Level 1

25 points

iOS 26 update breaks personal hotspot on iPhone 16 Pro Max

Hello,

After updating my iPhone 16 Pro Max to iOS 26, I can no longer use Personal Hotspot. In Settings, the option shows as “Personal Hotspot – Off” and it is grayed out.

I already tried:

Restarting the iPhone
Turning Airplane Mode on/off
Resetting Cellular and Wi-Fi connections
Updating Carrier Settings (no update available)
Changing Hotspot password and device name

But the issue is still there. My carrier plan includes hotspot, and it was working normally before updating to iOS 26.

Is anyone else facing the same issue? Any fix or workaround until Apple releases a patch?

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Original Title: Personal hotspot

iPhone 16 Pro Max, iOS 26

Posted on Sep 23, 2025 12:33 PM

Top-ranking reply

NateMekonnen

Level 1

14 points

Posted on Oct 5, 2025 11:35 AM

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.

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53 replies

Alhues

Level 1

14 points

Nov 13, 2025 3:34 AM in response to NateMekonnen

This worked. Thank you

Nov 14, 2025 3:05 AM in response to NateMekonnen

Thank you! This happened also to me, iPhone 15 Pro Max with iOS26.1. Before the update I never, never, had to setup these things by hand...

Jeff Donald

Level 8

45,294 points

Oct 5, 2025 11:47 AM in response to MatrixPC

Just for the record, and so you can be proactive, Apple Support does not participate in the forums or review the threads. In fact as a former Apple employee, we were prohibited from even visiting the forums.

If you want Apple to “pay attention” to the issue, open a support ticket and follow up every week until the issue is escalated to engineering.

If you’re in the US please call 1-800-MY-APPLE or outside the US, consult the support articles below. In Canada call 1-800-263-3394

Contact Apple for support and service - Apple Support

Genius Bar Reservation and Apple Support Options - Apple

Oct 8, 2025 9:05 PM in response to MmFf05

Same issue, tried all suggested solutions…

what does work is force restart phone, and quickly connect to hotspot when it reboots….

Pain in the bum, but has been working, and connection remains… once disconnected. Problem reoccurs….

Oct 8, 2025 9:25 PM in response to MmFf05

Yeah, you’re not alone — the iOS 26 update breaks Personal Hotspot for a bunch of people. My iPhone 16 Pro Max started doing the same thing right after the update — the toggle’s just gray and stuck on “Off.”

What helped me (temporarily) was going to Settings → Cellular → Personal Hotspot, turning Maximize Compatibility off and on again, then rebooting. Weirdly, it came back for a while. Another trick: remove your carrier profile (Settings → General → About → Carrier → tap “Remove”) and let it reinstall after a restart.

But honestly, this looks like a carrier-profile bug inside iOS 26, not your plan. For now, the only real fix is waiting for Apple’s patch — tons of users reporting that iOS 26 update breaks Personal Hotspot completely.

ChrisN40

Level 1

32 points

Sep 29, 2025 12:44 PM in response to MmFf05

I’m experiencing the same problem. Personal Hotspot remains grayed out after updating to iOS 26.0.1.

ChrisN40

Level 1

32 points

Sep 30, 2025 8:24 AM in response to ChrisN40

Update: The issue was actually with my carrier. They replaced my SIM with a new one, and now Personal Hotspot works perfectly.

Nov 11, 2025 10:01 AM in response to NateMekonnen

Thanks thats works for me as well

iOS 26 update breaks personal hotspot on iPhone 16 Pro Max