EP2692121A1

EP2692121A1 - A method and device to provide automated connection to a wireless network

Info

Publication number: EP2692121A1
Application number: EP12720573.0A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Pascal VIENNE
Original assignee: Orange SA
Current assignee: Orange SA
Priority date: 2011-03-31
Filing date: 2012-03-30
Publication date: 2014-02-05
Also published as: WO2012131488A1

Abstract

Mobile phone with a camera to capture an image of a two dimensional, 2D, bar code. From the image the device can decode a wireless network identifier, or network name, and connection parameters. Then the device can match the decoded name against the list of available networks. If the respective network is present in the list, then the phone can request a connection to said network based on the decoded connection parameters. The decoded data may further comprise a login / password set to be used in a connection confirmation response to the earlier request.

Description

A MHIIK)I) AND DEVICE ID PROVIDE AUTOMATED CONNECTION

TO A WIRELESS NETWORK

HELD OFTHE PRESENT SYSTEM:

The present invention generally relates to telec ommunic ation devic es in telecommunication networks, and more specifically to wireless enabled d e vie e s.

BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT SYSTEM:

Telecommunication devices, such as mobile phones, have become important devic e s in o ur d a iy life . Sue h elec tronic devic es c an no w provide on top of c ommunic ation servic es data connections. These c onne c tio ns may be enabled either through 3G or now 4G radio telecommunication networks or wire le ss ne two rk sue has Wiil o r WIAN ne two rks.

A mobile device will automatically connect through a 3G or4G data c onne c tio n provided its o wne r ha s sub sc rib e d to a data plan with his c arrier. A wireless connection requires most of the time that a user activates a c onne c tio n pro c e dure .

Indeed, with a mobile device like a smartphone, it can be troublesome to connect to a specific wireless network unless it is handled automatic ally by yourc arrier (hotspot, etc .): the user might have to open the wire le ss c o nne c tio n menu of the mobile device, scan for available networks, figure out which one he wants to c onne c t to (whic hcanbe a problem as, in some plac es, there are dozens of networks available), or he might have to enter the SSID (service set identifier) with the use of the phone keyboard and then eventually enter the password associated to the WiR network. The password may require the userto enter multiple characters using an impoverished keyboard (as generally available with mobile devic e s), inc re asing the risk o f e rro rs.

All these steps can be tedious and finding the right network to connect to may be confusing to any user. The problem is especially noticeable when using a hots otoffered ina coffee place or sho p . The se p la c e s, if o ffe ring fre e wireless connection, still require the user to enter an access code. The c onnec tion parameters are generally available through posting in the store or o n a p urc ha se re c e ip t.

Existing solutions require the knowledge of the connection parameters from a third party as the these parameters are shared through messages. In published patent application WO 2010/038114, connection parameters are shared among mobile devices through SMS. Such a solution transposed to a store would require SMS c ap abilities from the store ITinfrastiuc ture , whic h is not always possible in smaller stores.

Today there is still a need for a simple solution that alio ws a userto easily c o nne c t to a wire le ss ne two rk. The re is a furthe r ne e d fo r a so lutio n tha t c a n b e easily implemented in stores, restaurants and coffees places with limited investments.

SL MAKF OFTHEFRESE TSYSIEM AND MEHDD:

It is an objec t of the present system, pro c e ssor and me tho d to overcome disadvantages and/ormake improvements in the priorart.

Tb that extent, the present method proposes a method to connect an electronic device to a wireless network, the electronic device comprising a processor, a camera and an antenna operatively coupled to said processor, the method being c arried out by the proc e ssor and c omprising:

c apturing an image ofamac hine readable code using the camera, processing the captured image to decode the machine readable code into a wireless network ID and c onnec tion parameters,

selecting a wireless network matching the decoded wireless network ID among wireless networks detected by the antenna,

sending a connection request to the selected wireless network using the c onne c tion parameters.

