Automatically turns on Ethernet tethering and USB tethering on an Android phone — no root — so you never have to tap the toggle yourself.
- Plug a USB‑Ethernet adapter into the phone → Ethernet tethering turns on.
- Plug the phone into a computer over USB → USB tethering turns on.
Built and tested on a Pixel 8a. Should work on other modern Pixels / stock Android.
Stock Android won't let an ordinary app turn on tethering — it's a privileged action reserved for the system. Auto Tether works around this without root by having the phone connect to itself the same way a computer would over a USB‑debugging connection, which lets it flip the tethering switch with the elevated access that connection provides.
A background watcher notices when an adapter or computer is plugged in and turns the right kind of tethering on by itself. Everything happens on the phone — no Wi‑Fi and no second device are needed once it's set up.
The one catch (a no‑root limitation): the self‑connection foothold resets every time the phone reboots, so after a restart you re‑enable it once. Making it survive reboots would require root.
- A phone with USB debugging enabled.
- A computer set up to build and install the app onto the phone, with JDK 17+.
- Build and install the app onto the phone.
- Open Auto Tether once and follow the on‑screen steps — it guides you through granting access and pairing, mostly automatically.
After that, plug in the adapter (or a USB cable to a computer) and tethering turns on by itself. Wi‑Fi can be off and you can close the app.
The self‑connection foothold is gone after a restart. Plug the phone into the computer
and run retether.command (double‑click on macOS) to re‑enable it — you're set again
until the next reboot.
Relies on non‑public Android behavior. Provided as‑is, for personal use.