You’ve probably been using your iPhone’s hotspot incorrectly

Not-so-funny story: I arrived in Las Vegas one day for the annual CES show, ready to work on my extended coverage. I spent hours in my hotel room on the phone with the front desk and IT because the internet wasn’t working in my room and they had no solution. I found myself in the lobby where the Wi-Fi signal was stronger just so I could download videos and do basic work.

Then I used my iPhone hotspot for the rest of the trip, and it turned out to be a lifesaver. But there are a few things to note and settings to adjust, like Maximize Compatibility, so that your iPhone’s hotspot can successfully connect a second phone, laptop, or tablet (yes, even Android devices) and work reliably. Otherwise, the connection might be slow or lag when you’re doing intensive activities, like streaming or gaming.

To use iPhone hotspot, go to Settings, Personal Hotspot and turn on Allow others to join. Then go to Networks on your other device, find the name of your iPhone and select it. You’ll be prompted for the Wi-Fi password the first time you pair (shown in Settings), but it should connect automatically every time after that. Whether you’re using the hotspot in a pinch to meet work deadlines or want to keep your kids entertained on their Wi-Fi-only tablets on a road trip, you want it to work flawlessly.

The first feature to look at, Maximize Compatibility, can be found in the Personal Hotspot settings menu. This is an option for iPhone 12 and newer models that disables the 5GHz band (and 6GHz where applicable), only allowing connected devices to use 2.4GHz. You won’t have as fast a connection with Maximize Compatibility enabled, but it can be useful for connecting to older devices that don’t support 5GHz. If you’re using a laptop or device that works with this band, you can turn the feature off to enjoy faster speeds and a smoother connection.

And if your old device isn’t connecting at all, turn on Maximize Compatibility so it can find the 2.4GHz band. There are other steps you can take if your iPhone’s hotspot isn’t working properly. First, close the apps you are not using, then try restarting the phone. Low power mode may reduce hotspot performance as the phone prioritizes other essential functions, so try turning it off. Finally, see how close you are to reaching your mobile plan’s data threshold. Even with an unlimited data plan, some carriers slow down your speed during peak hours once you exceed a certain monthly limit.

I’ve found countless reasons to use Personal Hotspot on my iPhone. I work at a coffee shop a few evenings a week and sometimes the establishment’s Wi-Fi doesn’t work. In these cases, I use my iPhone’s hotspot to connect my laptop. You may prefer to do this even if there is a public Wi-Fi network, as mobile hotspots are quite secure compared to open Wi-Fi. This is especially worth considering if you work with sensitive information.

With a Wi-Fi only device like a tablet, you can use your iPhone to keep it connected. Whenever there is a power or internet outage at home, I use Personal Hotspot to continue working without interruption until everything is back up and running. Keep in mind that hotspots use cellular data and will reduce your wireless plan. So try to limit your usage to short periods and avoid heavy streaming or downloading large files unless absolutely necessary, especially since a single HD video stream, like a movie, uses up to 3GB of data per hour.