How To Fix Mobile WiFi Tethering Problem On Android

I don’t know if I’m the only one experiencing WiFi hotspot not working on Android?

If you are, then we’re even!

I understand the value attached with mobile hotspot tethering on Android. This feature allows you to browse using an active mobile internet data (click here to see the list of the cheapest data plans on Android).

The exciting thing is,

You can connect more than 5 devices all at a time without any glitch or slowness. With the latest MTN, 9Mobile, Ntel and other 4G providers in vogue, you will be guaranteed of speed when browsing.

Recently, I noticed something quite strange on my Infinix Note 2 Android device.

“The hotspot automatically turns off in a few seconds after I turn it on.”

After a while, I got frustrated so I had to factory reset my phone.

Everything started working fine… Sadly, after some months of using the phone, the tethering problem resurfaced.

Moreover, one of our loyal reader who uses the Infinix Note 3 started complaining of the same problem.

Thus:

I started thinking…

…”Could this be a flagship or Infinix related problem?

Immediately, I started pondering how to fix this issue.

I’ve discovered a couple of fixes that might be of help to those experiencing the same problem on their Android phones.

Therefore, If your Wifi is automatically turning off immediately after turning it on, then this article will show you everything you need to know if you want to fix the WiFi hotspot not working on Android device problem.

Here are the different things you can do when you have issues with your WiFi Hotspot turning off by itself.

WiFi Hotspot Not Working Android: How To Fix Mobile Hotspot Tethering

Test and check which method works for you.

1. Wipe The Cache Partition

The first thing you might want to try is… wiping the cache partition from Recovery Mode. Please follow the below steps one after the other to wipe the cache partition on your phone:

1. If your device is on, turn it off.
2. Press & hold the Volume down button. While holding Volume down, press & hold the Power button until the device turns on. You’ll see the word “Start” with an arrow around it
3. Press the Volume down button until you highlight “Recovery mode.”
4. Press the Power button to start recovery mode. You’ll see an image of an Android robot with a red exclamation mark.
5. Press & hold the Power button. While holding Power, press the Volume Up button once. Then release power.
6. Press the Volume down button until you highlight “Wipe cache partition,” and then press the Power button to select it.
7. Press the Volume down button until you highlight “Yes,” and then press the Power button to select it.
8. Wait until the cache is wiped. You’ll see the words, “Cache wipe complete.”
9. Press the Power button to restart your device.

Note: The navigate differs across other mobile brands, just find a way to clear the cache partition, restart and check if the problem is still there.

2. Update or Upgrade Android Device

You need to update or upgrade your device to the most recent version. The problem could be from an instability issue in the part of the OS, updating should resolve most of your issues.

Every Android device has an option for updating it. There you can simply refresh to check for recent update for that device or you can manually install an OTA update file. Let’s assume your phone is stuck with the previous Android OS (Jelly Bean, KitKat, Lollipop etc), you can quickly switch to the most recent version in just a tap.

Although, the technicalities of these steps requires careful attention. If you know nothing about updating or upgrading your device. Do take it to the nearest phone technician.

If you use MTK device, please read this guide on how to flash a ROM or update file.

3. Boot To Safe Mode

Try Booting into Safe Mode and see if the Problem persists. If not then it could be a 3rd party app causing this issue.

Safe Mode:

1. Press and hold power until Power Off Menu Pops up
2. Press and Hold Power Off Menu until Safe Mode Appears.

4. Diagnose 3rd Party Apps

There is no better way to encounter problems on Android. One of the biggest fails of Android is the exposure to different malware that can affect the software. And how this malware is contacted is via untrusted third party applications.

Did you even know that 3rd party apps can be the cause of your WiFi hotspot not working?

Okay.. now that you’ve heard… Here is how to debug your android apps to figure which one is really causing the problem.

There are two ways you can debug Android apps:

• Disabling apps and reactivating one by one to know which one caused the problem.
• Uninstalling and reinstalling one by one to know which one caused the problem.

How to disable/Force Stop Android Apps:

1. Go to the phone settings.
2. Navigate to Apps, then open and disable or force stop them one after the other.

Alternatively, if your phone supports the freeze functionality. Then that’s another cool way to stop apps from working without uninstalling.

5. Factory Reset Phone

This is just the best one out there. This one worked perfect for my Infinix Note 2 but the downside is…

If you don’t have your apps and data backed up, you will lose everything.

How to factory reset phone:

1. Go to settings.
2. Slide down to backup and reset.
3. Make sure your automatic backup was checked before finally resetting your phone.

Alternatively;

You can boot into recovery mode to reset the phone.

1. Turn off the device if on.
2. Hold down the power + Volume Up button to boot into recovery
3. Navigate to factory reset option with the volume down then select using the power or volume up button.
4. Restart phone.

If that didn’t work, see the next tip below.

6. Disable Battery Saving Mode

Do you have battery saving mode enabled?

Then that could be the problem. Battery saving mode helps to close power intensive applications thereby saving more power that will keep your phone up.

With this enabled, your WiFi hotspot could also be a scapegoat to the feature. Try to turn off your battery saving mode and check if it helped. You can locate the battery saving option in your phone settings.

If you’ve attempted all the tips mentioned above and nothing seem to fix the ‘Wifi Hotspot not working‘ problem… please follow the last tips below.

7. Visit Phone Repair Centres

Since this is a software-related problem. I urge you to visit the phone repair store for them to examine the problem associated with your device.

Depending on the kind of phone you use (Samsung, Motorola, Nokia, Infinix, Innjoo, Lenovo, TECNO, OPPO, Xiaomi, Huawei etc), you will find a list of nearest service or repair centres in your location. Simply Google it!

Now, over to you…

Have you tried any tip that worked and wasn’t listed? Please, endeavour to share your tip using the comment box below.

Thanks for reading. I hope these tips were helpful.