We recently moved and don't have home internet yet, so we're borrowing a portable Wi‑Fi hotspot from the library. My daughter uses an iPhone 16e and says it becomes slower whenever the hotspot is turned on, even if the phone isn't connected to it. She thinks the phone detects nearby Wi‑Fi and deliberately prioritizes it over mobile data. She says the issue stops when the hotspot itself is turned off, although turning Wi‑Fi off on the iPhone doesn't seem to help. Can a nearby or available Wi‑Fi network interfere with cellular performance like this, or is something else more likely causing the slowdown?
4 Answers
Some carriers install settings that automatically connect phones to affiliated public Wi‑Fi networks. In that situation, the phone could repeatedly attempt to use a poor connection, but that’s an auto-connect issue—not the phone slowing down because Wi‑Fi exists. Turning off Auto-Join for the relevant network, or temporarily disabling Wi‑Fi, should rule it out.
There may be some terminology getting mixed together. Is the library device a separate hotspot that broadcasts Wi‑Fi, and is the iPhone actually connected to it? If the hotspot is only powered on nearby, it shouldn’t change how the phone uses cellular service. If the phone is connected, the hotspot itself may simply be congested or have weak internet service.
Check whether the iPhone is automatically connecting to the library hotspot or another saved network. If it’s connected, the Wi‑Fi icon should appear in the status area, and a weak or overloaded hotspot can definitely feel slower than cellular data. Forgetting the network or disabling auto-join would test that.
No, the phone doesn’t slow down just because it detects a Wi‑Fi signal nearby. If Wi‑Fi is turned off, or the phone isn’t connected to that network, the signal’s mere presence shouldn’t affect cellular data. It may be worth checking what “slower” means—web pages, apps, battery life, or the entire phone—because those could point to different causes.
Phones don’t have intentions or preferences here; they follow their connection settings. A nearby network only matters if the phone is actually trying to join or use it.