Thanks to the present method, all the user needs to do is to capture a machine readable code like a 2D barcode available in a store or a public place. Once he has take a picture of the machine readable code with the electronic device camera, the proc essor of said device will scan the image and gather all required information for connection to a wireless network accessible to the electronic device antenna. Configuration of the connection is automated and the user no longer needs to enter manually the connection parameters after selec tion of the network He no longer needs to know what network to select when a lot of wireless networks are within range of the d e vie e .

The p re se nt syste m also relates to an electronic device to connectto a wireless network, the device comprising:

an antenna to detect wireless networks,

a c onne c tion manager to connectto a detected wireless network, a c amera,

a c o ntro 1 c ire uit c o nfigure d to :

c apture an image ofa mac hine readable code using the c amera, process the captured image to decode the machine readable code into a wireless network ID and c onne c tion parameters,

select a wireless network matching the decoded wireless network ID among wireless networks detected by the antenna,

present the decoded connection parameters to the connection manager for sub sequent connection to the selected wireless network using said c onne c tion parameters.

The p re se nt syste m also relatesto a system comprising:

a wireless network enabled byanaccess point,

a controller for generating a machine readable code comprising a ne two rk ID and c o nne c tio n p arame te r fo r a wire le ss ne two rk,

an electronic device to connect to a wireless network, the device c omp rising:

an antenna to detect wireless networks,

a c onne c tion manager to present the connection parameters to a d e te c te d wire le ss ne two rk,

a c amera,

a c o ntro 1 c ire uit c o nfigure d to: capture an image of a machine readable code using the c amera,

process the captured image to decode the machine readable code into a wireless network ID and connection parameters,

present the decoded connection parameters to the connection manager for subsequent connection to the selected wireless network using said connection parameters.

The present system also relates to an application embodied on a c omputerreadable medium and arranged to configure a processorto provide a method to c onne c t an elec tronic device to a wireless network, the electronic device comprising said processor, a camera and an antenna operatively coupled to said processor, the applic ation c omprising instruc tio ns fo r.

c apturing an image ofamac hine readable code using the c amera, processing the captured image to decode the machine readable code into a wireless network ID and c onne c tio n parameters,

HflEFDESCRIPnON OFTHE DRAWINGS:

The p re se nt syste m , c all management no de and method are explained in furthe r d e ta i, a nd by way of example , with re fere nc e to the accompanying drawings wherein:

HG.1 shows an illustrative embodiment of the p re se nt syste m ;

HG.2 is another illustrative embodiment of the present system, FIG.3 is a flow c hart illustrating an embodiment of the re sent method, and ;

FlGs.4A and 4B are exemplary GUIs of a c amera applic ation ac c ording to the pre sent system.

DEEULED DKSCIflFIION OFTHEHJESE TSYSIEM AND MEHDD:

The following are descriptions of exemplary embodiments that when taken in conjunction with the drawings will demonstrate the above noted feature sand advantages, and introduce further ones.

In the following description, for purposes of explanation rather than limitation, specific details are set forth such as architecture, interfaces, techniques, etc., for illustration. However, it will be apparent to those of o rd ina ry skill in the art that other embodiments that depart from these details would still b e understood to be within the scope of the appended claims.

Moreover, for the purpose of clarity, detailed de sc rip tions of well-known devic e s, systems, and methodsare omitted so asnotto obscure the description of the present system. Furthermore, routers, servers, nodes, base stations, gateways or otherentities in a telec ommunic ation network are notdetaied as the irimplementation is beyond the scope of the p re se nt syste m and method.

Fbr purposes of simplifying a description of the present system, the terms

"operatively c oupled", "coupled", and fo rm a tives thereof as utilized herein refer to a connection between devices and/or portions thereof that enables operation in accordance with the present system. Fbr example, an operative coupling may include one or more of a wired connection and/or a wireless c onnec tion between two ormore devic es that enables a one and/or two-way c ommunic ation path between the devic es and/or portions thereof. F r example , an operative coupling may include a wired and/or wireless c o up ling to enable communication between a wireless hot spot of a telecommunication network and one ormore userdevices.

