How to Fix Phone Hotspot and Tethering That Is Not Working

Published 2026-10-16 · Marion Phone Repair

You turn on your phone's mobile hotspot and other devices cannot connect. They either do not see the hotspot network at all, connect but get no internet, or disconnect after a few seconds. Hotspot tethering shares your phone's cellular data with other devices, and when it fails the problem is usually in the hotspot configuration, the carrier's data plan, or the connecting device's settings rather than the phone hardware.

Basic checks

Mobile data must be working

The hotspot shares your phone's cellular data connection. If mobile data is not working on the phone itself, the hotspot has nothing to share:

• Turn off the hotspot temporarily and test mobile data on the phone by opening a website in the browser
• If mobile data is not working on the phone, fix that first — the hotspot issue is a symptom of the data problem, not a separate issue
• Make sure you have cellular signal. Hotspot does not work over Wi-Fi unless your carrier specifically supports it

Carrier plan includes hotspot

Not all cellular plans include hotspot capability. Some plans explicitly exclude tethering, and others include a limited amount of hotspot data separate from your phone's data allowance:

• Check your plan details in your carrier's app or website. Look for hotspot or tethering allowances
• Some prepaid and budget plans do not include hotspot at all. If hotspot is not included, turning it on may appear to work but connected devices get no internet because the carrier blocks tethered traffic
• If your plan has a separate hotspot data cap (common with unlimited phone data plans), check whether you have exceeded it. Once the hotspot cap is reached, speeds may be throttled to unusable levels or cut off entirely

Hotspot settings

Android

1. Settings, Network and Internet (or Connections), Hotspot and Tethering
2. Tap Wi-Fi Hotspot to view and edit settings
3. Network name (SSID): Make sure the name does not contain special characters that some devices cannot handle. Keep it simple — letters and numbers only
4. Security: WPA2-Personal is compatible with nearly all devices. WPA3 is more secure but some older devices (laptops, tablets, gaming devices) cannot connect to WPA3 hotspots. If devices cannot see or connect to your hotspot, try switching from WPA3 to WPA2
5. Password: Must be at least 8 characters. If you recently changed the password, the connecting device may be trying to use the old password. On the connecting device, forget the hotspot network and reconnect with the new password
6. Band: Some phones let you choose between 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. The 2.4 GHz band has longer range and broader device compatibility. The 5 GHz band is faster but has shorter range and some devices (especially older ones) do not support 5 GHz. If devices cannot connect, switch to 2.4 GHz

iPhone

1. Settings, Personal Hotspot
2. Toggle Allow Others to Join on
3. Note the Wi-Fi password shown — this is the password other devices need to enter
4. If Family Sharing is on, check that Allow Family Sharing is set to your preference. When enabled, only family members can join automatically; others still need the password
5. Stay on the Personal Hotspot settings screen while connecting other devices. On some iPhones, the hotspot becomes undiscoverable if you navigate away from this screen

Connecting device issues

Sometimes the problem is on the device trying to connect, not the phone running the hotspot:

• Forget and reconnect: On the connecting device, go to Wi-Fi settings, find the hotspot network, select Forget This Network, then reconnect by entering the password again. Saved network credentials can become corrupted
• Airplane mode toggle: On the connecting device, turn Airplane Mode on, wait 10 seconds, turn it off, then try connecting. This resets the wireless radio
• Device limit: Hotspot has a maximum number of connected devices (typically 5 to 10, depending on the phone). If the limit is reached, additional devices are rejected. Disconnect a device or increase the limit in hotspot settings if the option exists
• IP address conflict: Occasionally the hotspot assigns the same IP to two devices, causing one or both to lose connectivity. Disconnect all devices, turn the hotspot off and back on, then reconnect devices one at a time

USB tethering

If Wi-Fi hotspot does not work, USB tethering is an alternative that shares data through a USB cable. It is also useful when you need a more stable connection:

Android USB tethering

1. Connect the phone to the computer with a USB cable
2. Settings, Network and Internet, Hotspot and Tethering, USB Tethering — toggle on
3. The computer should detect a new network connection. If it does not, the USB cable may be charge-only (no data lines). Try a different cable
4. Windows may need to install a driver. Wait a minute after connecting for the driver to install automatically. If it does not, check Device Manager for a device with a yellow triangle under Network Adapters

iPhone USB tethering

1. Connect the iPhone to the computer with a Lightning or USB-C cable
2. If prompted on the iPhone to Trust This Computer, tap Trust
3. The hotspot activates over USB automatically. On the computer, a new network connection appears
4. Windows computers need Apple Mobile Device USB Driver installed (included with iTunes). If the connection does not work, install or reinstall iTunes

Bluetooth tethering

Bluetooth tethering is slower than Wi-Fi or USB but useful when both of those fail:

• Pair the phone with the device via Bluetooth first (Settings, Bluetooth, pair)
• Enable Bluetooth tethering on the phone (Settings, Hotspot and Tethering, Bluetooth Tethering)
• On the connected device, configure the Bluetooth connection to use the phone for internet access. On Windows, this is done through the Bluetooth device's properties in Network Connections

APN and network issues

Some carriers use a different APN (Access Point Name) for hotspot traffic than for regular phone data:

• If regular data works but hotspot connected devices get no internet, the carrier may be blocking tethered traffic because the hotspot APN is not configured
• On Android, check Settings, Network, Mobile Network, Access Point Names. Some phones have a separate APN entry for tethering (often labeled DUN or tethering). If it is missing, search for your carrier's tethering APN settings
• After a carrier change or SIM swap, APN settings may need to be updated. Reset APN to defaults and restart the phone

VPN interference

An active VPN on the phone can interfere with hotspot:

• Some VPN configurations prevent traffic routing to tethered devices because the VPN tunnel only handles the phone's own traffic
• Disconnect the VPN and test the hotspot. If hotspot works without the VPN, check the VPN app's settings for a tethering or hotspot compatibility option. Some VPN apps have a setting to allow split tunneling for tethered devices

Restart and reset

• Restart the phone: A restart reinitializes the cellular radio and hotspot service. This clears temporary states that block tethering
• Reset network settings: If nothing else works, reset all network settings. Android: Settings, System, Reset Options, Reset Wi-Fi, Mobile and Bluetooth. iPhone: Settings, General, Transfer or Reset, Reset, Reset Network Settings. This clears all saved Wi-Fi networks, Bluetooth pairings, and cellular configurations including APN and hotspot settings. The carrier settings are redownloaded fresh

Hotspot repair in Marion

If your phone's hotspot or tethering is not working and the troubleshooting above did not fix it, Marion Phone Repair can check your carrier provisioning, APN configuration, and phone settings to diagnose and resolve the hotspot issue.