iPhone 13 mini IPhone Battery Life While Using As Hotspot?

[Joejerrysam]

Have an iPhone 13 mini bought close to 3.5 years ago. Battery was very good when I first got it. I recall whenever I used it as a hotspot for my laptop when my internet went out, I recalled I could get probably close to 7 hours on the phone. I recall the iPhone battery loses about 13% battery every hour while using it as a hotspot for my laptop. Can others tell me if this is close to your numbers with whichever iPhone you are using?


So assuming my internet is out while using laptop in apartment, I use my iPhone 13 mini as the hotspot. I estimate it could get close to 7 hours or so. Now if my power in my apartment is out, well I could get 7 hours out of it but the issue is my laptop would run out of power after a few hours so there is no point of that if my laptop has no power.


My iPhone 13 mini has 84% battery health now and I notice the battery wears out really fast when using it on data. I had tested using it on data while outside watching YouTube and checking twitter and the battery drained so fast and I had it on low battery mode as well. It seemed after 3 hours or so, battery was 30% or less. Then when using a bit less than an hour, battery drained so fast to 20% and then close to 10%. At that point, the phone kept turning off whenever it was 10% and dropped to 8% and then 5%. Basically the phone is going to shut off each time since you can't really click on anything.


So I should get a new battery right since it's 3.5 years old? However, people say only get it when battery is under 80% health? I have noticed the battery drain much faster now than back then. So I guess if using it to tether as hotspot, I might get probably 3.5 hours at the most maybe and not 7 hours?


Can someone tell me how many hours and what iPhone model they have and how long they can use as a hotspot for their laptop? Example, your internet went out in the morning and you are on the laptop. You have to be on your laptop and be online for say at least 8 hours. Thus it could be 12 hours even. You now use your phone as a hotspot. How much percentage per hour does your iPhone drain while you are using it as a hotspot? I assume if it drains 13% on a iPhone 13 mini with a very good battery, then if someone has an iPhone 16 or the iPhone 16 pro max and battery is very good, the battery drain while using it as hotspot might be 12% and the other might be 9% or even less? So someone could tether 10 hours or more or is that unrealistic? Anyone here done that as a test or if their internet was out the entire time?

 

[maerz001]

Please next time TLDR: how many hours with hotspot?

Yes 10 hours is unrealistic. Get a power bank.

 

[Bigwaff]

And don't multi-post the same thread.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/iphone-13-mini-battery-replacement.2453791/

 

[Joejerrysam]

Well this is about hotspot so it isn't the same topic.


How is 10 hours unrealistic when using an iPhone as a hotspot? If my iPhone 13 mini bought years ago when new or using it a few months when battery is at 100% only drains 13% per hour and gives about 7 hours on hotspot, wouldn't the iPhone 13 probably drain 11% or so since the iPhone 13 has more battery than the iPhone 13 mini?


Now there is iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Max pro. So wouldn't those iphones drain 10% of battery or less even when hotspot? I would find it hard to believe a 100% new iphone 13 mini would drain 13% per hour when using it as a hotspot and the same iPhone 16 pro max would drain about the same?

 

[FeliApple]

Tough to say because I reckon very few people use their iPhone as a hotspot for too long. I’ve used it to get out of a pinch, but only of a couple of minutes. I really like to keep track of battery life but this usage pattern has never really been relevant, honestly.

 

[Joejerrysam]

Yea that is what I want to know. Like has anyone here used their iPhone as a hotspot for 8 hours or more and could tell me it lasted for that long. Thus you using it as hotspot for your laptop because say your internet was down the entire time.

 

[maerz001]

Well this is about hotspot so it isn't the same topic.


How is 10 hours unrealistic when using an iPhone as a hotspot? If my iPhone 13 mini bought years ago when new or using it a few months when battery is at 100% only drains 13% per hour and gives about 7 hours on hotspot, wouldn't the iPhone 13 probably drain 11% or so since the iPhone 13 has more battery than the iPhone 13 mini?


Now there is iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Max pro. So wouldn't those iphones drain 10% of battery or less even when hotspot? I would find it hard to believe a 100% new iphone 13 mini would drain 13% per hour when using it as a hotspot and the same iPhone 16 pro max would drain about the same?

U don’t have to repeat the same 3 times.

You want to pay $1000 for a new phone just to gain a few % battery in case u tether, instead of a $30 battery bank?

why is it even an issue? Plug in your phone to your laptop and u don’t need battery

 

[ps4db]

Yea that is what I want to know. Like has anyone here used their iPhone as a hotspot for 8 hours or more and could tell me it lasted for that long. Thus you using it as hotspot for your laptop because say your internet was down the entire time.

My phone would always heat up as a hotspot. Long term usage as a hot spot would definitely have degraded my battery.

