Establishing a secure wireless network with minimum human intervention

A method comprising:

• receiving an input at a computing device, the input initiating an automatic configuration process to configure a playback network setting of the computing device;
• responsive to the input, activating by the computing device, a listen mode;
• while in the listen mode, receiving by the computing device from a playback device, a first message that indicates the playback device is available;
• in response to receiving the first message, transmitting to the playback device, a request for network information of the playback device and subsequently, receiving from the playback device, a second message indicating network information associated with the playback device;
• determining, based on the second message, that the playback device is not configured for a secure playback network, wherein determining, based on the second message, that the playback device is not configured for a secure network comprises determining that the second message indicates empty fields corresponding to a household identification and a network security parameter;
• based on the determination, generating network parameters for a playback network, the network parameters comprising one or more of a specific household identification and a specific network security parameter;
• transmitting to the playback device, a third message to cause the playback device to join the playback network based on the network parameters;
• and
• configuring the playback network setting of the computing device based on the specific household identification and the specific network security parameter.

A computing device comprising:

• a processor;
• and
• tangible, non-transitory computer-readable memory having stored thereon instructions executable by the processor to cause the computing device to perform functions comprising:
• receiving an input at the computing device, the input initiating an automatic configuration process to configure a playback network setting of the computing device;
• responsive to the input, activating a listen mode;
• while in the listen mode, receiving from a playback device, a first message that indicates the playback device is available;
• in response to receiving the first message, transmitting to the playback device, a request for network information of the playback device and subsequently, receiving from the playback device, a second message indicating network information associated with the playback device;
• determining, based on the second message, that the playback device is not configured for a secure playback network, wherein determining, based on the second message, that the playback device is not configured for a secure network comprises determining that the second message indicates empty fields corresponding to a household identification and a network security parameter;
• based on the determination, generating network parameters for a playback network, the network parameters comprising one or more of a specific household identification and a specific network security parameter;
• transmitting to the playback device, a third message to cause the playback device to join the playback network based on the network parameters;
• and
• configuring the playback network setting of the computing device based on the specific household identification and the specific network security parameter.