Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL; DR
- Android’s new Instant Hotspot feature will not be available on Samsung devices.
- Instant Hotspot is a new feature that lets you easily connect your Android tablet or Chromebook to your phone’s hotspot with one tap.
- This feature already existed on Chrome OS in the form of instant connection, but such an option did not previously exist between Android phones and tablets of different brands.
Google just unveiled its latest Android Feature Drop earlier today, and it’s one of the most exciting features I can remember. The two features I’m most excited about are part of Play Services’ new cross-device module, which brings Apple Continuity-style magic to your Android devices. For example, the new Instant Hotspot feature lets you connect your Android tablet or Chromebook to your phone’s hotspot with a single tap. Instant Hotspot works with phones running Android 11 or later, with one notable exception: Samsung devices. According to Google, Instant Hotspot will not be available on any Samsung devices.
Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority
If you have an Android tablet or Chromebook that doesn’t have a cellular connection, you may find yourself having to use your phone’s data connection to connect that device to the network. Most phones support sharing the Internet connection with other devices by creating a mobile hotspot. Since you probably don’t want random people using your data, you’ll need to set a password for your mobile hotspot.
This means that the process of connecting your Wi-Fi-only Android tablet or Chromebook to the Internet requires pulling out your phone, turning on its cellular hotspot, finding the cellular hotspot in your device’s list of Wi-Fi networks, and finally entering the password you set to connect with him. This whole process can be a hassle when you’re out and about, which is why companies trying to create a device ecosystem usually offer some way to instantly connect your Wi-Fi-only devices to your phone’s hotspot.
Chrome OS, for example, has long had an Instant Tethering feature that lets you access the Internet on your Chromebook with one click. All you have to do is pair your cellular-enabled Android phone with your Chromebook, and then when your Chromebook detects that it can’t connect to any nearby Wi-Fi networks, it’ll display a message that you can click for instant activation and connect to access point of your phone.
Android’s new Instant Hotspot feature offers very similar functionality to Chrome OS’s Instant Tethering, except it also works with Android tablets. This means you can instantly share your Android phone’s hotspot with your Android tablet when it needs it, all without entering a password. Samsung phones can already share their mobile data connection with Samsung tablets thanks to the company’s Auto Hotspot feature in One UI, but without Instant Hotspot support, they won’t be able to instantly share their mobile data connection with non-Samsung tablets.
It is not clear why Instant Hotspot is not available on Samsung devices. The feature is part of Google Play Services, which is available on all Google-certified Android devices, including Samsung’s. Presumably, Samsung turned off this feature, perhaps to encourage users to buy devices within their ecosystem. Regardless, Samsung users will still be able to instantly share their phone’s hotspot with their Chromebook thanks to the existing Instant Tethering feature. It will also still be able to do the same with any Windows PC via Link to Windows.