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Tetherbug

Your Mac turns on your phone's hotspot when its Wi-Fi disconnects. No taps.
New in version 0.1.1
• Android builds carry their own version, so F-Droid and IzzyOnDroid can build and check them
When your Mac's Wi-Fi disconnects, Tetherbug turns on your Android phone's hotspot and your Mac joins it, the way Instant Hotspot works with an iPhone. No reaching for your phone, no tapping through settings.

How it works
• Your Mac and phone stay paired over Bluetooth. When the Mac's Wi-Fi disconnects and no known network is around, it asks the phone for its hotspot.
• Tetherbug turns the hotspot on through Shizuku, and your Mac joins it.
• The hotspot shows up in your Mac's Wi-Fi menu as a Personal Hotspot, with the link icon, just like an iPhone's.
• Once nothing has used the hotspot for a while, Android turns it off again. You choose how long.

What you need
• Android 13 or later
• Shizuku, which lets Tetherbug switch the hotspot without root
• A Mac with macOS 14 or later, running the free Tetherbug app for Mac: github.com/xav-ie/Tetherbug

Private by design
• Tetherbug has no internet access and collects no data.
• Only a Mac you've paired with your phone can see its status or turn its hotspot on, and the Bluetooth link between them is encrypted.

Open source under the MIT license: github.com/xav-ie/Tetherbug
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Versions

Although APK downloads are available below to give you the choice, you should be aware that by installing that way you will not receive update notifications and it's a less secure way to download. We recommend that you install the F-Droid client and use that.

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  • Version 0.1.1 (101) suggested Added on Oct 18, 2026

    arm64-v8a armeabi-v7a x86 x86_64

    This version requires Android 13 or newer.

    It is built and signed by the original developer, and guaranteed to correspond to this source tarball.

    Permissions
    • view Wi-Fi connections
      Allows the app to view information about Wi-Fi networking, such as whether Wi-Fi is enabled and name of connected Wi-Fi devices.
    • advertise to nearby Bluetooth devices
      Allows the app to advertise to nearby Bluetooth devices
    • connect to paired Bluetooth devices
      Allows the app to connect to paired Bluetooth devices
    • run foreground service
      Allows the app to make use of foreground services.
    • run foreground service with the type "connectedDevice"
      Allows the app to make use of foreground services with the type "connectedDevice"
    • show notifications
      Allows the app to show notifications
    • run at startup
      Allows the app to have itself started as soon as the system has finished booting. This can make it take longer to start the phone and allow the app to slow down the overall phone by always running.
    • ie.xav.tetherbug.DYNAMIC_RECEIVER_NOT_EXPORTED_PERMISSION
    • moe.shizuku.manager.permission.API_V23

    Download APK 2.2 MiB PGP Signature | Build Log

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