When you go out in the wild or camping iPhone hotspot is a lifesaver for connecting your laptop to the internet. But what if it won’t connect. It is one of the most frustrating experiences when your laptop fails to connect to your iPhone hotspot.
This article is the perfect start if you are experiencing the same issue and wondering why won’t my laptop connect to my iPhone hotspot. It can happen to various technical issues that may seem daunting to non-tech-savvy individuals.
In this guide, I will explore why your laptop may have trouble connecting to your iPhone hotspot. I will provide easy-to-follow solutions to help you troubleshoot and fix the problem.
So, if you’re tired of dealing with this frustrating issue, read on to discover how to connect your laptop to your iPhone hotspot in no time.
Table of Contents
Reasons For Laptop Cannot Connect to iPhone
If you have a 4G or a 5G sim, you can easily connect your smartphone to the internet connection with the help of SIM cards. You can also make this internet connection into Wi-Fi support.
The connection to the internet is not the same as with a laptop or desktop. You need to connect your PC to a Wi-Fi or wired connection for internet access. There is no option to make a cellular internet connection within the PC.
There are several reasons your laptop fails to connect to your iPhone, and some of the reasons include the following;
Wrong Password
The main reason your laptop fails to connect is that you might have entered the wrong password for the hotspot on your laptop. The actual password generation takes place through iOS, but you can change it to anything later. If you don’t remember the password, you can crosscheck it to enter the right one on your laptop.
Wait Time Between Connectivity
You must give your internet connection a few minutes before establishing it, and it works again. Normally, you must wait a few minutes to connect your laptop to cellular Wi-Fi.
Poor Signal Strength
Another possibility is the poor signal strength of your Wi-Fi. If you get good signal strength on your iPhone, your laptop would’ve connected immediately. If the signal strength is low, it will affect the connection quality immediately.
Hotspot Blocked by Service Providers
There are some of the served providers who block certain mobile hotspot connections. You will find the hotspot icon on your iPhone but cannot connect to the Wi-Fi. Even if it is blocked, you can unblock it depending on the service provider’s policies compared to the network’s fair use.
Fixes For Laptop Won’t Connect to iPhone
There are different methods that you can try that will help your laptop connect to the cellular Wi-Fi, and some of the methods include;
Check Random Things
- Ensure that your hotspot is enabled by going to the setting > personal hotspot to check if the connection is disabled from the main setting of your phone.
- Restart your iPhone; there is this one solution to almost all of the problems related to a smartphone. When you restart your iPhone, all the temporary blockages will get solved without doing anything else.
- You must have the latest version of iOS; you can also update the iOS if it is not the latest.
- Open your iPhone and follow these instructions; go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset Device > Reset and then Reset Network Settings.
If you have already checked all these random settings and still can’t connect your laptop to your iPhone, here are some other options that you must check;
Enable and Disable Airplane Mode on iPhone or PC
There is a high positive impact of doing this to connect your laptop to your smartphone. If you cannot see the name of your iPhone on your PC, it might be due to some network issues; you can turn on and off airplane mode to fix the network issues.
You can also do this on your laptop; it must be Windows 10 or the latest, and turn it on airplane mode to remove any network problems.
Change iPhone Hotspot Password
There might be a technical glitch on the iPhone hotspot password. You will have to change the password of your iPhone by going to Settings > Personal hotspot > Wi-Fi password. From here, you can easily change the password of your iPhone hotspot.
Change Hotspot Name on iPhone
It is important to change the hotspot’s name on your iPhone if you cannot find it in the Wi-Fi area of your laptop. By doing so, you are removing any glitch caused by the hotspot’s name. You can change the name by going to the settings > general > about > name and then change the Device name to something less complicated and easy to detect.
Forget iPhone Personal Hotspot
If you have connected your laptop to the iPhone hotpot once before and now you cannot connect it back. It is important to forget the iPhone personal hotspot and then try again after retyping the password on your laptop. For this purpose;
- Open your Windows 10 laptop to the settings > Network and Internet > Internet > Wi-Fi > Manage Known Networks.
- Locate the hotspot and then choose the option to forget
- Now reconnect the laptop by entering the password of your hotspot again.
Run Troubleshooter Internet Connections
A built-in troubleshooter for internet connections helps you fix your iPhone hotspot. Go to Settings > Update & Security > Troubleshoot > Additional troubleshooters to enable this setting. From this setting, click on the internet connection and then tap on Run the troubleshooter.
If you use Windows 10, go to Settings > System > Troubleshoot > Other Troubleshooter. Here you must locate and find the internet connection and then click the run button to enable the troubleshooting operations.
Update Wireless Network Adapter
It might be due to wireless network adapter issues if you cannot connect your laptop to your iPhone hotspot. You will have to update the driver to a new version.
For this purpose, press Win + X and choose the Device Manager in Windows 10 or 11. Now Expand the Network Adapters by clicking right on the wireless adapter and clicking on Update Driver. Now open the first option, and it will let Windows search for the latest and available driver, and it will be ready for your computer in no time.
Random Fixes
These fixes in this article will help you connect your laptop to your iPhone’s hotspot. If you still cannot connect your iPhone to your PC, you need to do some common and random fixes, and some of these are:
- Upgrade the Windows and iOS both to their latest version
- Disable the low-power mode on iPhone
- Flush and remove the DNS cache on your PC
- Now connect your iPhone hotspot with the help of a USB
Final Verdict: Why Laptop Won’t Connect to iPhone Hotspot
Connecting a wireless or a wired hotspot using your iPhone or any other smartphone was impossible a few years ago. Now, this is the most common way to connect the internet to your laptop.
If you find connecting your iPhone to your laptop difficult, several reasons and solutions are in this article. I hope you find the right method and easily connect your laptop to your iPhone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Can’t My Laptop Connect to My Phone Hotspot?
There are quick fixes for this problem; you can turn the Bluetooth off for this purpose on your PC and then turn on and off the Wi-Fi of your PC. Check the cellular carrier network; using your phone’s hotspot will work if the signal is strong.
Why Is My Laptop Hotspot Slow?
There are different reasons for this problem; it might be due to bad reception and poor connectivity. If your data plan has surpassed and there are data caps, your laptop hotspot will turn slowly.