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US-20260129553-A1 - NETWORK DISCOVERY VIA AN ACCESS POINT WHILE A MOBILE DEVICE IS IN A WIRELESS OFF MODE

US20260129553A1US 20260129553 A1US20260129553 A1US 20260129553A1US-20260129553-A1

Abstract

A mobile device determines that the mobile device is in a wireless off mode, the wireless off mode comprising a mode wherein the mobile device does not automatically connect to a wireless access point (WAP) to which the mobile device has previously connected. The mobile device determines that the mobile device is in proximity to a first WAP to which the mobile device has previously connected. The mobile device connects to the first WAP. The mobile device discovers a first output device connected to the first WAP, and establishes with the first output device a peer-to-peer wireless connection.

Inventors

  • Rohith Kumar Punithavel
  • Mohamed Daoud
  • Hany Heikal
  • Hossam H. Hmimy

Assignees

  • CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS OPERATING, LLC

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20241101

Claims (20)

  1. 1 . A method, comprising: determining, by a mobile device, that the mobile device is in a wireless off mode, the wireless off mode comprising a mode wherein the mobile device does not automatically connect to a wireless access point (WAP) to which the mobile device has previously connected; determining, by the mobile device, that the mobile device is in proximity to a first WAP to which the mobile device has previously connected; connecting, by the mobile device, to the first WAP; discovering, by the mobile device, a first output device connected to the first WAP; and establishing, by the mobile device with the first output device, a peer-to-peer wireless connection.
  2. 2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein determining that the mobile device is in proximity to the first WAP to which the mobile device has previously connected further comprises: receiving, by the mobile device from the first WAP, a beacon frame identifying a service set identifier (SSID) of the first WAP.
  3. 3 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising: determining, by the mobile device, that the mobile device is in proximity to a plurality of WAPs including the first WAP; prior to connecting to the first WAP: determining, by the mobile device, a signal strength of each WAP of the plurality of WAPS; determining, by the mobile device, that a signal strength of the first WAP is greater than a signal strength of any other WAP of the plurality of WAPs; and wherein connecting to the first WAP further comprises connecting to the first WAP at least in part based on determining that the signal strength of the first WAP is greater than the signal strength of any other WAP of the plurality of WAPs.
  4. 4 . The method of claim 3 , further comprising: prior to connecting to the first WAP: determining, by the mobile device, that the mobile device has previously connected to the first WAP; and wherein connecting to the first WAP further comprises connecting to the first WAP at least in part based on determining that the signal strength of the first WAP is greater than the signal strength of any other WAP of the plurality of WAPs and determining that the mobile device has previously connected to the first WAP.
  5. 5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising: inhibiting, by the mobile device, any application executing on the mobile device from accessing the Internet via the first WAP.
  6. 6 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising: discovering, by the mobile device, a plurality of output devices including the first output device; presenting, on a display device, a list that identifies the plurality of output devices; receiving by the mobile device, user input selecting the first output device; and wherein establishing, with the first output device, the peer-to-peer wireless connection further comprises establishing, with the first output device, the peer-to-peer wireless connection in response to the user input.
  7. 7 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising: inhibiting, by the mobile device, any application executing on the mobile device from accessing the Internet via the first WAP; receiving, by the mobile device via a cellular transceiver, data; and sending, by the mobile device to the first output device, the data
  8. 8 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising sending, by the mobile device to the first output device, data.
  9. 9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein connecting to the first WAP further comprises connecting, by the mobile device, to the first WAP without user input.
  10. 10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein connecting to the first WAP further comprises: accessing, by the first WAP, authentication credentials; and connecting, by the mobile device, to the first WAP using the authentication credentials.
  11. 11 . A computing device, comprising: a memory; and a processor device coupled to the memory and being operable to: determine that the mobile device is in a wireless off mode, the wireless off mode comprising a mode wherein the mobile device does not automatically connect to a wireless access point (WAP) to which the mobile device has previously connected; determine that the mobile device is in proximity to a first WAP to which the mobile device has previously connected; connect to the first WAP; discover a first output device connected to the first WAP; and establish, with the first output device, a peer-to-peer wireless connection.
  12. 12 . The computing device of claim 11 , wherein the processor device is further operable to: determine that the mobile device is in proximity to a plurality of WAPs including the first WAP; prior to connecting to the first WAP: determine a signal strength of each WAP of the plurality of WAPS; determine that a signal strength of the first WAP is greater than a signal strength of any other WAP of the plurality of WAPs; and wherein to connect to the first WAP, the processor device is further operable to connect to the first WAP at least in part based on determining that the signal strength of the first WAP is greater than the signal strength of any other WAP of the plurality of WAPs.
  13. 13 . The computing device of claim 12 , wherein the processor device is further operable to: prior to connecting to the first WAP: determine that the mobile device has previously connected to the first WAP; and wherein to connect to the first WAP, the processor device is further operable to connect to the first WAP at least in part based on determining that the signal strength of the first WAP is greater than the signal strength of any other WAP of the plurality of WAPs and determining that the mobile device has previously connected to the first WAP.
  14. 14 . The computing device of claim 11 , wherein the processor device is further operable to inhibit any application executing on the mobile device from accessing the Internet via the first WAP.
  15. 15 . The computing device of claim 11 , wherein the processor device is further operable to: discover a plurality of output devices including the first output device; present, on a display device, a list that identifies the plurality of output devices; receive user input selecting the first output device; and wherein to establish, with the first output device, the peer-to-peer wireless connection, the processor device is further operable to establish, with the first output device, the peer-to-peer wireless connection in response to the user input.
  16. 16 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that includes executable instructions operable to cause a processor device to: determine that a mobile device is in a wireless off mode, the wireless off mode comprising a mode wherein the mobile device does not automatically connect to a wireless access point (WAP) to which the mobile device has previously connected; determine that the mobile device is in proximity to a first WAP to which the mobile device has previously connected; connect to the first WAP; discover a first output device connected to the first WAP; and establish, with the first output device, a peer-to-peer wireless connection.
  17. 17 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16 , wherein the instructions are further operable to cause the processor device to: determine that the mobile device is in proximity to a plurality of WAPs including the first WAP; prior to connecting to the first WAP: determine a signal strength of each WAP of the plurality of WAPS; determine that a signal strength of the first WAP is greater than a signal strength of any other WAP of the plurality of WAPs; and wherein to connect to the first WAP, the instructions are further operable to cause the processor device to connect to the first WAP at least in part based on determining that the signal strength of the first WAP is greater than the signal strength of any other WAP of the plurality of WAPs.
  18. 18 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 17 , wherein the instructions are further operable to cause the processor device to: prior to connecting to the first WAP: determine that the mobile device has previously connected to the first WAP; and wherein to connect to the first WAP, the instructions are further operable to cause the processor device to connect to the first WAP at least in part based on determining that the signal strength of the first WAP is greater than the signal strength of any other WAP of the plurality of WAPs and determining that the mobile device has previously connected to the first WAP.
  19. 19 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16 , wherein the instructions are further operable to cause the processor device to inhibit any application executing on the mobile device from accessing the Internet via the first WAP.
  20. 20 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16 , wherein the instructions are further operable to cause the processor device to: discover a plurality of output devices including the first output device; present, on a display device, a list that identifies the plurality of output devices; receive user input selecting the first output device; and wherein to establish, with the first output device, the peer-to-peer wireless connection, the instructions are further operable to cause the processor device to establish, with the first output device, the peer-to-peer wireless connection in response to the user input.

