Many people seem to be having issues connecting their MMDVM Hotspot directly to their iPhone WiFi Hotspot for network access. I fell into the same category. There are a few things that I had to do for it to work:

First, the iPhone’s SSID (WiFi Network Name) should not have any special characters or spaces in its name. Some people have claimed the same for the password, but I have not run into this problem. Originally, my SSID was “R Christopher’s iPhone.” Changing this to my nickname “Hoser” was the first step in resolving this issue.

To change your iPhone’s SSID, go to Settings | General | About | Name. You can change it here.

Second, when scanning for networks in the Pi-Star’s Wireless Configuration, the SSID sometimes would not show up in the list of available networks. Before clicking the Scan for Networks button make sure your iPhone’s Personal Hotspot is enabled and that you remain on the Personal Hotspot screen. It may take a few scans to see your SSID appear.

Finally, before powering up your MMDVM Hotspot, again, make sure your iPhone’s Personal Hotspot is enabled and that you are on the Personal Hotspot screen. Do not navigate away from the Personal Hotspot screen until after you see that the MMDVM Hotspot has connected successfully.