Hotspot disconnects when phone screen locks

Your laptop is connected to your phone’s hotspot, then the connection drops as soon as the phone screen locks. Or the laptop still shows Wi-Fi, but pages stop loading. The cause might be a hotspot timeout, a battery-saving setting, or the laptop going to sleep.

Test the connection while you lock and unlock the phone. The Connection Stability test can show whether requests start failing at the same time as the screen locks. Run it on the laptop or other device using the hotspot, not on the phone sharing it.

Test the hotspot while the phone is locked

1. Connect a laptop or another device to the phone’s hotspot. Keep that device awake and open the Connection Stability test.
2. Run the test for a short baseline while the hotspot phone’s screen is on. Note whether the test shows lost requests, dropouts, or jumps in response time.
3. Start another test under the same conditions, then lock the phone sharing the hotspot. Leave the connected device awake and close to the phone.
4. Watch the connected device’s Wi-Fi indicator and the test results. Note whether Wi-Fi disconnects, stays connected without internet, or keeps working normally.
5. Unlock the phone and wait briefly. Check whether the hotspot reconnects by itself or whether you need to select it again.

Keep the connected device in the same place for both tests. If it goes to sleep too, the comparison will not tell you whether the phone or the client caused the interruption.

What the result means

Wi-Fi disconnects when you lock the phone

The hotspot may be turning off, or the phone may be suspending its Wi-Fi sharing to save power. Check the hotspot’s automatic timeout setting and battery-saving options first. If the phone still drops the connection with those options changed, compare with a second client device.

Wi-Fi stays connected, but requests fail

The connected device is still attached to the phone, but the phone may have paused its mobile data connection or lost service. Check whether the phone itself can load a page after you unlock it. If it cannot, look at mobile coverage and data service rather than the Wi-Fi link between the devices.

The test continues normally

The phone’s screen lock is probably not causing the problem during this test. The disconnect may depend on a particular laptop, an app, or a longer idle period. Repeat the test with the device that usually disconnects and note whether the problem appears only after a longer wait.

The test shows dropouts with the screen on and off

The connection may be unstable for a reason unrelated to locking the phone. Mobile signal changes, congestion, or a weak hotspot Wi-Fi connection can all interrupt requests. A few lost requests alone do not prove that the hotspot is switching off. Check whether the Wi-Fi connection itself disappears, too.

How to fix it

1. Check for a hotspot timeout. On Android, open Settings › Network & internet › Hotspot & tethering, then open the Wi-Fi hotspot settings and look for an option such as Turn off hotspot automatically. Menu names vary by phone. On Samsung phones, look under Settings › Connections › Mobile Hotspot and Tethering › Mobile Hotspot for the timeout or automatic-off option. Turn it off temporarily to test.
2. Turn off battery saving for a comparison. On iPhone, open Settings › Battery and turn off Low Power Mode. On Android, open Settings › Battery and turn off Battery Saver or the similarly named power-saving mode. Lock the screen and repeat the test.
3. Check that the phone still has mobile data. On iPhone, open Settings › Cellular and make sure cellular data is on, then check Settings › Personal Hotspot and confirm Allow Others to Join is on. On Android, confirm mobile data is enabled and the Wi-Fi hotspot is still active. A device can remain connected to hotspot Wi-Fi even when the phone has no working internet connection.
4. Keep the connected device awake during testing. On Windows 11, open Settings › System › Power & battery › Screen and sleep and temporarily set sleep to a longer interval. On a Mac, open System Settings › Battery › Options and review the setting for preventing automatic sleep while connected to power, if your Mac shows it. You can also check System Settings › Lock Screen for display timing. The display turning off is not always the same as the computer sleeping.
5. Reconnect the hotspot. Turn the hotspot off and on, then reconnect the laptop. If only one client has trouble, forget the hotspot network on that device and join it again using the password shown on the phone.
6. Update the phone and restart it. Install any available system update, restart the phone, and test again. Save resetting network settings for last, since it can remove saved Wi-Fi networks and other network preferences.

Why screen lock and sleep are different

Locking a phone turns off or locks its display, but it does not always stop hotspot sharing. The phone can keep the hotspot running while the screen is dark. Battery settings, a hotspot timeout, or the phone’s software can change that behavior. The laptop also has its own sleep and Wi-Fi power settings, so keep it awake when testing the phone.

If the hotspot still shuts off with automatic timeout and battery-saving options disabled, and several client devices lose Wi-Fi at the same moment, restart the phone and retest. If it continues, contact the phone maker or carrier, since hotspot behavior can depend on the device and mobile plan.