A long-standing issue has prevented users on select carriers from successfully starting up a hotspot. Pixel phones have been unable to use one in recent months, you may not be alone.
Some Pixel smartphone users are unable to launch a hotspot to share Wi-Fi access with nearby laptops, tablets, and other devices due to an issue that appears to be at least partially related to Android 13.
The issue was discovered in the Android 13 beta releases in May 2022 and continues to this day through the final release. Google stated that it was actively working on this issue in September of last year.
Android can recognize that some carriers restrict mobile hotspot access and display an error message along those lines. However, users with hotspot access on their cellular plan are experiencing this issue. Some people have had success over the past few months and simply attempted to launch a hotspot multiple times and occasionally succeeded.
Users have reported experiencing the issue on all modern Pixels, from the Pixel 4 to the Pixel 7 series. Some Pixel 3a users have reported experiencing the issue on Android 12.
Surprisingly, the fact that all of the affected carriers are based on Verizon’s network is the common thread. Total Wireless, StraightTalk, and US Mobile are all part of Verizon. Visible, Xfinity Mobile and Spectrum Mobile are not affected, according to affected users.
Lastly, some users have noted that recent system updates as well as updates to Carrier Services have fixed the issue.