Root [Guide] Internet Tethering w/ Evo - 4G/3G, Wireless/Wired

[mdizzle99]

I am making this guide because it seems a few times each week people are posting to request information and/or help on how to tether internet with their Evo. Generally, the questions are referring to wireless tethering; however, I have decided to include information on wired tethering as well. I hope this will simply serve as reference for which I can point people to when the inevitable question comes up "how do I get tethering to work?"

List of ways to tether:

1) Wireless tethering using the Wireless Tether app - 3G/4G
2) Wired tethering using the Wired Tether app - 4G
3) Wireless tethering using Sprint HotSpot
4) Wired tethering using EasyTether (guide coming soon)
5) Wired tethering using PdaNet (guide coming soon)

Also included in this guide:

- How to install apps not found in the market





Wireless Tethering: (must be rooted)

Spoiler

*Wireless Tethering at 3G Speeds

---1/6/2011 UPDATE---

What I wrote below became out of date as soon as I wrote it (basically). So, I now recommend simply downloading the market version - it seems to be working just fine on both 3G and 4G. If it doesn't work, feel free to check what I wrote below to find other possible solutions.


Download Wireless Tether Application - **I do NOT recommend using the version found in the market; this is the biggest reason people have a difficult time getting wireless tethering to work! Download the latest Wireless Tether app here:

Downloads - android-wifi-tether - Project Hosting on Google Code

**note: akazabam kindly pointed out the market version is currently the same version I linked in this post. So the market version should now work fine. If it doesn't, continue reading.


If that does not work, pre9 has worked for quite a few people and can be found here:

wireless_tether_2_0_5-pre9.apk - android-wifi-tether - Wireless Tether for Root Users 2.0.5-pre9 *** EXPERIMENTAL *** - Project Hosting on Google Code

Before trying a different version, completely delete the current (nonworking) version from your phone before installing the new one. If you need help in downloading and installing an app onto your phone that is not found on the market, please see below.


*Wireless Tethering at 4G Speeds

I am including this section because generally people are unable to wireless tether at anything over 3G speeds by simply following the steps above. The following "fix" has not been confirmed to work for everybody, however, it is low risk and has worked for some (including myself).

Steps to possible "fix" using Root Explorer (my preferred method):

1) Following instructions above for how to get wireless tethering to work for 3G.
2) Open Root Explorer
3) Select "data"
4) Select "data" again
5) Select "android.tether"
6) Select "bin"
7) Long press the file "fixroute.sh" and either move or delete it. (if you prefer you can move it to the sd card or something)

Or...using adb:

adb shell
su
rm /data/data/android.tether/bin/fixroute.sh

That should "fix" your Wireless Tether app so that you can now tether at speeds faster than 3G speeds while using 4G. If this messes anything up with your wireless tethering, simply uninstall and reinstall the app and you will be back to before doing the "fix".

All thanks goes to the creator of the app for coming up with this fix.

Wired Tethering (must be rooted)

Spoiler

Although this is less common, I will try to help anyone who wants to use the Wired Tether app to get it working since I prefer using this over EasyTether and PdaNet because it is completely free and can handle 4G speeds.


*Wired Tethering at 4G Speeds

1) Download the Wired Tether application from here:

Downloads - android-wired-tether - Project Hosting on Google Code

This app will most likely force close when you open it. In order to fix this, you may need to do the following steps. I have confirmed that this fix will work if you are running Fresh or Myns ROMs. Other ROMs I do not know, but if you can find this file in the ROM, then that probably means you need to do this. Also, it should be noted that you will most likely need to reinstall the Wireless Tether app after doing this fix because it will start force closing. Just reinstall it and it should work fine.

2) Open Root Explorer
3) Click on "System"
4) Click on "lib"
5) Click "Mount R/W" in the top right corner
6) Find the file "libnativetask.so" and long press it and rename it to "livenativetask.so.bak"

That should do it. Again, if Wireless Tether starts force closing after this, simply reinstall the Wireless Tether app. I did not come up with this fix either but will add the thanks once I figure out who first came up with it.

How to wireless tether using Sprint's HotSpot feature (rooting likely required)

Spoiler

*Pay $30 a month to Sprint - Root NOT Required

If you're reading this thread, this is probably not the solution you are looking for. It is, however, probably the easiest solution and does not require root.

*Use a ROM that has the native hotspot feature already unlocked (3G only) - Root Required

Many ROMs are now including a mod created by Calkulin that unlocks this feature as soon as you flash the ROM. If this is the case, simply select "Menu," "Settings," "Wireless & networks," and then click the box next to "Sprint Hotspot."

You will also want to go to "Sprint Hotspot settings" and set up some security settings. This will protect your phone from being accessed by unknown sources.

As of now, the native hotspot feature mod will only work on 3G. If you try using it on 4G it simply kick you back to 3G.

