- Does FoxFi/WiFi Hotspot support my phone?
- What other options do I have if WiFi mode is not supported?
The WiFi Hotspot feature in FoxFi only supports a limited number of phones. If you are trying to connect a computer or tablet to your phone,
you should install PdaNet+ from http://pdanet.co/install then use the new "WiFi Direct Hotspot" feature to connect. This works on all Android phones (4.1 or above)
and it can also help to avoid hotspot metering.
- What is the WiFi share feature in PdaNet?
This feature allows you to create a WiFi hotspot from your computer so that you can share its PdaNet connections with
other computers, tablets or game consoles. This will be useful if WiFi mode does not work natively in FoxFi but you have a computer around. To enable WiFi share,
connect PdaNet in USB mode, then select "WiFi Share" from the tray menu. (Latest PdaNet client is needed on Windows for this feature.)
- (Verizon only) When installing the FoxFi certificate my phone keeps asking for a password for "Credential Storage". Where do I get that?
This is really a bug in the Android firmware. It only happens to some users but what triggers that is still
unknown to us. Once it happens there are few things you can try to clear it:
Try to go to phone Lock Screen Settings and select "Password",
enter a password and save. Now turn on FoxFi again, this time when prompted for credential storage password, enter the lock screen password you just set.
If this still does not work, doing a factory reset on your phone will clear the issue. However only do this after backing up important data on your phone.
- (Verizon only) Why am I asked to set a Lock Screen when turning on FoxFi? How do I remove it?
In order to get around the mobile hotspot plan FoxFi needs to install a certificate to bypass the carrier blockage.
A certificate installation is considered "security changes" on your phone, and Android 4.1 or later
system requires a screen lock if *any* security changes is made (Android 4.4 further limits Screen Lock options to PIN or Password only). We have made a "Remove Lock"
app that you can use to remove the Screen Lock while keeping the FoxFi Certificate installed.
You can install the app apk file from here. This app will NOT work on Samsung phones with 5.0 (Lollipop) or later,
however your phone should allow you to set Pattern Lock instead of PIN lock.
If you no longer need to use FoxFi, follow steps below to remove the "FoxFi Certificate". After that you will be allowed to set Lock Screen to "None"
in phone settings.
- How do I remove the FoxFi Certificate?
In order to skip the mobile hotspot plan (an extra $20/month) FoxFi needs to install a certificate to bypass the carrier blockage.
If you no longer need to use FoxFi, go to phone's Security Settings, Trusted Credentials (or Certificates)->User->FoxFi certificate, scroll down and select remove. Now also select "Clear Credentials"
in Security settings if it is still enabled. This will remove ony the FoxFi certificate (it will NOT remove any system stocked certificates).
- (Verizon only) Android displays a warning message that says "Network may be monitored - By an unknown third party".
What causes that? Should I be concerned?
In order to skip the mobile hotspot plan (an extra $20/month) FoxFi installs a certificate to bypass the carrier blockage.
On Android 4.4 the installation of FoxFi certificate will trigger this network warning message. However rest assured that the FoxFi certificate (and the VPN connection that utilizes
it) is only used during the short period when your hotspot is BEING turned on. As soon as the hotspot is ready the VPN is dropped and the certificate is no longer needed.
If the warning message bothers you, you can remove the "FoxFi Certificate" (see steps above). However you will need to reinstall the certificate next time you turn on Hotspot.
- WiFi mode sometimes work and sometimes doesn't, why is that?
PdaNet+ does not change over time. Sometimes WiFi handshake will fail at signal level, depending
on the quality of wifi hardware on the phone end. If WiFi mode ever worked for this phone before, One thing you can try is to reboot your phone and rename the hotspot, plus use an empty password, then
reactivate WiFi mode and see if it makes it more stable this way. This will also make sure the computer side will not keep using a bad WiFi channel.
- What speed does PdaNet+ support? Why am I getting slower speed?
Your connection speed is determined by your phone's data connection and WiFi connection. All PdaNet+ does is passthrough
network packets from your computer to your phone's data connection. It is very normal for cell phone's data speed to fluctuate greatly at
different times and area. It can not be predicted. In some rare cases the WiFi connection itself may be slow due ot signal interferance. If that
is the case try to use USB mode instead and see if that works better for you.
- I can connect Xbox to WiFi mode before but now it is asking me to change NAT settings.
We have started to see the Xbox connection issue reported recently from Verizon users even with older version of FoxFi.
Since nothing is changed in FoxFi, we suspect that Verizon has started blocking the UDP port for Xbox Live traffics on the data service end. It is really
not related to NAT settings (which you can't change).