Google has finally rolled out a much-awaited feature called Instant Tethering. This feature was available to some in late January 2017 but now Google has made it officially available to Pixel and Nexus Devices running on Android 7.1.1 Nougat and up. Host mode is available on the Pixel, Pixel XL, Nexus 6, Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P. However, Pixel C and Nexus 9 only have client mode and host mode is not available on them. Also, the devices running on Marshmallow will only act as Client means they can only use shared connections and not act like a host. We hope Google consider this option for Marshmallow as well as hundreds and thousands of devices are still running on Marshmallow.
The working flow of this feature is pretty simple — As soon as client loses internet connectivity it will display a prompt asking you whether you want to connect to the host which still have internet connectivity. If you click Connect option a secure hotspot will be created between Host and Client. This will save you the hassle of turning on Tethering (Hotspot) on the device with internet connectivity and then be searching for the host on the client and then connect.
To enable Instant Tethering both the devices must be logged in with same Google account. The device acting as host will drain battery like hell, therefore the connection will stop automatically after 10 minutes of idle with no usage.
How to enable Instant Tethering on Android Device
- Go to Settings >> Google >> Instant tethering, from here enable Instant Tethering if it’s not already enabled.
- Select Provide Data Connection option to make the device work as a host.
- Only Pixel, Pixel XL, Nexus 6, Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P running on Android 7.1.1 Nougat and up can work as Host.
- Select Get Data Connection option to make the device work as a client.
That’s it! Instant Tethering is enabled on your Android Phone. We hope that Google considers rolling out this feature for other devices as well.