One ROM that has this feature already unlocked is Myns found here.

*If native hotspot feature is not unlocked in the ROM you flashed already, you can add that mod yourself (3G only) - Root Required

If your ROM did not include this mod but you would like to add it yourself, go here and install "Hotspot & USB Tethering Fix." Make a nand backup before flashing this or any mod. Calkulin has some amazing stuff; I recommend checking it out.

How to install apps not found in market: (rooting not required)

Spoiler

1) On your Evo, select "Menu," "Settings," "Applications," and check the box next to "Unknown sources"
2) Download the program you wish to install on your Evo that is not found in the market on to your SD card. You can do this either by downloading it directly from your phone or first onto your computer and then transferring it to your SD card
3) Use any number of programs that installs .apk files (applications) from the SD card. Many people use the app "Astro File Manager" but I generally use an app called "appInstaller" by Gregory House

Using Astro:

4) Open Astro File Manager and navigate to the .apk you downloaded to your SD card
5) Select the .apk file and then click "Open App Manager"
6) Press "Install"

Using appInstaller:

4) Open appInstaller and it will automatically search for .apk files
5) Navigate to the .apk you want to install and select it
6) Press "Install"

.......................​

Note: This is just a first version and I plan on organizing it better and updating it as needed. Hope this has helped. Suggestions are welcome - please let me know if you think there is something that should be included here.

Planned Updates:

- how to get pdanet and easytether working
- how to customize settings on Wireless Tethering
- fix for wired tethering on 3G

 

[mdizzle99]

F.A.Q.
Frequently Asked Questions​

My computer recognizes my phone using wireless tether but it cannot connect to internet - how do I get it to connect? ​

The most common solution is to install a different version of the wireless tether application. If the market version does not work, I recommend trying pre9 or pre11. These are the versions that I have most regularly heard functioning on most Evos. Here are the links to pre9 and pre11
If you can still not connect to the internet, check that your wifi is turned off. You must be connected to either 3G or 4G. Although this is a simple fix it is often the answer.

Pages are delayed in loading or do not load completely.​

This is most likely caused by the application AdFree.
It is recommended to revert to your original hosts file and uninstall or change redirect ip from 127.0.0.1 to use BTC IP. This app could also cause problems with viewing Flash on 4G directly on your phone. The same fix should work.

Why isn't wired tethering working?​

Most likely it is because you are trying to use it on 3G. Although the reason is currently unkown, this app/fix will only work on 4G. I will be looking into how to do wired tether on 3G without using a program like PdaNet or EasyTether and post the solution once I know it.

 

[akazabam]

Just an FYI on the android wifi tether app - 2.0.5 has been officially released, so if people get it from the market, they're getting the latest version, now. Granted, some of the pre versions might still work best for some people, but it's probably best if we all start telling people to start with the market version ,now.

 

[mdizzle99]

Great thanks for the input. I'll change it right now. And to be honest, as long as the market version works that will probably eliminate 90% of the tethering questions posted here regularly lol. Oh well.

 

[akazabam]

Great thanks for the input. I'll change it right now. And to be honest, as long as the market version works that will probably eliminate 90% of the tethering questions posted here regularly lol. Oh well.

Lol, there are still quite a few issues people have. Example - a lot people forget to turn off wifi before trying to use it as a hotspot. That'll never work regardless of what version of wifi tether you're using.

 

[mdizzle99]

Also good point. Definitely something I need to put in there.

 

[catty666]

Many who use wireless tether will also be using adfree. Adfree apparently affects DNS resolution, I was getting a long pause before web pages would start loading or finish displaying. Changing a setting in adfree to "Use BTC IP" restored normal fast downloading. So you might want to add a section to help properly configure adfree to work with wireless tether. I'm not sure what constitutes a proper config, but it's working well enough for me to finally cancel my DSL service and landline.

 

[Matlock]

Adding this thread link to the guide. Very well done.

 

[sitlet]

Nice guide. Glad someone took the time to make this. I will make one suggestion, however. You only list ways to tether via root. I think you should include ways to tether without root, i.e. pay sprint, or pdanet/easy tether. I have seen a lot of threads with people that dont want to root but want to know how to do it.

 

[mdizzle99]

Thanks for the feedback. I will adding more to it as time permits. I also plan on organizing it more how Matlock's thread is organized to make it easier to find and read things.

 

[yankee13]

First off, Thanks for posting this!!

The market version of Wireless Tether worked great for my EVO.

However, the wired version I had problems with. It shows up on my computer (I'm running XP) as LocalAreaConnection2 and it shows "connected". Even though it shows connected I can't surf the web with the connection. Does anyone know why?

Thanks.

 

[mdizzle99]

First off, Thanks for posting this!!

The market version of Wireless Tether worked great for my EVO.

However, the wired version I had problems with. It shows up on my computer (I'm running XP) as LocalAreaConnection2 and it shows "connected". Even though it shows connected I can't surf the web with the connection. Does anyone know why?

