Share your internet connection from iPad (Wi-Fi + Cellular) with Personal Hotspot
You can share the internet connection from your iPad (Wi-Fi + Cellular) with other devices using a feature called Instant Hotspot. Instant Hotspot uses your iPad device’s Personal Hotspot, and is useful when your other device doesn’t have internet access from a Wi-Fi network.
There are several ways to connect other devices to your Personal Hotspot:
Connect your Mac to your iPad through Wi-Fi settings.
Pair your two devices with Bluetooth®.
Connect your Mac to your iPad with a cable.
You can share the Personal Hotspot on your iPad with another iPad, an iPhone, a Mac, a Windows device, and more.
Note: Personal Hotspot isn’t available with all carriers. Additional fees may apply. The number of devices that can join your Personal Hotspot at one time depends on your carrier and iPad model. Contact your carrier for more information.
Before you begin
Make sure of the following:
The devices are within 30 feet (10 meters) of each other.
Both devices meet minimum system requirements for Instant Hotspot.
If you’re using a VPN, make sure its configuration does not prevent local networking as that may interfere with some Continuity features.
If you’re sharing your Personal Hotspot with your Apple devices, it’s faster to connect if you sign in to the same Apple Account on both devices.
Note: You can only use Personal Hotspot by sharing your iPad device’s cellular internet connection. You can’t connect your iPad to a Wi-Fi network, and then share that network with another device.
Set up Personal Hotspot on iPad
On your iPad, go to Settings > Personal Hotspot, then tap Allow Others to Join.
Optionally, you can change the Wi-Fi password. Your Wi-Fi network name is your device name, which you can change in Settings > General > About.
Note: If Cellular Data is turned on in Settings > Cellular, but you don’t see Set Up Personal Hotspot as an option, contact your carrier about adding Personal Hotspot to your plan.
Turn Personal Hotspot on and off on iPad
On your iPad, open Control Center. Tap to make your Personal Hotspot discoverable.
You can choose who is allowed to use your Personal Hotspot, set a password, and—if you’re in a Family Sharing group—decide if you want to automatically share your Personal Hotspot with specific family members.
Connect to a Personal Hotspot with Wi-Fi
You can connect another device to the Personal Hotspot on your iPadusing Wi-Fi settings. You can connect another iPad, an iPad, a Mac, a Windows device, and many other devices that are able to connect to a Wi-Fi network.
On the device that you want to connect to your iPad device’s Personal Hotspot, do any of the following:
On an iPhone with Touch ID: Swipe down from the top-right edge to open Control Center. Tap to turn Wi-Fi on, then choose your iPad.
On an iPhone with Face ID: Swipe up from the bottom to open Control Center. Tap to turn Wi-Fi on, then choose your iPad.
On an iPad: Swipe down from the top-right edge to open Control Center. Tap to turn Wi-Fi on, then choose your iPad.
On a Mac; Click in the menu bar, then choose your iPad.
On a Windows device or other device: Follow the manufacturer’s instructions to connect to a Personal Hotspot.
Enter the password you set up for your Personal Hotspot to connect. If you’re connecting another Apple device and you’re signed in to the same Apple Account on both devices, you don’t need to enter a password.
Note: When a Mac is connected to your Personal Hotspot, a blue band appears at the top of your iPad screen, and appears in the status bar of the connected Mac.
When you’re not using using the hotspot, your devices automatically disconnect to save battery life.
Connect to a Personal Hotspot with Bluetooth
You can connect a Mac or Windows device to the Personal Hotspot on your iPad using Bluetooth instead of Wi-Fi. Both devices must have Bluetooth turned on.
On your Mac, choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click Bluetooth in the sidebar. (You may need to scroll down.)
Note: If your Mac has macOS 12.5 or earlier, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Bluetooth.
On your iPad, go to Settings > Bluetooth to make it discoverable.
On your Mac, select your iPad when it appears. (It may take a moment.)
As soon as it’s connected by Bluetooth, your Mac is able to use your iPad device’s cellular connection.
To connect your Windows device to your iPad using Bluetooth, follow the manufacturer’s directions to set up a Bluetooth network connection.
Connect to a Personal Hotspot with a USB cable
You can connect a Mac or Windows device to the Personal Hotspot on your iPad using the USB cable that came with your iPad (or another cable that matches the ports on your iPad and other device).
Note: If you see an alert on your iPad that says Trust This Computer? tap Trust. You may be asked to enter your device passcode to proceed. If you see an alert on your Mac that says “Allow accessory to connect?” click Allow.
As soon as it’s connected by a cable, your Mac or Windows device is able to use your iPad device’s cellular connection.
If your Personal Hotspot isn’t working
Make sure that your devices have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth turned on.
Your devices must be within 30 feet (10 meters) of one another.
See the Apple Support article If Personal Hotspot is not working on your iPhone or iPad (Wi-Fi + Cellular) for additional troubleshooting steps.
Maximize compatibility in Settings > Personal Hotspot, then enable Maximize Compatibility. Maximize Compatibility may reduce performance for devices connected to your Personal Hotspot when turned on.
When you share a Personal Hotspot from your iPad, it uses cellular data for the internet connection. To monitor your cellular data network usage, go to Settings > Cellular. See View or change cellular data settings on iPad (Wi-Fi + Cellular models).
If you use Family Sharing, you can share your Personal Hotspot with any member of your family. See Set up Family Sharing on iPad.