Samsung S3 asks for mobile data when I try to receive using ShareIt

A friend has Samsung S3 phone. Whenever he tries to activate receiving using Lenovo ShareIt, a pop up message raises asking to activate mobile data. Even after enabling mobile data, the WiFi spot is not created if mobile data is not connected. - Is it a firmware problem, that the phone can't enable WiFi spot without mobile data active? - Is there any fix or a workaround to make it works?