Setting Up Kachaka via Phone Tethering
When you have no fixed Wi-Fi on hand, or you want to check whether a connection problem is coming from your home router, you can set up Kachaka over your phone’s personal hotspot (tethering) instead. This page covers two approaches and the points where setup most often gets stuck.
Before you start
- Install the Kachaka App on the phone you’ll use to run setup. See Install the Kachaka App & System Requirements.
- Change the hotspot’s network name (SSID) to letters and numbers only. If the name contains special characters or non-English text, Kachaka may fail to complete Wi-Fi setup.
- Make sure the hotspot itself has working internet and a signal strong enough to cover the distance between Kachaka and the operating phone.
iOS note: enable “Maximize Compatibility”
If the phone providing the hotspot is an iPhone, turn on “Maximize Compatibility” first, no matter which method below you use. Otherwise Kachaka or the operating phone may not be able to communicate, and setup will fail.
Path: Settings → Personal Hotspot → turn on “Maximize Compatibility”.
Method 1: One phone (recommended)
Using a single phone to both share the network and run the App is the simplest approach.
- Turn on the phone’s personal hotspot and confirm the network name is letters and numbers only.
- Open the Kachaka App and follow the on-screen prompts to run Kachaka setup.
Some phones automatically disconnect from their current Wi-Fi when the personal hotspot is enabled. As long as the hotspot has internet access, this does not affect setup.
Method 2: Two phones (one shares, one operates)
When the phone sharing the network can’t conveniently run the App at the same time, split the roles across two phones.
- Prepare two phones:
- Phone A: shares the network. Change its hotspot network name to letters and numbers only.
- Phone B: runs the Kachaka App. Install the App on this phone first.
- Connect Phone B to Phone A’s hotspot Wi-Fi.
- On Phone B, open the Kachaka App and follow the on-screen prompts to finish Kachaka setup.
Using tethering to isolate the problem
If setup over your home router keeps failing, use tethering as a diagnostic test:
- If switching to a hotspot lets setup and connection succeed, the problem most likely lies in your original router settings (for example, a guest network or privacy separator). Go back and check Router Privacy Separator Blocking & Ping Test.
- If setup still fails over a hotspot, the router may not be the cause. Work through Setting Up and Changing the Wi-Fi Connection and App Cannot Connect to the Robot step by step.
Depending on your phone’s operating system, either method may fail to connect. Treat the result on your actual phone model as the final word.