How to connect a GoPro Hero 9 to your phone hotspot

Update #3: Seems like the latest firmware/app update as of 18-Dec-2020 fixed the bulk of issues for GoPro Hero 9 network connectivity. So...go get it! If it doesn't work still...leave a comment or let GoPro know on their forums! :)

Update #2: I kept running into unpredictable connection issues. So I did some more troubleshooting and found another workaround that seems to do the trick if nothing else helps. Make sure to enable Live Preview after connecting to the camera (such that your phone is connected to the camera's temporary WiFI network). Leave your phone's WiFi turned on and leave it connected to the GoPro temp network upon tapping "Set Up Live".

In doing so, I've seen the GoPro app will be able to provide a list of networks with some reliability (versus a blank network list). Sometimes it won't ask if I want to connect to a network at this point, but if I just tap on the network list, it's always populated. I realize it's an issue if your phone can't have WiFi turned on the same time as the Hotspot (newer Androids seem to have no issue). So if it's an older phone like in this video, consider leaving WiFi turned on when you turn on your hotspot and don't specifically "turn off" your WiFi like I suggest can be done in the video.

Update #1: I noticed that this whole process doesn't seem to work well if there's no known WiFi network in reach. Then it seems like the GoPro app will not show any networks. For example, I was in my garage, and could not get this exact process to work. So I went inside my house, where there was good WiFi reception to my home network which my GoPro app/camera have been connected to in the past, and this process below worked. Again, your situation may vary!

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This is my method for ensuring I can always connect a GoPro Hero 9 to my Moto X4 running Android. So, your results may vary. But, it looks like a lot of people are having the same issues I am such as:

1. Hotspot not showing in network selection on phone app.
2. Absolutely no network showing in selection menu on phone app.
3. Weird bug in camera control section of app.

To fix this, I did the following:

1. On your phone, first close out of the GoPro app entirely.
2. On your phone, turn on BT, but turn OFF your hot spot. You can leave your regular WiFi on if you want.
3. Start the GoPro phone app. Make sure your GoPro is turned on also.
4. Go to the camera control menu, and select "Control Camera". Wait for it to connect and take you to the next screen.
5. Keeping the GoPro app running, bring up your settings for your phone and turn the hot spot ON.
6. Return to the GoPro app, and swipe over to Set Up Live and tap it.
7. Pick your stream platform.
8. The app will automatically try to find a network. If it does not suggest anything, tap on the network selection list near the top of the screen. If it suggests a network that's not your hot spot, hit cancel and then tap the network selection list.
9. You might need to do a downward swipe to refresh the list of networks it can see.
10. Ideally at this point you can see your hot spot network amongst others. Select it! It might prompt for a password. If this doesn't work, you might need to mess with your hot spot settings such as if it broadcasts an SSID or what encryption you have (WPA etc should be fine).

Now you're ready to go! Scroll down thru the other options for the stream and hit continue. It should take 10-20 seconds at this point, but eventually should let you go live.

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