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

Top-ranking reply

Bob Schwerd

Level 1

17 points

Posted on Dec 27, 2022 5:55 AM

It's NOT the car, it's the phone.

After having been given the run around, I finally made an appointment with an Apple Genius at an Apple store. He ran diagnostic checks and the phone didn't have any issues.

Then he said that he could uninstall the software in the phone and then install the latest software. He added, that would cause me to lose all my paid for Apps but they could be restored from the App Store since they keep a record of all your previous purchase.

I said okay and the process took about 10 minutes.

I took the phone home and I had to manually pair it to my truck since the memory was wiped clean in the process.

Since then, my phone has been automatically connecting to my truck.

Reloading the Apps was not difficult at all.

What was very time consuming was having to log into each App with passwords. After that it took awhile to re-organize my screens.

All in all my phone acts just like a new phone.

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49 replies

Jun 1, 2023 1:50 PM in response to sgesualdi

At the present time, there is no reply from Apple Support on this issue. Frustrating to say the least.

Jun 12, 2023 2:51 PM in response to BF2011

This is unacceptable. We pay for WiFi but manually having to connect is not only a pain but I forget half the time.

GCLIV2

Level 1

8 points

Sep 4, 2023 11:18 AM in response to micahsd

I just got a new iPhone 14 Pro, and it still will not auto connect to my GMC hotspot. It used to automatically until one of the IOS updates last year! I was hoping a new phone would fix the problem

RCC49

Level 1

8 points

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.

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iPhone Won't Automatically Connect to Vehicle's Hotspot