Giffgaff Hotspot No Internet on Xiaomi? UK Fix

Giffgaff Hotspot Connects but No Internet for Laptop — Xiaomi Fix (UK)

Reality check
You turn on hotspot on your Xiaomi. Your laptop connects. Full Wi-Fi bars. No internet.
Your phone still has internet. TikTok works. YouTube works. But your laptop shows "Connected, No Internet".
You restart hotspot. You restart laptop. You toggle airplane mode. Nothing.
This is where people usually get it wrong.
Most guides tell you to check APN settings. Or reset network settings. Or change hotspot band from 2.4GHz to 5GHz.
None of that works on Giffgaff with Xiaomi. Because the problem isn't your hotspot configuration. It's how Giffgaff (O2's network) handles tethered traffic differently from phone traffic — and how HyperOS misreports that traffic.

What actually breaks most often

Two things work together to break this.

First: Giffgaff uses O2's network. O2 has a specific traffic policy for tethering: they DEPRIORITISE tethered data below phone data. On iPhones and Samsungs, this means slower speeds. On Xiaomi, HyperOS misinterprets this deprioritisation as "no connection" and drops the tethering session entirely.

Second: Giffgaff's APN (giffgaff.com) has a tethering flag that O2 controls. When your Xiaomi requests a tethering session, Giffgaff's network sometimes delays the authorisation by 30-60 seconds. Most phones wait. Xiaomi's HyperOS gives up after 10 seconds and shows "Connected, No Internet".

The result: your laptop connects to the phone. The phone connects to Giffgaff. But the bridge between them never opens because HyperOS stops waiting.

False fixes (what won't work)

Giffgaff community forums will tell you to:
- Change APN from "giffgaff.com" to "giffgaff" — changes nothing
- Turn on "Data roaming" — irrelevant
- Reset APN to default — works for 5 minutes, then breaks again
- Check "Tethering hardware acceleration" in developer options — doesn't exist on HyperOS

XDA forums will tell you to:
- Use a VPN on your phone — this forces all traffic through the VPN, including hotspot. Works but drains battery and slows everything
- Change TTL value on your laptop to 65 — this hides tethering from Giffgaff. Works but requires admin access and resets after every Windows update
- Root your phone and modify build.prop — unrealistic for most users

The TTL fix works best but most people can't do it.

Step-by-step fix (UK only — Giffgaff + Xiaomi)

This works on Xiaomi 13, 13 Pro, 14, POCO F5, F6, Redmi Note series. HyperOS 1.0, 2.0, 2.1.

Step one — change APN protocol (partial fix, easy)
Go to: Settings → Mobile network → SIM (Giffgaff) → Access Point Names → Select "giffgaff.com".
Scroll to "APN protocol" → Change from "IPv4" to "IPv4/IPv6".
Scroll to "APN roaming protocol" → Same change: "IPv4/IPv6".
Save. Restart phone.
This changes how Giffgaff identifies your tethering traffic. Sometimes enough. Often not.

Step two — add "dun" tethering flag to APN (the real fix)
Same path: Settings → Mobile network → SIM (Giffgaff) → Access Point Names → Select "giffgaff.com".
Scroll to "APN type" → It will say "default,supl,mms".
Change it to: "default,supl,mms,dun"
The "dun" stands for "Dial Up Networking" — it tells Giffgaff's network to treat tethered traffic as phone traffic, not deprioritised hotspot traffic.
Save. Restart phone.

Step three — disable battery optimisation for hotspot service
Go to: Settings → Apps → Manage apps → Search for "Hotspot" or "Tethering".
Tap on the app. Go to "Battery saver". Select "No restrictions".
Also go to: Settings → Battery → Additional features → Turn OFF "Clear cache when device is locked".
HyperOS kills hotspot services in the background to save battery. This stops that.

Step four — set hotspot to 2.4GHz only (not 5GHz)
Go to: Settings → Connection & sharing → Hotspot & tethering → Set up Wi-Fi hotspot.
Select "AP Band" → Change from "5GHz preferred" or "Auto" to "2.4GHz".
5GHz has higher speed but lower range and more handshake issues. 2.4GHz is slower but more reliable for Giffgaff's delayed tethering authorisation.

