# Personal Hotspot and Wi-Fi



## csonni (Feb 8, 2001)

I've discovered that using Personal Hotspot on my iPhone with Wi-Fi is usually better for connecting my iPad and it (sometimes) connects automatically, Bluetooth requires a manual connection. Lately, though, I've been having turn toggle Wi-Fi on my iPad to detect my iPhone. I've also had to shut down my iPhone and boot it back up for my iPad to connect. Definitely a nuisance. Why can't Apple just get it to work consistently? What am I missing here that may be factored into all of this?


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## IllusionX (Mar 10, 2009)

You have to be on the hot spot screen for other devices to detect and to connect automatically.


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## SINC (Feb 16, 2001)

IllusionX said:


> You have to be on the hot spot screen for other devices to detect and to connect automatically.


Not so in my case. I commonly use my iPhone to connect and am in messages or mail on it which never affects my signal to connect or disconnect. I can connect and disconnect at will no matter what screen is on my iPhone 5. Nor was it necessary on my iPhone 4 previously. Each phone connects automatically on any screen provided hot spot is turned on. YMMV.


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## csonni (Feb 8, 2001)

Mine connected a couple of times without being in the Hotspot screen. And this is what I'm saying. There seems to be no consistency here. It works sometimes but not others, with no clue of why it does or doesn't connect.


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## IllusionX (Mar 10, 2009)

my hotspot has never been discoverable unless i am on the screen. Once connected, then i can do anything i want without affecting the connected devices.

my wife's iphone 4 will not connect back to my hotspot if it went on prolonged sleep, so i have to bring the screen back up so it is discoverable.

I'm not sure why it is inconsistent for you guys, it always worked like this for me. At least, with ios 6.1.x. I haven't had the need to use the hotspot with ios7.. will try it, maybe they've changed it since..


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## csonni (Feb 8, 2001)

With my new iPhone 6, WiFi and Personal Hotspot work perfectly with me having to even take the iPhone out of my pocket. My iPad just connects.


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## dona83 (Jun 26, 2005)

Wifi hotspot required input from the host for me. With Bluetooth, I just connect from the device I want connected. Easier.


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## csonni (Feb 8, 2001)

Lately, in El Capitan, I'm having troubles connecting my Mac to my iPhone. It takes forever for it to show in my Wifi networks, and then, when it does, I'm told it can't connect and offered to run diagnostics. I have to reboot the iPhone usually to get it to connect.


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## SINC (Feb 16, 2001)

csonni said:


> Lately, in El Capitan, I'm having troubles connecting my Mac to my iPhone. It takes forever for it to show in my Wifi networks, and then, when it does, I'm told it can't connect and offered to run diagnostics. I have to reboot the iPhone usually to get it to connect.


I have the identical issue with my iPhone 6S and El Capitan. Takes forever to connect and in my case when it does not, rebooting the MBP allows it to connect, but again after up to two minutes to connect to see the iPhone symbol in the menu line. All the time it is searching on the MBP, the iPhone itself says one connection across the top of the screen in white on blue as if it is connected. Then some times it really does connect and some times it does not even though the MBP states it is connected. Launch Safari and I get the "you are not connected to the internet" screen. Very frustrating.


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## WCraig (Jul 28, 2004)

On your Mac, go into System Preferences > Network, make sure Wi-Fi is selected and click Advanced... Under Preferred Networks, make sure your wifi hotspot is near the top of the list. Otherwise, your computer is probably wasting time trying to connect to some weak network.

Craig


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## SINC (Feb 16, 2001)

My iPhone was third on the list. Moved it to second and will see what happens.


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## csonni (Feb 8, 2001)

Thanks for that tip. Just did that. We'll see how it goes tomorrow on the road.


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## csonni (Feb 8, 2001)

Worked perfectly this morning. Thank you.


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## SINC (Feb 16, 2001)

SINC said:


> My iPhone was third on the list. Moved it to second and will see what happens.


It does connect now, but WIFI still takes nearly a full minute to find my iPhone with the phone a foot away from the MBP.


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## csonni (Feb 8, 2001)

Back to same old this morning. Required a restart of the iPhone again. This seems to tell me that the trouble is with iOS.


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## SINC (Feb 16, 2001)

my 6S requires a restart each time I use Personal Hotspot now.


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## WCraig (Jul 28, 2004)

SINC said:


> my 6S requires a restart each time I use Personal Hotspot now.


Have you tried turning Personal Hotspot off and then back on? 

Also, if you have your phone on (and maybe the Personal Hotspot settings panel open) BEFORE you wake your Mac, it may connect right away. When I had trouble, it was always trying to connect to a sleeping phone.

Craig


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## csonni (Feb 8, 2001)

Connected perfectly today. I'll try turning it on before attempting to connect.


