Get Console Airconsole, User Manual

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6.2 Concurrent WIFI and 3G on Android – Android Tethering
Unlike Apple iOS, Android OS does not generally allow for the WIFI radio and 3G radio
to be enabled at the same time. This means using Airconsole-WIFI from Android (ie with
our SerialBot app) while simultaneously allowing the Android device to be connected to
the Internet via 3G/4G is more difficult.
To avoid this limitation the easiest method is to connect to Airconsole using Bluetooth as
described in the preceding section, however if for some reason Bluetooth is not available
then WIFI operation while retaining Internet access via the Android devices 3G/4G radio
is still possible however requires more complex configuration of both Airconsole and
Android.
The only supported method without rooting the Android device (as at Android 4.4) is to
use the built in WIFI tethering feature available from Android 2.2 and later.
Under this operation, the Airconsole device will use its AP Client to join to the Android
WIFI network rather than the other way around. When in this mode the Android device
then maintains its 3G/4G radio connection and WIFI connection at the same time.
Android will prefer the 3G/4G network over the WIFI.
Once the Airconsole APClient is connected to the Android tethering AP, access the
serial port on Airconsole from the SerialBot app, via a telnet connection on port 3696 to
the IP address allocated to the Airconsole device by the Android. This can be found in
the tethering settings that lists all connected tethering clients. Alternatively use a
websockets client or other Airconsole supported protocol.
To make subsequent AP Client connections happen automatically from Airconsole
without any user intervention, hard code the radio channel that the Android will use its
tethering WIFI network to match Airconsole
– ie Channel 1,6 or 11. So long as the
Android AP is on the same channel as Airconsole, the Airconsole will continually scan
for the AndroidAP and when available will automatically join it using the same
credentials as the previous session.
The following screenshots show the Android and Airconsole setup used to achieve a
reusable tethering configuration.
6.2.1 Enable Tethering on Android
The following screenshots:
- Enable Tethering
-
Set tethering to use SSID “AndroidAP”
-
Set tethering to use password “Android1234” rather than randomly generated
- Set tethering to always use channel 6
On Android general Wireless and Network Settings go to Tethering and Portable Hotspot,
then enable Portable WIFI hotspot