Personal Hotspot won't stay connected

marty1980 · Oct 30, 2012, 01:53 PM

iPhone 5 and iPad (3rd gen wi-fi)

I am using my iPhone as a personal hotspot for my iPad. I turn on the hotspot feature on the phone, then connect to the hotspot using the iPad. I tell the iPad to remember and automatically connect to this network.

If I allow the iPad to sleep for more than a minute or two the connection is lost. If I wait the connection does not automatically reconnect. Instead I have to do the following:

* open Wi-Fi settings on the iPad
* open Peronal Hotspot settings on the iPhone
* wait for iPad to see the network (takes 2-3 times searching)
* occasionally I have to choose the hotspot as the network connection, but most of the time it reconnects automatically

I have to do this sequence of steps every time I come back to my iPad. The iPad and the iPhone are within 2-3 feet of each other most of the time with both of them sitting on my desk.

I can't tell if the problem is the hotspot feature or one of the devices. I had the problem occur occasionally while using it with a Mac Mini (mid 2007), but that computer kept the connection alive for longer periods of time. Though when I did have a problem the steps were pretty much the same.

Why doesn't the iPad stay connected?

Why do I have to have the iPhone on the hotspot settings screen before the iPad sees it?

Has anyone else experienced these connection issues?

widestload · Nov 3, 2012, 08:17 PM

I'm having the same thing happen. I've just got an ipad mini and I'm using my 4s hotspot as its connection to the net.

I had a nexus before this and so long as the two devices were within range the connection would never be lost.

From reading old threads I think it's because the hotspot only broadcasts the SSID for 5 minutes or so. And so once the connection is broken by the ipad going to sleep the phone turns the hotspot off and so we have to go back into the settings to broadcast again and allow for the connection.

There doesn't look to be a way around it in terms of settings, but I'm hoping that if I can find an app for the ipad which try's to refresh its data more frequently then the hotspot time out, maybe I can just leave it running on the ipad and that will sort things?

Zcott · Nov 4, 2012, 04:07 AM

Connect over Bluetooth. It'll stay connected until you turn it off, even in sleep mode.

Bluetooth connection is slightly slower and doesn't allow FaceTime or (apparently) iMessage but everything else works fine and it uses less battery than wifi.

pommie82 · Nov 4, 2012, 04:25 AM

I'am having the same problem with my iPad mini with my iPhone 4s unable to get a bluetooth hotspot and get surfing on the internet.This is really annoying for me because i always tether with my iPhone i wont be updating my os for a long time again.I just hope they bring out a fix quick because i'am unable to tether now.I cannot even get the bluetooth hotspot band up across my iPhone
at the moment.

widestload · 11:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zcott

Connect over Bluetooth. It'll stay connected until you turn it off, even in sleep mode.

Bluetooth connection is slightly slower and doesn't allow FaceTime or (apparently) iMessage but everything else works fine and it uses less battery than wifi.

Hmmm. I've tried this already for the past day or so, but they still seem to 'separate' soon after the ipad is put to sleep? At the moment I'm trying to set some apps up in different ways like mail, to see if I can find one which polls the connection often enough to maintain it.

Edit: saying that the Bluetooth does seem to be working better at holding the connection after now having reconnected by going to the iPads Bluetooth settings and connecting that way rather than opening the hotspot settings on the iPhone. Fingers crossed

Toonbay · Nov 9, 2012, 08:56 AM

I am having this same problem with my mini and IP5 hotspot, problem is i dont want to use bluetooth as speeds are terrible compared to connecting over wifi, i suppose its just a case of turning hotspot on and off quickly each time

Zcott · Nov 9, 2012, 09:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toonbay

I am having this same problem with my mini and IP5 hotspot, problem is i dont want to use bluetooth as speeds are terrible compared to connecting over wifi, i suppose its just a case of turning hotspot on and off quickly each time

Speeds are slower but I wouldn't class them as terrible...

plcowart · Jan 17, 2013, 09:08 AM

I am having same issue with iPhone 5, iPad Mini and iPad 1. I did not have problem when I was using iPhone 4. Once I set it up, my iPad 1 would auto connect anytime iPhone 4 was within range and hotspot was turned on. This is how you would expect it to work. I am very disappointed with IP5 - thinking about going back to IP4 which is really silly. It seems to me this is an iPhone 5 issue i.e like a bug that Apple needs to fix. Can anyone shed more light on issue.

