Reverse tether on Android via Bluetooth PAN?

Question

Hi all,

We've been trying to reverse tether (using a SmartQ V5, android version 2.1) to another device that has an Internet connection we want to share. That is to say, the Android device is the client and needs to get access to the Internet through connecting to a Bluetooth PAN network.

We have so far been able to get root access on android, but have had no luck with bluetooth PAN. We found that bluetooth PAN isn't compiled natively in android (at least not in 2.1 or before), and to enable it you'd need to turn them on and compile the OS image yourself. Does this concur with others' understanding?

Has anyone had any luck in compiling an android OS or setting up PAN to do reverse-tethering with another device (say PC)?

Any help will be very much appreciated.

Answer 1

If you are rooted check out this app http://code.google.com/p/android-wifi-tether/

It allows bluetooth PAN tether. It's really the only way to go if you are using a Droid or one of the phones with a smaller battery. WiFi just drains the battery because the radio is constantly on. On my rooted droid (overclocked to 1100Mhz) my radio consumes more charge than the charger can supply. Even plugged in when I'm using the WiFi tether I lose charge.