Verizon Phone Hotspot Not Working? (Quick Fix!)

Picture this: You’re outdoors and need to do some work on your laptop but your Verizon Phone Hotspot Not Working.

Since public WiFis are unbearable slow, you turn to your phone’s LTE service. What if you can’t connect to your mobile’s hotspot?

Fixing phone hotspot errors is not as complicated as it sounds. In fact, you can get it working again in less than 10 minutes.

If your hotspot doesn’t work, ensure you have Internet and you entered the correct password. You can also try disabling the battery saver or low power mode.

Before you get ready to carry your mobile hotspot hassle-free, let us discuss why you are having problems with it. 

Lowdown on Why Is My Hotspot Not Working With Verizon Phone

The question of why your hotspot is not working has many possible answers.

Although this rarely occurs with Verizon, knowing how to fix the issue is still important.

And we can only do this if we know what’s causing the problem. 

✅ Verizon Data Outage

There may be an outage in your area currently. To check, visit DownDetector to see if there are reports of service outages and problems with using data or connecting to the Internet. 

✅ Not Enough Signal Strength

When using your hotspot, you may encounter problems browsing the Internet, downloading files, and streaming videos if you have a weak cellular signal.

You may be in a remote area or in one with weak coverage. 

✅ Hotspot Network Settings

Improper network settings can lead to authentication errors. When this happens, you won’t be able to connect to a hotspot. 

✅ Device Power Saving

Power-saving features limit the non-essential functions of your phone, including its ability to connect to a hotspot.

It could also be a result of temporary bugs and glitches. 

These are the possible reasons your Verizon phone’s hotspot is not working. Now, here’s how to fix it. 

Full Guide on How to Fix Verizon Hotspot on Phone Not Working

When you encounter Verizon phone hotspot not working, don’t worry! We have a list of troubleshooting methods you can do on your own.

But first, we recommend you try a few basic solutions.  

The first thing you should do is make sure your phone’s Internet connection is working.

• Go to the Settings app and check if Mobile Data is switched on.

If you have mobile data, but the hotspot isn’t working, you can also turn on Airplane Mode or reboot your phone.

Before we proceed to the solutions, check your Verizon coverage. There may be a network outage in your area or a weak signal. 

1. Disable Your Phone’s Battery Saver or Low Power Mode

Most of the latest Verizon phones come with a hotspot feature that you can use to connect other devices to the internet.

It’s usually a straightforward process where you turn on the hotspot on your phone and connect the others via WiFi.

However, there are instances when it can stop working and will leave you wondering why.

If you can’t turn on your phone’s hotspot, you’ll need to check if it’s set to low-power or battery saver mode.

This feature can disrupt several of your phone’s functions, like the hotspot.

Disabling it usually does the trick and gets your device to broadcast its internet signal.

Here’s how to turn off your phone’s battery saver mode:

✅iPhone:

1. Go to your phone’s Settings.
2. Select Battery.
3. Toggle the switch that says Low Power Mode.
4. Tap on it to move it to the Off position

✅Android:

1. Open the Settings app on your phone.
2. Go to the Battery option.
3. Select Battery Saver.
4. Tap on the switch to deactivate it.

Note: You can also access the Batter Saver or Low Power setting through your phone’s Control Center or Quick Settings.

2. Verify Your Verizon Data Limits

One of the things you will experience with your Verizon phone’s hotspot is that you’re connected to data, but you don’t have internet.

This is mostly caused by you going over your data limits. Even if you have an unlimited plan, Verizon does put a cap on it and slows down your connection.

You want to verify that you’re not beyond your data limits to continue sharing your internet with other devices.

If you are, you can also add to your data allowance to keep your access to the internet.

Here’s how to verify your data usage on Verizon:

1. Open the My Verizon app on your device.
2. Enter your account details if prompted.
3. Find the usage details section.
4. Tap on it and check that you have not exceeded your data allocation.
5. If you are, you will need to add to your data allowance.

Here’s how to add data allowance via the Verizon app:

1. Tap on the Usage option.
2. Select the Get more data option at the bottom.
3. Choose Data Boost, then Next.
4. Select Purchase Data, and confirm it.

