could. Any "improvements" offered by iOS 16 are eclipsed by the inconvenience of this glitch.

Feb 23, 2023 1:54 AM in response to RCC49

I finally found a way of fixing this by downgrading to iOS 15.6. My phone now connects automatically to my car's wifi hotspot every time without fail. I intend on leaving my phone on iOS 15.6 until I'm sure that Apple have fixed what they broke with iOS 16. For anyone interested in trying this, follow this link:-


Downgrade iOS 16.1 To 15.7.1 Is Possible! [How To Guide] (iphonetricks.org)


It's slightly misleading in that it implies that once you've downgraded to 15.6, you can then upgrade to 15.7.1, but only 16.3.1 is available over air at the time of writing, but for me, 15.6 is perfectly acceptable because it solves my very annoying problem. Now pull your finger out Apple and fix iOS 16.

Mar 29, 2023 11:13 AM in response to micahsd

I've left my iPhone 12 on iOS 15.6 until I'm sure there's a fix, but I do have a spare iPhone SE (2020) which was on iOS 16.3.1. I've upgraded that to iOS 16.4, set it up in my car for CarPlay and the vehicle hotspot, and it connected initially. I went back to the car after about 20 minutes and tried again, but with no luck. I'm not sure if that's because my iPhone 12 is still a "connected device" and I'm having to select the spare phone. Perhaps I'll try again tomorrow by removing my iPhone 12 from the car's "connected devices" list, leaving just the SE.

Mar 29, 2023 6:10 PM in response to RCC49

I upgraded to iOS 16.4 and my iPhone connects to CarPlay automatically but does NOT connect to my car's WiFi hotspot. If anything it seems a little more broken than in earlier version of iOS 16. Now after my iPhone is connected to CarPlay and I go into Settings...WiFi and choose my 2.4 GHz WiFi hotspot band the iPhone connects to the car's WiFi hotspot, but almost immediately the WiFi jumps back to the 5.0 GHz hotspot band and I lose iPhone WiFi connectivity to the car's hotspot (with the 5 GHz band displaying the message "No Internet Connection"). So the old workaround of going into Settings...WiFi and clicking on my car's WiFi hotspot isn't working.)


Note: After some time period (many minutes) my iPhone may connect to my car's hotspot - not sure right now what's going on with this.

Mar 30, 2023 2:37 AM in response to jfb1357

I've tried again this morning. I removed my iPhone 12 from the list of "connected devices" in my car, then I connected my spare iPhone SE (which is on 16.4) to CarPlay and the vehicle's hotspot. I've since been back to the car a few times at approximately 30 minute intervals, but the phone fails to connect to the vehicle hotspot. It looks therefore as if iOS 16.4 has not fixed this issue, so I've reconnected my iPhone 12 and will leave that on iOS 15.6 until I'm completely sure that Apple have fixed what they have broken (if they ever do).

iPhone Won't Automatically Connect to Vehicle's Hotspot

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