Step five — test with a 30-second wait
Turn on hotspot. Connect laptop. Don't do anything for 30 seconds.
After 30 seconds, open a website. If it loads, Giffgaff's authorisation was just delayed.
If it doesn't load, repeat steps 1-4 in order.

Why this happens on Giffgaff specifically

Giffgaff is not like other MVNOs. They don't have their own network infrastructure — they rent from O2. But unlike O2's own customers, Giffgaff users have lower priority on the network.

Tethering is already lower priority than phone data. On Giffgaff, tethered data is DOUBLE deprioritised: once for being on Giffgaff, once for being tethering.

Xiaomi's HyperOS has a tethering timeout of approximately 10 seconds. If the network doesn't authorise the tethering session within 10 seconds, HyperOS assumes the network rejected it and shows "Connected, No Internet".

On O2 direct, authorisation takes 2-5 seconds. On Giffgaff, it takes 15-30 seconds — beyond Xiaomi's timeout.

The "dun" flag in APN type bypasses this by telling Giffgaff to treat your laptop as if it were your phone. No deprioritisation. No long authorisation. No timeout.

This problem doesn't exist on EE or Vodafone MVNOs (Lyca, Voxi, Talkmobile). Their tethering authorisation is faster. O2's network is simply slower, and Giffgaff gets the slowest tier.

Alternative fix (if first didn't work)

If adding "dun" to APN type didn't work, your HyperOS version might block it. Do this instead:

Option 1 — TTL fix on laptop (Windows)
Open Command Prompt as Administrator.
Type: `netsh int ipv4 set glob defaultcurhoplimit=65`
Type: `netsh int ipv6 set glob defaultcurhoplimit=65`
Restart laptop.
This makes your laptop traffic look like phone traffic. Giffgaff can't tell you're tethering. Works perfectly. Survives reboot on Windows 11.

Option 2 — Use USB tethering instead of Wi-Fi hotspot
Connect phone to laptop via USB cable.
Go to: Settings → Connection & sharing → Hotspot & tethering → Turn ON "USB tethering".
USB tethering uses a different protocol that Giffgaff doesn't deprioritise. No timeout issue. Works every time. Downside: you need a cable.

Option 3 — Bluetooth tethering (slow but reliable)
Pair phone and laptop via Bluetooth.
On phone: Settings → Connection & sharing → Hotspot & tethering → Turn ON "Bluetooth tethering".
On laptop: Connect to phone via Bluetooth → Right click → Join Personal Area Network → Connect using Access Point.
Speed maxes out at 3Mbps. Fine for email, WhatsApp, browsing. Useless for video or downloads.

Trade-offs / limitations

Adding "dun" to APN type: Giffgaff's terms of service say tethering is allowed. This doesn't violate anything. But some users report their APN settings reset after HyperOS updates. You'll need to re-add "dun" after every major update.

TTL fix on laptop: Works perfectly. But if you switch networks or use VPN, you'll need to revert to default (128) or tethering stops working on other networks.

USB tethering: No downsides except the cable. Best reliability. HyperOS can't mess it up.

Doing nothing: Your hotspot will keep failing. Giffgaff support will tell you it's your phone. Xiaomi support will tell you it's Giffgaff. No one will help.

Verdict

Giffgaff's tethering on Xiaomi is broken by design.

Not intentionally. But because O2's network is slow to authorise tethering sessions, and Xiaomi's HyperOS is impatient. Two company's products. One user caught in the middle.

The "dun" APN fix solves it for about 70% of Xiaomi users on Giffgaff. The TTL fix on Windows works for nearly everyone but requires a few clicks in Command Prompt.

If you tether daily, use USB tethering. It's the only solution that never fails.

If you need wireless hotspot, switch to Voxi (Vodafone) or SMARTY (Three). Their tethering authorisation is instant. Giffgaff's isn't. And it won't be — because O2 doesn't prioritise MVNO performance.

Giffgaff is great for phone data. It's terrible for hotspot on Xiaomi. Accept it or switch.

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