Wifi Shmifi, Tablet Shmablet

[jefboyardee]

No app at all. Enable WiFi hotspot on the handset and tell the tablet to connect to it.

Obviously your mobile plan has to include that capability. Ours does.

'That capability'... now that I have the tablet and the phone on my desk, the phone's settings say nothing about 'hotspot' or even "Wireless & Networks", so that leans to not having that capability, true? All its manual says about it is:

With Wi-Fi, you can use high-speed Internet access within the coverage of the
wireless access point (AP). Enjoy wireless Internet using Wi-Fi, without extra charges.
Connecting to Wi-Fi networks

To use Wi-Fi on your phone, you need to access a wireless access point or 'hotspot'.
Some access points are open and you can simply connect to them. Others are
hidden or use security features, you must configure your phone to be able to connect
to them.

Turn off Wi-Fi when you're not using it to extend the life of your battery.
NOTE: If you are out of the Wi-Fi zone or have set Wi-Fi to off, additional
charges may be applied by your mobile service provider for mobile data
use.

Turning Wi-Fi on and connecting to a Wi-Fi network

1 From the Home screen, tap > Apps tab (if necessary) > Settings >
Wi-Fi.

2 Tap the switch to turn Wi-Fi on and start scanning for available Wi-Fi
networks.
• Secured networks are indicated by a lock icon.

3 Tap a network to connect to it.
• If the network is secured, you are prompted to enter a password or other
credentials. (Ask your network administrator for details)

4 The Status Bar displays icons that indicate your Wi-Fi status.​

It doesn't mention being a hotspot, a server, a router, a provider, or whatever it's called. I've learned a lot about technical stuff, but wifi has so far make a cretin out of me.

 

[mikedt]

You're not seeing anything like this in your phone?

Although this is China and they don't disable or have to pay extra for tethering here. Can tether anything that has WiFi, laptops, tablets, smart TVs, etc.

 

[jefboyardee]

You're not seeing anything like this in your phone?

Nope, just this:

Now I have to buy my thirteenth droid...

 

[jefboyardee]

Now I have to buy my thirteenth droid...

It appears that LG or Tracfone or Straight Talk has intentionally curtailed my options. But if, groan, I root it, can I replace that with something that includes everything?

 

[EarlyMon]

It appears that LG or Tracfone or Straight Talk has intentionally curtailed my options. But if, groan, I root it, can I replace that with something that includes everything?

Maybe, maybe not.

You may be able to add tethering after rooting but in some cases the carrier can still detect it (despite claims otherwise). What may happen next is up to your contact terms with them.

Some phones will get hot providing wifi and that in turn can damage your battery if left on long enough.

Anyway there are a number of tethering apps that you can try from the Play Store, root not required.

For details about setup with your phone, please check in your phone forum here.

 

[jefboyardee]

You may be able to add tethering after rooting

Other than this roadblock I don't even need, I have no intention of rooting again, unless I have to. And if I really wanted to fix this, I'd be more likely to buy that thirteenth droid. At this point, I'm almost about to return all this anyway, again.

there are a number of tethering apps that you can try from the Play Store, root not required

I may look into that, but first I'm gonna try that cheapo wifi router I got with the tablet.

For details about setup with your phone, please check in your phone forum here.

In the phones section, there's a lot of LGs but not the Access LTE, that I can see.

 

[mikedt]

Nope, just this:

View attachment 78690 View attachment 78691

Now I have to buy my thirteenth droid...

Possibly the carrier is disabling or removing tethering from them. Might have to pay extra to have tethering enabled, or they would like you to take out an extra plan for the tablet, or a MiFi type device you can carry round with you. Carriers can be evil, money grabbing SOBs. "droid" that's Verizon isn't it?

 

[jefboyardee]

It took me a while, but I eventually learned how to reignite my beloved Klink, see LG & ADB. But that just uses USB connections, so all that accumulated knowledge might fer nuthin.

 

[Curtis1973]

Bought one. An expensive one. Had a lousy connection no matter how close I was to the WiFi signal. I returned it for a refund and never looked back. My mobile devices ran circles around it connection wise. My nieces mom bought her one for her birthday for gaming. She plays one of my droids more than she does her tablet and both have the same games. I asked her why she never really played her tablet. She said the droid was smaller and easier to use for her.

 

[WirelessWanderer]

It appears that LG or Tracfone or Straight Talk has intentionally curtailed my options.

Bargain-basement wireless services? Yeah, perhaps they disallow WiFi hotspot capability. I did a quick search on it. Too many conflicting answers. I'm afraid you're going to have to research this one yourself.

But if, groan, I root it, can I replace that with something that includes everything?

Whether you root it or not: Your carrier can see all that you do with your wireless connection.

 

[TrevorX5J9]

I use LTE for everything now. My data is faster than my home network, and I think that's kind of sad. My tablet almost never sees any use because my WiFi makes it near damn impossible to do anything.

 

[bjacks12]

I'll post the definitive answer to ST and tethering. It's not allowed. I've done it a couple of times and haven't been caught, but I don't like to burn through data anyway when I almost always have a strong WiFi connection.

