Google announced today that it is bringing its Instant Tethering capabilities to 15 more Chromebooks and 30 more Android smartphones.

“Starting today, Instant Tethering is available on Chromebooks, [meaning] that you can connect to the internet via a paired Android phone’s cellular network connection, as long as tethering is enabled on your mobile data plan,” Google’s Jesse Johnston explains. “With Instant Tethering, you can pair your Android phone with your Chromebook during an initial set-up process, then accessing the internet only takes a single click.”

Instant Tethering first showed up as an Android feature over two years ago, in January 2017. At the time, it was aimed at using a single Android device’s cellular data connection with one or more other Android devices. But the capability was extended to Chromebooks in May 2018, albeit only via a limited range of Android devices, most of the Pixel variety.

With this new update, Instant Tethering is now compatible with more Chromebooks and Android smartphones than before. And it will deliver a prompt on Chrome OS when there are no Wi-Fi connections available, giving you the option to tether with your phone. Instant Tethering will automatically disconnect if it detects 10 minutes of no activity to save you power and data, too, Google notes.

Google says it will bring Instant Tethering to even more Chromebook and phones in the coming months.

Tagged with Instant Tethering