Android Reverse WiFi/Mobile AP Tethering

Having tried and failed to get Reverse USB Tethering to work on my Samsung Galaxy S running Android 2.2, I searched for another solution. And here it is: Reverse tethering via WiFi.

This allows you to connect your phone to the internet via a computer with both a WiFi dongle and a separate internet connection.

Requirements:

• Windows computer with an internet connection and a separate WiFi dongle
• Android phone with Mobile AP tethering support

Instructions:

1. Enable Mobile AP on your phone with whatever security settings you wish.
2. Connect to the phone's access point using the spare WiFi dongle.
3. Bridge the connection to the phone and your internet connection via a Windows network bridge.
4. Bring up a terminal (Terminal Emulator is a great app, otherwise you can use SSH, ADB, etc.) and type:
   su
netcfg wl0.1 dhcp
   (Your connection may not be named 'wl0.1' - run 'netcfg' to see a full list)
5. Try accessing the internet on the phone and ensure the 3G indicator is not lit. You can also check via Wireshark on the host PC and you should see the phone making requests.

It seems to be working perfectly for me so far, and has fulfilled its purpose of allowing me to debug stuff running on my phone using Wireshark. Of course it works for normal internet access too. 😉