Keep Your Chromebook Connected To The Internet With Your Android Phone



use hotspot on Chromebook

Use your Android phone to keep your Chromebook connected


With the right modifications, Chromebooks can become the ultimate portable productivity tool. Most have excellent battery life and decent enough screen brightness to allow you to work outside during the day. However, if you are traveling it may be difficult to stay online, especially if you are working on the road.


Chromebooks have a wonderful solution to this problem. By using Bluetooth connectivity, you can piggyback off your cell phone’s connection to use the internet. Now, full disclosure, most laptops will allow you to leverage your cell carrier’s network provided you have a Hot Spot enabled.


The advantage of using Bluetooth, however, is that you won’t need to manually set the connection each time. Once configured, your Chromebook can connect your phone’s network with a few clicks of your trackpad. To get started, you’ll need a Bluetooth-enabled smartphone and a Chromebook.

Step 1: Turn the Bluetooth on your phone.


The location of your Bluetooth settings will vary from device to device. Most allow you to enable it by clicking the Bluetooth icon in the menu located at the top of your phone. If it isn’t there, head over to the Settings section and search for Bluetooth there.


Step 2: Turn Bluetooth on your Chromebook

By default, Chromebooks have Bluetooth turned on. However, if your’s is turned off, you turn it back on by opening the Settings module. This can be found by pressing the menu button on your keyboard. It is normally located right above your left shift key.

find network connections on chromebook
Step 3: Make the connection

In the bottom right corner of your screen, you’ll see the battery icon along with the time and Wifi symbol.

battery life on chromebook

Select the Wifi Symbol and then toggle the Mobile data option. From there, select connect, and if all went well you should see the word Connected in green letters.

chromebook Bluetooth connection to android

Words of caution

Since you are using your phone’s network for connectivity, it will drain its battery much faster. Keep this in mind while you use your Chromebook. Having a portable battery pack handy will help.


In addition, your cell carrier may charge you for the data you use while connected. Many carriers have a separate limit for HotSpot usage. MetroPCS for example only provides the first 100 or so gigabytes at 5G speeds. Anything thereafter will be subject to lower speeds. This may result in diminished connectivity for your Chromebook.


Bonus features: Responding to messages from your laptop


Another cool feature Chromebook offers to Android users is the ability to text from your laptop directly. To do this follow the steps below.


1. Download Google Messages


Google Messages is Google’s own SMS solution. You will need this to respond to text messages as your phone’s native messages are not integrated within Chrome OS out of the box.

2. Replace your default text message app with Google Messages.


The Messages app is a very jealous piece of tech. It requires you to set it as the default method of sending messages within your phone. To change your default messaging app within your Android phone, head over to the Settings sections.


Within Settings, type in the word “Default”. You should now be presented with an option that says something like “Choose Default Apps”. Now, either scroll down to Messages or search for it in this section.


Staying connected on the go is easier than ever. Connect your Chromebook to your Android phone for seamless connectivity wherever you travel.


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Matt Irving is the CEO of Super Easy Tech, LLC.
 
Matt is the founder of Make It Super Easy and and Super Easy CRM. He is a passionate software engineer, tech blogger, and gamer. Feel free to connect on any of the platforms listed below.

Posted by: Matt Irving on 03/28/2022