Tim Klein

Q: Instant Hotspot / Personal Hotspot Not Functioning Correctly

Repost due to header spelling fail... Sorry!


Performed the iOS update to 8.1 and the instant hotspot isn't functioning. Whenever I try to connect from my MacBook I get the error: Failed to enable Personal Hotspot on "Tim's iPhone" - Check to see if the tethering device is turned on and in range of your computer.

 

I've reset the network settings on the iPhone, cleared all of my saved networks on my MacBook to try to get it back to a semi-reset state (though I did a full drive erase and installed Yosemite from scratch so I can't imagine my settings are very far from virgin state yet) but I'm still unable to connect unless I manually turn on the Personal Hotspot on the iPhone first (even then, connecting is a bit hit and miss which was never a problem before). Restarting each device multiple times and logging into and out of the iCloud account on each device hasn't changed anything.

 

Even worse is that, prior to upgrading from 8.0.2, the feature worked perfectly between my iPad and my iPhone. It even shut the personal hotspot off as soon as you disconnected from the iPhone. Now, it's hit and miss as well; Connecting every 3rd or 4th try but leaving Personal Hotspot "on" on my iPhone after disconnection.

 

The smooth experience between my iPad and iPhone is what gave me such high expectations for the Yosemite release. Now I'm sitting here with that still not functioning and the original experience gone. How disappointing.

 

---

Tim

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X Yosemite (10.10)

Posted on Oct 20, 2014 2:18 PM

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Q: Instant Hotspot / Personal Hotspot Not Functioning Correctly

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  • by Alan Tocheri,

    Alan Tocheri Alan Tocheri Nov 19, 2014 1:49 PM in response to Marc0janssen
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 19, 2014 1:49 PM in response to Marc0janssen

    Worked like a charm MarcOjanssen !

     

    I was only haven't a problem with auto hotspot and not handoff. Seems to be showing up without a problem now. Go figure. Thanks!

  • by ridedontslide,

    ridedontslide ridedontslide Nov 19, 2014 2:00 PM in response to sammiemo
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 19, 2014 2:00 PM in response to sammiemo

    Yes.  Please think about it folks - same WiFi network obviously cannot be a requirement for Instant Hotspot.  If it is a requirement, the functionality is designed poorly because if I am on WiFi why on earth would I need to enable an Instant Hotspot?  I'm sure there are a few exceptions, but more often than not when I need Instant Hotspot is when NEITHER device is on WiFi.

     

    I believe people are confusing Instant Hotspot (bluetooth requirement) with Call & Text Continuity (wifi requirement).

     

    As an update to everyone I could not get my 2014 Macbook Retina to work at all with my devices.  They would show up in the list, but could not enable.  iOS to iOS functionality has always been fine.  I got mine working two days ago by doing this and it still works today:

     

    1.  Click on WiFi on Macbook and record the name of my iPhone exactly.

    2.  Change name of iPhone in Settings - General - About to some other name

    3.  Went back to WiFi on Macbook, searched again, still found old name even though I just changed it

    4.  Went back to iPhone and changed name back to this original name (Settings - General - About)

    5.  Connected Macbook to this device in WiFi list

     

    Maybe this fixes a few other people.  This also still works after the OS X 10.1 update.  I did not have to log out if iCloud for this method. 

  • by sammiemo,

    sammiemo sammiemo Nov 19, 2014 2:36 PM in response to ridedontslide
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 19, 2014 2:36 PM in response to ridedontslide

    ridedontslide wrote:


    As an update to everyone I could not get my 2014 Macbook Retina to work at all with my devices.  They would show up in the list, but could not enable.  iOS to iOS functionality has always been fine.  I got mine working two days ago by doing this and it still works today:

     

    1.  Click on WiFi on Macbook and record the name of my iPhone exactly.

    2.  Change name of iPhone in Settings - General - About to some other name

    3.  Went back to WiFi on Macbook, searched again, still found old name even though I just changed it

    4.  Went back to iPhone and changed name back to this original name (Settings - General - About)

    5.  Connected Macbook to this device in WiFi list

     

    Maybe this fixes a few other people.  This also still works after the OS X 10.1 update.  I did not have to log out if iCloud for this method.

     

    I've had temporary success in the past, but I thought, now that I've updated iOS and OS X to the latest versions, I'd need to retry the whole gamut of things that have worked for others. Reseting network settings, signing out of icloud, etc. No luck.

     

    Then I read the steps ridedontslide listed, and here were my results:

    1. Clicked on WiFi on Macbook and recorded the name of my iOS device exactly
    2. Changed name of my iOS device in Settings - General - About
    3. Went back to WiFi on Macbook, searched again, and found that the name of my iOS device was the current name.
    4. Clicked on the new device, and I successfully connected.

     

    I'll keep the group posted on whether these steps create a lasting solution for me, but for those still having issues, ridedontslide's tip is worth a try. If you see your iOS device update in the WiFi list right away, try to connect and see if it will work for you without following the rest of the steps.

