Nook Tether and Androids

Tethering your Nook device to your Android phone or tablet allows you to use the Nook's online features even when you are not in range of a Wi-Fi network. Tethering turns your Android device into a mobile Wi-Fi hot spot, enabling it to provide an Internet service to nearby devices. However, you should be careful when tethering devices, as the process can cause your Android device to consume extra cellular data.

Tethering allows cellular devices to act as a modem for other devices, taking a cellular data signal and re-transmitting it as a Wi-Fi signal. The cellular device effectively acts as a link between Wi-Fi-only devices -- such as the Nook -- and a cellular network, allowing you to use the Internet on these devices anywhere that you can get a cellular data connection. This process can be very useful if you regularly take your Nook to places where you cannot get a public Wi-Fi signal.

The first step in tethering your devices is to configure your Android phone or tablet as a Wi-Fi hot spot. This process tells the Android device to broadcast a wireless network, to which you can then connect your Nook. Different Android phones use different settings to turn on tethering, although many have a “Tethering and Portable Hotspot” function that you can turn on in the “Wireless and Networks” menu. Ensure that you set a security key for the network to prevent unauthorized devices from connecting to it.

Once your Android device is broadcasting a Wi-Fi network, you can connect your Nook to that network as you would with any other Wi-Fi hot spot. First, ensure that your Nook's Wi-Fi connection is set to “On.” Both e-reader and tablet style Nook devices will automatically display a list of available Wi-Fi networks if they are not already connected to a network. Tap the name of the Android device's network and enter the password to tether the Nook to the Android.

Your Android device must support tethering in order for you to connect it to your Nook. You must also have a cellular data plan that allows for tethering. Contact your phone service provider if you are not sure whether your plan is tether-compatible or not. Tethering can also cause your Android device to use more cellular data, as it has to supply the Nook with data as well as using its own data. If you pay for your data on a per-megabyte basis, you may find that your bill increases as a result.