Automatic device pairing

A device capable of connecting wirelessly with a secure wireless LAN provided by an access point, wherein the access point is a pairing access point providing the first secure wireless LAN and an open wireless LAN, the device comprising:

• a memory storing a network address of a pairing initiation server and a network identity for one or more open wireless LANs, including the open wireless WLAN provided by the pairing access point, through which the pairing initiation server can be reached;
• a pairing initiation client configured to:
• associate the device with an access point of an open wireless LAN whose network identity is stored in the memory,
• send a pairing initiation request from the device to the associated access point of the open wireless LAN, the pairing initiation request including an identifier for the device and having as a destination address the stored address of the pairing initiation server,
• in response to receiving an instruction from the pairing initiation server, trigger, at the device, pairing between the device and the secure wireless LAN provided by the pairing access point that has also been instructed by the pairing initiation server to initiate a pairing process.

A system comprising:

• a pairing initiation server in combination with a database, the database storing device identities for devices capable of connecting wirelessly with a wireless LAN, each device identity being mapped to a corresponding user identity, and each user identity being mapped to a network address of an access point of a secure wireless LAN, so that knowing a device identity permits recovery of a network address of an access point of a secure wireless LAN, access to the secure wireless LAN requiring authentication;
• the pairing initiation server being configured to:
• query the database, in response to receiving a device identity, to retrieve a network address of an access point of a secure wireless LAN, access to the secure wireless LAN requiring authentication;
• send a pairing initiation instruction to an access point of a secure wireless LAN, wherein the access point is a pairing access point, using the retrieved network address to cause the pairing access point to initiate pairing with the device whose identity was received;
• and
• send a pairing initiation instruction to the device whose identity was received, to cause automatic triggering at the device of pairing between the device and the pairing access point.