I was concerned about having Bluetooth on while on the road/traveling since I saw some articles saying hackers can use Bluetooth to access personal data. Also wanted to confirm if it’s normal since I did not have to turn on wifi or Bluetooth to be able to use hotspot before when I was using Android. Based on the replies here it seems to be normal to turn them on when using iPhone as hotspot

Got it, thank you for the clarification

No worries, thank you, appreciate your message. My apologies if I wasn’t able to properly describe the experience . My cellular data plan is on the iPhone, and I sometimes use it as hotspot for other android devices so that other devices can connect to my data. Whenever I want to do this, I have to -turn ON cellular data -under “personal hotspot” I turn ON “allow others to join” (“maximize compatibility” is also ON) There will be a message prompt that says: “Wifi and Bluetooth are off. Personal hotspot will only be available over USB. Do you also want to enable over WiFi and Bluetooth?” Button 1: Turn on Wifi and Bluetooth Button 2: USB only

I always have to choose button 1 for it to work, but the downside is while I am traveling other strangers nearby can see my device since wifi and Bluetooth have to be turned ON for hotspot. It might also consume additional battery power because wifi is on and the phone displays different networks I pass by. The moment I turn it off, the hotspot connection breaks off too. Also sometimes even if I do it correctly others can’t connect so I have to turn off wifi, Bluetooth and cellular data to redo the process for it to work haha

When I was using Android before, I just had to turn ON cellular data and the button for Hotspot (both in dropdown menu/control center). No need to turn on wifi or Bluetooth for other devices to connect to my android as hotpot

Comparing both, I was just wondering if my Apple IPhone hotspot experience is normal, if it’s really like that? Where Wifi and Bluetooth has to also be ON for my iPhone Hotspot to work