iOS: Understanding Personal Hotspot
Summary
Personal Hotspot refers to the Internet-sharing feature on iPhone 3GS or later*. This article explains how to share your Cellular Data connection using Personal Hotspot.
Refer to the iPhone User Guide for additional information on Personal Hotspot.
* iPhone 3GS can share a connection with USB or Bluetooth. iPhone 4 or later can share a connection using Wi-Fi, USB, or Bluetooth.
Products Affected
iPhone
Personal Hotspot lets you connect your computers and devices to the Internet using the cellular data connection on your iPhone.
To use this feature, enable Personal Hotspot on your cellular data plan. Contact your carrier for information and pricing.
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Sharing your cellular data connection
Use the following steps to set up Personal Hotspot:
- Tap Settings > General > Network:
- Tap Personal Hotspot and turn it on:
- Note: If you see "Set Up Personal Hotspot", your wireless plan is not configured for this feature. Contact your wireless carrier for assistance.
- Choose whether to enable Bluetooth or Wi-Fi and USB (Wi-Fi requires iPhone 4 or later).
After configuring Personal Hotspot, you can directly access the settings from Settings > Personal Hotspot.
Note: In some instances you may need to reenable Personal Hotspot after restarting your phone.
Connecting other devices
You can connect your devices to your iPhone in the following ways:
| Mac or PC | iPad or iPod touch |
iPhone | Other Wi-Fi devices |
Connection tips | |
| Wi-Fi* | √ | √ | √ | √ | Wi-Fi hotspot turns off when no devices are connected. To automatically turn it back on, go to Settings > General > Network > Personal Hotspot. |
| Bluetooth* | √ | √ | Ensure that the other Bluetooth device is discoverable, and use Settings > General > Bluetooth to pair. | ||
| USB | √ | Connect your iPhone to your Mac or PC using the USB to Dock Connector cable. | |||
| * The Wi-Fi network name or Bluetooth name is your device name. The Wi-Fi network uses WPA encryption. | |||||
Personal Hotspot requires a supporting hotspot tethering plan from your carrier. The maximum number of supported connections is five, but this number may vary depending on your carrier or iPhone model.
While devices are connected to Personal Hotspot, the status bar will be blue and will indicate the number of connected users.
You cannot use your Wi-Fi connection for Internet connectivity while other devices are using Wi-Fi for Personal Hotspot. You can share only a cellular data connection; you cannot share a Wi-Fi connection.
Disconnecting devices
You can disconnect users by turning off Personal Hotspot, unplugging your device, turning off Bluetooth, or by tapping Settings > Wi-Fi and either turning off Wi-Fi or disconnecting current users.
Additional Information
iPhone 4 or later: Changing your Wi-Fi password
Personal Hotspot Wi-Fi networks require a password. You cannot disable this feature. You can change your Wi-Fi password by tapping Settings > Personal Hotspot or Settings > General > Network > Personal Hotspot and then tapping the Wi-Fi password.
Note: Your Wi-Fi password must be at least eight characters long and use ASCII/Unicode characters. Use of non-ASCII characters (Japanese, Russian, Chinese, and so on) will prevent other devices from connecting.
Find information on troubleshooting Personal Hotspot.
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