iOS 26 update breaks personal hotspot on iPhone 16 Pro Max

I had the same issue and after trying a lot of things the following worked for me i hope it helps.

1- Go to settings > cellular > cellular data network 

2 - Caution here i don’t know what it might cause but I turned off “Use carrier settings”

3 - I filled out APN on cellular data section and scrolled down and on Personal Hotspot section the APN field was empty too and i filled out my carriers APN. 

Thats it when i went back the personal hotspot is not grayed out anymore and i can use it like before. 

1. Restart your iPhone
2. Do you have a 3rd party VPN installed, even if you are not using it? If so, delete the VPN profile in Settings/General/VPN & Device Management/VPN, then restart your device. Don't just turn it off; delete the profile. If that fixes it, you can try reinstalling VPN, but probably shouldn't.

MmFf05 wrote:

I already contacted my carrier and they confirmed that my account and plan support Personal Hotspot, and there are no issues on their side.

That's good. Lots of people think that because the plan includes the hotspot, it must be working. Or must be properly set up on their account. And those things are not always true.

In addition to Lawrence's suggestions, you might also try resetting your network settings. The only thing it deletes are your saved WiFi passwords.

Settings>General>Transfer or Reset iPhone>Reset>Reset Network Settings.

It's all the way down at the bottom of the Settings>General screen.

Ios 26 killed my hotspot on an iPhone 13 on Verizon and an iPhone 17 pro on att. The only solution in both cases was a factory reset. Apple needs to fix this problem

Hemakumar_iphone16 wrote:

Same issue I am facing

Hotspot getting grey out ios 26.0.1

Update to iOS 26.1.

What nonsense! I’m sorry you have a problem, but probably 100 million iPhone16 users do NOT have a problem. I don’t. So you need to troubleshoot the problem with YOUR PHONE. Apple can’t help unless you arrange for Apple to test and evaluate it.

As a start, Do you have a 3rd party VPN installed, even if you are not using it? If so, delete the VPN profile in Settings/General/VPN & Device Management/VPN, then restart your device. Don't just turn it off; delete the profile. If that fixes it, you can try reinstalling VPN, but probably shouldn't.

It 100% is a software issue

I placed my sim in another phone and was able to use the hotspot services freely with no issue

I am using the hotspot connection from that same phone which I placed my sim in(to prove its not a carrier issue) to send this message

Gobbledee wrote:

Can you please stop suggesting users compromise the security of their phones by deleting VPN profiles?

Lots of people don't really understand VPNs and think they add to security in ways they do not. Deleting VPNs does not compromise security.

Don't Use VPN Services

This wasn’t an issue before iOS 26, and it should not be an issue now. Besides, your solution simply does not work.

Yes, it quite possible that a VPN wasn't properly updated to run under iOS 26 and that would cause a problem. And yes, removing them has resolved the problem for some people.

It is likely that what we're seeing is different problems with the same symptoms.

I strongly recommend you update to iOS 26.0.1.

khizer276 wrote:

Same issue i have done every possible thing to fix this problem but its not solved its totally a software issue apple needs to fix this in an update even though i installed 26.0.1 latest update

Tell Apple:

Product Feedback - Apple

Installed IOS 26.0.1 on October 4th and also noted that the Personal Hotspot is greyed out and inaccessable on Iphone 16 Pro Max. Worked before on IOS 18.x.x

Not a VPN issue, carrier issue, or configuration issue. IOS 26.0.1 broke this feature. Hopefully Apple will pay attention to this thread and fix the issue for the Iphone 16 with eSim's.

Contact your carrier and have them take a look at your account.

VPN is not responsible for ALL connectivity issues, only about 90% of them. So deleting the VPN profile (not the app) is a first troubleshooting step for any connectivity issue. If yours is among the other 10% then additional troubleshooting is required.

And, as Bob Timmons posted, using a VPN is LESS secure than not having a VPN→VPN: What you need to know - Apple Community

after setting access point (APN) worked fine

lilRichard wrote:

This is absolutely a software issue. Anyone saying differently is incorrect. Apple needs to fix this in an update.

Have you spoken to Apple? Given them feedback?

Product Feedback - Apple

It nearly had me downgrade tonight

Good luck with that.

Same issue. And no, removing VPN not only fails to fix this issue, but is also an absurd recommendation from a security standpoint, especially if you ever use public WiFi (like sitting in an airport).

Hotspot was one of my most used features prior to getting the iOS 26 update. It’s now greyed out and no amount of restarting, resetting network settings, uninstalling VPN profiles, or any of these other suggestions work.

This absolutely started with the hideous iOS 26 update.