Ellipsis

I run an Asus Transformer, wifi only. A friend runs a Motorola Xoom. I want to understand the limitations of tethering as well as the capabilities.

I hear a lot of stories of tethering, but it's always over 3/4G. Can you tether using an existing wifi connection instead of a cell signal?

Here's the situation.
Friend's Xoom
not rooted
Bluetooth on and enabled. Connected and paired to my Transformer.
wifi disabled entirely.
His bluetooth is set to use the internet connection.

My Asus Transformer
rooted
Bluetooth on and enabled. Discoverable.
Connected to good wifi signal.
My bluetooth settings show that it is "Sharing this tablet's Internet connection to 1 device".
It is his device it's connected to.

When he tries to browse a webpage, he IMMEDIATELY gets an error that there's no internet connection available. Wifi is NOT hooked up to any hotspots on his tablet. he IS connected to my tablet over bluetooth. He sits about 5 feet away from me, so I wouldn't think range is an issue.

Any ideas?

Another barely related question... is it possible for me to connect to a wifi hotspot AND turn my tablet into its own wifi hotspot at the same time and will it work? I suspect not, but I wanted to be sure.

argedion

I'm no expert in this area so my help is extremely limited but I did notice that you say his system says Wifi is not hooked up. Which to me suggest that his system is expecting internet over the Wifi but not over bluetooth. Maybe there is a setting that needs to be changed either from the browser or in the devices settings.

As far as your other question Logic tells me if your within range to connect to a wifi hotspot then so would the other devices in that range. but again i'm not an expert in this area.

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jerofld

I'm betting it's because there's no IP address assigned over bluetooth from your tablet. But if wifi is available to your tablet, why doesn't he just enable his wifi and connect to the router directly, instead of going through your tablet?

Ellipsis

The access point is currently locked down to specific MAC addresses. His MAC *WILL* get added, but not for a few days when the owner is back.

Unforgiven

Do you mean like a repeater? I'm not sure but you piqued my curiosity enough to make me go look. I don't think this will solve your connectivity problems though as all repeaters I have worked with carry the same restrictions as the base router, no the Mac address restriction would still apply.

edit: I did some hunting around, because the phones only have one WIFI antennae it is not possible to use them as a repeater.

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Last edited by Unforgiven; February 4th, 2012 at 02:08 PM.

Ellipsis

I wasn't thinking a repeater, but as another router. Basically another level of NAT.