Unle ss sp e c ifie d o the rwise , the exemplary embodiment here afterwillbe desc ribe d in its applic ation to a mobie devic e that cane onne c t to a wirele ss network The present exemplary embodiment is in no way a limitation of the scope of the present method and system as other telec ommunic ations devic e s such tablets, desktop orlaptop c omputers, or any other elec tronic device with wireless c apac ities may be used by the man skilled in the art.

In addition, it should be expressly understood that the drawings are included for illustrative purposes and do no t re p re se nt the scope of the present system.

The term rendering and foimatives thereof as utilized herein refer to providing c ontent, sue has digital media ora graphic al userinterfac e (GUI), sue h that it may be perceived by at least one user sense, such as a sense of sight and/or a sense of hearing. F r example , the present system may render a user interfac e on a display devic e so that it may be seen and interac ted with by a user. The term rendering may also comprise all the actions required to generate a GO prior to the display, like e.g. a map representation generated on a server side fora browserapplic ation on a userdevice.

A GUI is a type of user interface which allows a user to interact with electronic devic es sue h as c omputers, hand-held devic es sue h as smartp hones ot tablets, household appliances, office equipment and the likes. GUIs are typic ally used to render visual and textual images which describe various visual metaphors of an operating system, an applic ation, etc ., and implemented on a proc essorc omputer including rendering on a display device. Furthermore, GUIs c an represent programs, files and operational functions with graphic al image s, objects, or vec tor repre sentations. The graphic al images c an include windows, fields, dialog boxes, menus, icons, buttons, cursors, scrollbars, maps, etc. Such images can be arranged in predefined layouts, orcanbe created dynamic ally (by the device itself or by a web-based server) to serve the specific actions being taken by a user, h general, the user can select and/or activate various graphic al images in order to initiate functions and tasks, ie . c ontrols, assoc iated therewith. Ey way of example, a user can select a button that opens, closes, minimizes, or maximizes a window, or an icon that launches a particular application program. Ey way of anotherexample, the GOmay present a typic al use r inte rfa c e including a windowing environment and as such, may include menu items, pull-down menu items, ic ons, pop-up windows, etc ., that are typic al of those provided in a windowing environment, such as may be represented within a Windows™ Operating System GUI as provided by Microsoft Corporation and/or an OS X™ Operating System GUI, such as provided on an iPhone™, MacBook™, Mac™, etc ., as provided by Apple, he ., and/or another operating system.

In the description here after, an application program (AP) - or software - may be seen as any tool that functions and is operated by means of a computer, with the purpose of performing one or more func tio ns o r ta sks fo r a user or another app lie ation program, lb interac t with and c ontrol an AP, a GOof the APmaybe displayed on the userdevice display.

FIG.1 is an illustration of an exemplary user devic e 100 used in the present system. In the here after description, the userorelectronic device is illustrated as a mobile device 100. The mobile device 100 comprises a display device 140, a proc essor 113, a c amera 120, a c onnec tion manager 130, an antenna 133 and an input devic e 115.

In the present system, the user interac tion with and manipulation of the application program rendered on a GO may be achieved using the display device 140, orscreen, which is presently a touch panel operationally coupled to the processor 113 controlling the displayed interface. The input device 115 and display device 140 are thus merged. Some mobile device 100 today may also present an input devic e 115 like a keybo ard.

Processor 113 may control the rendering and/or the display of the GUIon the display device 140 depending on the type of application program, ie. resident or web -based. Proc essor 113 may also handle the user entries ac c ording to the present method. The userentriesto interact with an applic ation program maybe provided through interac tio ns with the to uc h panel 140.