Note: Your account needs to be on the new Verizon plan so you can get more data with Data Boost.

3. Change Your Device Hotspot Frequency Band

When activating your phone’s hotspot feature, you essentially turn it into a WiFi router.

Even though there are limited configuration options, an important one you can change is your hotspot’s broadcast frequency band.

Changing it can free up the bandwidth and get other devices to connect easily.

Here’s how to change your phone’s hotspot band:

✅iPhone:

1. Go to your phone’s Settings.
2. Tap on the Personal Hotspot.
3. Locate the Maximize Compatibility option.
4. Toggle the switch to the On position.

✅Android:

1. Open your phone’s Settings app.
2. Go to Connections, then Mobile Hotspot and Tethering.
3. Choose Mobile Hotspot and tap the three dots in the top right corner.
4. Select Configure Mobile Hotspot.
5. Tap on Use 5GHz band or 5GHz preferred.

Note: The 5GHz band will give you better connectivity, especially when there’s a lot of traffic on the 2.4GHz frequency.

4. Remove VPN Profiles on Your Device

If you’re having connectivity issues on your phone and you’re always using a VPN, you can suspect there’s an incompatibility between the two.

You know the best way to do it is to switch off your VPN, turn on your hotspot, and reconnect.

However, that’s not always the case. Even saved VPN profiles can cause your Verizon phone hotspot to stop working and prevent other devices from connecting.

Info: You will need to remove these profiles to resolve these incompatibilities.

Here’s how to remove VPN profiles on your phone:

✅iPhone:

1. Open your phone’s Settings.
2. Go to General.
3. Select your Profile.
4. Choose the VPN profile saved on your device.
5. Tap on Delete Profile, and confirm.

✅Android:

1. Go to your phone’s Settings.
2. Choose Network and Internet.
3. Select the VPN option.
4. Choose a profile and tap on Settings.
5. Hit the Forget button.

5. Reset Your Phone’s Network Settings

Network configuration issues can cause your Verizon hotspot to stop working.

If there’s a problem with your network settings, you can quickly resolve it by resetting them on your phone.

It will refresh the settings allowing you to reconnect and get a new set that will fix any connectivity errors with your hotspot or other devices.

Here are the steps on how to reset your phone’s network settings:

✅iPhone:

1. Go to your phone’s Settings.
2. Select General.
3. Scroll down and look for the Reset option.
4. Tap on it, then choose Reset Network Settings.

✅Android:

1. Open your phone’s Settings.
2. Select General Management.
3. Scroll down and look for the Reset option.
4. Tap on Reset network settings.
5. Select Reset settings to confirm.

6. Turn Off Your Phone’s Automatic Hotspot Switching

In newer phone models, your hotspot can automatically switch off if no devices are connected to it. This is great, especially if you’re conserving battery power.

However, it can also backfire and cause issues like your hotspot can stop working unexpectedly.

A device going to sleep mode can cause it to disconnect and shut down your hotspot.

To avoid this, you want to disable this particular feature. Here’s how to do it:

✅iPhone:

1. Go to your phone’s Settings.
2. Select WiFi.
3. Choose Auto-Join Hotspot.
4. Toggle the switch to the Off position.

✅Android:

1. Open your phone’s Settings.
2. Go to Network and Internet.
3. Navigate to the Hotspot and Tethering option.
4. Select WiFi Hotspot, then Advanced.
5. Toggle the switch that says Turn on WiFi automatically.

Note: This is not the best idea if you’re connecting to your hotspot in a public area, as it will leave it on until you disable it.

If you run into more issues with your phone hotspot, you can always update your phone’s software to the latest version.

Resetting your phone to factory settings is also an option that you can take if none of these solutions help fix your issue.

Bottom Line

Now that you know the causes and different ways to fix your Verizon phone hotspot not working, all you need to do is follow these steps.

You should be able to restore your phone’s hotspot feature quickly. You can contact Verizon customer support for more assistance regarding their mobile data service.

Read Next: How To Make Verizon Hotspot Faster?