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These days, having internet access is quite essential to many business operations throughout the world. Not only that, but it is one of the primary ways people get some form of entertainment today. It’s also very useful for learning about the world around us even if we don’t get to travel to various places.
In short, the internet has become an integral part of how we learn, work, and have fun in our daily lives. Because of that, it makes sense that we would want as many ways to get online as possible. Although private or open Wi-Fi networks probably represent the main ways most people connect to the web, they also want ways to do so if there are no networks within range of their devices.
The hotspot is the typical answer to this problem. A hotspot turns a device into a unit that can set up its own Wi-Fi network for other devices to connect to and use. iPhone or Android phones use cellular data, so they make it easy to become hotspots for devices that don’t have access to such data. Some users might find that their Android or iPhone devices seem to turn on the hotspot feature continuously.
We’ll go over why this might happen, how you should be able to stop it from occurring automatically, and whether you can leave a mobile hotspot active all the time. We’ll also talk about what it might do to your phone.
Table of Contents
Why Does My iPhone & Android Keep Turning On the Hotspot?
Android phones and iPhones run on different operating systems, but they can still share many similarities and features. One of the things most phones that run either Android or the iOS can do is become hotspots for other devices.
This means that they use the cellular data that is part of your package to create a unique Wi-Fi network. You can then add your other devices as clients on that network, something that is functionally the same as adding them to your own Wi-Fi network at home.
In most cases, you will have to turn on the hotspot feature manually in order to allow the phones to go into Wi-Fi network mode. This is because turning on the hotspot can disable many of the other features of the phone. You’ll need to verify this manually in order for it to happen.
However, you might run into some cases in which the phone of your choice seems to turn on the hotspot feature randomly and without your approval. This could be a problem for both Android and iPhone models, but the root cause of the issue might be different for both operating platforms.
For Android, the simplest answer may be that hotspot functionality is enabled and the phone thinks that it needs to use it. This might happen if, for example, you leave regular Wi-Fi range and go to a place where only mobile data is active. In such cases, the Android phone may think that it needs to activate the hotspot to allow other devices to connect to its network.
For the iPhone, something similar may be happening. However, it could also be the case that the device is set up to use something that Apple calls the ‘Instant Hotspot’ feature. With this, the hotspot function might activate itself.
The reasons are probably similar to what you’ll find on an Android phone, with the device thinking that it is time to activate the hotspot and allow nearby units to connect to its network automatically.
Like the Android, this is meant to be a feature that is convenient to the user, but it can cause problems if you don’t want the hotspot to activate without your knowledge.
How Do I Stop iPhone & Android From Automatically Turning On a Hotspot?
The precise steps to keep your phone from turning on the hotspot by itself should be similar between Android and Apple devices, but you may need to access different features depending on which model you have.
iPhone Fix
For the iPhone, the first thing to check is the ‘Instant Hotspot’ functionality. If a hotspot is active, the normal Wi-Fi icon of an expanding signal in the shape of a fan should change to two chain links connected to each other instead.
On many versions of the iOS, the personal hotspot feature is always available as part of the design of the phone. However, that doesn’t mean that you can’t stop it from activating. You can change this up by preventing other devices from joining automatically.
To do this, you should start by checking all of the devices that are asking to join the hotspot. Because other devices can ask to join by themselves, they are asking the iPhone to activate its hotspot mode by itself. To prevent this, go to the ‘Settings’ in each of your other devices.
From there, find the ‘Wi-Fi’ screen and go to it. You should see an option for ’Auto-Join Hotspot’. Slide the bar over to ‘Never’ for this one. Doing this should prevent the device from asking your phone to turn on its hotspot feature.
Android Fix
For the Android, you can perform a similar process using menus that should be close to identical. Go to your phone’s ‘Settings’ main menu and find the ‘Wi-Fi’ submenu. From here, you’ll want to find the ‘Advanced’ options from which you can choose.
By doing so, you should see a feature for sharing Wi-Fi that you can disable. This will prevent the Android phone from seeking out devices that it will allow a connection to, and it should stop any such devices from looking for or being able to access the Android as a hotspot.
Why Does My Hotspot Keep Turning On and Off?
We’ve discussed a bit about how your phone might keep turning the hotspot feature on. In most cases, this is due to settings on the phone allowing other devices to connect to it automatically. When these devices send out a signal, it could cause the phone to receive instructions to activate its hotspot so that those secondary units have a Wi-Fi connection.
Although this shouldn’t happen if everything is connected to a home Wi-Fi network, it could still be a problem for some users. Because the devices can connect automatically, there is no authentication process to block them from asking the hotspot to activate.
However, some people may find that their hotspot turns off by itself too, even when they want it to stay active. There are a couple of main reasons why this might be.
Firstly, the phone may have a timeout setting active. With a timeout, the device may be configured to deactivate the hotspot by itself. Most of the time, this will be something it does after a brief period of inactivity on the Wi-Fi network that it creates.
In other cases, it might shut off the hotspot after some time has passed in any situation, and this could be regardless of how many devices are connected to and currently using its network.
The second reason is related to the first, and it has to do with battery life. Most of the situations in which you will want to use your phone as a hotspot will come up when you are away from available Wi-Fi networks.
This might also mean that you don’t have a good way to charge the phone. Although Wi-Fi hotspots are useful, they consume battery life quickly.
Once your battery falls below a certain percentage, the phone may go into a power-saving mode wherein it deactivates the hotspot to prolong its remaining life. If you notice that the hotspot is turning off when you need it, it could be because the battery is too low to support the feature.
You can try some battery optimization options, but the core of the matter is that the device needs some power to make the hotspot work.
Can You Leave Your Mobile Hotspot on All the Time?
You can leave a hotspot on as long as you would like, but it is governed by the constraints of the battery. If you find that you want to use your phone as a receiver for other devices more than as a smartphone, you may wish to leave the hotspot active all the time.
So long as you have a sufficient charge in the battery, you can do so. If you have a way to keep the phone plugged into a power source during these operations, it could make it easier for you to use the device in this way.
Does Hotspot Ruin Your Phone?
No, a hotspot should have no real effect on your phone. The only exception here is in the battery draining that we touched on earlier. Many people need to rely on their phones to get the internet to other devices when they are on the go. It is important to remember that batteries can wear down over time, and you may be limited in how many charge cycles your battery can handle. There will be more frequent charging if your device is mostly a hotspot. However, many modern batteries are designed to handle lots of charges with ease.
Conclusion
Hotspots offer a lot of flexibility in getting people on the internet even when there is no Wi-Fi in sight. The ability to create our own networks using cellular data means that it is rare for any of our other devices to be without a way to access the web.
However, hotspots can prove to be a bit unstable at times, and you may find yours turning off or on by itself. This could be related to allowing automatic connections or saving the battery, but you can fix both issues in your phone’s settings.