The to uc h panel 140 canbe seenasan input devic e allowing interac tions with a fing e r o f a use r o r o the r d e vie e s sue h a s a stylus. To uc h se nso r inte rfa c e or touch panel 140 may include any suitable circuitry to convert analog signals corresponding to touch input received o ve r its surfa c e into any suitable digital touch input data. Such touch input data can, for example, be used to make se le c tio ns o f p o rtio ns o f the G o fan AP. The input re c e ive d fro m a use r's to uc h is sent to the processor 110. The touch panel 140 is configured to detect and report the (loc ation of the) touc hes to the proc essor 110, whic h c an interpret the touches in accordance with the application program and the currently displayed GUL Fbr example, the processor 110 can initiate a task, e.g. a control ofthe APlike an "easy connect" application according to the present system.

The touch panel 140 can be based on sensing technologies including but not limited to capacitive sensing, resistive sensing, surface acoustic wave se nsing , p re ssure se nsing , o p tic al se nsing , a nd/ o r the like s.

h the present system, a number of different app lie ations may be provide d with the mobie device 100, like an easy connect application 150 and a c onnec tion manager 130. Hardware devic e s like an antenna 133 and a camera 120 are also provided and managed by processorll3.

The c onne c tion manager 130 is provided to se arc h for wire less networks in the vicinity of the mobie device 100 using the antenna 133. Connection manager is also used to handle the connection procedure with any of the found networkonce they are selected by the user orautomatic ally.

The present method maybe enabled through a dedicated application, referred to the easy connect app here after. The application may be either available with the mobie device as pure hased by the user, ordownloaded from one application store. Alternatively, the present method may be enabled through a plugin to the existing camera application provided on the mobie device (not shown in EG. 1) to manage the camera. When available, the applic ation orplugin may be e onfigured to :

capture a picture of a machine readable code. The machine readable code may be for instance a 2D bar code as seen in FIG. 2 or FIG. 4A. Any mac hine coded data may be used to enc o de the c onnec tion parametersto a wireless network Examples of bar code generation may be found at http 'J I www .b a ic o d e -g e ne ra to r.o rg/ . Such well known technology allows enc o ding any c ombination of ASCHc harac ters,

- scan the captured picture to identify the machine readable code, ie. its contours and characteristics, decode the machine readable code, based on the encoding technology. Solutions exists today to read a barcode using a camera from a mobile phone. An Android application ZXing ( http :/ / c o d e . g o o g le . c o m /' p / zxing / ) is an example of such a technology that allows the sc anning of a bar c ode and the extraction of the information it c onta ins. The pro c ess requires the end userto point his/her camera at a barcode: the app then automatically recognizes a barcode and then dec odes it to renderthe information it c onta ins,

identify the network name NE1WOKKJD and connection parameters NE1W0RK_PARAM from the decoding,

- scan for available wireless network using the connection manager 130 and the antenna 133

retrieve the network matching the NK1WO RK_^ID name,

provide the c onnec tion parameters to the c onnec tion manager 133, so thata c onnec tion request may be sent to the hot spot or ac c ess point providing the wireless network

FIG.2 is an illustration of another embodiment of the present system. The mobile device 200 is in the presence of a wireless network enabled by access point or router 260. The mobile device 200 is equipped, like the mobile device 100 of FIG. 1, with an antenna 233, a processor 213, a camera 220 and a c onnec tion manager 230.

The wireless network provided by router260 is characterized by a network name orSSE) NFHWORK_lD and connection parameters NFHWORK_PARAM. The c onnec tion parameters may c omprise the parameters nec essary fore onnec tion, such as network type, access key, connection configuration ... Fbr instance, Ne two rk NFHWORKJD may re quire p ro te c te d a c c e ss using a WPA o r WPA2 (Wi-Fi Protected Access) key comprised in these connection parameters. The c onnec tion parameters may further c omprise en indie a tion that the WiFinetwork is a WPA2 b a se d ne two rk

A mac hine readable code 250 may be issued by a c ontroller 265 of the present system, based on the network name NFHWORFLID and connection parameters NEIWO RK_^PARAM . Generation of the mac hine re ad able c ode , here illustrated as a 2D bar code, is based on existing encoding techniques mentioned before. Such a machine readable code may be posted somewhere in a shop like at the front door or next to the payment booth. It may also be issued on the payment rec eipt handed out to a c ustomer after pur hase of some goods, so asto limit the usage of the wireless network to c ustomers only.

