Hotspot turned on by another ios device

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Level 4

1,390 points

Hotspot turned on by another ios device

There are plenty of posts about Hotspot not working. I have the opposite complaint. Somewhere along the way iOS changed to enable my iPad to turn on the Hotspot on my iPhone even though the iPhone has the Hotspot setting set to off. The main problem is that the iPhone hotspot turns on and stays on. That is crazy! I used up all my data allowance one time because the network order on my iMac had the iPhone at the top (now fixed but so annoying). I now leave Hotspot off but just found that the iPad can over-ride this.

Grrr

iMac (27-inch, Late 2012), OS X Yosemite (10.10.4), null

Posted on Jun 22, 2017 1:14 AM

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Answer 1

LACAllen

Level 8

43,596 points

Nov 11, 2017 1:09 PM in response to Michael Paine

Does the other device use the same Apple ID? Is Bluetooth enabled on both devices?

If so, this is a feature known as Instant Hotspot and is part of Continuity.

Use Continuity to connect your Mac, iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Apple Watch - Apple Support

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Answer 2

Michael Paine Author

Level 4

1,390 points

Nov 13, 2017 10:51 PM in response to Michael Paine

Things have got even more complicated! It seems that turning wifi (and blutooth) off in Control Centre is now only temporary. You need to go to settings to turn them off “permanently” (unless you hotspot from another Apple device)

Grrr

https://www.macrumors.com/2017/11/13/ios-11-2-beta-3-control-center-explanations /

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Answer 3

Michael Paine Author

Level 4

1,390 points

Jun 22, 2017 2:44 PM in response to AKRBTN

So how do I set my iPhone so that Hotspot can never be turned on remotely by another iOS device?

The point is that tapping the iPhone Hotspot listed in the iPad wifi settings automatically turns that hotspot on, even though the iPhone has Hotspot turned off. Furthermore there is no ability to turn it off remotely.

Fortunately the iPhone hotspot only appears in the iPad wifi list if it has previously connected to that iPhone (using a password) but this does not prevent inadvertent activation.

I am using the latest iOS.

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Answer 4

Michael Paine Author

Level 4

1,390 points

Oct 19, 2017 9:53 PM in response to Michael Paine

This unwanted "feature" still happens with 10.3.3. - Grrr

Just be aware that if you grant soemone hotspot access (eg doing them a favour) then they can remotely turn on and use your hotspot whenever they like.

Not updating to ios11 just yet (because I am trying to find replacements for 32 bit apps ) but my guess is that it will still happen with ios11

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Answer 5

Michael Paine Author

Level 4

1,390 points

Nov 11, 2017 12:46 PM in response to Michael Paine

This still happens with ios11. It will even turn on wifi on my iphone remotely.

Some people might like this “feature” but at the very least the Hotspot settings on my iPhone should give a choice such as “Allow remote activation of Hotspot?”

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Answer 6

LACAllen

Level 8

43,596 points

Nov 11, 2017 11:21 PM in response to Michael Paine

Then you need to report your wish to the only channel you have.

Feedback for Apple goes here >>> http://www.apple.com/feedback/

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Answer 7

Michael Paine Author

Level 4

1,390 points

Jun 22, 2017 2:52 AM in response to Ella Fitzgerald

Yes - but my issue is that I can accidentally turn Hotspot on from another device. It over-rides my settings on the iPhone.

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Answer 8

Michael Paine Author

Level 4

1,390 points

Nov 11, 2017 11:16 PM in response to LACAllen

Thanks for that clarification. But I still want the option to disable the “feature”

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Answer 9

Michael Paine Author

Level 4

1,390 points

Nov 13, 2017 12:55 AM in response to LACAllen

Already done - thank you

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Answer 10

AKRBTN

Level 6

8,881 points

Jun 22, 2017 4:36 AM in response to Ella Fitzgerald

Yes, my hotspot appears on my iPad in Settings-Wifi. It's listed with the nearby wifi hotspots. I think it's intended behaviour. If you want to use the hotspot, tap on it; if you don't then don't tap on it.

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Answer 11

Jun 22, 2017 1:29 AM in response to Michael Paine

Have you seen this article Share your Internet connection with Personal Hotspot - Apple Support? it may help you.

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Answer 12

Jun 22, 2017 4:24 AM in response to Michael Paine

There was a bug spotted in iOS 10.1.1 for which 10.3.2 was released that addresses this issue. It would be a suggestion to update it to the newest version in order to fix this issue.

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