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## SINC (Feb 16, 2001)

WCraig said:


> Have you tried turning Personal Hotspot off and then back on?
> 
> Also, if you have your phone on (and maybe the Personal Hotspot settings panel open) BEFORE you wake your Mac, it may connect right away. When I had trouble, it was always trying to connect to a sleeping phone.
> 
> Craig


I wake up my phone first, then my MBP. The MBP auto connects to my home wifi first no issue. Then I turn on the Personal Hotspot on the phone and follow that by selecting the iPhone in the wifi list on the MBP. I only do this when I have a large file to upload included in my web site uploads as the cell gives me upload speed over 5 GB and the home wifi a paltry 0.85 GB and it speeds the upload from five minutes to about 45 seconds.

I them return the wifi setting to my home network and carry on. The only other time I use PH is when on the road in the summer in our motor home.

Before El Capitan, it was an instant connect EVERY time. Now I have to play with it every time to get a connection. The phone sees the connection and tells me it connects immediately, but the MBP does not show the connection at all some times without a retry or show it connected and Safari says no connection. Most frustrating.


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## chas_m (Dec 2, 2007)

I can only report my experiences, but if you guys who are having trouble haven't tried this lately, and actual power-down may clear things up.

I had an ongoing issue where my devices (MBP or iPad) would have trouble connecting to the "Instant Hotspot" feature unless I selected the iPhone during the brief period where it was in the main list and not listed separately under "Instant Hotspot." I'm no longer absolutely certain when the problem finally cleared up and became reliable, but I believe it was shortly before or just after the final El Cap release came out -- now it works very consistently, provided the hotspot feature is turned on (I don't keep it on all the time, as I've noticed a battery drain when I leave it on all the time).


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## csonni (Feb 8, 2001)

Fix it, Apple.


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## SINC (Feb 16, 2001)

chas_m said:


> I can only report my experiences, but if you guys who are having trouble haven't tried this lately, and actual power-down may clear things up.
> 
> I had an ongoing issue where my devices (MBP or iPad) would have trouble connecting to the "Instant Hotspot" feature unless I selected the iPhone during the brief period where it was in the main list and not listed separately under "Instant Hotspot." I'm no longer absolutely certain when the problem finally cleared up and became reliable, but I believe it was shortly before or just after the final El Cap release came out -- now it works very consistently, provided the hotspot feature is turned on (I don't keep it on all the time, as I've noticed a battery drain when I leave it on all the time).


Why in the world would anyone leave Personal Hotspot on all the time? That would leave an open network to anyone within range to use your wifi at any location you might visit during the day. I doubt any hacker would have much problem breaking the password code on most HS networks. Mine is turned on to use and turned off immediately after use for that very reason.

This is an Apple issue. What worked fine for years under Mountain Lion, Mavericks and Yosemite is simply broken under El Cap and iOS 9. As noted above, fix the damn thing, Apple.


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## chas_m (Dec 2, 2007)

SINC said:


> Why in the world would anyone leave Personal Hotspot on all the time? That would leave an open network to anyone within range to use your wifi at any location you might visit during the day.


Nope. The Wi-Fi hotspot is not only password protected, but shows the user how many devices are connected.

And since it's probably not broken for most users (hard to say, but a quick check of my Mac power-using staff would suggest it works fine), there's not much there for Apple to "fix." You may need to check with the tech that lives in your mirror.


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## SINC (Feb 16, 2001)

Well Chas, you might then explain to me why it is that my 2014 Mini i5 that serves as my back up machine to the MBP (which is an exact clone of the MBP daily BTW) connects in a millisecond. It is the MBP i7 that takes well over 30 seconds to connect, in spite of the iPhone telling me it is connected. Trying it at that point while wifi is frantically searching again and again results in a 'no internet' warning from Safari until the iPhone symbol shows up in the menu line wifi, if it does show up on that particular attempt. Meanwhile the Mini is connected and rock solid.


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## csonni (Feb 8, 2001)

The problem seems to persist mostly after a weekend of not using HS, at least for me. Seems to connect pretty good during the week, when turning the iPhone on first as suggested earlier.


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## heavyall (Nov 2, 2012)

Mobile Hotspot has always been finnicky for me on any OS, on any combination of devices. At bare minimum, it always requires both the phone and connecting device to be on the preferences pane that controls that function, and for the connection buttons to be toggled on and off. I've literally never seen an automatic connection be successful.


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## polywog (Aug 9, 2007)

SINC said:


> Why in the world would anyone leave Personal Hotspot on all the time? That would leave an open network to anyone within range to use your wifi at any location you might visit during the day. I doubt any hacker would have much problem breaking the password code on most HS networks. Mine is turned on to use and turned off immediately after use for that very reason.
> 
> This is an Apple issue. What worked fine for years under Mountain Lion, Mavericks and Yosemite is simply broken under El Cap and iOS 9. As noted above, fix the damn thing, Apple.


It's no less secure than any other WPA wireless network. Only big thing you're revealing to anyone around is that there is a wifi hotspot in the room, and potentially the name of the device. If one is paranoid about security, it's a breeze to change the password every time you turn it on. Or, better yet, tether with a cable. Not as convenient but far more secure.

In my mind the strong motivator for shutting it down is power consumption.


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## SINC (Feb 16, 2001)

I was in a hotel in Red Deer yesterday morning and used personal hot spot to upload my website via my MBP. It connected instantly and worked perfectly on the Telus network with blazing speeds of 58 down 42 up. Go figure.


