Use Instant Hotspot to connect to your Personal Hotspot
With the Instant Hotspot feature, you and members of your family group can connect to the Personal Hotspot of your iPhone or iPad without needing to enter its Wi-Fi password. And with Auto-Join Hotspot, the connection is made automatically when needed.
Make sure you have a Personal Hotspot
To provide the Personal Hotspot, you’ll need an iPhone or iPad (Wi-Fi + Cellular) with an activated network provider plan that includes Personal Hotspot service: in the Settings app, tap Personal Hotspot, tap Settings, tap Mobile Service, then tap Personal Hotspot. The “Allow Others to Join” setting doesn’t need to be turned on for Instant Hotspot to work: you and members of your family group can use another Apple device, such as a Mac or iPad, to connect to your Personal Hotspot without being asked to enter its password.
Connect manually to your Personal Hotspot
With Instant Hotspot, you can join your Personal Hotspot just as you would any other Wi-Fi network, except that you won’t be asked to enter the Wi-Fi password.
Make sure each device has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth turned on.
Make sure each device is signed in with the same Apple Account. Or for family members, make sure you’ve set them up to connect to your Personal Hotspot.
Join your Personal Hotspot from another Apple device:
On Mac, click Wi-Fi
in the menu bar or Control Centre
, then choose the name of the nearby iPhone or iPad providing your Personal Hotspot
.On iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch or Apple Vision Pro, open Settings, tap Wi-Fi, then tap the name of the nearby iPhone or iPad providing your Personal Hotspot
.On Apple TV, open Settings, select Network, select Wi-Fi, then select the name of the nearby iPhone or iPad providing your Personal Hotspot
.
When connected to a Personal Hotspot, the Wi-Fi status icon on your device will change to the Personal Hotspot icon.
Connect automatically to your Personal Hotspot
With Auto-Join Hotspot, your device can join your Personal Hotspot automatically – or ask you if you want to join it – whenever a Wi-Fi network isn’t available and the device providing your Personal Hotspot is nearby.
Make sure each device has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth turned on.
Make sure each device is signed in with the same Apple Account. Or for family members, make sure you’ve set them up to connect to your Personal Hotspot.
On Mac, click Wi-Fi
in the menu bar or Control Centre, then choose Wi-Fi Settings. Scroll down on the right to see “Ask to join hotspots”, then choose “Ask to Join” or “Automatic” from the menu. (The Automatic setting is available in macOS Tahoe 26 or later.) On iPhone, iPad or Apple Vision Pro, open Settings, tap Wi-Fi, tap Auto-Join Hotspot, then tap Ask to Join or Automatic.
On Apple Watch, open Settings, then tap Wi-Fi. Scroll down to Auto Hotspot Settings, then tap “Ask to Join” or “Automatic”.
When connected to a Personal Hotspot, the Wi-Fi status icon on your device will change to the Personal Hotspot icon.
Allow your family to connect to your Personal Hotspot
With Family Sharing, your family can also join your Personal Hotspot without needing to enter the password.
Make sure each device has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth turned on.
On your iPhone or iPad providing the Personal Hotspot:
Open Settings, tap Personal Hotspot, then tap Family Sharing.
Turn on Family Sharing. If you don’t see this option, set up Family Sharing.
Tap the name of a family member, then select a setting:
Automatic: Allow their device to automatically join your Personal Hotspot when needed.
Ask for Approval: Whenever their device attempts to join your Personal Hotspot, you’re prompted on your device to allow it.
Allow others to connect to your Personal Hotspot
To connect to your Personal Hotspot from a device that isn’t signed in to the same Apple Account or isn’t part of your family group, follow the steps to connect to Personal Hotspot via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or USB. In that case, the “Allow Others to Join” setting must be turned on in Personal Hotspot settings.
If Personal Hotspot isn’t working
Find out what to do if Personal Hotspot isn’t working on your iPhone or iPad.
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