Personal hotspot is one of the most convenient features of modern smartphones. It allows you to share Internet connection from one to other devices that don’t have direct Wi-Fi internet access. Turning the feature on is usually needed if you badly needed to use the Internet on your device but couldn’t because there’s no direct access to a Wi-Fi network. Apple’s iPhone XS handset has this feature. If you’re having trouble using Personal Hotspot as it’s missing on your iPhone XS, then this post will help you.
Read on to find out why Personal Hotspot is missing on your iPhone XS and what should be done in order to make the feature visible and available on your phone. Keep reading for more information.
Before anything else, if you are looking for a solution to a different problem, then drop in on our iPhone XS Help Guides page for we have already solved some of the most common problems with this device. Try to find issues that are similar to yours and feel free to use our workarounds and solutions.
Fixing your iPhone’s missing Personal Hotspot menu
The following solutions are used to eliminate software-related issues on the iPhone XS that caused Personal Hotspot to be gone or unavailable from the settings menu options.
First solution: Force restart your iPhone XS.
Performing a forced restart often used to clear out corrupted apps and refreshes your phone’s memory and operating system. Should this problem be attributed to minor firmware crashes and app glitches, then it will likely be resolved by a forced restart. Just follow these steps to proceed:
- Press and release the Volume Up button quickly.
- Press and release the Volume Down button quickly.
- Lastly, press and hold the Side button for a few seconds until you see the Apple logo.
After the phone reboots, go to your phone settings and see if the Personal Hotspot menu option is already available. If it’s still not, then try the next possible solutions.
Second solution: Enable then disable Airplane mode.
Enabling Airplane mode on your iPhone XS will turn off all wireless radios and relevant functions of the phone including cellular data and Wi-Fi connection. Disabling airplane mode turns these features back on. So it’s like giving them a quick restart or breather. Surprisingly, this trick has already done wonders to many iPhone owners who have dealt with various types of wireless connectivity issues. Thus, you should consider giving it a try and see how it does. Here’s what you should do then:
- Access Settings > Airplane mode menu.
- Toggle the switch to enable Airplane mode.
- Restart or soft reset your iPhone XS while airplane mode is turned on.
- After rebooting your phone, access Settings > Airplane mode then disable it.
Wait for your iPhone to re-establish network signal. You can see that on its network/signal status indicator. Once the network connections resume, go to your iPhone XS settings and see if Personal Hotspot is already available.
Also don’t forget to enable Cellular data if you wish to use data for your mobile Internet connection..
Third solution: Reset network settings on your iPhone XS.
Performing a reset to the network settings can also provide the best possible solution if the issue is triggered by some network errors and glitches. Performing this reset will clear out all saved cellular and Wi-Fi settings on your phone and then revert them to the default configurations. If you want to give this a try, here’s how:
- Access Settings from the Home screen.
- Scroll down to and select General.
- Tap on Reset.
- Select Reset Network Settings option.
- Enter your device passcode if asked to proceed.
- Confirm the prompt to Reset network settings.
Your iPhone will restart automatically after the reset of network settings is done and then reverts to the default configurations so you’ll need to set up your wireless connections then enable cellular data to use them again on your phone.
Fourth solution: Reset all settings.
If reset network settings did not help, performing a reset all settings on your iPhone xs might provide a positive outcome. Manually configured information like APN’s will prevent personal hotspot feature to show up. This procedure will delete all customized settings on your phone and restores it to the default configuration. Here you go:
- From the Home screen, access Settings.
- Tap on General then scroll down to and select Reset.
- Select Reset all Settings option.
- If asked, enter your device passcode.
- Select the option to confirm all settings reset.
You phone will then reboot automatically after the reset. After it restarts, enable your cellular data to check if the issue on missing personal hotspot has been resolved. If not, then you may proceed and try the next possible solutions.
Fifth solution: Update iOS version and carrier settings.
Updating your iPhone XS software to the latest iOS version is also a key to rectify the missing Personal Hotspot error especially if network bugs and system errors are to blame. You can easily download and install these updates on your iPhone wirelessly (Over-the-Air) or manually via iTunes on a computer. The most convenient way to perform an update will be through OTA. To do it, just follow the steps below:
- Access Settings from the Home screen.
- Scroll down to then select General.
- Tap on Software update.
- A notification screen will prompt if there is an available update. Select Download and Install.
Wait for the update and apps to finish installing. Once everything is done, restart your phone to implement and save the recent system changes on the system.
Update carrier settings on your iPhone XS.
Aside from installing iOS update, downloading and installing the latest carrier settings can also help in fixing the problem .Here’s how it’s done:
- From the Home screen, access Settings.
- Scroll down to General.
- Select About.
Wait for a few seconds to see if there is an available update option for your carrier settings. Just follow the on-screen prompts to continue. If there is no notification, it means that there is no available update for your carrier settings.
Sixth solution: Restore your iPhone XS in iTunes using Recovery mode.
If this issue is caused by a software bug from a recent iOS update implementation and the previous procedure did not fix it, this solution might do the trick. Carrying out an iOS restore will permanently wipe out all data saved on your phone’s internal memory and will give it a fresh start.
It is recommended to backup your files before performing the procedure. You will need to use a Mac or Windows computer with the latest iTunes app installed to restore your iPhone XS in recovery mode via iTunes. If everything is ready, just follow these steps:
- Using the Apple-supplied USB/Lightning cable, connect your iPhone XS to the computer.
- Once connected, press and release the Volume up button quickly.
- Then quickly press and release the Volume down button.
- Press and hold the Power/Side button until you see the Recovery mode. Do not release the Side button if you’ll see the Apple logo as you will need to enter recovery mode.
- Once iTunes prompts you to Restore or Update, select Restore. This will allow iTunes to download the software for your device. Your phone will exit recovery mode if the download takes more than 15 minutes. If that happens, just repeat the steps to enter recovery mode again.
Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the entire iOS restore process. You can disconnect your iPhone from the computer once everything is done done properly..
The last ultimate solutions to major system errors on an iPhone is the iOS restore. You can restore your iPhone in recovery mode or DFU mode, otherwise contact your network service provider for more advanced troubleshooting methods. You can find a more detailed tutorial on how to update, factory reset and restore iOS on your phone.
Still missing Personal hotspot on your iPhone XS?
If none of the above procedures produce positive outputs, contacting Apple support will be the next option to get additional information and advanced troubleshooting steps. You can also visit the nearest Apple service center in your area and have your phone checked by their onsite technician.
Connect with us
We are committed to helping our readers fix the problems with their phones as well as learn how to properly use their devices. So, if you have other issues, you may visit our Help Guides page so you can check by yourself the articles we’ve already published that contain solutions to common problems. Also, we do create videos to demonstrate how things are done on your phone. Visit our Youtube Channel and please subscribe to it. Thanks.
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