New overview: iOS 26.4 makes hotspot billing easier
Many users use Apple's iPhone hotspot function on the go to get online. With iOS 26.4, there are now more details here.
Apple's iPhone 17 Pro: With iOS 26.4, there is more data about hotspot usage.
(Image: Sebastian Trepesch / heise medien)
As part of the introduction of iOS 26.4, Apple has also released a feature that improves the overview of the use of the iPhone data sharing function. With the so-called personal hotspot, the data volume of Apple phones can be distributed via WLAN to other devices, be it iPhones, Android devices, Macs, or iPads. The new feature ensures that you can directly see which device has consumed how many M or GBytes – instead of just a total sum as before. However, the accuracy of the display on Apple devices depends on which software is running on the supplied hardware.
Better overview, faster to find
Information about the personal hotspot can be found directly from the first settings screen: it is located under “Mobile data” (where it previously only represented a part of the area). If you wait a moment, the data consumption will also appear, which is located under “Maximize compatibility,” a function that serves to integrate older WLAN devices.
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What's new is that Apple is trying to assign hotspot usage to individual devices. These are then also named with their respective consumption. As before, there is also a figure for the total data consumption, which already appears on the main hotspot screen. Devices with Android operating systems, Windows PCs, and Macs with macOS 15.3 or older, as well as iPhones and iPads with iOS and iPadOS 18.3 or older, are not listed individually and end up under “other devices.”
The final bill is made by the provider
In direct testing, however, the new function was not very reliable at first. For example, devices were not differentiated despite having the correct operating system, or their names were not transferred. The system may need more data here.
Apple also writes that the consumption display can only be partially relied upon: Ultimately, the mobile provider is the entity that carries out the final billing. Therefore, if you use the hotspot intensively without a flat rate, it is always advisable to check in the respective app or on the respective website of the network operator whether you are still within your limit.
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