FIG.3 is an exemplary flowchart according to another embodiment of the present method. The pre sent embodiment will be described using the download of a plugin that is use d by the c amera applic a tion of the mobile device 200. h a preliminary or initiation ac t 300, the user will download an "easy connect" plugin from an application store or an "easy connect server" (not shown in FIG. 2) o ffe ring the e a sy c o nne c t se rvic e o f the p re se nt syste m.

h a further ac t 310, the user will start his camera applicationto c apture a 2D barcode tha the sa w up o n e nte ring a sho p o ffe ring wire le ss a c c e ss. He will then take a picture of the 2D barcode in an additional act 320, as seen in FIG. 4A whic h sho ws a snapshot 410 of the captured machine readable code 250. Processor 213 will thus activate the camera to capture the 2D bar code presented in fr nt of the camera optic.

h a further act 330, the processor 213 of the mobile device 200 will process the captured image. This may be triggered for instance through the selection by the user of the icon 420 in FIG. 4A. GUIs of known camera applic ations alio w different a c tions on a pic ture , a c tions that canbe accessed thr ugh a "action" or"forward" ic on 420 as seen in the exemplary GUI illustration of FIG.4A. A menu list will further appe ar as seen in the GUI of FIG.4B following the se le c tio n of the fo rwa rd ic o n 420. This me nu list may o ffe r kno wn o p tio ns sue h as email, MMS, set as wall paper and other known actions, h an additional embodiment of the present method, the menu list will further c omp rise an "easy connect" item 430 that the user may select to trigger the connection process. Once item 430 is selected by the user (using a touch input for instance), processor 213 will start processing the captured image and subsequent c o nne c tio n se que nc e .

Tb do so, it will scan the image to identify the machine readable code, decode it, and extract the wireless network characteristics, namely its name NFHWORK_ID and connection parameters NFHWORK_PARAM. Processor 213 will furthe r re q ue st fro m the connection manager 230 to browse foravailable wireless networks in a further act 235. One may note that the scanning of available wireless networks suing antenna 233 may be performed at several instances of the present method. It may be for instance triggered upon starting the applic ation, here when the c amera applic ation is triggered, it may be partofa re cunent br wsing performed by the mobile device independently of the use of the "easy connect" plugin, or when the user request the decoding of the captured machine readable code.

Many apps installed on a smart phone today are allowed to access the se tting s o f the phone from within the app (like GPS for example) directly without use r inte rve ntio n. Here the downloaded plugin can have access to the wireless settings (of the c onnec tion manager 230) in order to trigger a wireless network sc an as well as provide the c onnec tion parameters.

In an additional act 340, the processor 213 will search for the network NKIWORKJD in the list of scanned wireless network. Once found a wireless network matching the name o r SSID NE1WO RK_^ID, the proc essor 213 will present the decoded connection parameters NEIWORK_^PARAM to the connection manager 213 for selection and subsequent connection to the wireless network NEIWORKJD (act 350). Tb do so, the plugin ac c esses the wireless settings directly in order to enter SSID and password for instance in appropriate fields. A c o nne c tio n re que st will the n b e se nt to the se le c te d wire le ss ne two rk.

Provided the connection parameters include configuration settings, pr c essor 213 will drive the c onnec tion manager 230 to implement a c onne c tion process based on these c onfigura tion settings (for instanc e secured network as opposed to free ac c ess network, orprepaid ac c ess).

In a final act 360, the processor may provide to the user a connection c onfirmation.

Provided the present method is implemented by an easy connect application, using the illustration of EG.3 again, the user will similarly start the application in the act 310. The application will then prompt the user to take a picture of a 2D bar code. The application upon detection of the captured sna shot of the machine readable code will further p roc eed withact330 to 360 asdescribed here before.

