---
title: "Mac connected to iPhone hotspot but no internet: find the cause · Kilobat Guides"
url: "https://kilobat.app/guides/hotspot-connected-no-internet-mac"
description: "The Mac shows the iPhone hotspot as connected, but nothing loads. Test the iPhone's data, the address, the route, DNS and VPN, then fix the layer that fails."
---

# Mac joins the iPhone hotspot but has no internet

A hotspot connection is only the link to the iPhone. The internet can still fail on the iPhone's cellular data, at the carrier, in DNS or on the Mac.

**Fix this with your agent**Copies a prompt for Claude Code, Codex or any agent that can use Terminal.

My Mac has this problem: Mac joins the iPhone hotspot but has no internet. Read https://kilobat.app/guides/hotspot-connected-no-internet-mac.md and work through it with me. Install the Kilobat CLI if it’s missing: brew install seifip/kilobat/kilobat. Run the guide’s Terminal and kilobat checks yourself and tell me what you find. List the steps only I can do. Ask before you change any setting.

Applies to: Current iOS versions and macOS 14 and later. The Terminal commands work on all current versions. · Checked: 7 November 2026

## Symptoms

- The Wi-Fi menu shows the Personal Hotspot icon, but pages do not load.
- Safari says that you are not connected to the internet.
- The iPhone loads pages over cellular data, but the Mac does not.
- The internet worked on the hotspot, then stopped in the middle of the month.

## Likely causes

- **The iPhone has no working cellular data.** The hotspot shares the cellular connection of the iPhone. If the iPhone has no data, the Mac has none.
- **The carrier limits or blocks hotspot use.** Some plans leave hotspot out, or stop it or slow it after a hotspot allowance. Only the carrier can change this.
- **No valid address.** An address that starts with 169.254 means that the Mac did not get an address from the iPhone. See [Mac has a self-assigned IP address](https://kilobat.app/guides/self-assigned-ip-address).
- **Another network service carries the traffic.** A connected Ethernet adapter or another service above Wi-Fi can take the default route. See [Mac uses the wrong network connection](https://kilobat.app/guides/network-service-order).
- **A VPN, filter or iCloud Private Relay.** Apple says that some networks are not compatible with Private Relay. A VPN that cannot reach its server can also stop traffic.
- **DNS fails.** The link works, but names do not resolve. See [DNS not resolving on a Mac](https://kilobat.app/guides/dns-server-not-found).

## How to check

1. On the iPhone, turn off Wi-Fi. Open a web page in Safari. This tests the cellular data.
2. On the Mac, show the address and router of the Wi-Fi service. An iPhone hotspot router is usually 172.20.10.1.

   ```
   networksetup -getinfo Wi-Fi
   ```
3. Show the interface that the default route uses. For a Wi-Fi hotspot, it is the Wi-Fi interface.

   ```
   route -n get default
   ```
4. Ping the iPhone. Use the router address from the first command.

   ```
   ping -c 5 172.20.10.1
   ```
5. Ping an internet address. This test does not use DNS.

   ```
   ping -c 5 1.1.1.1
   ```
6. Look up a name. If the ping works but this fails, DNS is the problem.

   ```
   dscacheutil -q host -a name apple.com
   ```
7. In the carrier's app, look at the hotspot data that is left.

## How to fix it

1. If the iPhone has no data, fix that first. Abroad, see [iPhone has no mobile data abroad](https://kilobat.app/guides/iphone-no-data-abroad).
2. If the hotspot allowance is used up, add data or wait for the next bill.
3. If the address starts with 169.254, turn Wi-Fi off and on. Then join the hotspot again.
4. To renew the address, choose System Settings > Wi-Fi. Click Details, then TCP/IP, then Renew DHCP Lease.
5. If another service has the default route, disconnect it or change the service order.
6. Turn off the VPN or filter app for a test, if you can. See [VPN connected but no internet on a Mac](https://kilobat.app/guides/vpn-connected-no-internet).
7. To test without Private Relay, turn off Limit IP address tracking for the hotspot. See [Limit IP address tracking on a Mac](https://kilobat.app/guides/limit-ip-address-tracking).
8. Restart the iPhone and the Mac.
9. Reset network settings on the iPhone. Choose Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset > Reset Network Settings.
10. Try a USB cable instead of Wi-Fi. See [Connect a Mac to an iPhone hotspot with a USB cable](https://kilobat.app/guides/usb-tethering-iphone-mac).

## With Kilobat

1. Check the link, the internet, DNS and login pages in one step.

   ```
   kilobat diagnose
   ```
2. If one site or service fails, find the layer that stops it.

   ```
   kilobat why example.com
   ```
3. See which interface the default route uses, and whether a VPN carries the traffic.

   ```
   kilobat ip
   ```
4. See whether downloads on this hotspot stop at one of the speeds that carriers use as caps.

   ```
   kilobat hotspot
   ```
5. The CLI is free. In the app, the advice from these checks is part of Kilobat Pro.

## Questions

**The iPhone has internet, but the Mac does not. Is the iPhone at fault?**

Not always. The carrier can treat hotspot traffic in a different way from the phone's own traffic. Ask the carrier whether the plan includes hotspot.

**Does Reset Network Settings delete my data?**

No. Apple says that it removes saved Wi-Fi networks and passwords, cellular settings, and VPN and APN settings.

**Why does the hotspot work for a few pages, then stop?**

Look for a data cap first. Then look at the VPN. A VPN with a kill switch stops traffic when it loses its server.

## Sources

- [Apple Support: If Personal Hotspot is not working on your iPhone or iPad (Wi-Fi + Cellular)](https://support.apple.com/en-us/119837)
- [Apple Support: Share the internet connection from your iPhone or iPad with your Mac](https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/mchl7403f0ee/mac)
- [Apple Support: If your Mac isn't connecting to the internet over Wi-Fi](https://support.apple.com/en-us/101588)
- [Apple Support: About iCloud Private Relay](https://support.apple.com/en-us/102602)
- [Apple Support: Manage iCloud Private Relay for specific websites, networks, or system settings](https://support.apple.com/en-us/102022)
- networksetup(8), route(8), ping(8) and dscacheutil(1), man pages installed with macOS 27.2
- [Kilobat docs: Hotspot throttling](https://kilobat.app/docs/usage#hotspot-throttling)

Checked on 7 November 2026.

## Related guides

- [Mac has a self-assigned IP address](https://kilobat.app/guides/self-assigned-ip-address): If the Mac gets no answer from a DHCP server, it gives itself a link-local address from 169.254.0.0/16.
- [Mac uses the wrong network connection](https://kilobat.app/guides/network-service-order): When more than one connection is active, the Mac tries the service at the top of the list first.
- [DNS not resolving on a Mac](https://kilobat.app/guides/dns-server-not-found): When DNS fails, the Mac cannot change a name such as apple.com into an IP address.
- [VPN connected but no internet on a Mac](https://kilobat.app/guides/vpn-connected-no-internet): A VPN sends traffic through a tunnel.
- [Limit IP address tracking on a Mac](https://kilobat.app/guides/limit-ip-address-tracking): Limit IP address tracking is a setting for each network.
- [iPhone hotspot keeps disconnecting from a Mac](https://kilobat.app/guides/hotspot-keeps-disconnecting-mac): An iPhone ends the hotspot when no device uses it, to save battery.
- [Personal Hotspot is greyed out or missing on iPhone](https://kilobat.app/guides/personal-hotspot-greyed-out-iphone): Personal Hotspot needs Cellular Data, a carrier plan that includes hotspot, and correct carrier settings.