personal hotspot iconThis article explains what Instant Hotspot is and how you can make the most of it using your Apple devices. If you like, click the links below to jump to the sections that most interest you.

What is Instant Hotspot?

In iOS and iPadOS, Instant Hotspot refers to Apple's long-standing Personal Hotspot feature that lets you share the data connection on your iPhone or cellular iPad with other Apple devices.

Apple calls it Instant Hotspot to highlight the fact that your hotspot is always on and ready to provide internet access to any other devices nearby that are signed into your iCloud account, without them requiring a password to connect.

How is it Different From Personal Hotspot?

Instant Hotspot uses Apple's Continuity framework to connect other devices to your hotspot, so that it stays connected in the absence of a viable Wi-Fi connection, even if the ‌iPhone‌ or ‌iPad‌ hosting the hotspot goes to sleep. That means any incoming messages and push notifications will still arrive on the connected device(s).

In previous versions of iOS, you could only connect to an ‌iPhone‌ or ‌iPad‌ personal hotspot manually, and you had to know your hotspot password, but that's no longer the case.

settings

What You Need to Use Instant Hotspot

Instant Hotspot is an extension of Apple's platform-wide Continuity framework. Therefore, in order for Instant Hotspot to work, your devices need to fulfill the following requirements.

  • Your ‌iPhone‌ or ‌iPad‌ (Wi-Fi + Cellular) has an activated carrier plan that provides Personal Hotspot service.
  • Each device meets Apple's Continuity requirements.
  • Each device is signed in to ‌iCloud‌ with the same Apple ID.
  • Each device has Bluetooth turned on.
  • Each device has Wi-Fi turned on.

How to Connect Your Mac to an Instant Hotspot

To connect your Mac to your Personal Hotspot, click the Wi-Fi status menu in the menu bar and choose the name of your ‌iPhone‌ or ‌iPad‌.

personal hotspot mac
The Wi-Fi status icon in the menu bar will change to the hotspot icon (it looks like a chain link) to indicate that you've successfully connected.

How to Connect Other iOS Devices to Instant Hotspot

To connect an iPod touch or another ‌iPhone‌ or ‌iPad‌ to your Instant Hotspot, tap through to Settings -> Wi-Fi on the device in question, then tap the name of the ‌iPhone‌ or ‌iPad‌ hosting your hotspot.

ipad personal hotspot connection
Note the Auto-Join Hotspot setting located at the bottom of the Wi-Fi screen in Settings. This allows the connecting device to automatically discover nearby personal hotspots when no Wi-Fi network is available. Tapping this option lets you set it to Automatic, Ask to Join, or Never.

How to Let Others Use Your Instant Hotspot

On the Personal Hotspot settings screen, there's a switch that you can turn on to Allow Others to Join.

settings
This makes your hotspot appear to other devices that are not signed into your ‌iCloud‌ account, but only when you're in the Personal Hotspot settings screen of if you've made it discoverable via Control Center.

Other devices can be connected via Bluetooth or plugged in via USB. However, the user of the device must enter the hotspot password you created, just like they would need to in order to connect to a typical Wi-Fi network.

How to Enable Hotspot Family Sharing

You can also set up your ‌iPhone‌ or ‌iPad‌ hotspot so that family members can automatically connect to it whenever an internet connection isn't available. This setting only works with Apple's Family Sharing feature, so make sure you've set that up first.

Once that's done, follow the steps below to start sharing your Instant Hotspot with your Family group.

  1. Launch the Settings app on your ‌iPhone‌.
  2. Tap Personal Hotspot.
  3. Tap Family Sharing.
    personal hotspot family sharing

  4. Toggle the Family Sharing switch to the ON position.
  5. Tap a family member to Ask for Approval.

Once the family member accepts your request, their device will automatically connect to your iOS device's hotspot when required.

How to Disable Instant Hotspot on iPhone and iPad

With the release of iOS 13.1, Apple removed the on/off switch from the Personal Hotspot screen in the Settings app. As described above, the thinking behind this change is that your hotspot is always ready to provide internet access to your other devices whenever they need it. On that basis, verified devices may automatically connect to your nearby instant hotspot if there's no Wi-Fi internet connection available.

control center
If you want to prevent other devices from connecting to your ‌iPhone‌ or ‌iPad‌ hotspot, you can do so via the Control Center: Long press the Bluetooth button, and if the Personal Hotspot button is green on the next screen, tap it to make your hotspot Not Discoverable.

Related Forum: iOS 13

Popular Stories

Beyond iPhone 13 Better Triad

Apple's 20th Anniversary iPhone May Finally Go All Screen

Tuesday April 15, 2025 6:31 am PDT by
Apple is preparing a "bold" new iPhone Pro model for the iPhone's 20th anniversary in 2027, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. As part of what's being described as a "major shake-up," Apple is said to be developing a design that makes more extensive use of glass – and this could point directly to the display itself. Here's the case for Apple releasing a truly all-screen iPhone with no...
maxresdefault

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 12 New Features

Sunday April 13, 2025 7:52 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and ...
CarPlay Hero

Apple Releases Wireless CarPlay Fix

Wednesday April 16, 2025 11:28 am PDT by
If you have been experiencing issues with wireless CarPlay in your vehicle lately, it was likely due to a software bug that has now been fixed. Apple released iOS 18.4.1 today, and the update's release notes say it "addresses a rare issue that prevents wireless CarPlay connection in certain vehicles." If wireless CarPlay was acting up for you, updating your iPhone to iOS 18.4.1 should...
iOS 19 Roundup Feature

iOS 19 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Tuesday April 15, 2025 7:37 am PDT by
The first iOS 19 beta is less than two months away, and there are already a handful of new features that are expected with the update. Apple should release the first iOS 19 beta to developers immediately following the WWDC 2025 keynote, which is scheduled for Monday, June 9. Following beta testing, the update should be released to the general public in September. Below, we recap the key...
iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday April 17, 2025 4:12 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...
Apple 2025 Thumb 1

10 Products Still Coming From Apple in 2025

Friday April 11, 2025 4:14 pm PDT by
Apple may have updated several iPads and Macs late last year and early this year, but there are still multiple new devices that we're looking forward to seeing in 2025. Most will come in September or October, but there could be a few surprises before then. We've rounded up a list of everything that we're still waiting to see from Apple in 2025. iPhone 17, 17 Air, and 17 Pro - We get...
AirPods Pro 3 Mock Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here's What We Know

Friday April 18, 2025 5:16 am PDT by
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...
iOS 18

Apple Releases iOS 18.4.1 With Bug Fixes

Wednesday April 16, 2025 10:11 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 18.4.1 and iPadOS 18.4.1, minor updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating systems that came out last September. iOS 18.4.1 and iPadOS 18.4.1 come two weeks after the launch of iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. There have been complaints about ...
iPhone 6s MacRumors YouTube

Apple Says These Products Are Now Vintage

Tuesday April 15, 2025 9:53 am PDT by
Apple today updated its vintage products list to add the 2018 Mac mini and the iPhone 6s, devices that will get more limited service and repairs now that they are considered vintage. The iPhone 6s initially launched in 2015, but Apple kept it around as a low-cost device until 2018, which is why it is only now being added to the vintage list. The iPhone 6s had Apple's A9 chip, and it was...