Yes, I keep a physical SIM in the iPhone.
Sometimes it is turned on, sometimes it is not.
But Instant Hotspot works either way.
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iPhone No Instant Hotspot with eSIM only
- Thread starter Lakshman M N
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Yes, I keep a physical SIM in the iPhone.
Sometimes it is turned on, sometimes it is not.
But Instant Hotspot works either way.
This is strange. I bought a 2nd iPad (11”) and the new iPad connects to my Xs Max instantly. My other iPad (12.9) does not. It’s the same phone.
I have reset network on the 12.9 and it still won’t work.
I have reset network on the 12.9 and it still won’t work.
The Instant Hotspot feature uses the same subsystem as Continuity/Handoff and related features, so the same requirements are there - BT enabled, WiFI enabled, all devices signed into the same iCloud account.
In troubleshooting an issue a while ago with Handoff I discovered that occasionally something goes wrong and a device has everything enabled properly but doesn't end up with the proper device pairing keys it needs, resulting in things not working (or things like iCloud Keychain not syncing, etc). The solution is usually to sign out of iCloud and back in, which generates new device-specific keys and causes everything to start working again. So that's an annoying solution but something that may work in the case where one device doesn't see it but all the others do.
In troubleshooting an issue a while ago with Handoff I discovered that occasionally something goes wrong and a device has everything enabled properly but doesn't end up with the proper device pairing keys it needs, resulting in things not working (or things like iCloud Keychain not syncing, etc). The solution is usually to sign out of iCloud and back in, which generates new device-specific keys and causes everything to start working again. So that's an annoying solution but something that may work in the case where one device doesn't see it but all the others do.
I upgraded to iOS 12.1.2 beta 1. Instant Hotspot still doesn't work if only my eSIM is active. As soon as I enable the physical SIM as well, Instant Hotspot magically appears.
All the Continuity/Handoff features are working fine and that's not the issue (I know how painful that troubleshooting can be).
So I guess there is some situation (maybe depending on the carrier?) where Instant Hotspot doesn't work in eSIM-only configurations. I need to try out other eSIM carriers and see if that makes a difference.
All the Continuity/Handoff features are working fine and that's not the issue (I know how painful that troubleshooting can be).
So I guess there is some situation (maybe depending on the carrier?) where Instant Hotspot doesn't work in eSIM-only configurations. I need to try out other eSIM carriers and see if that makes a difference.
Signing out of iCloud and back in worked for me. Thanks.
I tried a different eSIM provider but to no avail. The physical SIM must be turned on for Instant Hotspot to work.
I did submit this as a bug to Apple in the developer bug reporter. It was closed as a duplicate.
That’s good news. Other people who can be bothered should do the same - the more dupes of an issue, the more attention it gets internally.
Once I get the chance to try an eSIM in mine I’ll check this and file a radar on it as well.
Logging out and back into iCloud is a big deal; there's a lot going on with synchronization and the like. It's not something you're supposed to do.
Instant Hotspot has never been reliable for me. I gave up trying to use it and just manually set up the hotspot these days.
iOS 13 beta 1&2 same issue with esim only config . I thought it was the beta but maybe not. Hotspot, instant, is visible on my Mac but not able to connect. Hotspot on other devices visible but not able to connect (wrong password or keeps connecting).
I plugged in a sim and all went back to normal. Took the sim out boom not working.
Anyone found more on this?
LE: just plugged now an old sim which PIN I don’t remember and hotspot is back to normal. This is so not normal. And by the way the sim is off in the settings. So it looks like it just needs a dummy sim in there.
I plugged in a sim and all went back to normal. Took the sim out boom not working.
Anyone found more on this?
LE: just plugged now an old sim which PIN I don’t remember and hotspot is back to normal. This is so not normal. And by the way the sim is off in the settings. So it looks like it just needs a dummy sim in there.
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I do, and it is usually turned on.
One thing I know they're working on is that there are occasions when you have an eSIM turned on that the physical SIM is not working correctly.
Finding a solution is going to involve logging of cellular baseband performance, which is not an easy thing to talk us into doing, because it involves a profile on your phone, logging within a few moments of noticing the problem, performing a backup to your MacBook or iMac with iTunes, and then finding the files, zipping them, moving them back to your iPhone and then uploading them via Feedback.
This is why it takes so long to fix some things.
We are very lazy testers, for the most part and that's a lot to go through even if we can figure it out.
