BrianInBS Author

Level 1

42 points

iOS 12 and Instant Hotspot Not Working

I'm wondering if this is a problem for anyone else. and maybe offer a suggestion how to fix it.

Here's what I have:

iPhone 6s Plus - iOS 12

iPad Pro 9.5 - iOS 12

MacBook Pro - MacOS Mojave 10.14

All using the same iCloud account

When I try to use my iPhone hotspot, my iPad refuses to connect. I can see the iPhone available on iPad under Personal Hotspot, but when I try to connect to the hotspot it tries for a bit then returns an error "Unable to start personal hotspot "Brian's iPhone". I have tried starting with spot off and on.

Note: before the iOS 12 upgrade, I was able to connect, but it usually took more than one attempt.

Also note: earlier today when I tried connecting to the iPhone with my MacBook I successful.

My research has lead me to try the following multiple times (with no success):

Log out/in of iCloud on iPhone and iPad

Reset network settings on both iPhone and iPad

Reset all settings (factory reset) on iPhone and iPad

Is there some trick to get this to work?

Is there something anyone can suggest I may have not tried?

Any advice and suggestions are welcome and appreciated.

Thanks in advanced.

Brian

MacBook Pro with Retina display, macOS Mojave (10.14)

Posted on Sep 27, 2018 10:39 AM

Top-ranking reply

Cheakk

Level 1

9 points

Posted on Oct 15, 2018 10:24 AM

What worked for me was to delete a lot of old hotspot passwords that had accumulated over the years in my iCloud account.

I did the following on my Mac and now my phone appears at the top of the Wifi list (not sure which of these steps was the one that actually fixed it):

On a Mac that has iCloud Keychain enabled (so that passwords sync with iCloud):

-Open Network Preferences->Wifi>Advanced..., then delete all old Wifi Hotspot entries (iPhone, XXX's iPhone,...)

-Open the Keychain Access app and delete all iPhone HotSpot passwords from iCloud. (An easy way to do this is to enter iPhone using the search field, but don't just delete everything indiscriminately--you are looking for entries like "XXX's iPhone 6s" which are listed as "Application Password" in the System or iCloud Keychain). It can also be helpful to search on the "Date Modified" column so you can easily see which entries may be ancient.

After I cleared all of these stored passwords, my phone immediately appeared at the top of the Wifi connection list. I don't have an iPad, but I suspect that deleting these passwords from iCloud could help with your situation too.

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76 replies

Vito1964

Level 1

9 points

Jan 2, 2019 11:57 AM in response to nike devid

Thanks for the link. All of these methods have been used. Some do work but only temporary. The next day or even sometimes hours later it’s back to the same problem.

galooper

Level 1

4 points

Jan 28, 2019 6:10 AM in response to Cheakk

Thank you, I follow all your steps and its works !!!!!

Feb 28, 2019 3:02 PM in response to torpidlittle

Same here, frustrating...

Mar 19, 2019 4:25 PM in response to BrianInBS

I am having issues as well I just updated to iOS 12.2 yesterday and still not work on iPad it Randomly Disconnects it on me 😡 we are camping

may get a wifi hotspot device

Mar 24, 2019 3:07 AM in response to BrianInBS

Same here with my iPhone 8 and IPad Air two everyday I am currently facing this issue

iOS 12.2 beta currenty in use

waiting for iOS 13

AgnesCQF

Level 1

4 points

Mar 24, 2019 7:20 PM in response to BrianInBS

Does anyone have the solution for this issues already?

Vonavin

Level 1

4 points

Apr 29, 2019 7:15 PM in response to MF47

Weird but it did the trick for me :/

May 14, 2019 7:34 AM in response to Vonavin

I'm still having the issue with iOS 12.3 :(

May 21, 2019 12:19 AM in response to torpidlittle

I too :( 12.3 :((((((

Jan 15, 2019 6:13 AM in response to Cheakk

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.

Oct 1, 2018 8:22 AM in response to BrianInBS

Do you have Wifi & Bluetooth enabled on all devices?

Instant Hotspot, not Personal Hotspot, is a Continuity feature reliant on Wifi & Bluetooth being on.

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

BrianInBS Author

Level 1

42 points

Oct 19, 2018 1:17 PM in response to torpidlittle

there is in fact at least one open case for this. mine.

If you someone wants to take a look at one of my earlier posts to this thread, you will see I have reported this and spoken to senior tech support specialist.

While I was on the phone with her, she was able to confirm with the engineers this is a known issue some people have been experiencing. and they are currently working on a solution. She later confirmed this has something to do with the handoff feature not working correctly.

Someone in this thread earlier mentioned a workaround which involved turning off bluetooth on the iPhone, and manacling switching on hotspot. The iPhone then appears as a regular wifi available to the iPad.

I confirmed earlier today this solution does in fact work for me.

The only part of this which seems to be affected in the handoff which works, through bluetooth, switches on and connects the wifi between the 2 devices.

Oct 21, 2018 7:48 PM in response to BrianInBS

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.

nys43

Level 1

8 points

Dec 22, 2018 5:02 PM in response to BrianInBS

The following is worth trying and checking:

Open Settings -> Mobile Data -> Mobile Data Network
Check the APN/Username/Password settings under "Mobile Data" (most of the time username and password - if used - are identical, if not search APN settings on your provider's homepage)
Enter the same settings under "Personal Hotspot" further down on the same settings page
Return to Settings Menu
Switch Mobile Hotspot off and on
Connect to your Hotspot -> Internet on your computer should be working now

Jan 15, 2019 7:41 AM in response to Great Wizard

Same for me

iPhone 7 Plus - iOS 12.1.2

and MacBook Pro mid 2012 - High Sierra

what is the solution ?

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iOS 12 and Instant Hotspot Not Working