Method and apparatus for automatically selecting an access point

An apparatus, comprising:

• an inquiry logic including at least an integrated circuit, in a first device, and configured to automatically determine attributes of a network connection between a network access point and a second device connected to the network access point in response to the first device being connected to the second device, wherein the inquiry logic is configured to request a network address assigned to the second device over a direct connection between the first device and the second device,
• wherein the inquiry logic is configured to cause the second device to broadcast packets on the network connection by sending a request to the second device over a direct connection, and
• wherein the inquiry logic is further configured to sniff packets from a wireless interface in the first device and to identify broadcast packets from the second device using the network address assigned to the second device;
• and
• a communication logic to self-configure and automatically establish a wireless connection to the network access point from the first device using the attributes of the network connection between the network access point and the second device, wherein the second device is not a peripheral device.

A method, the method comprising:

• determining, in a first device, attributes of a network connection between a second device and an access point, wherein determining the attributes includes the first device requesting a network address from a second device over a direct connection to the second device, and wherein the network address has been assigned to the second device, wherein determining the attributes includes:
• requesting, by the first device, that the second device broadcast packets on the network connection;
• sniffing for network packets transmitted from the second device using a wireless network interface in the first device;
• and
• obtaining the attributes from the sniffed network packets that have the network address of the second device;
• and
• establishing a wireless connection to the access point from the first device based, at least in part, on the attributes of the network connection between the second device and the access point, wherein the second device is not a peripheral device.