Package
com.android.networkstack.tethering
Tethering
Package intelligence
Observed signing, permission, version and size signals from contributing devices - descriptive of that sample, not a verdict. These come from the v2 Package Search sync, which not every device has contributed to yet, so for some packages this detail is partial or not present at all.
- Signed by the device maker's own signing key (TCL), so it is an OEM preinstall, but 2 different certificates appear across the fleet, so OEMs ship their own builds of it.
- Its largest observed manifest declares 16 permissions: 3 runtime (user-granted), 9 signature or system-level and 4 install-time. The signature/system share marks it as a privileged component, not an ordinary app.
- Never reported as user-facing, so it runs as a background or system component rather than an app the user opens.
Declared permissions (16)
Largest permission set observed for this package. Text is Android's own published description where one exists; platform permissions Android does not document show their granted protection level (in grey) instead; vendor or unknown constants show the name only.
| Permission | Description |
|---|---|
ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE |
Allows the app to view information about network connections such as which networks exist and are connected. |
BLUETOOTH |
Allows the app to view the configuration of the Bluetooth on the phone, and to make and accept connections with paired devices. |
BLUETOOTH_CONNECT |
Allows the app to connect to paired Bluetooth devices |
BLUETOOTH_PRIVILEGED |
Signature or privileged system permission. |
BROADCAST_STICKY |
Allows the app to send sticky broadcasts, which remain after the broadcast ends. Excessive use may make the phone slow or unstable by causing it to use too much memory. |
CHANGE_NETWORK_STATE |
Allows the app to change the state of network connectivity. |
MANAGE_USB |
Signature or privileged system permission. |
MODIFY_PHONE_STATE |
Signature or privileged system permission. |
POST_NOTIFICATIONS |
Allows the app to show notifications |
READ_DEVICE_CONFIG |
Signature-level system permission, for platform-signed apps. |
READ_NETWORK_USAGE_HISTORY |
Signature or privileged system permission. |
READ_PHONE_STATE |
Allows the app to access the phone features of the device. This permission allows the app to determine the phone number and device IDs, whether a call is active, and the remote number connected by a call. |
TETHER_PRIVILEGED |
Signature or privileged system permission. |
UPDATE_APP_OPS_STATS |
Signature or privileged system permission. |
UPDATE_DEVICE_STATS |
Signature or privileged system permission. |
WRITE_SETTINGS |
Allows the app to modify the system's settings data. Malicious apps may corrupt your system's configuration. |
Manage on devices
ADB commands for this package (the inverse of each is included so you can undo). Run from an authorised shell or wire the equivalent into your DPC. Verify on a test device first - this database doesn’t yet classify which packages are safe to change. --user 0 targets the current user; drop it (and use a privileged shell) to act device-wide.
/system, so Restore re-adds it (-k keeps app data)Seen on
Each record is a device profile (make + model + Android version). Each unique handset that syncs against a matching profile will increase the observations of a package, thereby increasing confidence that a package is expected to be on a device.
| OEM | Model | Android | Provenance | Observations | Last seen |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elo Touch Solutions | 15in-I-Series-5 | Android 14 | - | 12 | 22 Nov 2025 |
| OnePlus | OnePlus8Pro | Android 11 | OEM OnePlus | 24 | 28 Apr 2026 |
| TCL | 9566X | Android 15 | OEM TCL | 1 | 13 Mar 2026 |
Known labels
Locale-aware display names seen in the wild.
| Label | Locale | Seen |
|---|---|---|
| Tethering | en-us | 11 |
| Tethering | en-gb | 9 |
| Tethering | en-be | 4 |
| Tethering | en-ng | 2 |
| Tethering | 2 | |
| Tethering | en | 2 |
| Tethering | en-jm | 2 |
| Tethering | en-sg | 2 |
| Tethering | en-ph | 1 |
| Tethering | en-za | 1 |
| Tethering | en-tt | 1 |
| Tethering | en-au | 1 |
| Tethering | en-nz | 1 |