Michael Mayhew

Tethering allows you to share your phone’s Internet connection with another device, such as your laptop or desktop computer.  Most wireless companies charge a hefty fee for air cards or tether access but with your Android device running CyanogenMod you only need your existing data plan.

USB Tethering

As of CyanogenMod 4.2.3.1, USB tethering is built right into the ROM.

• Go to Settings
• Wireless Controls
• Check ‘Internet Tethering’

If your Android device is connected to your PC via USB, the OS should recognize a new USB adapter and voila, Internet access via USB!

Here are some screen shots of my G1 and Ubuntu 9.04 laptop:

WiFi Tethering

If you don’t have a USB cable or want to connect multiple devices, Wifi tethering is awesome! This is by far, my favorite method of tethering. For all you geeks out there, this option basically creates an ad-hoc wifi network,  handles dhcp and becomes a router/wifi gateway. Sweet huh?

This is done with a program called Wireless Tether for Root Users. The program is very self explanatory but here are some rough steps:

• Open Wireless Tether for Root Users
• Menu -> Setup
• Make sure “Use Bluetooth” is unchecked
• Scroll down and set SSID
• If you want to use WEP, check “Enable WiFi-Encryption” and then choose “Change Passphrase”
• Press back
• Start Tethering!
• From your wifi-enabled device, re-scan and select your SSID
• Ta Da!

Wireless Tether for Root Users will use the notification area to show your connected. You can enabled MAC-filtering and allow or dis-allow certain devices.

Check out these awesome screenshots:

Bluetooth Tethering

I have to apologize because I can’t talk to Bluetooth Tethering other than it’s possible and it’s awesome. The same app, Wireless Tether for Root Users, offers Bluetooth Tethering but my laptop isn’t bluetooth enabled so I can’t test and provide feedback.

But speaking of Bluetooth, as of CyanogenMod 4.2.3.1, Bluetooth OBEX is working! If you have Bluetooth enabled, you can share files, contacts and images via Bluetooth. Check out the screenshot below:

If you have any questions on Tethering, CyanogenMod or Android in general, please comment and I’ll respond.  Below are some useful links relevant to this post:

CyanogenMod – http://www.cyanogenmod.com

CM 4.2.3.1 on XDA:  http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=567610

Wireless Tether for Root Users: http://code.google.com/p/android-wifi-tether/