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## csonni (Feb 8, 2001)

Had to reboot my iPhone 2 days in a row to get a connection.


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## csonni (Feb 8, 2001)

Everyday issue. Can't connect without rebooting the iPhone. Hope iOS 9.3 fixes this, but I doubt it.


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## Oakbridge (Mar 8, 2005)

csonni said:


> Everyday issue. Can't connect without rebooting the iPhone. Hope iOS 9.3 fixes this, but I doubt it.


Just out of curiosity, are you reporting the problems to Apple?

They can't fix problems that they don't know about. And even if they do know about the issue, the more information that they have from their users, the easier it is for them to create the proper fix that works for everyone.


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## csonni (Feb 8, 2001)

Oakbridge said:


> Just out of curiosity, are you reporting the problems to Apple?


No, actually, I haven't. My 90 days free service is up and, if I remember correct, they ask you to pay up before giving any phone help.
Is there a way to do that online? To report an ongoing issue?


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## pm-r (May 17, 2009)

Some of Apple's software has it's own "feedback" options and sometimes in the Help area, but they always provide this:
Apple - Mac OS X - Feedback


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## csonni (Feb 8, 2001)

Thanks for that link.


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## csonni (Feb 8, 2001)

I'm starting to wonder if this whole issue is with my iPhone. Twice now, in two different wifi locations, where I had connected before on numerous occasions, my iPhone would not detect the wifi network until I rebooted my iPhone. Then, it automatically connected to the network. Would this be a hardware issue?


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## Sprague (Nov 25, 2015)

csonni said:


> I'm starting to wonder if this whole issue is with my iPhone. Twice now, in two different wifi locations, where I had connected before on numerous occasions, my iPhone would not detect the wifi network until I rebooted my iPhone. Then, it automatically connected to the network. Would this be a hardware issue?


This happened with my 6 plus last year. We tried to troubleshoot over the phone but no luck. I took it into the Apple store and the genius saw that it didn't see many of the wifi signals a normal phone usually sees in that store. They replaced the device. Problem was solved.

I suspect given your location you'll have a hard time visiting an Apple store.


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## csonni (Feb 8, 2001)

I don't think the issue is detecting multiple networks. The issue seems to be with remembering previously accessed networks. Looks like I'm well out of the Apple Care as well. Time flies. I thought it was just under a year. It's been since September of 2014.


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## pm-r (May 17, 2009)

Two thoughts, one a bit crazy…

1. "*WiFi Explorer* is a Mac utility that allows you to scan, monitor, and *troubleshoot* wireless networks. …_"_ and it's on sale today for the two dollar tuesday sale:
WiFi Explorer Â« Mac App Deals & Mac App Store Discounts â€” Two Dollar Tuesday
[But for OS X 10.7+ it seems…]

2. Now the crazy one…
I've never been to Goose Bay, Labrador but I understand it's a very busy small airport based area and such places often have a LOT of wireless stuff going on and with all the military traffic I wonder if they also use some wi-fi jamming that could be affecting your iPhone…

Just a thought… and might not be that crazy…


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## pm-r (May 17, 2009)

And with a bit more thinking of your problem, have you tried this:

Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Network.

Open Network preferences

Click “Assist me,” click Assistant, then follow the onscreen instructions to set up a new network connection.

You can still return to the old setup using the location menu so name the new one "Test" or "new" something like that.

You never knob and it's helped some users when they have had connection problems…


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## csonni (Feb 8, 2001)

Never actually considered that. Might be a thought. In regards to your other suggestion, I think my issue is the the iPhone and not my Mac, simply because the iPhone is the one that's forgetting networks. My Mac has always picked up on previous accessed networks, automatically.


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## westonc (Dec 18, 2009)

I'll through this out there. Every weekend I do a clean up and backup of all my apple devices. On my iPhones and iPads, one thing I cannot stand is that when you do an App update it keeps the update in the list for 30 days. I have no idea why. A work around that I do every weekend after all the App updates are done is go into settings and turn off Set Automatically for Date & time. I then change the date to more than 30 days into the future, open up the App Store app and go to 'Updates' and they all disappear. Then I go back to Settings and change the Date & Time back on to Set Automatically. 

The trick after doing all of this is to reboot the phone. If I do not reboot the phone, some things don't work properly with various apps such as GPS and the network settings. It does not give an error, it just keeps trying to think. This also happens if I forget to turn Set Automatically back on and the date is in the future. Even the Apple Store won't work if the date is wrong.

So to recap - after setting the date to Set Automatically I have to reboot the phone for things to work properly. I figured I would through that out there in case your date is not set to Set Automatically or you have recently changed the date.

Hope this helps.


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## csonni (Feb 8, 2001)

As of late, I notice that my MBP is now automatically connecting to my iPhone without any action on my part.


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## csonni (Feb 8, 2001)

Since upgrading to MacOS Sierra, I've had no problems with my Mac seeing my iPhone at all.


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## pm-r (May 17, 2009)

> I'll through this out there.



Thanks for the info. I''m a bit late reading it but quite interesting info and nice trick.


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