iPhone Hotspot keeps disconnecting

iPhone's made hotspot only works steady with Apple computer. As soon as you use it with any other computer, it keeps randomly disconnecting over and over again. No matter if you keep your screen on or off, phone is in low power mode or not, if you have the latest iPhone or not, etc. It is impossible to do any quality work on your laptop using iPhone's hotspot. It has nothing to do with software updates or anything like that as I am always running the latest version of iOS. I have read on the internet so many threads about this. It is something that Apple just refuses to fix for years. Or does that on purpose.. Whatever the case is - it is absolutely not nice, as it resembles the quality of Apple's products and service. So frustrated and disappointed.....

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

iPhone XS Max

Posted on Feb 23, 2023 7:24 AM

Top-ranking reply

lalith226

Level 1

8 points

Posted on May 15, 2023 2:49 AM

I have an I phone 13 pro max and was facing this issue! All I did was turned on the hotspot and turned off the option maximize compatibility and connected my hotspot and it works well! Try this and hope it helps all those who are facing this issue.

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147 replies

Hadi_90

Level 1

14 points

Apr 21, 2024 11:18 AM in response to Kristaps_6000

For any iphone less than 15, the only stable hotspot is by using the cable. For iphone 15 it’s finally stable connection through cable or wifi&Bluetooth.

Sep 27, 2023 2:49 AM in response to callaway

I just unselected the “maximise compatibility” option and that worked for me

Nov 16, 2023 9:54 AM in response to SachinMalkar

Hi, goto iPhone personal hotspot setting, “disable” for maximum compatibility. Please check and update status if works properly.

Jun 9, 2023 6:41 AM in response to Kristaps_6000

Someone mentioned in their replies on here, that this could help:

Settings - Personal Hotspot - Maximise Compatibility.

I was excited, as I thought that just maybe Apple has noticed this issue and provided a solution.

Noot!

This feature has shown up recently as it has never been there before. I have turned it on. Still the same problem persists. Not sure what this feature does in that case. Also this feature can be found on my iPhone Xs Max, however, it is not there for my iPhone SE 2016. So this magic toggle button that does nothing is probably made only for iphones that run the newest soft.

So few of my observations to make the hotspot work a little longer than usual:

1) Restart your phone, before using it as a hotspot;

2) DONT use your phone. (if you receive a message, email, any notification, be strong - do not touch your iphone. As the hotspot will be lost in 9 times out of 10)

These are quite a meaningless suggestions. Meaning - it should Just Work without any "just dont breathe" adjustments. Plus - it does not mean that your hotspot will be steady, it just gives you more chance that it wont turn on 10x in 30mins, but maybe just 5x.

For all who wonder:

1) As hotspot is turned on, it is used instantly and non-stop, so it does not turn off just because there is no activity;

2) You can keep your iphone locked or unlocked - it does not matter. It will turn off anyways.

3) It still works perfect with any Apple computers, laptops.

Imgine running your online store and adding new stuff to your store. Imgine picking out and uploading 70 images to your multiple listings.. Imgine noticing, that while images seem to be loading, your internet has been disconnected. Imgine understanding that your images wont be uploaded when you reconnect, so you have to do it all over again. And imgine this happening several times a day.

If you have stumbled upon this threat and have a similar issue, please spare a minute and press the "me too" button, or even better - write your own comment. Even if it will still say "me too". Hopefully that will gain the required attention from Apple and this issue will be fixed with iPhone69 or something..

If Apple thinks that it is most important that the connection is steady within Apple ecosystem so that customers are forced to buy only Apple products.. I dont know about you, but Id rather sell all my Apple products and buy some universally working gadgets instead.

Oct 10, 2023 4:54 AM in response to Kristaps_6000

I have the absolute same experience. And it's not even related to Windows, Android, or iOS 17 (it also happened to me under iOS 16). iPhone 14 Pro Max just decides on its own to disconnect iPads, a second iPhone, and an AppleTV. Most of the time, the 2 green chains on the iPhone stay on, even though no data is transmitted anymore.

Usually this can be resolved by opening the Settings App on the iPhone, navigating to the personal hotspot settings which will make the hotspot immediately reappear on the list of available networks.

