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Apple Acknowledges Personal Hotspot Issues Affecting Some iOS 13 and iPadOS 13 Users

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In an internal document distributed to Apple Authorized Service Providers this week, obtained by MacRumors, Apple has acknowledged that some iOS 13 or iPadOS 13 users may experience issues with Personal Hotspot.

personal-hotspot-1.jpg

Apple has told Authorized Service Providers to expect customers who are unable to connect to a Personal Hotspot or experience frequent disconnection from one. Customers may also experience general issues with data performance.

Some users have been reporting problems with Personal Hotspot as far back as iOS 13.1.2.

As a temporary workaround, service providers have been instructed to toggle Personal Hotspot off, and then back on. This suggests that there is likely to be a fix in a future software update, but it is unclear if the issue has been resolved in iOS 13.4, and the latest GM release notes do not mention any Personal Hotspot fixes.

Apple recommends that customers keep their software up to date and said that this is not a hardware issue.

Article Link: Apple Acknowledges Personal Hotspot Issues Affecting Some iOS 13 and iPadOS 13 Users
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2020/03/21/apple-acknowledges-personal-hotspot-issues/
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Reactions: 4sallypat
This is one of the instances where iOS is behind Android which has a superior Personal Hotspot functionality. iOS keeps disconnecting without giving control to the user on when to disconnect plus on iOS there is no mechanism to reconnect. You have to manually reconnect everytime.
 
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I've had to use this a lot recently and it is quite buggy. I've had to turn it off and on many times to get it to show up in my Windows computers list of available WiFi networks and often you can stay connected for a few hours then it just stops working. You're still connected to the phone but no data is moving requiring you to turn the hotspot off and on again.

Quite annoying when you're in the middle of a conference call on your computer or something like that and you disconnect for 30 seconds.

I mean I know this is a mild inconvenience but when you label a phone as Pro and charge over a thousand dollars for it I expect it to just work properly for those of us trying to get work done.
 
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Any word on whether the issues affect Apple devices joining the hotspot, non-Apple devices, or both? Personal hotspot has been pretty reliable for me, but then I typically only use it from my Macbook Pro for the few moments Comcast is down and I need to be online.
 
Last week I sat with 160 odd staff and showed them how to hotspot to their work supplied iPhone to test VPN and remote access for working from home due to the pandemic.

iPhone 8 Plus and 11’s are the models we provide to staff.

The personal hotspot failed to function reliably on about 1/3 of the iPhone.

Not good enough Apple.
Improve your QA team. 😀
[automerge]1584811486[/automerge]
 
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zorinlynx said:
Any word on whether the issues affect Apple devices joining the hotspot, non-Apple devices, or both? Personal hotspot has been pretty reliable for me, but then I typically only use it from my Macbook Pro for the few moments Comcast is down and I need to be online.
Click to expand...

For me I had reliability issues with both my 16" MacBook Pro and my Windows Desktop Computer. The 16" MacBook Pro always connected to it without issue but didn't always get access to the internet when it did so requiring the feature to be toggled off and on again on the iPhone etc
 
A terrible time for a feature like this to be flakey. Many many people are now using their hotspots for the first time.

This should reinvigorate Apple to ensure stability in their software. Society at large relies on these devices, whether you think we should have or not!
 
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I've had this problem ever since I bought my iPad last year. Just last night I searched (yet again) for a fix. I found complaints to Apple about this hotspot disconnect problem going back to 2012.

Connect to a hotspot. Play a YouTube video. Go get a cup of coffee and then try to play another video. You can't. The hotspot disconnects by itself shortly after the first video (or other streaming) ends. I anticipate Apple's fix to be stop drinking coffee.
 
MR editors, this is really funny.
"... but it is unclear if the issue has been resolved in iOS 13.4, and the latest GM release notes do not mention any Personal Hotspot fixes."
[high-lighting added]

Fair question to MR:
When has Apple ever enumerated, or even mentioned, point-code fixes on their release notes?
[Never, is the proper answer. And you should ask, "Why not?"]
 
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Reactions: Babygotfont
I've had this issue trying to connect a Windows laptop to my iPhone's hotspot, and my stepfather had the exact same issue independently. The blue hotspot bar will flash a few times at the top of the screen but not stay connected. I found the fix was to delete the saved network in the windows wifi settings, and then connect again as if it was a brand new network.
 
Suggestion: Instead of using WiFi to connect to the cellular hotspot, use a hardwired USB connection. (The display will show a pair of interlocked chain rings.)

[USB tethered connections have proven reliable to me when using at remote facilities (where WiFi access is locked by unknown password.)]

Just thinking aloud.
 
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zorinlynx said:
Any word on whether the issues affect Apple devices joining the hotspot, non-Apple devices, or both? Personal hotspot has been pretty reliable for me, but then I typically only use it from my Macbook Pro for the few moments Comcast is down and I need to be online.
Click to expand...

my Mac Mini 2011 works flawlessly with my iPhone 8 and carrier. Though on Win10 professional / LTSB / enterprise I've seen this get really bad.
 
mi7chy said:
That's how Apple achieves better battery life at the expense of throttling everything from turning off hotspot, display dimming under use, lower GPS update frequency causing inaccuracies, etc.
Click to expand...
Yes, the above let’s me get two days of usage out of my max, except the hyperbole of “turning off hotspot”.
 
IMPOSSIBLEMAN said:
This is one of the instances where iOS is behind Android which has a superior Personal Hotspot functionality. iOS keeps disconnecting without giving control to the user on when to disconnect plus on iOS there is no mechanism to reconnect. You have to manually reconnect everytime.
Click to expand...

This (having to manually reconnect) is probably deliberate, given your phone is always with you. Apple is probably concerned with unintentional data use.

What's funny is my old 6S performs quite reliably as a hotspot now. With older versions of iOS, it was hit-and-miss. I'd frequently have to take the phone, go into settings, and select "personal hotspot" (and leave that displaying) before anything could join - even if the hotspot was enabled. Nowadays as long as I haven't disabled it on my phone, my computer and iPad have no trouble connecting - and staying connected.
 
I'm used to trying a few times since iOS 10 & 12 when using WiFi hotspot. Not using iOS 13 yet.
 
TheShadowKnows! said:
Suggestion: Instead of using WiFi to connect to the cellular hotspot, use a hardwired USB connection. (The display will show a pair of interlocked chain rings.)

[USB tethered connections have proven reliable to me when using at remote facilities (where WiFi access is locked by unknown password.)]

Just thinking aloud.
Click to expand...


Plus the connection is a whole lot faster too.
 
When I plug into my LG 5k display (apple one) the WIFI shuts off and the logo in upper right goes away and the screen never activates... Hopefully addresses when final gets released. I did submit feedback on it.

Other than that, this mouse is a game changer for iPad.... I think it is much more accurate than mice on MacBooks.
 
On 13.3.1 on my iPhone. Tried using hotspot on my MacBook last week and it absolutely positively will not connect no matter what I did. No problem connecting from my iPad. Haven’t had to use hotspot in ages, and of course the one time I needed it it failed.

to be clear, my iPhone hotspot shows up in the Wi-Fi listing on my Macbook. It just refuses to connect when I select it.
 
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