Google Instant Tethering feature will make it easier to connect your Android device to the internet

Mobile hotspot is a great feature on smartphones — it lets you use your mobile internet to set up a Wi-Fi hotspot, and share internet access with other devices such as laptops, tablets and other smartphones. Right now, the setup process to connect to a hotspot is quite cumbersome with users having to enter passwords for every Wi-Fi hotspot they try to connect, Google is trying to fix that with a new feature called ‘Instant Tethering.’

The feature is currently being rolled out as a part of Google Play Services v10.2 update. As the name suggests, the feature links up all devices connected to your Google account, be it an Android smartphone or tablet. With ‘Instant Tethering’ Google aims to make it easier to stay connected to the internet, even if the wireless connection drops. The feature is reportedly being seen first on Nexus and Pixel devices     running Android 7.1.1 Nougat. It's however worth noting that the Instant Tethering is not available to all Android 7.1.1 users yet, as Android Police points out that this is a server-side update. We also downloaded the latest Google Play services version 10.2 but the feature isn't showing up for us.

The Instant Tethering feature, once available, should be listed in Google settings. It is being speculated that Nexus devices running Android Marshmallow should also start seeing the new feature soon. One of the Google+ users add that the new Instant Tethering feature requires no additional setting to connect two devices with same Google account. Though, the initial setup will have to be done by the user.

Andreas Proschofsky wrote in a Google+ post, "Google Play Services 10.2 has started to roll out and it's introducing a pretty nifty new feature: Instant tethering. Basically it works like that: If - say - your tablet has no data connection and you also have a phone connected to the same Google account, it can automatically offer to use the data connection of the phone - zero setup necessary, just a confirmation."

Notably, a similar feature is already available for iOS and Mac for the past couple of years - introduced with iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite in 2014. Called Instant Hotspot, it's a part of Continuity, and users need to turn on their Personal Hotspot on their iOS device - the mobile Internet connection will now be available automatically as a hotspot on all the user's Apple devices as long as they are close by and are signed in with the same Apple ID.