The machine readable code generation may be triggered afterpayment ofgoods orse rvic e s in the sto re o ffe ring the p re se nt e a sy c o nne c tio n so lutio n. Payment may be processed using NEC (Near Field Communication) techniques that are becoming more popular. In an additional embodiment of the present method, the initiation act 300 may comprise an NFC transaction between the mobile device 200 and the c ontroller 265, the transaction comprising sending data from the mobile device to the controller, the data comprising a unique id e ntifie r fo r the mobile device, like a phone number.

The generation of the 2D barcode by the c ontroller 265 may inc lude the phone number so that the processor 213 may further check for the presence of the devic e number in the c aptured 2D bar c ode . This can ensure that the 2D bar code is custom made forthe mobile device 200 and that no other device can use the information in the generated 2Dbarcode.

In a further embodiment of the present method, the initial act 300 may also include a request for connection, like a payment transac tio n, to purchase some connection time. The controller, once the payment transaction is complete, may furthe r inc lud e data resulting from the transaction in the 2D bar code so that the mobile device can complete the connection process using these data when proc e ssing the c aptured 2D bare ode .

This may for instanc e comprise a set of network login and password as provided after c omplete transaction. This may be used e.g. for hotspot with a redirection page. With such networks, a usermay purchase online, through the redirection page, temporary access. Once the purchase is complete, the user receives a log in/ password set or c onfirmation for the login/password he chose. With the present method, the generated 2D barcode will include such data in the c o nne c tio n parameters. Thus the processor will further decode the 2D bar code into a c onnec tion c onfirmation re sponsive to the connection request. The connection confirmation may simply be the login/password set. Thanks to the present method, a usermay purchase connection time just like he buys other goods, and his re c eipt will include the connection parameters resulting from his c onnec tion time urc ha se . Whe the r he provided the login/password pairs during the purchase of connection time or it is automatically generated by the controller 265, the resulting connection parameters will allow automatic c o nne c tio n to the wire le ss ne two rk witho ut inte rve ntio n fro m the use r. He no longerhave to manually enter the c odes, as in existing solutions.

The present method and system was illustrated using a camera capturing a generated 2D barcode. One may transpose the present teachings with an NPC readerin place of the camera. Indeed the mobile device may be an NPC enabled devic e , e quipped with a NPC ore ontac tless module . The user will have to present the mobile device in proximity to another NPC point, like an NPC enabled c ontroller 265. The 2D barcode may be replaced by another mac hine readable code coded based onNPC technology.

Using such contactless technique, the present method will enable to connect an electronic device to a wireless network, the electronic device comprising a processor, a contactless module and an antenna operatively coupled to said processor, the method being carried out by the processor and c omp rising:

reading a machine readable code received by or presented to the c o ntac tie ss mo dule ,

processing the read machine readable code to decode it into a wireless network ID and c onnec tion parameters,

selecting a wireless network matching the decoded wireless network ID among wireless networks detec ted by the antenna,

sending a c onnec tion request to the selected wire le ss ne two rk using the dec oded c onnec tion parameters.

Enally, the above discussion is intended to be merely illustrative of the present system and should not be construed as limiting the appended claims to any partic ular embodiment or group of embodiments. Thus, whie the present system has been described with reference to exemplary embodiment using a mobile d e vie e , it sho uld also be appreciated that numerous mod ific a tio ns and alternative embodiments may be devised by those having ordinary skill in the art without departing from the broaderand intended spirit and sc ope of the present system as set forth in the claims that follow. Further, while exemplary user interfaces are provided to facilitate an understanding of the present system, other user interfac es may be provided and/or elements of one user interfac e may be c ombined with anotherof the userinterfac es in ac c ordanc e with further embodiments of the pre sent system.

The se c tio n head ing s inc lud e d he re in a re inte nd e d to fa c ilita te a re vie w but are notintended to limit the scope of the present system. Ac c ordingly, the specifications and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative manner and are notintended to limit the scope ofthe appended claims.

