iOS 15.3.1 Hotspot on 5G stops unless I keep screen on

[Schtibbie]

iPhone 13, iOS 15.3.1, on 5G AT&T unlimited highest plan with 5G icon full bars. In Austin, TX. Trying to use personal hotspot to run my Macbook wifi from my iphone for wifi: it works, but i notice that if i let my phone screen turn dark with the auto-lock setting, the hotspot stops providing data to the macbook. The actual wifi (link icon) doesn't drop, but internet traffic stops on the laptop. If i open the phone back up, and especially if i "do internet thing" on the phone itself (like open a page in Safari), *then* my laptop can use data again!

This seems like a bug in iOS saying "person isn't using phone actively, shut down connection" without noticing that i'm relying on a full-time hotspot and would rather not keep my phone screen burning (OLED) for two hours.

Also, if I start a long-running internet task on the laptop like a video call, that will keep the connection working even if phone screen is off! But if i take even a slight break the hotspot jams up again (if phone screen off).

 

[now i see it]

It’s not a bug. It’s intentional. They designed it to behave that way on purpose.
The workaround I found for this annoyance is to have an android phone connected to the hotspot at the same time. Has to be an android phone. Not an Apple product.
For a some reason, joining an android phone to a hotspot will prevent the hotspot from disconnecting- like forever.
I was using an old Samsung S7 phone to do this dirty deed.

 

[Schtibbie]

It’s not a bug. It’s intentional. They designed it to behave that way on purpose.
The workaround I found for this annoyance is to have an android phone connected to the hotspot at the same time. Has to be an android phone. Not an Apple product.
For a some reason, joining an android phone to a hotspot will prevent the hotspot from disconnecting- like forever.
I was using an old Samsung S7 phone to do this dirty deed.

This can't possibly be what Apple *intended*, though it might be what a developer thought was intended (if phone screen dark, make phone's whole internet go in "standby mode", developer failed to account for hotspot as even being a thing that wants internet itself).

The effect is that if my *phone* (not laptop) screen goes dark, my laptop cannot use the internet no matter how many times I try to load a webpage, start a meeting, check email, whatever, on the laptop. It's impossible to re-wake the hotspot up FROM the laptop even if i've paused for just a few seconds from the last time i did internet thing. This requires me to act frenetically never stopping internet stuff or hack it by streaming something for no reason. That's a bug. If your home router acted this way, you'd toss it.

 

[sparksd]

I don't see that hotspotting my 2021 12.9 Pro to my iPhone 12 Pro Max, both on 15.3.1. The screen goes dark and the hotspot continues working as expected, e.g. Internet access continues. (Seattle T-Mobile 5G)

 

[ManuCH]

I don't see that hotspotting my 2021 12.9 Pro to my iPhone 12 Pro Max, both on 15.3.1. The screen goes dark and the hotspot continues working as expected, e.g. Internet access continues. (Seattle T-Mobile 5G)

Same here, it doesn't stop when the screen goes dark on my iPhone 13 Pro Max, iOS 15.3.1, Swisscom 5G. Also on the iPad Pro M1, same result.

Do you have low power mode turned on?