Hotspot fails on a laptop due to settings, band mismatch, driver issues, or carrier limits—check bands, plan, and update both devices.
Nothing derails a task like a laptop that refuses to join your phone’s hotspot. The network name appears, the password seems right, and the spinner never stops. Sometimes it connects, then drops a few minutes later. Other times the laptop never sees the hotspot at all. The fixes below walk you from quickest checks to deeper tweaks, so you can get back online without guesswork.
Hotspot Not Working On Laptop: Root Causes
Most failures fall into a handful of buckets: Wi-Fi band mismatch, saved credentials that no longer match, power saving rules that shut radios down, drivers that need a refresh, VPN or firewall conflicts, or a plan that blocks tethering. Start with the easy wins before changing system settings.
| Symptom | Likely Cause | Fast Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Laptop sees hotspot but fails to join | Wrong password, band mismatch, MAC randomization clash | Re-enter password, switch hotspot to 2.4 GHz, try turning off Private MAC on the laptop for this network |
| Connects, then drops after a minute | Power saving on phone or laptop, weak cell signal | Disable battery saver and power saving for Wi-Fi, move to better signal, keep hotspot screen open for a moment |
| Hotspot invisible to the laptop | 5 GHz only SSID, DFS channel, laptop card limits | Set hotspot to 2.4 GHz, use a simple SSID, retry scanning |
| Connected but no internet | Carrier blocks tethering, data cap hit, VPN or DNS rules | Check plan, turn VPN off, set DNS to automatic, test a web page |
| USB hotspot works, Wi-Fi fails | Wireless driver or config issue | Update the WLAN driver, delete and re-add the network |
Fast Checks Before Deep Fixes
- Toggle radios. Turn hotspot off, wait ten seconds, then on again. On the laptop, turn Wi-Fi off and back on. A clean scan often clears stale sessions.
- Reboot both devices. A quick restart resets Wi-Fi, DHCP, and carrier-side leases.
- Confirm the plan. Some carriers gate tethering or slow it after a cap. If your phone loads pages on mobile data but the laptop stalls, the plan may restrict hotspot use.
- Pick the right band. Many older or budget Wi-Fi cards miss 5 GHz or certain channels. Set the phone’s hotspot to 2.4 GHz and test. On iPhone, use the Personal Hotspot compatibility toggle that forces 2.4 GHz; on Android, change the “AP band” to 2.4 GHz.
- Forget and rejoin. On the laptop, remove the saved hotspot network and join fresh with the current password.
- Move closer. Keep the phone a meter or two from the laptop. Very near or far can both hurt link quality.
Fixes On The Phone Or Tablet
iPhone Or iPad
Open Settings → Personal Hotspot, enable “Allow Others to Join,” and check the Wi-Fi name and password. If a laptop refuses to join, turn Wi-Fi off and on again on the laptop, then retry. For stubborn joins, enable the 2.4 GHz compatibility toggle in Personal Hotspot and test again. Apple’s official guide lists these steps and more under its Personal Hotspot help pages; it also suggests keeping the hotspot screen open during the first join, then letting the phone lock once the laptop is online. See Apple’s Personal Hotspot troubleshooting.
If the switch is missing or greyed out, reset network settings on the iPhone (Settings → General → Transfer or Reset → Reset Network Settings), then set the hotspot password again and retry. Reboot once after the reset.
Android
Go to Settings → Network & Internet → Hotspot & tethering. Turn Wi-Fi hotspot on, set a simple SSID, and use WPA2 or WPA3. If the laptop cannot see the SSID or fails to join, set the hotspot band to 2.4 GHz, then test. For a clean slate, change the hotspot password, save, and try again. Google’s step-by-step page covers Wi-Fi, USB, and Bluetooth tethering: check the Android hotspot and tethering guide.
Turn off Battery Saver and any “turn off hotspot when idle” feature during testing. If your phone uses a VPN, pause it, then retry. If USB tethering works but Wi-Fi does not, you likely have a wireless config or driver issue on the laptop side.
Fixes On Windows Laptop
- Forget the network. Settings → Network & Internet → Wi-Fi → Manage known networks, remove the phone’s SSID, then reconnect.