Sometimes the hotspot disconnects every 20 minutes or so (fun during an online meeting)... Often it takes longer. What I'm trying to say here is that it doesn't look like there's some background timer or some setting that - for whatever reason - shuts down the hotspot for - say - security reasons.

It's baffling, irritating, and - frankly - discredits Apple's slogan "It just works"... I also had an Android phone which had absolutely no issues maintaining a hotspot active for at least 24 hours.

Nov 24, 2023 11:49 AM in response to karuppannan

Thanks karuppannan for reaching out!

That's one of the things that I already tried (and failed), among other things, like "forgetting" networks and re-connecting. Yes, that will help. But only until the next breakdown. Disabling maximum compatibility hasn't helped me, nor has reducing network to 4G.

The only thing I find interesting is that, as soon as I "wake up" my iPhone, and go to settings, and select the settings for "Personal Hotspot" (without tickling any of the settings...), everything turns back to normal. All dependent devices auto-re-connect... Second iPhone, iPad, AppleTV, an HP Laptop on Windows...

I'm anything but an expert, but I put the blame on iOS...

May 29, 2023 5:21 AM in response to Kristaps_6000

The only option is to disable auto locking on your phone. When the screen is active the iPhone’s hotspot will not disconnect your devices.

Nov 16, 2023 7:12 PM in response to SachinMalkar

Hi, please goto iPhone personal hotspot setting, “disable” for Maximum compatibility. Please check and update status if works properly

Nov 30, 2023 12:07 PM in response to Kristaps_6000

I spoke to Apple tomorrow morning 30-11-2023 they acknowledge the problem and will be resolved with an update (probably iOS 17.4). But I hope sooner.

Jan 17, 2024 5:10 AM in response to TirsoB

Thanks for pointing it out. I believe it should just keep pinging the Default Gateway IP.

example:

c:\users\tirso> ping -t 172.0.0.1

replace 172.0.0.1 with your own local IP address.

Feb 13, 2024 8:37 PM in response to mfieldhouse

mfieldhouse wrote:

Have the same problem - M2 Macbook Air macOS 14.3 constantly disconnecting from iPhone 14 Pro iOS 17.3.

Is your phone plugged in or on a wireless charger? If not, do that.

May 21, 2024 4:19 AM in response to Kristaps_6000

Hi,

if you pair both devices using bluetooth the hotspot will be remain active even if both devices are locked.

May 29, 2023 8:03 AM in response to Kristaps_6000

I can confirm that this issue has been going on for YEARS with iphones personal hotspot. Why can't it work as reliably as hotspot on android phone? If I turn on the hotspot feature on an Android phone it stays on and works for hours, perfectly, if I need it. In my experience, connecting a second apple product to the iPhone's hotspot works more reliably than connecting an Android device or a Windows PC, but it is still not flawless. I remember reading somewhere that apple designed the hotspot to turn off automatically if no data traffic is detected over the hotspot for a certain period of time. That is fine but there should be an option to disable this feature, because having to go fiddling with the wifi setting on my second client device and the personal hotspot on the host iphone, every time I want to share my cellular data is a huge pain. Let me leave the hotspot on and discoverable and let me worry about my battery. My guess for the reason apple has persistently refused to fix this issue is a mix of micromanaging "their iPhone" (you only pay for the device, you don't own it) and more apple ecosystem, walled-garden, BS.

Nov 3, 2023 1:41 AM in response to iziizinkosi

Please connect your iPhone with any WiFi once, if not connected for longtime. Once you connected then try. If same keep disconnecting hotspot with window laptop. Do same thing for your windows laptop to connect with wifi once, (not with hotspot through android or iPhone mobile internet.) better to do same, iPhone and windows laptop to connect with same WiFi one time for atleast an hour or less or more. It will resolve the issue. It was my experience.

Nov 30, 2023 1:49 PM in response to panos96

Totally agree. It's clear... As soon as I unlock my iPhone, go to my Settings and explicitly view the "Personal Hotspot" info, and "tickle" my iPhone every now and then to keep it awake, everything works as expected.

@Apple - I would at LEAST expect some kind of slider/setting that allows all my justifiably connected devices to STAY connected, until *I* say otherwise (not until Apple says otherwise).

I really think you're trespassing...

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iPhone Hotspot keeps disconnecting