Android’s iPhone-like instant hotspot is no longer a secret feature

For many years now, we have Android fans been a bit jealous of Apple’s continuity features and seamless integration across its ecosystem of devices. The best of the gang is the instant hotspot, where you do not need to set up a hotspot manually to share your data connection with your secondary phone or tablet when they are nearby – it just works.

You may not know that Android has had the same feature since September last year. It rolled out as part of one New “Cross -Device Services” menuthat came to many Android phones in a Play System Update. If none of these words mean anything to you, you are not alone. Everyone I’ve talked to about it – including several technological journalists and nerdy friends – had no idea this secret Android Instant Hotspot option, nor how they could activate it.

But it is changing now. You no longer need to be a technical wizard to immerse yourself in Settings> Google> All Services> Services across Devices> Next> And more to set it up, because Google has finally decided to turn it on by default when setting up a new Android phone.

I noticed this change when I set up a new phone, Realme GT 7 Dream Edition. But this is not limited to Realme, and this should be the case with most new Android phones from any mark in the future. After I finished signing my Google Account on the phone I got a notice on my main device, Pixel 9 Pro XLinform me that a new phone can now share with me.

The notification came from services across devices and said that my new Realme phone can now “find this [Pixel] Unit and share things like video calls. “Ah, Google, why are you hiding the ball like that and not mentioning hotspot?

So in the end, after many months with a slow roll -out and a foolish phase where they had to be turned on by the user (check the screens over to see the unclear way to turn it on), Google has decided that it is time to upgrade these features and just activate them for everyone. Of course, you can turn them off, but the essence is that no one has to dig so deep into obscure surroundings to detect that this option exists.

When that was done, it was time to put this to the test. I went out with Pixel 9 Pro XL and Realme GT 7; The former has my SIM card and complete data access, the latter has no connection besides the home’s Wi-Fi.

After leaving Wi-Fi for a few minutes, I took out Realme and tried to use it. It took a few seconds for “use of the phone’s hotspot” -up -up to show up, but so did it. I drained it, and just like that hit the phone on the Pixel 9 Pro Xls Hotspot and connected it without having to take my pixel out of my pocket. No password setup or entry, to manual connections, nothing. It worked perfectly.

Throughout the day, I continued to use the Realme phone, and every time I needed a connection, I could immediately take it from my pixel without messing with anything other than one notification.

And this is what Android users are setting up a new Android phone will soon experience: An option that is turned on by default and a notice to use their nearby phone data when using a secondary, dataafri, phone or tablet.

As long as the two devices share the same Google account and are close to each other, this should work seamlessly.

So Apple Continuity-like features are live on Android now, and all is well in the world? Well, yes and no. I have to mention a few warnings that I cannot test in my current setup.

First, I suspect that your primary device must have transverse services activated (ie you have to do it manually). If not, your secondary device will be registered, but it will not have any phone to share with/from. So most normal Android users will not detect immediate hotspot or division of devices until they have set up at least two new phones.

Secondly, I think the Auto-registration in services across devices will only work when the new phone you are trying to set up ships with a specific minimum version of Play Services out of the box. So, for example, if you buy a Galaxy S25, it is unlikely that this will happen on your phone. But if you go for S25 edgeYou have a better chance to get it. Over time, but all recent Android phones should be sent with a Play Services version that turns this on as standard out of the box.

And finally, Eagle Eyes may notice that the first notification I received “Find this device.” If you were tense, do you think Google is now turning on Find my device network By default and records phones in it, not. I made the same mistake, but I noticed that the setting “Find your offline devices” was still disabled on GT 7. Just “Leave the device to be located” was activated. I reached out to Google and asked for clarification, and was told that, like all Android phones, this notification was simply to tell me that I can now find the phone based on the reported last-known place. Does not mean that it is part of the network, which contributes in all areas, or can be found by nearby Android phones that act as part of a large Bluetooth network.

This was a bit of a letdown, but I guess Google sticks to its weapons when it comes to privacy and finds my device / Finn Hub. You must sign up and select the privacy level you are willing to give away; Otherwise, it’s off.

Still, I am very excited about the instant hotspot feature as standard rolls out to multiple devices and users. It is one of the most seamless experiences I have had between two Android phones, and I want more users to take advantage of it without having to dig in to choose it.