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ios 11 personal hotspot

iPhone 6s and iPad Air2 Wifi.


Before iOS 11 ….

  • With Personal Hotspot turned OFF on my iPhone
  • My iPad could see my iPhone in WiFi Settings under "Personal Hotspots"
  • By selecting my iPhone it would
    • Activate the Personal Hotspot on my iPhone
    • (no need to manually get my iPhone out and start it)
    • Connect to the personal hotspot to give me internet access.
    • Deactivate personal hotspot on my iPhone when I close the lid on my iPad.

After iOS 11 (including 11.2.6)

  • My iPad doesn't see my iPhone
  • Unless I manually turn on Personal Hotspot
  • Then it connects OK.

This is a hassle because:

  • To use the internet on my iPad
  • I have to first take the iPhone out.
  • Press, press, press …
  • And turn Personal Hotspot on
  • Then, when I've finished on the iPad
  • (Remember to) Get the iPhone out again
  • Press, press, press…
  • To turn Personal Hotspot off again.
  • (No, I don’t believe in leaving Personal Hotspot on permanently.)


Am I missing something or has functionality been removed in iOS 11?


Tried resetting networking on both devices. What a pain that was, and didn’t bring this really helpful functionality back.

Posted on Mar 12, 2018 7:21 PM

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5 replies

Mar 13, 2018 12:34 PM in response to SEDGE55

Hi SEDGE55,


I understand that, since upgrading to iOS 11, you're no longer able to connect to your iPhone's Personal Hotspot without manually enabling the feature on your iPhone each time. In this case, it can help to make sure that everything is configured correctly (as detailed below) for this functionality to work.

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


Let us know if this helps.


Cheers!

Mar 14, 2018 7:15 PM in response to SEDGE55

Steve,


Thanks for clearing that up for us. We can, indeed, verify that Personal Hotspot does work with iOS 11. As this appears to affect the various devices that would be connecting to your iPhone, a good place to start troubleshooting would be to re-install iOS on your iPhone. While this process shouldn't affect any data on the device, it would be wise to make sure that you've got a current backup ( How to back up your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch ).
  1. Make sure that you're using the latest version of iTunes.
  2. If iTunes is already open, close it. Connect your device to your computer and open iTunes. If you don't have a computer, borrow one from a friend or go to an Apple Retail Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider for help.
  3. While your device is connected, force restart it with these steps, but don't release the buttons when you see the Apple logo, wait until the connect to iTunes screen appears:
    • On an iPhone X, iPhone 8, or iPhone 8 Plus: Press and quickly release the Volume Up button. Press and quickly release the Volume Down button. Then, press and hold the Side button until you see the connect to iTunes screen.
    • On an iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus: Press and hold the Side and Volume Down buttons at the same time. Keep holding them until you see connect to iTunes screen.
    • On an iPhone 6s and earlier, iPad, or iPod touch: Press and hold both the Home and the Top (or Side) buttons at the same time. Keep holding them until you see the connect to iTunes screen.
      User uploaded file
  4. When you see the option to Restore or Update, choose Update. iTunes will try to reinstall iOS without erasing your data. Wait while iTunes downloads the software for your device. If the download takes more than 15 minutes and your device exits the connect to iTunes screen, let the download finish, then repeat step 3.
    User uploaded file
  5. After the Update or Restore completes, set up your device.

If you can‘t update or restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch


Sincerely.

Mar 13, 2018 10:36 PM in response to Joseph_S.

Hi Joseph


Yes, I have previously spent a lot of time checking all these things before asking the forum. The devices are not "paired" over Bluetooth, which I believe is correct.

- iPhone 6S with active 4G plan and data

- iPad Air 2 Wifi

- The iPad can use the iPhone Personal Hotspot if I manually turn it on on the iPhone.

- The iPad doesn't see the iPhone's Personal Hotspot if Personal Hotspot is turned off on the iPhone (after iOS 11. iPad could see iPhone with iOS 10).

- Bluetooth on on both devices

- Wifi on on both devices

- iPad previously manually connected to iPhone Personal Hotspot

- each device with the same Apple ID



I can also report that my wife and daughter each have the same devices and have the same problem.


Can I take it from your response that this feature should still work on iOS 11? Can you personally report an instance where you have seen my scenario working on the current version of iOS 11?


Thanks

Steve

Mar 18, 2018 9:59 PM in response to chuck_3rd

Thanks Alex


Before I go ahead with this tedious and potentially risky procedure I'd like to query a couple of things:

- I want to make absolutely clear that Personal Hotspot is working. What is NOT working since I upgraded to iOS 11 is the ability to access the PH on my iPhone from my iPad without manually activating if first (as per my original post). I specifically want to know if the feature I described still works in iOS 11.

- If the feature is supposed to be work and my situation is an aberration, I'd like to know how come my wife and daughter both have the exact same problem. Because I see the same change in behavior for all three of us since iOS 11 I'm having difficulty accepting that an iOS reload will be of help.


I'd particularly like to hear from someone who can specifically say either "yeah, I have the same problem" or "I use that scenario and it is working for me in iOS 11".


The scenario is:

- iPhone (6S) with SIM card and data plan working normally

- iPad (Air 2) Wifi only.

- Personal Hotspot turned off on the iPhone

- iPhone and iPad accessing the same Apple account

- Both devices with Bluetooth and Wifi turned on

- On the iPad:

- Go to Settings -> WiFi

- See your iPhone under "Personal Hotspots"

- Select your iPhone and connect (the PH activates automatically on your iPhone).

-When you finish using the iPad the PH on the iPhone turns off again.


Regards

Steve

Mar 24, 2018 9:27 PM in response to chuck_3rd

Thanks Alex


Performed the iOS update on my iPhone and still have the problem.

Performed the iOS update on my iPad and still have the problem.

Powered cycled iPhone and iPad and still have the problem.


This works with iOS 11:

- iPhone (6S) with SIM card and data plan working normally

- iPad (Air 2) Wifi only.

- Turn on Personal Hotspot (PH) on the iPhone

- Connect to the PH from the iPad and use the internet.


This is what worked prior to iOS 11 and doesn't work after:

- Personal Hotspot turned off on the iPhone

- iPhone and iPad accessing the same Apple account

- Both devices with Bluetooth and Wifi turned on

- On the iPad:

- Go to Settings -> WiFi

- See your iPhone under "Personal Hotspots"

- Select your iPhone and connect (the PH activates automatically on your iPhone).

-When you finish using the iPad the PH on the iPhone turns off again.


Regards

Steve

ios 11 personal hotspot

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