Notably, according to the report, Google’s Nearby Share will be getting the ability to share Wi-Fi passwords from Android 12 onwards to Google Chromebooks. Google has been continuously improving the feature set of Nearby Share. This is done to bring Nearby Share closer to its competitor, AirDrop. The company wants to build Nearby Share for Android and Chrome OS, just like AirDrop is for all Apple products. As of now, with Google’s Nearby Share, a user can share files, apps, and more between two connected devices. With Android 12, Google also added the functionality to share the Wi-Fi network from one Android device to another. Now, Google is working on further expanding Nearby Share’s sharing capabilities. This information was shared by Google on its Chrome Story page. Once this new feature materializes, users will be able to share Wi-Fi passwords from one device to another.
Your phones or Chromebooks don’t need to be on the same network to use Nearby Share
This could be possible as your Android smartphone or Chromebook do not need to be connected to the same network. All you need to do is be inside the Bluetooth range. Just like every other new feature that is in the developmental phase for Google Chrome or Chromebooks, this new Nearby Share Wi-Fi passwords sharing feature will be hidden. However, users would be able to access it by heading over to the chrome://flags page. This feature can be found by searching for “Nearby Sharing Receive WiFi Credentials.” inside the Chrome flags page. Nearby Share will share basic information such as the network name (or SSID), security type the connection is using, i.e. WPA2 or WPA3, along with the password. All these information are sufficient enough for the receiving device to connect to the internet almost immediately. There is no clarity if this feature could work in reverse or not. Meaning, whether the Android devices could connect to the Wi-Fi shared by Chromebooks. However, since Nearby Share is also compatible with Android, we may see this feature to be supported in reverse as well. In other words, whether Android devices could connect to the Wi-Fi shared by Chromebooks. However, since Nearby Share is also compatible with Android, we may see this feature supported in reverse as well.
