I think I had this “issue” earlier but I’m not sure exactly.

Hahaha I have opposite situation xD
I need to plug charger into socket then plug my 12 Pro Max to lightning cable.
It’s never works on the contrary.

12 Pro Max Pacific Blue <3
Newer models have faded colors.

Sell? Save one as a backup phone?

Personal hotspot doesn’t disconnect because locked screen but rather if there is no network traffic I think.
Im pretty sure it’s not about locking the screen but could be wrong.
But there is different problem that probably not much people recognized.
You can’t simply run hotspot and click power button to off the screen.
Hotspot is only visible to devices when you STAY on Hotspot settings for few seconds before second device connects to it.
This is kinda annoying.