Wireless Connection Management for an Accessory Device

A method, comprising:

• by a companion wireless device:
• establishing a wireless link with an accessory wireless device;
• associating with a Wi-Fi access point;
• determining whether the Wi-Fi access point supports access by the accessory wireless device to a wide area network;
• and
• providing association information for the Wi-Fi access point to the accessory device based at least in part on determining that the Wi-Fi access point supports access by the accessory wireless device to the wide area network,
• wherein association information for the Wi-Fi access point is not provided to the accessory device if the Wi-Fi access point is determined not to support access by the accessory wireless device to the wide area network.

An accessory device, comprising:

• an antenna;
• a radio coupled to the antenna;
• and
• a processing element coupled to the radio;
• wherein the accessory device is configured to:
• establish a wireless link with a companion device;
• receive association information for a Wi-Fi access point from the companion device;
• associate with the Wi-Fi access point using the association information received from the companion device;
• perform a data probe to determine whether a wide area network is accessible via the Wi-Fi access point;
• and
• determine whether to operate cellular communication circuitry of the accessory device in a reduced power mode based at least in part on whether the wide area network is accessible via the Wi-Fi access point.