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How to make the iPhone and iPad hotspot always stay on and discoverable indefinitely

I made a post on this subject last year however there has been several things I wanted to add, so this is a remastered version of the previous post I created last year. This is not a question, rather a solution to anyone who is having issues with the awful hotspot feature.


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

  • Hotspot automatically turning itself off if the devices connected to it are not actively using hotspot data
  • Slow speeds, even in the best areas and the data on your phone is fast, but not hotspot
  • The inability to back up or restore other devices to/from iCloud


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


Please note: this tutorial is based off of macOS Monterey and earlier, this process will be slightly different in macOS Ventura and later due to the Settings redesign, however I am not using this version so I’m not sure on how you get to the Internet Sharing options on those versions.


This will not fix the inability to connect more than 5 devices to your MacBook hotspot at a time, this is a intentional limitation set by Apple, and there are no workarounds I could find. If you need to use the hotspot on the Mac itself, it is already connected, and you will never have to connect to any Wi-Fi again. Your Mac will automatically use the hotspot without any user interaction, unless you specify it not to do so by turning off Internet Sharing and connecting it back to your home Wi-Fi network.


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.


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 affects all MacBook models that use an OLED or MiniLED display.) At this time, only the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros are affected as they use MiniLED. Others models (as of July 21, 2023) are not affected, although this is subject to change. Before doing this, verify your Mac model does not use OLED/MiniLED display types.


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, regardless if those devices are actively using data on your hotspot or not.


Hope this helps and fixes your issues!

More critical information


Brandon's iPhone 13 Pro Max

Posted on Jul 21, 2023 6:31 PM

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User profile for user: BitScorpion6082
BitScorpion6082 Author
User level: Level 1
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Posted on Jul 21, 2023 6:52 PM

More information (this has not been changed from my original post however for those of you that have not seen my original post I decided to add this here)


  •  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 or later. 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 (OTA update) 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 disables your data, therefore disabling 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.
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User profile for user: BitScorpion6082
BitScorpion6082 Author
User level: Level 1
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Jul 21, 2023 6:52 PM in response to BitScorpion6082

More information (this has not been changed from my original post however for those of you that have not seen my original post I decided to add this here)


  •  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 or later. 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 (OTA update) 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 disables your data, therefore disabling 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.
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How to make the iPhone and iPad hotspot always stay on and discoverable indefinitely

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