In inte rp re ting the appended claims, it should be understood that:

a) the words "c omp rising" or "inc lud ing" do not exclude the presence of other elements or ac ts than tho se liste d in a given c laim;

b) the word "a" or "an" prec eding an element does not exclude the presence of a plurality of such elements;

c) any re fere nc e signs in the c laims do no t limit their sc ope ;

d) several "means" may be represented by the same item or hardware orsoftware implemented structure orfunction;

e) any of the disclosed elements may be comprised of hardware portions (e.g., including discrete and integrated electronic circuitry), software portions (e .g., c omputer programming), and any c ombination there of;

f) hardware portions may be comprised of one or both of analogue and digital portions;

g) any ofthe disc lose d devic e s or portions there of may be e ombined togetherorseparated into furthe r p o rtio ns unle ss spe c ific ally state d otherwise; h) no specific sequence of acts or steps is intended to be required unle ss spe c ific ally indie a ted ; and

i) the term "plurality of an element includes two or more of the claimed element, and does not imply any particular range of number of elements; that is, a plurality of elements may be as few as two elements, and may include an imme asurable number of elements.

Claims

(MAIMS What is claimed is:

1. An electronic device to connect to a wireless network, the device c omp rising:

an antenna to detect wireless networks,

a c onne c tion manager to connectto a detected wireless network, a c amera,

a c o ntro 1 c ire uit c o nfigure d to :

capture an image of a machine readable code using the c amera,

process the captured image to decode the machine readable code into a wireless network ID and c onnection parameters, select a wireless network mate hing the decoded wireless network ID among wireless networks de tec te d by the antenna, present the decoded c onne c tion parame ters to the connection manager for subsequent connection to the selected wireless network using said c onnec tion parameters.

2. An electronic device according to c laim 1, wherein the wireless network is a se c ure d network, the c onnec tion parame ter c omp rising a password for said secured network

3. An electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the machine readable code is a 2Dbarcode.

4. An electronic device according to c laim 1, wherein the c o ntro 1 c ire uit is further operable to:

se nd a re que st fo r c o nne c tio n to a c o nne c tio n c o ntro lie r,

further decode the machine readable code into a connection c onfirm a tion responsive to said request.

5. A method to connect an electronic device to a wireless network, the electronic device comprising a processor, a camera and an antenna operatively coupled to said processor, the method being carried out by the p ro c e sso r a nd c o mp rising :

sending a c onne c tion reque st to the selected wireless network using the c onne c tion parameters.

6. A method according to claim 5, wherein the wireless network is a secured network, the connection parameter c omp rising a password for said secured network

7. A me tho d ace ording to c laim 5, wherein the mac hine readable code is a 2D barcode.

8. A metho d ac c ording to c laim 5, furtherc omprising:

se nd ing a re q ue st fo r c o nne c tio n to a c o nne c tio n c o ntro lie r,

further decoding the machine readable code into a connection c onfirm a tion responsive to said request.

9. A telec ommunic ation system c omprising:

a wireless network enabled byanaccess point,

an electronic device to connect to a wireless network, the device c omprising:

an antenna to detect wireless networks,

a connection manager to present connection parameters to a d e te c te d wire le ss ne two rk, a c amera,

a c ontrol c ire uit c onfigured to:

capture an image of a machine readable code using the c amera,

select a wireless network mate hing the decoded wireless network ID among wireless networks detected by the antenna,

present the decoded connection parameters to the connection manager for subsequent connection to the selected wireless network using said connection paramete s.

10. An application embodied on a computer readable medium and arranged to configure a processor to implement a method to connect an electronic device to a wireless network, the electronic device comprising said processor, a camera and an antenna operatively coupled to said processor, the a p p lie a tio n c o mp rising instruc tio ns fo r:

c apturing an image ofamac hine readable code using the c amera, processing the captured image to decode the machine readable code into a wireless network ID and c onnec tio n paramete s,

sending a c onne c tio n request to the selected wireless network using the c onne c tion paramete s.