iOS 12 and Instant Hotspot Not Working

Had same issue, to reslolve it I had to change network from LTE back to 3G as before iOS 12 update network was on 3G and changed after update, settings mobile data, options. I changed back to 3G roaming, hope it works.

I am having the same problem with my iPad but I have a pc not a Mac so I cannot troubleshoot with another device. What I have found is that you can connect to the phone via Bluetooth and that will let you tether to you’re hotspot the same way. It’s a bit annoying but a decent workaround nonetheless. Hope this helps until the issue is resolved.

Hi all,

I talked to the Apple technician and he told me that iOS 12.1 update gonna fix the problem, but nothing changed...

I updated both my iPad and my iPhone to iOS 12.1 and I still have the same issue with Instant Hotspot... 😟

I have the same issue, however mine didn't present until after updating my mac to 10.14.1.

Now, the only way to connect to the hotspot on my phone is to:

1. Go to hotspot in my phone, and enable it.

2. On the mac click on the wifi button in the system menu, and quickly, before the mac decides it's a personal hotspot, locate the phone in the list of hotspots in the menu and select it.

I find this works every time; though it's a complete nuisance. The personal hotspot is a great feature when it works, though I note that (similarly to what was reported above), even when it does work, the actual connection can take upwards of 10-15 seconds to establish. If I bypass the personal hotspot using the steps I've listed above, the connection is instantaneous. Why the personal hotspot is so slow to establish, even when it's working, is beyond me.

I have had exactly the same problem, but here's what I think may have fixed it: rather than sign out of iCloud, which is a pain, try resetting your Apple ID password, which I think signs you out of iCloud anyway - since you have to sign back in with the new password. But there's no hassle in terms of losing data, making copies, etc. Since I did that, my iPhone XS Max instant hotspot has been showing up every time, without exception.

Does this work for anyone else, or am I imagining things?

Same here, iOS 12.1 on iOS devices and Mojave 10.14.1 and Instant Hotspot is all messed up. Using iPhone Xs, iPhone 7, iPad Pro 11 cellular and MacBook Pro

MacBook sees and connects successfully to all devices through Instant Hotspot, iPhone Xs sees only the iPad and connects successfully but doesn’t see nor connect to anything else if other devices have personal hotspot toggled on it can detect said devices but fails to connect, iPhone 7 also only sees iPad and connects successfully to that but can connect to iPhone Xs if personal hotspot is toggled on. Basically big mess for me.

Hi,

I have the same issue with
iPhone SE (12.1)

iPad 2018 (12.1)

I get it on work with a hard reset of the iPhone only.

Since iOS 12 I have issues with icloud clipboard (handoff and airdrop is working well).

Hi

I had same type of problem also and this is the only thing that helped for me:

I have to go on my phone (iPhone 6 - iOS 12) under Settings/personal hotspot/ I have to select wi-fi password as if I wanted to change it and stay on this screen the connect my IPad and it will connect. After that I just have to leave (cancel) on the iPhone the password screen. Sometimes I have to do it twice

I had iOS 10 on my iPhone and had to do this every time with an old iPad.

Then with a new iPad (2018 - iOS 11) the problem disappeared

then I updated both to iOS 12 and problem was back.

Hope this wilol help some of you.

I installed iOS 12.1.1 and I still have the problem with my iPad Pro 9.7. Unable to use the "Instant Hotspot" between my iPad and my iPhone 6. My iMac can still connect via "Instant Hotspot" to my iPhone, but not my iPad.

I am a bit disappointed that there still doesn't seem to have any solution to this problem! :(

So my iPad has not been able to recognize my personal hotspot since iOS 12 was installed. I’ve tried resetting Moble settings on my iPhone Macx ...no banana. I’ve tried resetting ipad air 2 also and bingo but only temporarily. Next day same crap. Buggy software as always. Apple has really screwed up with iOS as with many other updates. Sometimes you’re better off waiting to see what bugs come with the latest software. It’s despicable that apple cant get their software right. As much as apple charges for their phones, you would think they could handle proper updates. I have to turn off my personal hotspot and turn it back on I order for it to show up on my iPad. I can reset my iPhone and get the personal hotspot to show temporarily but it’s not worth it because resetting my iPhone max will put my alarm clock sound back to default that’s pretty crappy and you can’t put it back to your desired alarm tone. It’s a discrace what apple has done with their updates. Unacceptable.

My fix was easy,

1- disable Bluetooth, wifi, personal hotspot and cellular Data

2- enable cellular Data then enable personal hotspot, when it asks to enable wifi and Bluetooth or USB choose wifi and Bluetooth

3- connect to the wifi network from the other devices, not to the instant hotspot

thanks

Thanks for this weird solution. I did this, and my iPhone started appearing again in the wifi list of my iPad. I tried all the troubleshooting steps I could think of, but I would have never considered erasing old passwords from keychain.

Addition to my last post:

Personal Hotspot with Bluetooth only without WiFi is of course very slow (about 0,3 MBits) so not a serious option. (except for power saving only)

If my Iphone Hotspot is set to Auto-Join, the IPad connects even with Bluetooth turned on.

(Wich is not possible when selecting Hotspot manually as described in post above)

But still: Instant Hotspot still not possible like in IOS 10 or 11.

Personal Hotspot has to turned ON all the time, and even then there are some quirks. Sad.