iPhone 17 hotspot won’t connect to iPad 10th gen

My iPhone 17 pro, running iOS 26.7 won’t connect to my iPad, 10th generation via hotspot. The iPad settings show that it has connected, but there is no Internet connection. I have tried connecting via hotspot to a non-Apple device, same result. I have run through all of the steps in the Apple support AI generated help section, and I’ve also run through three increasingly higher levels of live Apple assistance, none of them could solve the problem (we wound up with the Apple default response “it’s a carrier issue“). The only advice they will give is that I should upgrade to iOS 27, which I am reluctant to do because of concerns about AI security. Has anyone else experienced this problem?

Posted on Sep 18, 2026 10:29 AM

1 reply

razmee209

Level 10 (205,348 points)

Sep 18, 2026 10:33 AM in response to trychterus

trychterus wrote:

My iPhone 17 pro, running iOS 26.7 won’t connect to my iPad, 10th generation via hotspot. The iPad settings show that it has connected, but there is no Internet connection. I have tried connecting via hotspot to a non-Apple device, same result. I have run through all of the steps in the Apple support AI generated help section, and I’ve also run through three increasingly higher levels of live Apple assistance, none of them could solve the problem (we wound up with the Apple default response “it’s a carrier issue“). The only advice they will give is that I should upgrade to iOS 27, which I am reluctant to do because of concerns about AI security. Has anyone else experienced this problem?

That's because you hotpsot is included in the service that you pay your phone carrier montly.

Surely you contacted them to let them know a service that you pay for isn't working on your device.