I'd use data more but with only 3 GB, it's really easy to shoot past that.

 

[jefboyardee]

I'll post the definitive answer to ST and tethering. It's not allowed.

Well, I just USB tethered on my ST account, no problems at all. I might still be doing it if I hadn't overdone it. Now I have to wait until the end of my billing period, two weeks off, before I can overdo it again.

Anyway, it seems to me that tethering is allowed on ST, but only up to that limit. It even works after the limit is passed, but of course becomes uselessly slow. And I don't see any way around that limit on their site.

Anyway, I/we have gone astray from the original topic, tablets and wifi, both of which are alluring one moment and pointless the next.

 

[mikedt]

I use LTE for everything now. My data is faster than my home network, and I think that's kind of sad. My tablet almost never sees any use because my WiFi makes it near damn impossible to do anything.

Yeh, my LTE much faster than my fibre internet at home. Can't use it for everything though, only when I'm out and about or travelling, because it's not unlimited, currently a 2GB per month package. Go over that, and it goes dead and have to buy additional data.

 

[jefboyardee]

[SOLVED]

I either got bored or inspired and decided to try this crap out. The router works and my phone connected. Good timing, actually – wifi is a lot faster than my temporarily crippled 4G. But...

The pad sees my router, but when I try to login, I get "Connecting..."

"Guest Access is a feature that allows users to access the internet but limits access to the home network. Please ask the network administrator for the Guest Access password and enter it below."

Who the heck is my network administrator and how do I ask him questions? I've tried the router's built-in password and the one I entered when joined Belkin, both to no avail. And a reboot changes nothing.

Got >< that close...

edit: Bingo. It was the WPS button. Now I have a cutting-edge system: a bunch of new cheapy devices, centered around a a ten year-old desktop.

 

[saptech]

I have a Samsung Galaxy Tab 2, wifi only and used it often when I first got it, but now hardly use it as much. At home I prefer my larger screen with the computer. On the go, now it's more easy to just use the phone instead of lugging the tablet around.

 

[jefboyardee]

I think I was driven by the desire to have internet on a bigger screen while staying someplace else, like Riverside Casino in Laughlin . Now, if and when I get back there, I have to learn if it has an access point, if it requires a password, and if they do, who to get it from... commonplace stuff to everyone but me.

 

[jefboyardee]

Okay, not solved. I know the router is okay, because my current phone and a retired one I brought out for the occasion both connect. So the problem is the tablet. In its wifi settings, even though it says 'excellent signal strength,' I see 'connecting...' for a blip, then get either get 'authentication problem' or 'saved, secured with WPA 2.' Neither of those pass for 'connected.'

I need some handholding here...

edit... handholding was named google.

Turned off tablet and router. Went to see a man about a horse. Turned on tablet and router. All is well, at this moment..

 

[jefboyardee]

This is weird: I have the internet cable feeding the input of the router. I have its output disconnected, so the PC is not getting a feed. On my droid, I have debugging and Klink on, but I have 4G data off. All data to the droid is coming via wifi. I start Klink on the droid and the PC, and by golly, I'm getting internet to my PC! From the street to the router through thin air to the droid to the PC via USB.

I think it's a useless improvisation, and it's hard to explain, but it might be clever, at least.

 

[jefboyardee]

To conclude talking to myself:

Expanding myself and my system to wifi capabilities served almost no purpose. I still feel basically the same about tablets, but it was worth spending eighty bucks to make me more aware of what I was complaining about. Another long step toward geekdom...

 

[jefboyardee]

One last thing... Kitkat likes to go snooping around for wifi points all the time. Even if it's turned off in settings, it'll just turn itself back on. I don't like having my battery drained for no reason, so I found Wi-Fi OFF Lock! It's goofy but does the job.

 

[WirelessWanderer]

One last thing... Kitkat likes to go snooping around for wifi points all the time. Even if it's turned off in settings, ...

You can turn that behaviour off in "Settings -> WiFi -> Menu -> Scanning always available"

 

[jefboyardee]

I turned that off some time ago and it didn't help.

 

[Xyro]

Bought one. An expensive one. Had a lousy connection no matter how close I was to the WiFi signal. I returned it for a refund and never looked back. My mobile devices ran circles around it connection wise.

Yeh, my LTE much faster than my fibre internet at home. Can't use it for everything though, only when I'm out and about or travelling, because it's not unlimited, currently a 2GB per month package. Go over that, and it goes dead and have to buy additional data.

I find the preference for 4G over broadband interesting. In my experience, a basic home broadband connection in the UK is a comparable speed to 4G (in your 10-20 Mb/s range), whereas more expensive packages would far outstrip 4G.

Even if 4G was available in my area, I definitely couldn't survive on a few GB a month. I looked up data consumption on my router for November...:

 

[jaj324]

I use my Tab Pro 8.4 all the time while at the house. I put the Note 4 up and use the tablet. Netflix on a tablet is the only way to go.