iPhone 13 pro - how to use hotspot without wifi

[bblack4jc]

Hello. I just got an iPhone 13pro. I had sprint but T-mobile took over and now I have T-mobile for my carrier. On my old phone I could just turn on Hotspot and use it to connect my laptop and other devices. However, on my new iPhone 13pro I cannot use Hotspot unless it connects through my wifi. Is there a way to use the Hotspot without connecting to my internet, besides USB and Bluetooth. What good is the hotspot anyway if it needs an internet connection? I rely on my phone's wifi a lot, especially when I am away from home.
Thank you for your response(s).

 

[now i see it]

The Hotpot network created by the phone now uses the iPhone’s Wi-Fi radio to talk to another Apple device. That’s why Wi-Fi needs to be on - the devices are taking to each other over their Wi-Fi radios and Bluetooth.

If you’ve got a live active Wi-Fi router connected to the internet nearby, then the iPhone will default to that as your internet source.

The only way to make your Wi-Fi router invisible is to log out of your Wi-Fi network and set it to not automatically connect.

 

[bblack4jc]

Thank you. Turning off auto connect did the trick.