  • by Sohrab Rafie,

    Sohrab Rafie Sohrab Rafie Nov 21, 2014 12:21 AM in response to Tim Klein
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 21, 2014 12:21 AM in response to Tim Klein

    Please follow these steps:

     

    Turn off iCloud on your iphone

    Turn off iCloud on your Mac

    Restart your iPhone

    Log in to your iCloud account on both devices

     

    This will solve your issue

  • by sammiemo,

    sammiemo sammiemo Nov 21, 2014 4:11 AM in response to Sohrab Rafie
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 21, 2014 4:11 AM in response to Sohrab Rafie

    Sohrab Rafie wrote:

     

    Please follow these steps:

     

    Turn off iCloud on your iphone

    Turn off iCloud on your Mac

    Restart your iPhone

    Log in to your iCloud account on both devices

     

    This will solve your issue

    Those steps didn't solve my issue, but adding a few steps to that did. Here's what worked for me after trying the steps you listed.

    1. Clicked on WiFi on Macbook and recorded the name of my iOS device exactly
    2. Changed name of my iOS device in Settings - General - About
    3. Went back to WiFi on Macbook, searched again, and found that the name of my iOS device was the current name.
    4. Clicked on the new device, and I successfully connected.
  • by morayshire,

    morayshire morayshire Nov 21, 2014 6:39 AM in response to sammiemo
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Nov 21, 2014 6:39 AM in response to sammiemo

    I'm A bit puzzled... My understanding is wifi hotspots is meant to work automatically without needing any input from the user. You just swiitch on the iPad and hotspots will find the iPhone, and fire up wifi hotspots... Or at least that is the way I understood from the keynote. Am I wrong?

    what I find is this: the way it works for me is this, I switch on wifi hotspot on my iPhone, then I switch on Bluetooth and wifi on my iPad mini. In the menu, a window with the Personal Hotspots shows but this is where it deviates from what I thought I should do, it connects, thinks about it for a few secons and then slides up to the connected list ano just looks like any other wifi connection. Should this happen or should it stay as the Personal Hotspot?

    either way, I have to do that every time with the only difference from old is it connects a little quicker without needing to switch hotspots on and off between sessions.

    I can work with it as is but hopefully it'll get fixed soon.

  • by zskyline,

    zskyline zskyline Nov 23, 2014 4:44 PM in response to Tim Klein
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 23, 2014 4:44 PM in response to Tim Klein

    Thanks Tim!

     

    I tried everything, trying to get my new rMBP to Hotspot with my iPhone 6 & 6 Plus.  Then I tried your solution and it worked like a charm!

     

    Thanks again

  • by cognerd,

    cognerd cognerd Nov 24, 2014 1:36 PM in response to Tim Klein
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 24, 2014 1:36 PM in response to Tim Klein

    I still have this exact problem. Both the USB method and Bluetooth will work but they are so much more cumbersome and/or slower.

  • by sammiemo,

    sammiemo sammiemo Nov 24, 2014 1:40 PM in response to sammiemo
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 24, 2014 1:40 PM in response to sammiemo

    sammiemo wrote:

     

     

    I'll keep the group posted on whether these steps create a lasting solution for me, but for those still having issues, ridedontslide's tip is worth a try. If you see your iOS device update in the WiFi list right away, try to connect and see if it will work for you without following the rest of the steps.

     

    Using ridedontslide's tip worked for a few days, but once again I can't use personal hotspot apart from connecting via USB tethering.

  • by carl32,

    carl32 carl32 Nov 26, 2014 1:02 AM in response to Tim Klein
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Nov 26, 2014 1:02 AM in response to Tim Klein

    Jaij!! This worked for me too!

    Sitting with Yosemite 10.1.1 and iOS 8.1.1 - Did your mentioned procedure on both iPhone 5s and Air 2 tablet.. Thanks!

  • by AceNeerav,

    AceNeerav AceNeerav Dec 2, 2014 8:57 PM in response to carl32
    Level 1 (107 points)
    Apple Music
    Dec 2, 2014 8:57 PM in response to carl32

    i keep on getting this...

     

    Screen Shot 2014-12-03 at 10.26.03 am.png

     

    bascially i no longer want to rely on any new software feature in the ios introduced in a major update... until the next major update!

     

    guys i suggest we all wait till ios 9 and the thing will be solved.

  • by Taroqro,

    Taroqro Taroqro Dec 12, 2014 11:56 PM in response to Tim Klein
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 12, 2014 11:56 PM in response to Tim Klein

    Thank you for posting this procedure.

     

    I was skeptical at first because I tried some of them individually before without any success.But I decided to follow your steps exactly as specified, and it worked!

     

    My setup: Macbook pro retina, 2012  x  iphone6 plus

     

    I'm very happy since I've been banging my head against a wall ever since I upgraded to Yosemite.

     

    Thanks again.

     

    --Taroqro

  • by Kibby the Cabbit,

    Kibby the Cabbit Kibby the Cabbit Dec 13, 2014 8:10 AM in response to Taroqro
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Dec 13, 2014 8:10 AM in response to Taroqro

    Taroqro, I would like to know what steps you used that you got it to work.

     

    And now, is it still working after time has passed (like now)?

  • by sra80,

    sra80 sra80 Dec 15, 2014 5:02 AM in response to Tim Klein
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 15, 2014 5:02 AM in response to Tim Klein

    Thanks Tim, I just reset the network settings on my iPhone and nothing else which seemed to solve the problem for me.

  • by Bazmanian,

    Bazmanian Bazmanian Jan 14, 2015 3:16 AM in response to Tim Klein
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 14, 2015 3:16 AM in response to Tim Klein

    Thanks!  All I had to do was reset my network settings...  and reliably activates my hotspot.

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