Apple might soon fix an annoying iPhone hotspot bug

Apple has acknowledged a bug with the Personal Hotspot feature on the iPhone, and there is indication that a fix may be coming soon. 

The Personal Hotspot feature allows users to turn their iPhones into a Wi-Fi access point and use it to connect other devices to the internet. It’s an important feature that’s perhaps even more crucial amid the coronavirus outbreak, when many people are working from home and are cut off from their corporate internet connection. 

But for some users, as documented in this support thread, the hotspot either disconnects other devices or fails to show up completely (personally, I’m experiencing a similar issue on my iPhone 11 Pro Max, albeit rarely). 

Now, MacRumors reports that Apple has told its Authorized Service Providers to expect customers with this issue, and/or general data performance issue. The company suggested a temporary fix of turning the Personal Hotspot feature on and off (which, in my experience, sometimes works immediately, and sometimes I need to turn it on and off five or 10 times to get it to work). 

There’s no official word on a fix, but Apple is scheduled to launch a major new version of its mobile operating system, iOS 13.4, on March 24. It’s possible (but not certain) that this version will contain a remedy for this bug. 

For now, the iOS 13.4 is bringing a redesigned Mail app, new Memoji and Animoji stickers, and iCloud Folder Sharing, among other minor updates.