Enabling Instant Tethering Feature With Google Play Services 10.2 And Android 7.1.1. Currently, Instant Tethering Feature is Only Available in Google Nexus and Pixel for Intelligent Internet Sharing.
Internet sharing was set available to Android users for a long time, known as Internet tethering. In this mode, the user’s internet connection is shared over Wi-Fi under an SSID set by the Android user. Within a limited range, other peripheral devices with built-in Wi-Fi radios can search for Wi-Fi networks. These networks are shared by devices with a cellular data network and may connect to the tethering device to enjoy internet connectivity.
Android has taken a step forward in tethering technology. Until now, the tethering function was buried deep in settings, making it time-consuming to enable and set up. Earlier, Android added a tethering hotspot shortcut in the easy one-click menu, unless hotspot settings were configured by the user. Now, with the release of Google Play Services 10.2, Android users will have the option to connect peripheral Wi-Fi devices. These devices will connect automatically if they belong to the same user. This service added to new devices is called instant tethering.
This not only simplifies tethering options but also provides more convenient and intelligent connectivity. This feature is known as instant tethering for Android users.
How Instant Tethering Works?
Android has made the working principle of instant tethering so simple. In combination with a Google account and a Bluetooth connection, they have established an authorization process for interlinking devices. The protocol is straightforward: if an Android user has several devices with Android operating systems and one of the devices with the same Google account loses internet connectivity, it will search for nearby devices using its Bluetooth connection and request a Wi-Fi connection to the other device. What’s most interesting is that the whole process is transparent, without any connection dialog boxes or authentication setups.
To use this feature, Android users need to enable a private data connection setup and allow the device to find other devices with the same Google account and a cellular network using Bluetooth to ask for an instant tethering connection.
Which Smartphones Have Instant Tethering Feature?
Unfortunately, integrating the instant tethering feature for all Android users will take some time. Instant tethering is slowly being made available to Google Nexus and Google Pixels running Android 7.1.1 with Google Play Services version 10.2.
It is worth noting that not all devices with Google Play Services version 10.2 support the instant tethering feature at this time. However, the feature will become available for a large number of smartphones, especially those with hardware capable of upgrading to the next Android version. But this transition is expected to be slow. Regarding the Nougat update, it is still available for only a very small number of smartphones.