Top 8 ways to fix iPhone hotspot not working on Mac

Connecting the iPhone to the Mac to the Internet has its advantages and disadvantages. Mobile tethering can cause some problems. Sometimes mobile hotspots work perfectly and everyone is happy. There are also times when the internet sharing feature does not work.

If your Mac can’t detect or connect to your iPhone’s Personal Hotspot, we’ve rounded up eight possible solutions in this guide.

First, make sure that you have the correct password for the network. Go Settings> Personal Hotspot to view your iPhone hotspot password. You should also check with your carrier network to confirm if they support tethering. This is because some service providers disable tethering on their devices and internet plans.

If you have the correct password and your carrier network supports tethering but Personal Hotspot still isn’t working, here are some ways to fix the problem with tethering mobile.

Note: The methods in this guide are also applicable to iPad users.

1. Disconnect other devices

There is a limit to the number of devices you can connect to iPhone Personal Hotspot at a time. This limit is not fixed; According to Apple, the limit for Personal Hotspot connection depends on your carrier and iPhone model. From our investigations, we discovered that this limit is usually between 3-5 devices.

So, if you already have 3 or more devices connected to your iPhone, disconnect one of the devices and try connecting your Mac. That will solve the problem. Otherwise, continue with the other troubleshooting suggestions below.

2. Move iPhone Closer to Mac

Distance plays an important role in the connectivity and quality of wireless technologies. The Wi-Fi access point is farther than the connected device will not detect or connect to the host device. The closer your iPhone is to your Mac, the better your chances of detection. Likewise, the faster the connection speed and overall quality.

iPhone placed on laptop

For hotspot connections, make sure your iPhone and Mac are within 30 feet (10 meters) or less. Your Mac might not be able to connect to your iPhone’s hotspot if both devices aren’t in range. Move both devices closer together and try again.

3. Turn off and back on the personal hotspot

This is also a simple but effective trick. If you get a “Failed to connect to Wi-Fi network” error when connecting to your iPhone, turn Personal Hotspot off and back on again.

Go Setting > Personal hotspot And off Allow others to join right to buy. Wait about 30 seconds and enable this option again.

Allow others to join the toggle

You can also do this from the Control Center. Swipe down from the top-right corner of the iPhone (on iPhone X and later) or swipe up from the bottom edge of the screen (for iPhone SE, iPhone 8 and earlier). Press and hold any icon in the network section to reveal other hidden icons.

Control Center

Tap the green Personal Hotspot icon to disable the hotspot connection on your iPhone. Your Mac will connect to the hotspot when you turn it back on.

Personal Hotspot is displayed under the Wi-Fi icon in Control Center

4. Turn on Airplane Mode

Here’s another surefire solution to connectivity issues on iPhone (and iPad). If you’re having issues with mobile Internet or connecting to Wi-Fi, airplane mode can help restore your carrier settings to normal.

If your iPhone’s hotspot isn’t working on your Mac, turning airplane mode on and off may fix the problem. Tap the airplane icon in Control Center or go to Setting and turn on Airplane mode.

Airplane mode switch

Wait 5-10 seconds and disable this option. Now, connect your Mac to your iPhone’s hotspot and check if you can access the internet.

5. Enable Handoff on both devices

Instant Hotspot is a Continuity feature of iOS-macOS that allows you to access the internet via Personal Hotspot without entering the hotspot’s password. To use Instant Hotspot, you need to enable Handoff on both your iPhone and Mac.

If you keep getting “Cannot turn on Personal Hotspot on iPhone” every time you connect your Mac to your iPhone’s hotspot, make sure both devices have Handoff turned on. On your iPhone, go to Shared > AirPlay & Handoff and activate Hand.

Turn on Handoff conversion

To enable Handoff on Mac, go to System Preferences > Shared and check “Allow Handoff between this Mac and your iCloud devices” right to buy.

System Preferences > General with the option “Allow Handoff between this Mac and your iCloud device” checked” class=”wp-image-11658″ /></figure> </div> <p>In addition to the above, make sure that the following conditions are also met:</p> <ol> <li>Both devices (your iPhone and Mac) are signed in to iCloud through the same Apple ID.</li> <li>Both devices have Bluetooth enabled.</li> <li>Both devices are Wi-Fi enabled.</li> </ol> <h2><span class=6. Restart your iPhone and Mac

Can you connect your Mac to other Wi-Fi networks but not your Personal Hotspot? Restart your iPhone and try again. If your Mac still won’t connect to hotspots or other Wi-Fi networks, restart your Mac and check if that fixes the problem.

7. Reset network settings

iPhone has network settings being reset

If the problem continues despite trying all the solutions above, you should consider resetting your iPhone’s network settings. That might fix the problem with your cellular network and possibly resolve an issue that’s preventing your Mac from connecting to the hotspot connection.

Resetting your iPhone’s network settings will revert the following profiles to factory defaults: cellular data/cellular network, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and VPN. Follow the steps below to reset your iPhone or iPad’s network settings.

1. Go to Settings > General > Reset > Reset network settings.

Network Settings Reset Button

2. Enter your iPhone passcode and tap Reset Network Settings on the reminder.

Reset the Network Settings confirmation screen

Your iPhone/iPad will reboot and that should resolve any network related errors affecting your Personal Hotspot connection.

Note: Performing a network reset will delete all previously connected Wi-Fi networks and Bluetooth devices from your device memory. Your Personal Hotspot will be renamed “iPhone”.

If you want to change the name of the hotspot, go to Setting > Shared > About and click Name.

About > Name ” class=”wp-image-11662″ /></figure> </div> <p>Enter your preferred Personal Hotspot name and press <strong>Accomplished</strong> on your keyboard to save changes.</p> <div class=
iPhone in the name

Turn on your iPhone’s hotspot and check if your Mac can establish a connection.

8. Reset Your Mac’s Wi-Fi

Here’s another troubleshooting solution worth trying, especially if your Mac won’t connect to any Wi-Fi networks.

1. Go to System Preferences > Network and choose WIFI on the right sidebar.

2. Click minus symbol (-) in the lower left corner of the Network window.

Minus button in Network Settings

3. Close the Network window and click Application on the confirmation prompt.

Apply confirmation prompt

4. Open the Network Settings window again and click plus symbol (+) in the bottom left corner of the window.

Plus button in Network Settings

5. Click Display dropdown button.

Interface drop-down menu

6. Select WIFI from the options and click Create to continue.

Selected Wi-Fi

7. Click Application to save changes.

Apply button

Try connecting to your iPhone’s hotspot and see if it works this time.

Additional Troubleshooting Solutions

Sometimes, software-caused errors can lead to connection-related interruptions. So make sure that both your iPhone and Mac are running the latest versions of their respective operating systems.

You can also try sharing your phone’s Internet connection with your Mac using alternative connection methods: Bluetooth and USB. The latter is much more reliable. Follow the steps below to share your iPhone’s internet via USB.

Plug your iPhone into your Mac using a USB cable. Make sure you click Trust when prompted to give your Mac access to your files and settings. Turn on Personal Hotspot on your iPhone and you should be able to access the internet. Easy as pie.

To confirm USB tethering status, go to System Preferences > Network and you should see your iPhone marked as Connected.

iPhone USB status: connected

We are confident that at least one of the solutions in this guide will fix the iPhone hotspot connection problem. If the problem persists, use USB tethering to temporarily connect to the Internet. Or contact Apple Support for help.

Related Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.