How to fix Smart TV Not Connecting to iPhone Hotspot in iOS 17

This article explains how to fix smart TV not connecting to iPhone Personal Hotspot issue.

Note: These instructions apply to all iPhone models running iOS 17.

Sometimes you may want to connect your smart TV to the Internet via Personal Hotspot on your iPhone. However, your TV may refuse to see your iPhone or connect to the Hotspot with Wi-Fi. Sometimes, your TV may seem connected to Hotspot, but your TV may still not have a working Internet connection.

Multiple factors can lead to your iPhone hotspot not connecting to a TV. It can be related to the iPhone, or it might occur due to your TV. Nevertheless, we will cover every possible scenario and fix your iPhone hotspot not connecting to a TV issue.

What to Do if Smart TV Won’t Connect to Your iPhone Hotspot

If your smart TV is not connecting to iPhone Personal Hotspot, follow these suggestions—in this order—to fix the issue.

1. Reboot iPhone and TV

This may sound like a cliche fix, but you’ll be surprised how a simple restart of your iPhone will fix your hotspot connectivity problems. Here’s what to do:

Restart your iPhone:
- You can turn off your iPhone by going to Settings > General > Shut Down.
- Turn your iPhone back on by pressing and holding the power button, which is located on the right side of the device.
Restart your Smart TV. You can use your TV’s settings or buttons to do this, or you can just unplug your TV from the power outlet, then plug it back in.

Try connecting the iPhone hotspot to a TV and see if it works.

2. Update TV and iPhone to the Latest OS Version

If this issue started occurring shortly after updating your iOS version, it could be caused by an unexpected software bug. Apple’s engineers may have already patched it in the latest iOS 17 update.

To update your iPhone, open the Settings app and go to General > Software update and update to the latest iOS version available.

Also, make sure your smart TV is running the latest firmware version. To update your TV firmware, you will need to connect the TV to a different network and follow the steps given by the manufacturer. I am including a few links to popular brands below. You can also check your TV’s manual or contact their support for further help.

3. Check if your Hotspot is working

If you are still having this issue, let’s try to narrow down the problem. The first step is to check whether your iPhone’s Personal Hotspot is working or not. This is easy to check if you have another device like an iPad or a computer. Does your other device connect to your Hotspot? If your answer is yes, then it is highly likely that the problem is with your TV. If you have already restarted and updated your TV, you may consider resetting it to its default factory settings. See the section below on resetting your TV.

4. Cellular service provider

If you think that Personal Hotspot is not working, you may want to contact your cellular provider. There can be several problems:

Make sure that your cellular data plan supports Personal Hotspot.
Your Personal Hotspot plan may have limits. Perhaps you exceeded the cap?
It is possible that your carrier may be experiencing outages.

If you contact your carrier, you can learn about the possible issues that may cause this Hotspot problem.

5. Update cellular settings

Every iPhone has a hidden set of carrier settings. These settings help your iPhone work with your phone company. Carriers issue updates from time to time, though not as often as iOS updates. If smart TV isn’t connecting to iPhone Hotspot, check for and install available carrier settings updates. This is a very simple process, and will only take a few seconds. Here is how:

Launch the Settings app on your iPhone and navigate to General > About.
If there is an update, you’ll see a popup. Simplyhit Update.

6. iPhone Hotspot basic troubleshooting

If your iPhone is the problem, you may try the following steps before going on to the next section:

On your iPhone, turn cellular data off and on. To do this, go to Settings > Cellular > move the Cellular Data slider to off/white and back to on/green.
On your iPhone, turn hotspot off and on. Go to Settings > Personal Hotspot > move the Allow Others to Join slider to off/white and then back to on/green.
On your TV, turn off Wi-Fi, then turn it on again.
Turn on Airplane Mode on your iPhone and turn it off again. To do this, go to Settings > Airplane mode.
If you’re using an iPhone 12 model or newer, turn on Maximize Compatibility by going to Settings > Personal Hotspot.
Open the Personal Hotspot settings on your iPhone (Settings > Personal Hotspot,) and do not close it until your TV is connected.
On your iPhone, change the Personal Hotspot password, and then try again. To do this, go to Settings > Personal Hotspot.
Change your iPhone’s name, then try to connect again. You can do this by going to Settings > General > About > Name.

7. Reset Network Settings

If your Hotspot is not working on your iPhone, you may want to reset your network settings. Doing so will delete all your network settings. For example, your Wi-Fi passwords and your VPN settings will be erased. Here’s how:

Open Settings.
Select General.
Scroll down and tap Transfer or Reset iPhone.
Tap Reset.
Choose Reset Network Settings and follow the onscreen instructions.

8. Factory reset your TV

You may want to reset your TV to factory settings. This will remove all of your data and get the TV software back to its original state. Again, different manufacturers have different steps. Here are instructions for some of the most common brands:

9. What to Do If Smart TV still isn’t connecting to your iPhone Hotspot

At this point, if your smart TV still isn’t connecting to iPhone Personal Hotspot, it’s time to bring in the experts. Here are your options:

Contact Apple for tech support.
Contact the manufacturer of your TV.

Conclusion

In this article, I explained how you can fix the Personal Hotspot problem that you may experience when you try to connect your smart TV to your iPhone’s cellular data connection. Smart TVs need an Internet connection to show much of the content you want to watch. Although Personal Hotspot may not be an ideal solution for connecting your TV to the Internet, sometimes you may not have an alternative. I hope that after following these steps, you can start watching your YouTube, or Netflix programs on your smart TV again.

How to fix Smart TV Not Connecting to iPhone Hotspot in iOS 17 | GeeksChalk (2024)