It doesn’t seem to be a widespread issue — so far I’ve heard of it happening on Telstra iPhone 4S units, but it may go further — but it looks like the upgrade to iOS 5 may remove the personal hotspot feature entirely. Here’s how to get it back.
I’ve got to give thanks to Daniel Vooks (of Vooks.net) for passing this one along. Not just because it’s useful information, but because restoring an iPhone 4S last night with a Telstra SIM in it made the same thing happen to me. Over the weekend, Daniel upgraded to iOS 5. Alongside all the shiny new features he noticed that something was missing; the personal hotspot feature that was present previously. He did something brave — he phoned Telstra support to sort out the issue. Not always the smoothest procedure, but he’s shared the details of what worked for him with me, which means none of the rest of us have to spend hours waiting on hold. Thanks (of a sort) to my own 4S doing the same thing last night, I can screenshot the procedure for you.
Adam
Thursday, October 20, 2011 at 10:10 AMThis happened to me also, but I fixed it a different way.I just reset the network settings (Settings->General->Reset->Reset Network Settings) and then the hotspot option reappeared.
Thorbjørn
Thursday, October 20, 2011 at 10:15 AMDoesn’t happen on Optus. I’ve already used my personal hotspot and it works fine.
Probably just a Telstra issue?
Raymond
Thursday, October 20, 2011 at 10:31 AMDon’t see how your carrier could affect it like this… i might be wrong :) but i would say software, with coincidence of two+ Telstra customers reporting it. Most common to complain :D
Kroo
Thursday, October 20, 2011 at 7:53 PMEven if your phone is factory unlocked the carrier sim card determines whether you get hotspot or not. Telstra allows hotspot for free, asshole Optus charge $10 per month. So when you’re asked to put your sim in to activate the phone, this is when the OS determines hotspot availability. When you got to activate hotspot on an Optus sim, you’re asked to contact them to enable this function.
BenDTU
Thursday, October 20, 2011 at 10:34 AMYeah, no issue with Virgin either.
Alan Zeino
Thursday, October 20, 2011 at 11:29 AMIt’s a Telstra issue; carriers create and test their own settings bundles that they then supply to Apple which are then downloaded to the device during activation – Telstra’s has a few issues on iOS 5. They either didn’t test sufficiently, or introduced a problem (I haven’t kept up with their version numbers – which you can see in Settings -> General -> About).
Tim
Thursday, October 20, 2011 at 10:34 AMIn case you didn’t notice, the article stated its not a widespread issue. I’m on Telstra and didn’t lose hotspot when i upgraded to iOS5.
Phillo
Thursday, October 20, 2011 at 10:21 AMI had the same issue on my iPhone4.
Followed the steps and all is now good!! Thanks for the advice guys.
Sam
Thursday, October 20, 2011 at 10:38 AMI had the same issue with Optus. Reset my network settings, rebooted and it was back. Unfortunately this means I lost WiFi passwords etc.
Sam D
Thursday, October 20, 2011 at 11:17 AMIt happened to a friend of mine and he just said go to General->Reset->Reset Network Settings
Craig
Thursday, October 20, 2011 at 11:46 AMWow, my partner has never had it available while being with Telstra, as have other people – it’s great to know that I can essentially ‘add’ this feature to her phone. Thanks.
B-dawg
Thursday, October 20, 2011 at 11:56 AMYuppers, it did it to me to (on Voda).
And the “Reset Network Settings” option worked for me too.
cam
Thursday, October 20, 2011 at 12:38 PMhadn’t even noticed this but hotspot was gone from my menu after upgrade on iPhone4. Thanks
Also anyone having dramas with custom alert tones? They don’t seem to work well, ie no sounds, even though I’ve set that up.
lolwut
Thursday, October 20, 2011 at 1:11 PMdid not happened to me (3) with iphone 4
Judge
Thursday, October 20, 2011 at 2:03 PMIt comes down to the encrypted ipcc that Telstra creates for all of the unique carrier settings. When you reset the carrier settings it downloads the file again. Obviously they forgot the setting configuration for Tethering
Siiel
Thursday, October 20, 2011 at 3:13 PMI’d say leave Reset Network Settings for last as it would remove all the Wi-Fi passwords. Had to do it recently and was sad that I lost my collection :(
Victor
Thursday, October 20, 2011 at 3:39 PMThis didn’t happen to me, but I had an issue with Hotspot that might be worth sharing.
I recently moved to Telstra with the iPhone 4S. On my previous phone, I used Onavo for reducing my data fees. Onavo is an App that installs a profile so traffic redirect to their servers, where the data is compressed.
This profile is automatically setup on install by Onavo, and detects your carrier profile and settings (APN).
It works with Telstra for regular internet access. However, it creates an issue with Hotspot and with checking your balance from your phone using a browser.
So, I removed Onavo and it’s profile, and my phone’s Hotspot works perfectly again.
By the way, I am not using the term “perfectly” loosely. After trying Vodafone, Optus and Virgin, Telstra has given me the best Hotspot service so far (average 6Mbps on download).
Simon
Thursday, October 20, 2011 at 4:42 PMTHANK YOU COMMENTERS, the Reset Network Settings fixed it for me… I lost my personal hotspot when I moved to the iOS5 GM. After resetting the network settings, i went back into Settings, it wasn’t there, i freaked out then went into general > network and there it was thinking away, after a few seconds, I had Personal Hotspot back! Thanks again all :o)
LeftRightOut
Monday, October 24, 2011 at 8:49 AMThanks to all… I use my personal hotspot for internet access at work (when on the road) – I find it a much better option than carrying one of those cumbersome wireless dongles around… went to log on this morning – and nothing.
Thanks to the tips here, I’m back in business.
PS: Telstra Sim used.
No Carrier
Wednesday, November 9, 2011 at 3:44 AMI’ve tried all the 3 options but it does appear. The personal hotspot disapeared from my iphone 4 after uprading to IOS 5.
can anybody help me?
Gogo
Monday, December 19, 2011 at 7:42 PMWorked with me just needed to put an APN
Taximan
Friday, February 3, 2012 at 3:31 PMFantastic – did a Restore and a Reset All after having issues with iCloud – when I restarted, I was asked if I wanted to update carrier settings (Telstra) which I did – then noticed the Hotspot had disappeared. Followed instructions and now have it back.
Cheers, big ears!!
Yahaira
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 12:23 PMI’ve done all the options and mine doesnt come back it just says to call to setup hotspot, I have AT&T. I used to have it but now nothing works :(
Jason
Friday, February 10, 2012 at 12:57 PMYou are an absolute champion.. this has had me stumped for weeks.. I haven’t had full morning free to sit on the phone to Telstra, so your post is brilliant!! Thanks!
ear
Wednesday, February 22, 2012 at 8:58 AMI have the same problem in Switzerland. If I make a factory reset (and then loose all my data…) I can activate the tethering. But after restoring the data the option falls out again. And no possibility to enter network data as shown on the screenshots: the menu does not appear either. No answer from the phone company neither Apple…