Android’s new Instant Hotspot feature will not be available on Samsung devices

Google just unveiled its latest Android Feature Drop today, and it’s one of the most exciting feature drops I can remember. The two features I’m most excited about are part of Play Services’ new Cross-Device Services module, which brings some 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 one tap. Instant Hotspot works with phones running Android 11 or newer, with one notable exception: Samsung devices. According to Google, Instant Hotspot will not be available on any Samsung device.

If you have an Android tablet or Chromebook that doesn’t have a cellular connection, you may find yourself in a situation where you need to use your phone’s data connection to bring that device online. Most phones support sharing their Internet connection with other devices by creating a mobile hotspot. Since you probably don’t want random people using your data, you should 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 you to take out your phone, turn on the mobile hotspot, find the mobile hotspot in your device’s Wi-Fi list, and finally enter the password you set to connect to it. This whole process can be a hassle when you’re on the road. That’s why companies trying to create an ecosystem of devices usually offer a way to instantly connect your Wi-Fi-only devices to your phone’s hotspot.

For example, Chrome OS has long had an Instant Tethering feature that gives you one-click access to the Internet on your Chromebook. All you have to do is pair a mobile-enabled Android phone with your Chromebook. Then, when your Chromebook detects that it can’t connect to nearby Wi-Fi networks, it will display a message that you can click to immediately activate it and connect to your phone’s hotspot.

Android’s new Instant Hotspot feature offers much of the same functionality as Chrome OS’ Instant Tethering, except it also works with Android tablets. This means you can instantly share your Android phone’s hotspot with your Android tablet whenever it needs it, all without ever having to enter 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 can’t immediately share their mobile data connection with non-Samsung tablets.

It’s not exactly clear why Instant Hotspot isn’t available on Samsung devices. The feature is part of Google Play Services, which is available on all Google-certified Android devices, including Samsung. It’s likely that Samsung has opted out of this particular feature, perhaps to encourage users to buy devices within their ecosystem. Regardless, Samsung users can still share their phone’s hotspot directly to their Chromebooks thanks to the existing Instant Tethering feature. And they can continue to do the same with any Windows PC via Link to Windows.