Thanks.

Are you trying to get it working on 3G or 4G? It only works on 4G. If you want to get it working on 3G I think I can figure it out, but don't have the answer right now. Also, what ROM are you running?

 

[yankee13]

Ahh, okay. Yeah I was just trying it out on 3G to make sure it works, plus I wanted to see if being wired would make the 3G connection any faster than doing wireless.

I guess I don't quite get why it would only work on 4G, but ok. Guess I'll have to wait till I get to an area with 4G to test it out then.

No ROM, just stock rooted with some frozen apps.

Thanks again.

 

[niphoet]

Thanks for the great guide! I noticed something weird....wired tether uses more battery than wireless...any clue why? Seems like it would be opposite. Anyway, thanks again!

I vote this thread by STICKY.

 

[wxforecaster]

The latest version from the market works great. No frills.

Does anyone know whether the mods in the guide need to be done to make it work with 4G or has this issue been addressed in the current build?

 

[mdizzle99]

The latest version from the market works great. No frills.

Does anyone know whether the mods in the guide need to be done to make it work with 4G or has this issue been addressed in the current build?

I'll look into it tonight.

 

[kenshi1023]

i just rooted my phone and installed wireless tethering. i notice their is a section about not being able to get 4g speed... i ran speed test and i am getting 4.1mbps down... i am guessing 4g is working???? should i try the fix? *Wireless Tethering at 4G Speeds ...

 

[mdizzle99]

Alright I've done some testing, and it appears my "guide" was created at an ironically bad time. The market version seems to work just fine and not need the "fix." Doing the fix did not seem to make anything worse, and I did get slightly better speeds (approximately .75 mb download faster), but I do not believe this to be statistically significant. There is a lot of variation with speedtest.net and actual speeds... so basically, I am going to update my post and tell people to ignore that section. Thanks for your patience folks.

 

[piolin88]

hey guys i installed wired tethering app loads and it says started tethering but when it does my pc recognizes it but tells me its trying to locate the drivers any reason why or did i do something wrong
thanx
by the way running win vista

 

[mdizzle99]

hey guys i installed wired tethering app loads and it says started tethering but when it does my pc recognizes it but tells me its trying to locate the drivers any reason why or did i do something wrong
thanx
by the way running win vista

What rom are you running and are you trying to tether at 4g or 3g?

 

[piolin88]

Stock haven't installed a custom Rom and 3g is what I'm trying to get

 

[mdizzle99]

Stock haven't installed a custom Rom and 3g is what I'm trying to get

It currently only works on 4G. I will look into getting it to work on 3G, but haven't yet.

 

[SoFLO]

Excellent write up! I added it to the Root Guide sticky

 

[batness]

Greetings! First let me say thanks for putting all this info in one easy to find place. Some of us (like myself) who are newbs and not used to this tech-talk are VERY grateful.

ANYWAY. So. Downloaded Tether, and I have three problems.

1) Can't actually use the tether; says I need a certain kind of kernel installed first. I just did the Unrevoked root; didn't install any ROMs or kernels, just Busybox. What do I do now?

2) I can't use ANY wi-fi now. When I click the toggle for wi-fi, it says "error." It won't even try to access; the checkbox is greyed out. (This is with the tether OFF).

3) I also cannot toggle 3g once it's installed; it says I don't have a Sprint account and cannot connect.

Thanks for any help!

 

[mdizzle99]

Greetings! First let me say thanks for putting all this info in one easy to find place. Some of us (like myself) who are newbs and not used to this tech-talk are VERY grateful.

ANYWAY. So. Downloaded Tether, and I have three problems.

1) Can't actually use the tether; says I need a certain kind of kernel installed first. I just did the Unrevoked root; didn't install any ROMs or kernels, just Busybox. What do I do now?

2) I can't use ANY wi-fi now. When I click the toggle for wi-fi, it says "error." It won't even try to access; the checkbox is greyed out. (This is with the tether OFF).

3) I also cannot toggle 3g once it's installed; it says I don't have a Sprint account and cannot connect.

Thanks for any help!

First off, are you sure you are completely rooted? These are some issues I have not really heard of being related to tethering... If you download Terminal Emulator and type su what comes up? If it is a # you are rooted; if it is a $ you are not.

Secondly, are you referring to wireless tether or wired tether? Either way that should not affect your wifi or 3g in any way. To double check, delete the tethering program you made and see if that makes any difference. I kind of doubt it will though - I think that problem is not related to the tethering app. Did either of these problems exist before installing a tethering app?

Also, last piece of advice is that I hope you made a nand backup right after rooting so that if these problems cannot be resolved any other way you can at least restore the backup and be back to a stock rooted phone without these problems.

Update me on what happens after you try these couple things. There are also other people out there who can be much more helpful if needed.