Personal hotspot is one of my most-used features, allowing me to share internet with other devices, like my iPad, when I am out and about. But good luck finding your hotspot if you are in a crowded space, as many people can share the same default hotspot name as yours. So, if you want to change your hotspot name to something else, keep reading as I walk you through how to change it on your iPhone in this guide.
Where Can You Find Your iPhone Hotspot Name?
You can find the name of your hotspot on an iPhone inside Settings > General > About. It is located here instead of the Personal Hotspot menu because, unlike Android phones, where you can independently set your hotspot name, you can't do that on iPhones.
Apple ties your Personal Hotspot to the name of your iPhone, and neither can be set separately. This means the only way to change your hotspot name is to change your device name.
How to Change Hotspot Name on iPhone
Now that you know that your hotspot name is tied to the iPhone name, we can go ahead and change that. This is one of the first things that I do with all iPhone models, and this method works across most recent models, up to the latest iPhone 17.
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone and head over to General > About.
- Tap on the text adjacent to "Name" at the top.
- Now, type the new hotspot name for your iPhone, then hit Done on the keyboard to save changes.
Your hotspot name updates immediately. If you already have devices connected to your hotspot, they will be disconnected, and you will need to reconnect using the updated network name.
Important Note: This also changes your iPhone's name everywhere else it appears, including AirDrop, Bluetooth, iCloud, and Find My.
How to Change Hotspot Password on iPhone
While you are changing the hotspot name on your iPhone, you might as well change the password to make it easy for you to connect with the rest of your devices. The default personal hotspot password is a random set of characters, so change it to something that is easy to type and remember.
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone and go to Personal Hotspot > Wi-Fi Password.
- Here, tap on the text inside the Password box and type the new password for the hotspot.
- Now, tap on Done at the top right to save it.
Things to Know When Changing Hotspot Name on iPhone
Before you type out a new hotspot name for your iPhone, there are a few practical things worth knowing:
- Keep it short and recognisable: Don't go for long names, as it makes it harder to identify on other devices. Keep a name between 10 and 20 characters so it is also easy to remember.
- Avoid personal information: Your hotspot name is visible to anyone nearby, even people who are not trying to connect to it. So, I would advise not using your full name, address, phone number or any other personal details as your iPhone hotspot name.
- Stick to letters, numbers, and basic punctuation: Use basic numbers. alphabets and standard punctuation, as a more complicated string of characters can be hard to find or remember.
- Changes your iPhone name everywhere: As mentioned earlier, your hotspot name and iPhone name are the same thing. Whatever you rename it to will also show up in AirDrop, Bluetooth, iCloud, and Find My, so pick something you are comfortable with across all of those.
Having Issues Changing Your iPhone's Hotspot Name? Try These Troubleshooting Methods
If you have followed the steps above but still don't see the new name appear on other devices when you turn on the personal hotspot on your iPhone, then try out these troubleshooting steps that I have written below.
- Toggle the hotspot off and on: If the new name is not showing up, then start by turning off the hotspot and then turning it back on again. Changing the name could take a few seconds, so you might need to restart the hotspot for the new name to appear.
- Restart your iPhone: Sometimes your iPhone may run into software bugs, which may prevent the rename from appearing. Go ahead and restart your iPhone, as it fixes most of such bugs and glitches. To do this, switch off your iPhone and turn it back on again.
- Check that you actually saved the new name: You might have forgotten to save the new name after changing it. To fix this, go back to Settings > General > About > Name and confirm the new name showing there.
- Reconnect previously connected devices: Changing your hotspot name disconnects all devices that were previously connected. They will not reconnect automatically. Go into the Wi-Fi settings on each device, find your iPhone's new name, and reconnect from scratch.
- Reset Network Settings: If the hotspot is entirely greyed out, go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset > Reset Network Settings. This will reset your iPhone's Wi-Fi, cellular, and Bluetooth settings to their defaults and often fixes hotspot issues.
Changing your hotspot name on an iPhone is pretty straightforward, but it could confuse some new users who are coming from Android devices. Thankfully, we have answered all the questions and covered mostly everything related to how to change the hotspot name on an iPhone in this guide. Hopefully, I was able to help you out and sort your problem.
