Google Expands Support for Instant Tethering – Available on New Smartphones
Back in 2017 Google introduced a remarkable feature called Instant Tethering, revolutionizing the way in which users were able to share access to internet across devices.
The feature is able to use a Bluetooth connection in order to seamlessly link two devices that share the same Google account. This means that you can use a Pixel smartphone to share your data with a Pixel tablet without the need to manually enable and disable the hotspot feature every time.
When a device that lacks data traffic is connected via Bluetooth to another device that has data access and a healthy battery level the first device will present a small dialog box. The dialog box will offer the option to enable data tethering and it can be used without the need to unlock the other device.
Google has announced that it will expand the feature in order to support a larger variety of devices, including Chromebook laptops and several Android models. The decision is motivated by the fact that some users may need to use their Chromebook on the go and a reliable Wi-Fi hotspot is not always available.
Here is a list of all the smartphones that are able to use the feature at this point:
- HTC U11, U11+
- HTC U12+
- Huawei Mate 10, Mate 10 Pro
- Huawei Mate 20, Mate 20 Pro, Mate 20 X
- LG G7 ThinQ
- LG V30, V30+, V30S ThinQ, V30S+ ThinQ
- LG V35 ThinQ
- LG V40 ThinQ
- Motorola Moto Z
- Motorola Moto Z2 Force
- Motorola Z3
- Nexus 5X
- Nexus 6, Nexus 6P
- OnePlus 5, 5T
- OnePlus 6, 6T
- Pixel, Pixel XL
- Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL
- Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL
- Samsung Galaxy S7, S7 Active, S7 Edge
- Samsung Galaxy Note 8
- Samsung Galaxy S8, S8+
- Samsung Galaxy Note 9
- Samsung Galaxy S9, S9+
Keep in mind that some providers offer a limited amount of data that can be tethered and going before what is deemed to be a reasonable amount can lead to aditional costs.