How to Enable/Disable a Personal Hotspot (Apple/iOS)

Overview

Step-by-step guide on how to turn on the Personal Hotspot on your iOS device (iPad, iPhone). Please note that hotspot enabled cell phones are to be used for official City of Buffalo business only.  

Troubleshooting

Confirm with your supervisor and/or M.I.S. that your cell phone plan includes hotspot capabilities. 

Steps

Step 1: Turn on Personal Hotspot

1. Unlock your iOS device and go to the home screen.
2. Open the "Settings" app, which is represented by a gear icon.
3. Navigate to "Personal Hotspot" in the Settings app.
4. At the top of the Personal Hotspot screen, you'll see a toggle switch. Tap the switch to turn on Personal Hotspot. Once it's on, your iOS device will start broadcasting a Wi-Fi network that other devices can connect to.

Step 2: Configure Hotspot Settings (Mandatory) If you have an account with enabled hotspot and you intend to use it, you must configure the hotspot settings to the following preferences:

• Wi-Fi Password: Password requirements: 

- 10 Characters minimum
- Need letters, numbers and special characters.
- 2 Special characters, 2 Capital letters.
- Cannot have staff's member name or email in the password.

Example password:  ?TemP1234!

• Max Number of Connections: Limit the number of devices that can connect to your hotspot simultaneously to the number of city owned devices that you will connect to. City owned devices are the only devices that are allowed to connect to the hotspot. In most cases, this number should be set to one (laptop).
• Family Sharing: This must remain disabled.

Step 3: Connect Devices to Hotspot Now that your hotspot is active, other city-owned devices can connect to it via Wi-Fi. To do this on the other device (e.g., another smartphone, laptop, or tablet):

1. Open the Wi-Fi settings on the other device.
2. Look for your iOS device's hotspot name in the list of available Wi-Fi networks.
3. Tap on the hotspot name and enter the Wi-Fi password if prompted.
4. Once connected, the other device should have internet access through your iOS device's cellular data connection.

Step 4: Monitor Hotspot Usage Keep an eye on your hotspot usage, as it can consume data quickly. You can check the amount of data used under the "Cellular" section in the "Settings" app.

Step 5: Turn Off Personal Hotspot When you no longer need the hotspot, it is critical to turn it off to conserve battery and data usage. Simply go back to the "Personal Hotspot" screen in the "Settings" app and toggle the switch to off.