 

[Reverend Benny]

Have an iPhone 13 mini bought close to 3.5 years ago. Battery was very good when I first got it. I recall whenever I used it as a hotspot for my laptop when my internet went out, I recalled I could get probably close to 7 hours on the phone. I recall the iPhone battery loses about 13% battery every hour while using it as a hotspot for my laptop. Can others tell me if this is close to your numbers with whichever iPhone you are using?


So assuming my internet is out while using laptop in apartment, I use my iPhone 13 mini as the hotspot. I estimate it could get close to 7 hours or so. Now if my power in my apartment is out, well I could get 7 hours out of it but the issue is my laptop would run out of power after a few hours so there is no point of that if my laptop has no power.


My iPhone 13 mini has 84% battery health now and I notice the battery wears out really fast when using it on data. I had tested using it on data while outside watching YouTube and checking twitter and the battery drained so fast and I had it on low battery mode as well. It seemed after 3 hours or so, battery was 30% or less. Then when using a bit less than an hour, battery drained so fast to 20% and then close to 10%. At that point, the phone kept turning off whenever it was 10% and dropped to 8% and then 5%. Basically the phone is going to shut off each time since you can't really click on anything.


So I should get a new battery right since it's 3.5 years old? However, people say only get it when battery is under 80% health? I have noticed the battery drain much faster now than back then. So I guess if using it to tether as hotspot, I might get probably 3.5 hours at the most maybe and not 7 hours?


Can someone tell me how many hours and what iPhone model they have and how long they can use as a hotspot for their laptop? Example, your internet went out in the morning and you are on the laptop. You have to be on your laptop and be online for say at least 8 hours. Thus it could be 12 hours even. You now use your phone as a hotspot. How much percentage per hour does your iPhone drain while you are using it as a hotspot? I assume if it drains 13% on a iPhone 13 mini with a very good battery, then if someone has an iPhone 16 or the iPhone 16 pro max and battery is very good, the battery drain while using it as hotspot might be 12% and the other might be 9% or even less? So someone could tether 10 hours or more or is that unrealistic? Anyone here done that as a test or if their internet was out the entire time?

It's hard to give a ballpark in terms of what you can expect since there are so many things to consider.

First off I think its important to keep in mind that that its not only the battery on your phone that degrades and has an impact on "battery-life", the infrastructure and services that the device are using is also part of why you might see a big difference from when the phone was new until today.

3,5 years ago 5G wasn't something that was available more than in some rare places in the city, these days its pretty much everywhere the same generally goes for the amount of data that our devices send and receive, it constantly increases. Both these components has a big impact on battery, especially on devices that has an older comms-chipset.

Same goes for using a device as a hotspot, the devices that are using the hotspot generally consume more data and the usage pattern might have changed a good bit.

My 5 cent is that the 13 mini is still a good device and if you need all the battery power you can get, get a new battery but don't expect miracles.

I use my 13 pro and 14 as hotspots when traveling and it's impossible to know how many hours I can expect. In my case videoconferencing is a major batterymuncher, both on the laptop and phone.

 

[kevcube]

if I'm using my phone as a hotspot for a long time I'll just connect via usb. better battery because the phone isn't acting as a wifi router, the phone stays charged off the laptop.

I have a 15 pro and using hotspot without a cable drains battery very quickly.

 

[mansplains]

Might I suggest going to a local coffeeshop etc for wifi if you need it for more than a few hours? The longest I've used a hotspot is for maybe three hours, while on a road trip working on schoolwork. I had my phone plugged into the car later, it turned into a space heater.
If your power outages are more frequent than internet alone, then you'd be unable to continue your work at the apartment anyway, as you noted:

Now if my power in my apartment is out, well I could get 7 hours out of it but the issue is my laptop would run out of power after a few hours so there is no point of that if my laptop has no power.

I don't know the frequency of outages you experience, but if it's adversely affecting your work, I'd consider moving at that point, if it makes sense to. If your computer/internet needs for 7+ hours are not work-related, are something like checking YouTube and X as you mentioned, those are easily taken care of with public wifi. On the note of YouTube, video content uses a lot more data, and thus battery from a hotspot. Bear in mind physics and chemistry are gonna do their thing with your particularly small-sized battery too.

 

[Parowdy]

I don’t think I could have beaten 13%/h with any of my iPhones.

 

[klasma]

How much battery Personal Hotspot drains depends on factors like cellular signal quality, amount of nearby Wi-Fi networks, and the like. There isn’t any remotely precise answer to your question. It lasts for however long it lasts.

Note that you can use Personal Hotspot with an USB cable instead of via Wi-Fi. This should save a bit of battery for both devices.

But really, if it’s critical for you for long hours, buy some power banks and/or remain close to power outlets.

 

[Joejerrysam]

The thing here is assuming your electricity runs out, you can't connect your phone to an outlet while it's charging and thus you are on data by itself.


The thing I want to know would be... how much % does it drain with the newest iphone these day? Say iphone is on 100% battery. You use it as hotspot for your laptop for an hour. What is the percentage now on your iPhone?