Use Instant Hotspot, Auto-Join Hotspot, and Family Sharing to connect to your Personal Hotspot without entering a password

What you need to use Instant Hotspot

How to use Instant Hotspot

Connecting to your Personal Hotspot is just like connecting to any other Wi-Fi network. But with Instant Hotspot, you aren't asked to provide the Wi-Fi password of the Personal Hotspot and there is no need to turn on the Personal Hotspot feature on the device providing the Personal Hotspot.

  • On Mac, click Wi-FiWi-Fi in Control CenterControl Center or the menu bar, then choose the name of the iPhone or iPad providing your Personal HotspotPersonal Hotspot.

  • On iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Apple Vision Pro, go to Settings > Wi-Fi, then tap the name of the iPhone or iPad providing your Personal HotspotPersonal Hotspot.

When connected to your Personal Hotspot, the Wi-Fi status iconWi-Fi status icon on your device changes to the Personal Hotspot iconPersonal Hotspot icon.

Personal Hotspot icon in macOS and iOS after connecting

How to use Auto-Join Hotspot

With Auto-Join Hotspot, when no Wi-Fi network is available, you can connect your Apple device to the Personal Hotspot on your iPhone or iPad automatically without going into settings. When your device is near the device providing the Personal Hotspot, your device either prompts you to join the Personal Hotspot or joins it automatically, depending on the Auto-Join Hotspot setting.

  • On iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro, go to Settings > Wi-Fi > Auto-Join Hotspot, then tap Ask to Join or Automatic.

  • On Mac, click Wi-FiWi-Fi in Control CenterControl Center or the menu bar, then click Wi-Fi Settings. Scroll down on the right and turn on or off Ask to join hotspots.

When connected to your Personal Hotspot, the Wi-Fi status iconWi-Fi status icon on your device changes to the Personal Hotspot iconPersonal Hotspot icon.

Let your family join automatically

You can set up Family Sharing so that your family can join your Personal Hotspot automatically—without needing to enter the password. Here's what to do:

  1. On your device with Personal Hotspot, go to Settings > Personal Hotspot > Family Sharing.

  2. Turn on Family Sharing. If you don't see the option, learn how to set up Family Sharing.

  3. Tap the name of each of your family members and set whether they need to ask for approval or join your Personal Hotspot automatically.

If you can't connect to your Personal Hotspot

If Personal Hotspot is not working on your iPhone or iPad (Wi-Fi + Cellular)

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