Oct 30, 2012, 01:53 PM	#1
marty1980 macrumors member Join Date: Apr 2011	Personal Hotspot won't stay connected iPhone 5 and iPad (3rd gen wi-fi) I am using my iPhone as a personal hotspot for my iPad. I turn on the hotspot feature on the phone, then connect to the hotspot using the iPad. I tell the iPad to remember and automatically connect to this network. If I allow the iPad to sleep for more than a minute or two the connection is lost. If I wait the connection does not automatically reconnect. Instead I have to do the following: * open Wi-Fi settings on the iPad * open Peronal Hotspot settings on the iPhone * wait for iPad to see the network (takes 2-3 times searching) * occasionally I have to choose the hotspot as the network connection, but most of the time it reconnects automatically I have to do this sequence of steps every time I come back to my iPad. The iPad and the iPhone are within 2-3 feet of each other most of the time with both of them sitting on my desk. I can't tell if the problem is the hotspot feature or one of the devices. I had the problem occur occasionally while using it with a Mac Mini (mid 2007), but that computer kept the connection alive for longer periods of time. Though when I did have a problem the steps were pretty much the same. Why doesn't the iPad stay connected? Why do I have to have the iPhone on the hotspot settings screen before the iPad sees it? Has anyone else experienced these connection issues? __________________ Mac Mini (mid 2007), 32GB Blk iPhone 4, 16GB White iPhone 4, 16GB White iPhone 5, 2-iPod Touch (2nd gen), 16GB Blk iPad 2, 32GB White iPad (3rd gen), Windows 7 desktop, Windows 8 Pro notebook
	0

Nov 3, 2012, 08:17 PM	#2
widestload macrumors member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: manchester UK	I'm having the same thing happen. I've just got an ipad mini and I'm using my 4s hotspot as its connection to the net. I had a nexus before this and so long as the two devices were within range the connection would never be lost. From reading old threads I think it's because the hotspot only broadcasts the SSID for 5 minutes or so. And so once the connection is broken by the ipad going to sleep the phone turns the hotspot off and so we have to go back into the settings to broadcast again and allow for the connection. There doesn't look to be a way around it in terms of settings, but I'm hoping that if I can find an app for the ipad which try's to refresh its data more frequently then the hotspot time out, maybe I can just leave it running on the ipad and that will sort things? __________________ 2011 17" MBP ,2.2 GHz, 8 GB 1600Mhz RAM, 128GB SSD + 1TB HDD in Optibay, HR AG Screen --- iPad Mini Black/Slate 32GB Arrived! --- iPhone 4S Black 32GB --- Apple TV
	0

Nov 9, 2012, 08:56 AM	#6
Toonbay macrumors regular Join Date: May 2010 Location: Whitley Bay, North East UK	I am having this same problem with my mini and IP5 hotspot, problem is i dont want to use bluetooth as speeds are terrible compared to connecting over wifi, i suppose its just a case of turning hotspot on and off quickly each time __________________ iPad Mini 16Gb Wifi White : Macbook Air 2011 11" 27" TB Display iPhone 5 White 16Gb
	0

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Nov 4, 2012, 04:07 AM	#3
Zcott macrumors 68000 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Belfast, Ireland	Connect over Bluetooth. It'll stay connected until you turn it off, even in sleep mode. Bluetooth connection is slightly slower and doesn't allow FaceTime or (apparently) iMessage but everything else works fine and it uses less battery than wifi.
	0

Nov 4, 2012, 04:25 AM	#4
pommie82 macrumors regular Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: uk	I'am having the same problem with my iPad mini with my iPhone 4s unable to get a bluetooth hotspot and get surfing on the internet.This is really annoying for me because i always tether with my iPhone i wont be updating my os for a long time again.I just hope they bring out a fix quick because i'am unable to tether now.I cannot even get the bluetooth hotspot band up across my iPhone at the moment.
	0

Jan 17, 2013, 09:08 AM	#8
plcowart macrumors newbie Join Date: Jan 2013	I am having same issue with iPhone 5, iPad Mini and iPad 1. I did not have problem when I was using iPhone 4. Once I set it up, my iPad 1 would auto connect anytime iPhone 4 was within range and hotspot was turned on. This is how you would expect it to work. I am very disappointed with IP5 - thinking about going back to IP4 which is really silly. It seems to me this is an iPhone 5 issue i.e like a bug that Apple needs to fix. Can anyone shed more light on issue.
	0