Hot spot no longer working

[Ingwe]

Hello

Bit mystified; I have an unlimited data plan with Virgin. I use my iphone 6se as the tether which has, for three years, worked allowing me to connect my iPad and latterly, my Kindle 4K Fire-stick, to the internet whilst travelling in Europe.

We're now in Denia and yesterday, both the iPad and the Firestick would not connect to the iPhone hotspot. The Fire-stick and the iPad can see the iPhone, but simply will not connect to it. Sometimes it connects, asks for the password but when entered then gives a message "Unable to join network".

I've tried turning off both the iPad and the iPhone and then turning them on again. Tried switching off then on again, wifi, mobile data. I've also reset network settings on both devices. Strangely, I can connect the iPad to the iPhone using Bluetooth but this isn't an option for the Fire-stick, so far as I understand. It's baffling that it's worked right up until yesterday then glitch after glitch!

Any suggestions most welcome.

 

[Encantador]

Have you been away a while?

Have they cut you off

Spent yesterday trying to get answers about their fair use policy for extended travel but failed as their staff dont understand it either.

I would have assumed that if this is the problem, you would have received messages from them beforehand.

(Sorry, just re-read your post and realised your phone must still be working OK, so has not been cut off.) Would be interested though in whether you go away for more than a few weeks, if you do, have you ever had a problem with Virgin's fair use 4 month rolling nonsense policy.

Steve

 

[Ingwe]

Hi, thanks for your reply. No, I’ve not received a message warning me pf being cut off. And the iphone itself gets the internet. its just the hotspot playing up. Strangely, my ipad and iphone connect with no problem ising bluetooth. so my bewilderment continues!

 

[Addie]

Unlimited data with Virgin is limited abroad - use the calculator on their website and tick 'Unlimited data':

Best Pay Monthly Phone Deals from O2

Discover the best selection of Pay Monthly Phone Deals & Contracts on O2.

store.virginmedia.com

However, this isn't related to the issue you're experiencing. I would in fact look to disable all Bluetooth on all of your devices - phones, speakers, iPads etc as this can sometimes cause interference. Also disable all other WiFi sources other than the phone's hotspot. When you get an 'unable to connect' or 'password incorrect' message it's usually as a result of some interference within close proximity.

 

[Encantador]

Unlimited data with Virgin is limited abroad - use the calculator on their website and tick 'Unlimited data':

Best Pay Monthly Phone Deals from O2

Discover the best selection of Pay Monthly Phone Deals & Contracts on O2.

store.virginmedia.com

This seems at odds with this........

Fair Usage Policy – Extended Travel
I’m going travelling around the EU for 14 weeks. Will I be breaking the Fair Usage Policy?

Not necessarily. Here’s how the Fair Usage Policy works. In every rolling 4 month period, you must use more data, calls and texts in the UK than the EU or spend more time in the UK than away somewhere else.
So, if you’ve used your phone more in the UK than you have in the EU within the last 4 months, you can still use your allowance whilst travelling without incurring a surcharge.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Coolcats]

The data plan restriction is interesting, if you buy a domestic U.K. O2 data sim it will not work in Europe. However subscribe to an O2 business data sim and we experienced no issues.

 

[DuxDeluxe]

When you say turned off and on again, was that a hard reset? (both home and on/off switch held simultaneously for a few seconds). I have had a similar issue with mine sometimes playing up and that action always cured it

 

[Addie]

This seems at odds with this........

Fair Usage Policy – Extended Travel
I’m going travelling around the EU for 14 weeks. Will I be breaking the Fair Usage Policy?

Not necessarily. Here’s how the Fair Usage Policy works. In every rolling 4 month period, you must use more data, calls and texts in the UK than the EU or spend more time in the UK than away somewhere else.
So, if you’ve used your phone more in the UK than you have in the EU within the last 4 months, you can still use your allowance whilst travelling without incurring a surcharge.

The FUP is the point at which they can charge you for your use, the point was rather it's not 'Unlimited'. I've had customers with various issues on this plan because it's not clear exactly where the threshold is.

The data plan restriction is interesting, if you buy a domestic U.K. O2 data sim it will not work in Europe. However subscribe to an O2 business data sim and we experienced no issues.

You can roam in Europe with an O2 SIM, but not a consumer O2 Mobile Broadband SIM. You can roam in Europe with a business Mobile Broadband SIM however.

Using your Pay Monthly phone in Europe – Help and Support | O2

We cover roaming in our Europe Zone as part of our Pay Monthly tariffs as standard – find out what that means for using your phone if you're travelling abroad.

www.o2.co.uk

What's not included?
Mobile broadband tariffs, as they can only be used in the UK.

Never been a fan of O2 due to their traffic management policy which can drop your speeds down to 1Mbps in Europe.

 

[DBK]

As Addie says it may be an interference thing. Also double check you are trying to connect to your hotspot and not someone next door who's phone has a very similar name. I would suggest take your phone and a tablet on a walk together and when you are well away from other vehicles and buildings try again. You should also try getting the tablet to "forget" the iphone network so you have to re-enter the pin.

Completely unrelated but to show how interference can cause problems I've been playing around with a home made radio gadget which transmits on 434Mhz. A lot of other gadgets use 433Mhz and while I've been playing with this I've discovered my device disabled the remote locking on the car and MH, interferes with the remote oil tank sensor and when it was in the car and while driving the tyre pressure monitoring system had an attack of the vapours. The remote locking worked as soon as my device was turned off but the other two took some time to recover.

 

[Ingwe]

When you say turned off and on again, was that a hard reset? (both home and on/off switch held simultaneously for a few seconds). I have had a similar issue with mine sometimes playing up and that action always cured it

yes. a hard reset.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[scotzsue]

I have had the same problem with my iphone SE not talking to to my laptop, kindle or tablet. John has the same phone but a bigger memory, we have checked settings on phone and laptops and they are the same on both, he has the same laptop which does connect to my phone! my laptop will connect to his phone too it's a mystery.