With our stormy season upon us, I wanted to have internet access on my laptop during power outages. Yes, I have an Android smart phone, and can access the internet on it, but let’s face it, phone screens are small and the suckers are hard to see at my age! So I looked into “tethering”.
There are several ways to tether. Some phones have built in tethering options, some phones you can tether by downloading an app, but others need to be rooted in order for tethering to work. Of course, my phone (LG Ally) fell into the latter category. But, since there are other benefits to rooting your phone anyway, I was not to be discouraged 
. There are several ways to “root” a phone. A lot of this depends on which version of Android OS you have and can also depend on whether you have applied any patches, so, the 1st thing is to double check your version (this must be exact: i.e. 2.2) and any patches (i.e. 2.2.1). There are some apps that allow you to root and unroot your phone easily using the app. Once again, my phone can’t use them, so I had to do some wiggling. I had to download several things (including special drivers) using my computer and do my root that way. Since every phone is going to be different, search out your method according to your phone and version of Android OS.
The second step after completing the “root” was to find a tether app that worked. There are several in the Android Market, but the first one I tried (Barnacle) didn’t work for me. My laptop did not discover my phone, even though my phone said it was broadcasting. The second app I tried (Wireless Tether) worked! YAY! SCORE! Now, I will be able to use the internet with my wifi devices (laptop, tablet) even when the power is out or I am not in range of any wifi connections.
BJ Exum
p.s. Please remember that “rooting” your phone may void your warranty!