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Android's new feature instantly connects you to a phone when your internet dies

Instant Tethering lets you piggyback off another connection when you lose web access

Aatif Sulleyman
Monday 23 January 2017 12:49 GMT
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Google has been working on a number of new features designed to improve Android users’ offline experience recently
Google has been working on a number of new features designed to improve Android users’ offline experience recently

Google is rolling out a new feature to Android users, designed to keep all of their devices connected to the internet all the time.

Instant Tethering takes the hassle out of setting up a mobile hotspot, by automatically detecting when one of your devices loses internet access and prompting you to piggyback off another device associated with your Google account, which does have a mobile data connection.

You usually have to enable tethering on one device before using another to connect to it, using a passcode.

According to Android Police, Instant Tethering uses Bluetooth to detect an alternative connection, with the feature rolling out as part of Google Play Services 10.2.

It appears to be coming to Pixel- and Nexus-branded devices running Android Nougat 7.1.1 ahead of all others. The Nexus 9 and Pixel C, however, are only supported as clients for the time being, meaning they can connect to a compatible phone and not vice-versa.

If you do happen to own an up-to-date Pixel or Nexus handset, you can find out whether or not you have Instant Tethering by heading into the Google menu in your settings.

Google has been working on a number of new features designed to improve Android users’ offline experience of late.

It recently announced a handy update to its search app for Android, which saves your search queries whenever you have no signal, automatically delivering your results as soon as it detects a connection again.

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