Doug Lerner2
Level 4 (1,079 points)
Desktops

Q: Why does my iPad connect to my iPhone personal hotspot even though I turned the hotspot off?

I just noticed this and think it's very strange, so thought I would ask here.

 

I have an iPhone 6 Plus and iPad Air, but running iOS 10.

 

I was checking my iPad wi-fi connection and noticed that "Doug's iPhone 6 Plus" appeared as a choice, even though I have Personal Hotspot turned off on my iPhone.

 

Out of curiosity I selected it and my iPhone's personal hotspot turned itself on and let my iPad connect.

 

That was really strange I thought.

 

Then I turned the personal hotspot off again and changed the password to see what would happen. I figured that at the minimum if my iPad managed to turn my hotspot on again automatically that at least I would be asked for the password on my iPad. But again it turned the hotspot on and automatically connected - without even asking for the new password.

 

I think it's weird that the personal hotspot should automatically get turned on like that. Why does that happen? If it's turned off shouldn't it be off?

MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Late 2013), i5, 512 GB SSD, 16 GB RAM

Posted on Oct 22, 2016 6:26 PM

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Doug Lerner2

Q: Why does my iPad connect to my iPhone personal hotspot even though I turned the hotspot off?

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  • by Demo,

    Demo Demo Oct 22, 2016 7:06 PM in response to Doug Lerner2
    Level 10 (96,032 points)
    iPad
    Oct 22, 2016 7:06 PM in response to Doug Lerner2

    Doug Lerner2 wrote:

     

    Still, it seems my iPad shouldn't be allowed to turn on my wi-fi hotspot.

    I Agree. Sometimes, I think that Apple thinks, that we all think like they do.

  • by ADAMdotK,

    ADAMdotK ADAMdotK Oct 22, 2016 7:06 PM in response to Demo
    Level 2 (326 points)
    Apple Music
    Oct 22, 2016 7:06 PM in response to Demo

    That can be an issue when you - like me - use the Apple Watch to unlock your mac

  • by Doug Lerner2,

    Doug Lerner2 Doug Lerner2 Oct 23, 2016 6:00 PM in response to Demo
    Level 4 (1,079 points)
    Desktops
    Oct 23, 2016 6:00 PM in response to Demo

    I just finished a longer-than-necessary AppleCare chat with a senior advisor about this. The bottom line is that they say this is normal and the support page is written poorly and they said they would clarify it.

     

    In the section on "Set Up Instant Hotspot" where it says the personal hotspot must be on they are now saying that all that means is that the personal hotspot must have been turned on at least once and used before.

     

    Yes, I know that sounds strange. But that's what they told me.

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