Create a Personal Hotspot on an iPhone

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There may be times when you need to connect your laptop or tablet to the Internet, but there is no Wi-Fi or wired network available. With your iPhone, however, you could have access to an instant Wi-Fi hotspot of your very own! This article will show you how to do this.

Steps

Setting Up a Hotspot

  1. Open Settings. Tap the Settings icon, usually located on the Home screen, to open the Settings control panel.

  2. Tap Personal Hotspot. If you have enabled "Personal Hotspot" from your wireless provider, you will see the Personal Hotspot icon in the first group of settings.
    • Note: if you have not enabled this service from your wireless provider, you must do so before proceeding. Visit your carrier's website, and find the service that best suits your needs and budget.
  3. Turn on Personal Hotspot. Tap the toggle switch at the very top of the "Personal Hotspot" control panel to enable Wi-Fi sharing.
  4. Set a password. The current password is listed in plain text. If you've just set up your service plan with your wireless provider, there will be a default password in place. To change it, tap the Wi-Fi password button, enter a new password, then click "Done." You can also just leave the default password as-is. Make sure you note it for future use.

Connecting Another Mobile Device With Wi-Fi

  1. Connect another mobile device. To set up an iPad to use your mobile hotspot, tap the Settings icon.
  2. Open the Wi-Fi control panel. In the left-side column, tap "Wi-Fi."
  3. Locate your iPhone Personal Hotspot. Under "Choose a Network..." you should see the name of your iPhone Hotspot listed.
  4. Enter your password.A dialog will pop up, asking for the password you used when you set up your hotspot in Part One. Enter that here.
  5. Confirm you're connected. When your device is successfully tethered to your iPhone hotspot, there will be a linked chain icon in the upper left of your screen, where the Wi-Fi icon is normally found.

Connecting a Laptop With Wi-Fi

  1. Open your laptop's network settings. Locate network control panel: on a Mac, open System Preferences from the Apple Menu. On a PC laptop, click on the Network Manager icon on the bottom right of the screen.
  2. Select your iPhone from the list of available networks.
    • Enter the password when prompted, and you will be connected.

Noting Connections

  1. Check connection status. The top bar on the iPhone, which is normally black, will be blue and show the number of people connected when it's being used as a Wi-Fi hotspot.
    • Note: there is no way to tell who is connected, but if you notice there are more people connected to you than should be, disable the Wi-Fi hotspot, change the password, then re-enable it (and don't forget to tell the people who should be connected what the new password is).

Tips

  • Many providers provide a month-to-month plan rather than a service with a 2-year commitment.
  • Check with your mobile provider to find the best service for enabling personal hotspots. In some cases, it might be more cost effective to enable the receiving device (such as an iPad) than using a tethered device.

Warnings

  • Some services will disable Bluetooth networking if Personal Hotspot is enabled. [1]

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Sources and Citations