How to Fix Personal Hotspot Not Showing Up on iPhone

Enable your personal Hotspot again on iPhone

Co-authored by Rain Kengly Reviewed by Stan Kats

Last Updated: October 24, 2024 Fact Checked

Is your Hotspot not appearing on your iPhone? Whether you're sharing your iPhone Hotspot or trying to use someone else's, there are a few ways to get it up and running again. Here's what to do if your iPhone Hotspot is not showing up.

1

Make sure Hotspot is enabled.

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Double-check that Hotspot is turned on. Also, make sure the password is correct when sharing with others. Do the following:
- Open Settings.
- Tap Personal Hotspot.
- Toggle on Allow Others to Join.
  - If this is already turned on, toggle it off and then on again.

2

Restart your iPhone.

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Whether it's your iPhone that won't show your Hotspot or someone else's, restarting your device can usually fix simple software bugs.

3

Toggle Cellular Data on and off.

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You must have working cellular data to use Hotspot. Sometimes, toggling this feature off and on can get it working again. Do the following:
- Open Settings.
- Tap Cellular.
- Toggle off Cellular.
- Toggle on Cellular.

4

Make sure you're within range.

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If a Hotspot network isn't popping up, make sure both devices are on and within range of each other. Try connecting with both devices side-by-side.

5

Turn off Low Power mode.

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Disable Low Power mode. This feature reduces some functions to optimize performance. However, it may affect your Hotspot. To turn off Low Power mode, do the following:
- Open Settings.
- Tap Battery.
- Toggle off Low Power Mode.

6

Check for carrier updates.

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Carrier updates are a bit more rare, but it's possible you may have a new update available.^{[1]
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Research source} To manually update your carrier settings, do the following:
- Open Settings.
- Tap General.
- Tap About.
- If there's an update available, you'll see it next to Carrier update.

7

Update your iPhone.

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Keep your iPhone up-to-date. Similar to when your iPhone experiences other issues, you may be due for a software update. Do the following:
- Go to Settings.
- Tap General.
- Tap Software Update.
- Tap Download and Install.

8

Reset your Network Settings.

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Keep in mind this will also erase any saved Wi-Fi networks and cellular settings, so you'll need to set those up again later.^{[2]
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- Open Settings.
- Tap General.
- Tap Transfer or Reset iPhone.
- Tap Reset.
- Tap Reset Network Settings.

9

Contact Apple.

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Contact Apple support for help. This may be a hardware issue, and you may still be covered by Apple's warranty.^{[3]
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- You can contact Apple on their website at https://getsupport.apple.com/.