Bluetooth pairing issue between iPhone 16 Pro and iPad

What, specifically, are you hoping to achieve by pairing your iPad and iPhone via a Bluetooth connection?

Whilst it is technically possible to do so, be aware that Bluetooth pairing between an iPad and iPhone is generally pointless. If your intention is to use Cellular Hotspot features of your iPhone, this link is optimally achieved using the native WiFi hotspot connection - this being a largely automated process. Hotspot connections over WiFi offer substantially greater throughput, range and reliability.

How to set up a Personal Hotspot on your iPhone or iPad – Apple Support

If you still wish to pair your iPad and iPhone over Bluetooth, you first need to manually enable the hotspot feature on your iPhone:

Settings > Mobile Data > Personal Hotspot > Allow Others to Join - set to ON

Next, Bluetooth for both the iPad and iPhone must be placed in Discovery mode:

Settings > Bluetooth (accessing this page will automatically place the device in Discovery mode)

Whilst both iPad and iPhone are in Discovery mode, you can mutually pair the devices.

Again, I must stress, unless you have an unusual “edge case”, pairing of iPad and iPhone over Bluetooth has no benefit.

You're very welcome. I'm delighted to learn that the problem was identified and successfully resolved.

Lysines wrote:

Hello,

I recently switched to a new iPhone 16 Pro, but I’m unable to connect it to my iPad via Bluetooth. I’ve followed all the troubleshooting steps provided in the Apple support articles, but nothing has worked.

Every time I try to pair the devices, I receive the same message: "Make sure the device is turned on and nearby."• However, both devices are turned on, Bluetooth is enabled, and they are placed right next to each other.

I’ve tried:

Restarting both devices

• Forgetting and re-pairing Bluetooth connections

• Resetting network settings

• Updating to the latest iOS versions

Nothing has resolved the issue. Bluetooth works fine with other devices, but my iPhone and iPad simply won’t connect to each other.

I rely on this feature for my work, so I really need a solution. Does anyone have any ideas or has anyone faced a similar issue?

Thank you in advance!

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

That is right, there is nothing wrong with yoru iphone or ipad, you can't connect two Apple devices together via bluetooth unless you're tethering, it has always been that way.

What exactly are you trying to accomplish?

Lysines wrote:

I just noticed that my iPhone 16 Pro does not have the Personal Hotspot option in the settings.

On my old iPhone 10, I could always find it under Settings → Mobile Data, but now it is missing. Could this be the reason why I can’t share my iPhone’s internet with my iPad via Bluetooth?

I have checked Settings → Mobile Data → Mobile Data Network, but I don’t see any Personal Hotspot settings there either.

Is this a known issue with iPhone 16 Pro, or is there a way to enable Personal Hotspot manually?

Start by contacting your carrier.

Lysines wrote:

Yes , I have done so/

Be aware that tethering requires that your iPhone Cellular plan supports this feature. Not all Cellular plans allow tethering by other devices - and for some, this facility carries an additional cost.

So called "unlimited" mobile phone data plans commonly do not permit tethering, or may provide a "data cap" for tethered devices.

To reiterate, both iPad and iPhone must simultaneously be set to discovery mode.