Why Is MetroPCS Hotspot Not Working? Complete Fix Guide

If your MetroPCS hotspot not working, then you’ll definitely find a lot of different approaches to try and resolve the issue as soon as possible.

In this post, we will go over ALL known possibilities and help you identify and troubleshoot the problem accordingly.

Your MetroPCS hotspot may have stopped working if you lost reception on your main device. Otherwise, potential suspects could be an overloaded network, insufficient bandwidth, an issue with your own device, or area interference.

Let’s guess no further and take a look at what other users share with the community after dealing with the same problem as you do!

Why Is Metro By T-Mobile Hotspot Not Working?

Users report that the main suspect for not working hotspot is the fact that your main device has lost connection to the servers.

This can often happen whenever there is not enough bandwidth to power up the internet usage or there is physical obstruction interference.

Here is a short description of the most frequently reported causes:

1. Hotspot Device

A potential software or hardware problem with the device that enables the hotspot may lead to an outage.

2. Signal Interference

Any large metallic, electronic, or WiFi device could interfere with your hotspot, thus making it unavailable.

3. Power Saving Mode

If you’ve enabled a power-saving mode on your device, this could automatically turn off the hotspot after a while.

4. Insufficient Bandwidth

Not enough bandwidth for the network might as well shut down your hotspot.

5. Disabled Wi-Fi

Your hotspot won’t be able to function at all if you’ve disabled the WiFi on your main device.

There are even more causes that we’ll address later in our solutions so make sure to follow the post while troubleshooting.

How To Fix MetroPCS Mobile Hotspot Not Working?

Before we proceed any further, we anticipate that you’ve already restarted your hotspot device. If you still haven’t tried a reboot, we strongly recommend doing so before you continue.

Tip: Test your hotspot with more than one receiver device, to justify its current state.

Solution #1 Re-Insert the T-Mobile SIM Card

If your Metro by T-Mobile hotspot constantly drops, the by far easiest approach to this issue is to re-insert your device’s SIM card.

For this purpose, you will need a paper clip (or any sharp object) to open the SIM card compartment and take it out.

It is important to insert the SIM card rightfully to avoid damaging the card itself and the compartment. If your device requires a SIM card PIN, then the card is being read successfully and you can test your hotspot.

Quick Guide – How To Enable Hotspot Rightfully?

1. Turn ON WiFi and Mobile/Cellular Data!
2. Disconnect from any WiFi that your device automatically connects.
3. Turn ON the personal hotspot.
4. Wait for a few seconds.

Note: If it’s not working, try to turn the WiFi and Hotspot OFF, and then turn ON the Hotspot again. You will receive a prompt asking you to enable Bluetooth or WiFi. Choose WiFi.

Solution #2 Set Up Access Point Name

If you are setting up a new device or you have switched devices, after inserting the SIM card you should definitely set up an APN so your device can connect to the mobile data.

As we know, without mobile data there is no hotspot so if that’s your case follow the steps below:

1. Go to the Settings of your device.
2. Navigate to Wireless Networks and choose More.
3. Go to Cellular Networks > APN (Access Point Name).
4. Open T-Mobile APN. If not there, press on Menu > New APN.
5. Make sure to align the following APN settings mentioned below:

Metro by T-Mobile APN Settings

• APN: fast.t-mobile.com
• MCC: 310
• Name: T-Mobile US LITE
• APN Protocol: IPv4/IPv6
• MMSC: https://mms.msg.eng.t-mobile.com/mms/wapenc
• MMS Protocol: WAP 2.0
• MNC: 260
• APN Type: default/supl/mms

Once ready hit save, disable/enable your WiFi and hotspot and test again. If it does not work, let’s look for the reason elsewhere.

Solution #3 Disconnect Devices

The next solution you can try in order to test out your bandwidth usage is to disconnect devices.

If you have several devices connected to your Metro by T-Mobile hotspot, it is possible that this might be overloading the network with enormous traffic, thus disabling your hotspot.

We recommend leaving one or two essential devices connected to the hotspot and testing the network.

If everything turns out just right when you’re using fewer devices, then the best option is to get in touch with T-Mobile for a plan upgrade.

Note: Some devices have NO hotspot limiter, allowing you to hook up as many devices as you want. This often leads to really slow speeds, hotspot device overheating, and a series of other issues.

Solution #4 Reduce Network Usage

Now that you have your network freed up a bit if the issue is still there, we recommend reducing any increased network usage that might be bringing the hotspot down.

It is well-known that hotspots cannot withstand extreme usage, so it is recommended to stop any network drainers.

Note: Your hotspot is linked to your cellular internet, which means that if the device sharing the hotspot is consuming a large portion of your internet, the shared hotspot will be limited.

Here is a list of a few things that you can reduce in order to preserve the network usage:

1. Stop any ongoing downloads or uploads.
2. Prevent seeding any torrents or files you’ve downloaded from the internet.
3. Reduce streaming at a higher resolution that might be causing much network usage.
4. Check if any applications are being currently updated.
5. Disable any VPN software running on the hotspot device or receiver devices.

Hopefully, these steps will help you reduce any unwanted network usage and restore your hotspot to normal.

If, however, the issue persists in the next solution we’re taking our troubleshooting one step further!

Solution #5 Fix Wi-Fi Settings

If MetroPCS hotspot not working even after all previous solutions, then you should attempt fixing the Wi-Fi settings and coverage.

As we mentioned earlier if your device is experiencing WiFi problems, your hotspot won’t work as well.

Here are the best steps to fix your Wi-Fi:

1. Reconnect a couple of times from the hotspot on the secondary devices.
2. Forget and re-add the WiFi name from your secondary devices.
3. Restart the Wi-Fi on your main device.
4. Choose a different hotspot password.
5. Forget & re-add the WiFi on your secondary devices again.
6. Update the firmware of your main and secondary devices.

Once you’re done with these steps, tick the “Always enable Wi-Fi” in the hotspot menu on your phone.

This feature will always enable the WiFi when you turn on the hotspot, so you don’t have to do it manually.

Solution #6 Factory Reset Your Mobile Device

If you made any changes to the hotspot settings but you cannot recover them the best way would be to factory reset your mobile.

Even if there were no changes, the factory reset will bring back the default configurations of your hotspot settings.

Since we can’t know the exact model of your device, we’ve made a universal guide that should be close to the actual thing:

1. Head to the settings of your phone and locate a System tab/settings.
2. Locate a tab with the name similar to “Backup” or “Backup and Reset”.
3. Click on the “Reset to factory defaults”.
4. Follow the on-screen prompt of your device to create a factory reset.

Pro Tip: If your phone offers cloud services, don’t forget to save the apps and gallery files of your phone using the backup option. This way you’ll be able to recover them easily.

Read Next: How To Reset Metro PCS Data?

Bottom Line:

To fix MetroPCS mobile hotspot first re-insert the SIM card and then make sure there is no physical interference. Then you should relieve your cellular usage and optimize its performance. Lastly, you can try to resolve potential WiFi issues and if nothing works, perform a factory reset on your phone.

Now that you know why MetroPCS hotspot not working, you should be able to easily resolve the issue by applying some of our solutions.

If you could not fix the hotspot don’t hesitate to reach out for further assistance from T-Mobile customer service!