Description

BACKGROUND In order to discover devices on a network to which a mobile device may want to send content, such as video content or audio content, the mobile device must connect to the network. If the mobile device is in a wireless off mode, the mobile device will not automatically connect to a known wireless network for which the mobile device has authentication credentials. SUMMARY The examples disclosed herein implement network discovery via an access point while a mobile device is in a wireless off mode. In one implementation a method is provided. The method includes determining, by the mobile device, that the mobile device is in a wireless off mode, the wireless off mode comprising a mode wherein the mobile device does not automatically connect to a wireless access point (WAP) to which the mobile device has previously connected. The method further includes determining, by the mobile device, that the mobile device is in proximity to a first WAP to which the mobile device has previously connected. The method further includes connecting, by the mobile device, to the first WAP. The method further includes discovering, by the mobile device, a first output device connected to the first WAP. The method further includes establishing, by the mobile device with the first output device, a peer-to-peer wireless connection. In another implementation a computing device is provided. The computing device includes a memory, and a processor device coupled to the memory. The processor device is operable to determine that the mobile device is in a wireless off mode, the wireless off mode comprising a mode wherein the mobile device does not automatically connect to a wireless access point (WAP) to which the mobile device has previously connected. The processor device is further operable to determine that the mobile device is in proximity to a first WAP to which the mobile device has previously connected. The processor device is further operable to connect to the first WAP. The processor device is further operable to discover a first output device connected to the first WAP. The processor device is further operable to establish, with the first output device, a peer-to-peer wireless connection. In another implementation a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium is provided. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium includes executable instructions operable to cause a processor device to determine that the mobile device is in a wireless off mode, the wireless off mode comprising a mode wherein the mobile device does not automatically connect to a wireless access point (WAP) to which the mobile device has previously connected. The instructions are further operable to cause the processor device to determine that the mobile device is in proximity to a first WAP to which the mobile device has previously connected. The instructions are further operable to cause the processor device to connect to the first WAP. The instructions are further operable to cause the processor device to discover a first output device connected to the first WAP, and establish, with the first output device, a peer-to-peer wireless connection. Individuals will appreciate the scope of the disclosure and realize additional aspects thereof after reading the following detailed description of the examples in association with the accompanying drawing figures. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawing figures incorporated in and forming a part of this specification illustrate several aspects of the disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure. FIGS. 1A-1B are block diagrams of an environment in which network discovery via an access point while a mobile device is in a wireless off mode can be practiced according to some implementations; FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a method for network discovery via an access point while a mobile device is in a wireless off mode according to some implementations; and FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a computing device suitable for implementing network discovery via an access point while a mobile device is in a wireless off mode according to some implementations. DETAILED DESCRIPTION The examples set forth below represent the information to enable individuals to practice the examples and illustrate the best mode of practicing the examples. Upon reading the following description in light of the accompanying drawing figures, individuals will understand the concepts of the disclosure and will recognize applications of these concepts not particularly addressed herein. It should be understood that these concepts and applications fall within the scope of the disclosure and the accompanying claims. Any flowcharts discussed herein are necessarily discussed in some sequence for purposes of illustration, but unless otherwise explicitly indicated, the examples and claims are not limited to any particular sequence or order of steps. The use herein of ordinals in conjunc