iPad as instant hotspot source?

[bmclaurin]

I have both an iPhone 5S and an iPad Air 2 w/ LTE (both on iOS 8.3) and an Early 2015 MBPr (on OS X 10.10.3 Yosemite). I really like using the instant hotspot feature to quickly connect my MBPr to my iPhone. Sometimes I prefer using my iPad as a hotspot so it won't drain my iPhone battery so quickly, but it doesn't seem to support the instant hotspot feature (only personal hotspot, which is certainly workable but not as convenient for a quick connection), at least as far as I can tell.

Is there a way to enable the instant hotspot feature on the iPad, or is this intended by Apple to be limited solely to the iPhone?

With both my iPhone and iPad in standby mode with bluetooth and wifi enabled, and personal hotspot turned on, I get this in my MBPr's wifi menu:

In order to get the iPad to appear in the available networks, I have to open the personal hotspot menu under Settings->Personal Hotpot on my iPad, and then it will appear like this (note that it appears in the normal wifi network section, not the instant hotspot section):

Thanks in advance for any help or information provided.

 

[dhlizard]

I also have an iPad Air 2 w/LTE and do not ever see instant personal hotspot available from it. Guess it was not included in the iPad firmware.

I have never read of any way to enable it (other than the manual way you referenced)

 

[brilliantthings]

Just noticed this this week too.

 

[bmclaurin]

Well, I have no idea what happened, but when I logged into my MBPr today, I noticed that my iPad is now showing up in my available networks list as an instant hotspot. Nothing has changed since my original post, but for whatever reason, it's showing up there, and I'm able to connect to it as an instant hotspot just like my iPhone.

From the previous replies, it sounds like I'm not the only one experiencing this issue. Perhaps this is a bug of some sort that results in intermittent instant hotspot availability for potential source iPads?

 

[campyguy]

Bluetooth needs to be on and the two devices need to be "connected and in range" in order to see the iPad - Personal Hotspot doesn't need to be enabled in order for the iPad to show up in the Network/WiFi Menu but it does need to be enabled in order for it to work...

I've got an iPad Air and iPad 3, both on VZW's LTE network (and each with UL data plans!) - if BT is enabled, you'd see the iPad in the upper part of the WiFi Menu, and if BT is not enabled but Personal Hotspot is enabled the iPad will show up buried in the available wifi networks.

I also tether to my iPad Air via USB - I find it's always a faster network connection than via WiFi - and BT needs to enabled in order for this work. I'm using this type of connection right now, and it's pretty nifty when on the road...

I have noticed that Personal Hotspot is often "wonky" - I'll need to restart my iPad from time to time in order to get either a wifi or USB connection to take. Cheers!