- Run the troubleshooter. Open Get Help and run the Network troubleshooter. It renews IP, checks adapters, and resets common items.
- Update the wireless driver. In Device Manager → Network adapters, right-click your Wi-Fi card, choose Update driver. If nothing new appears, visit the laptop maker’s page and install the latest package.
- Power saving. In the Wi-Fi adapter’s Power Management tab, uncheck “Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power,” then test.
- Band and channel sanity. Some cards falter on certain 5 GHz channels. If you must use 5 GHz, set the phone to a non-DFS channel; easiest path is switching the hotspot to 2.4 GHz while you test.
- Stack refresh. Open an elevated Command Prompt and run:
ipconfig /release,ipconfig /flushdns,netsh winsock reset, then reboot. - Pause VPN and firewalls. Security tools can block DHCP or captive portal pages. Pause, connect, then re-enable.
Fixes On macOS Laptop
- Renew the join. In System Settings → Wi-Fi, remove the phone’s network, then add it again.
- Cycle radios. Turn Wi-Fi off for ten seconds, then on. If the phone is an iPhone signed in with the same Apple ID, use Instant Hotspot from the Wi-Fi menu.
- Try USB or Bluetooth tethering once. If that path works, Wi-Fi is the only piece that needs attention.
- Update macOS. Install pending updates, then retest.
When The Laptop Connects But Internet Is Dead
A join without traffic points to the carrier path, DNS, or a policy. Test a quick page on the phone using mobile data. If the phone loads pages but the laptop does not, try these steps:
- Turn off VPN. Some mobile VPNs block tethered clients.
- Use automatic DNS. On the laptop, set DNS to automatic and renew the lease. Custom DNS, split-tunnel, or a stale cache can stall lookups.
- Move for signal. Weak LTE/5G signal can allow a join but starve throughput. Try a window or another room.
- Plan limits. If speeds crawl or stop near the end of a cycle, you may have hit a cap on tethering data.
Second Table Of Fix Paths
| Device | Menu Path | Tip |
|---|---|---|
| iPhone / iPad | Settings → Personal Hotspot | Enable the 2.4 GHz compatibility toggle if the laptop fails on 5 GHz |
| Android | Settings → Network & Internet → Hotspot & tethering | Set AP band to 2.4 GHz, pick WPA2 or WPA3, use a simple SSID |
| Windows | Settings → Network & Internet → Wi-Fi | Forget and rejoin; update the WLAN driver if drops persist |
| macOS | System Settings → Wi-Fi | Forget the network, then add it back; test USB or Bluetooth once |
USB And Bluetooth Tethering As A Backup
If Wi-Fi keeps failing, try USB tethering once. USB gives the laptop a clean network path and bypasses many Wi-Fi quirks. On Android, turn on USB tethering after plugging the cable. On iPhone, plug in, tap Trust if prompted, and join from the laptop’s network panel. Bluetooth tethering is slower but handy for quick messaging or light pages when Wi-Fi is crowded.
Safer SSID, Password, And Channel Tips
- Use a plain SSID. Stick to letters and numbers. Fancy punctuation can confuse some clients.
- Strong passphrase. At least twelve characters with a mix of letters and numbers. Avoid reuse from other services.
- Channel width. If your phone allows it, pick 20 MHz on 2.4 GHz for reach in crowded areas. Wider can help speed on 5 GHz once things are stable.
Carrier And Account Checks
If nothing works, call your carrier and ask whether tethering is active on your line. A plan change, SIM swap, or unpaid bill can silently block hotspot sessions while normal phone data still works. Ask the agent to re-provision hotspot on your number, then reboot the phone and try again.
One Last Pass: A Clean Join
- Change the phone’s hotspot password to a new one.
- Set the hotspot band to 2.4 GHz.
- On the laptop, forget the old SSID.
- Reboot both devices.
- Join again and browse a simple site.
If that works, switch back to 5 GHz for speed when both devices handle it well.
Checklist For Next Time
- Keep drivers and OS updates current.
- Use 2.4 GHz for reach when you hit odd join errors; move to 5 GHz once stable.
- Turn off Battery Saver during hotspot sessions.
- Pause VPN when testing.
- Keep a USB cable handy for a quick tether when Wi-Fi gets fussy.