Systems and methods for connecting internet-connected devices to wireless access points

A system for connecting Internet-connected devices to wireless access points, the system comprising:

• an access point that is secured by a passcode;
• a server that stores, before the access point is purchased by a user, a record of the access point and the passcode;
• a management application, executing on a mobile phone, that:
• enables the user to create a user account at the server;
• and
• enables the user to simultaneously connect the mobile phone to the access point using the passcode and verify ownership of the access point by:
• identifying a plurality of access points local to the mobile phone, wherein the plurality of access points comprises the access point;
• and
• transmitting, over a cellular Internet connection of the mobile phone to the server, a request to connect the mobile phone to one of the plurality of access points, wherein the request comprises a list of the plurality of access points;
• a request-receiving module, stored in memory, that receives, at the server over the Internet from the mobile phone, the request;
• a transmitting module, stored in memory, that:
• uses, at the server, the list of the plurality of access points to identify the record of the access point;
• and
• transmits, in response to identifying the record of the access point, a verification-request message from the server to the access point that instructs the access point to perform an action that:
• can be experienced by a user of the mobile phone;
• and
• enables the physical proximity of the user to the access point to be verified;
• a performing module, stored in memory, that performs, at the access point, the action so that the user can experience the action;
• a verifying module, stored in memory, that:
• requests, via a user interface of the management application after the action has been performed, the user to describe the action;
• receives, via the user interface after the action has been performed, input directly from the user that:
• describes the action;
• verifies that the user experienced the action;
• and
• indicates that the user has physical access to the access point;
• and
• transmits, from the mobile phone to the server in response to receiving the input, a verification-response message that:
• indicates that the user provided the input via the user interface;
• and
• verifies that the user experienced the action and has physical access to the access point;
• a message-receiving module, stored in memory, that receives, at the server from the mobile phone, the verification-response message;
• an enabling module, stored in memory, that:
• associates, at the server in response to the verification-response message, the record of the access point with the user account such that the user can use the user account to request, at an additional client-side device, the passcode from the server without again verifying physical access to the access point;
• and
• transmits, from the server to the mobile phone, the passcode, wherein the management application further uses the passcode to connect the mobile phone to the access point;
• and
• at least one processor that executes the request-receiving module, the transmitting module, the message-receiving module, and the enabling module.

A computer-implemented method for connecting Internet-connected devices to wireless access points, at least a portion of the method being performed by a computing device comprising at least one processor, the method comprising:

• storing, at a server-side system before an access point is purchased by a user, a record of the access point, the record comprising a passcode used to secure the access point;
• enabling, via a client-side application executing on a mobile phone, the user to create a user account at the server-side system;
• and
• enabling the user to simultaneously connect the mobile phone to the access point using the passcode and verify ownership of the access point by:
• identifying, via the client-side application, a plurality of access points local to the mobile phone, wherein
• the plurality of access points comprises the access point;
• transmitting, over a cellular Internet connection by the mobile phone to the server-side system, a request to connect the mobile phone to one of the plurality of access points, wherein the request comprises a list of the plurality of access points;
• using, by the server-side system, the list of the plurality of access points to identify the record of the access point;
• transmitting, in response to identifying the record of the access point, a verification-request message from the server-side system to the mobile phone that instructs the mobile phone to perform an action that:
• can be experienced by the user;
• and
• enables the physical proximity of the user to the access point to be verified;
• performing, at the mobile phone, the action so that the user can experience the action;
• receiving, via a user interface of the access point after the action has been performed, input directly from the user that:
• describes the action;
• verifies that the user experienced the action;
• and
• indicates that the user has physical access to the access point;
• transmitting, from the access point to the server-side system in response to receiving the input, a verification-response message that:
• indicates that the user provided the input via the user interface;
• and
• verifies that the user experienced the action and has physical access to the access point;
• associating, at the server-side system in response to receiving the verification-response message, the record of the access point with the user account such that the user can use the user account to request, at an additional client-side device, the passcode from the server-side system without again verifying physical access to the access point;
• transmitting, in response to receiving the verification-response message, the passcode from the server-side system to the mobile phone;
• and
• using, at the mobile phone, the passcode to connect to the access point.