Proactive assistance in obtaining a wireless network connection

• US 9,338,651 B2
• Filed: 05/09/2014
• Issued: 05/10/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/09/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Tatavarty, Srinivas, Atmakuri, Srikant
• Primary Examiner(s): Schwartz, Darren B
• Application Number:
  US14/274,277
• Publication Number:
  US 20150327062A1
• Time in Patent Office: 732 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/34 involving the use of external additional devices, e.g. dongles or smart cards
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/42 using separate channels for security data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/45 Structures or tools for the administration of authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/062 Pre-authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]

Abstract

A user may be proactively identified as needing assistance to access a home wireless network. Assistance may be automatically provided through, for example, a text message, email, or telephone call. In one implementation, a method may include monitoring a wireless access point that provides a wireless network; obtaining, based on the monitoring, an indication of a failed attempt to attach to the wireless network due to entry of an incorrect network password; and causing, based on the obtained indication of the failed attempt to attach to the wireless network, transmission of a correct password for the wireless network to a mobile device corresponding to an account associated with the wireless network.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

monitoring, by a computing device associated with a user of a residence that obtains network connectivity from a telecommunications provider, a wireless access point that provides a wireless network at the residence of the user, the monitoring including;

obtaining, by the computing device, operational logs of the wireless access point via an interface with the wireless access point, the interface being implemented over the wireless network at the residence of the user;

identifying, by the computing device and based on the monitoring of the operational logs, a failed attempt to attach to the wireless network due to entry of an incorrect network password; and

causing, by a network device associated with the telecommunications provider and based on the identification of the failed attempt to attach to the wireless network, transmission of a correct password for the wireless network to a mobile device associated with the user.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein causing the transmission of the correct password further comprises:

determining, based on information identifying the wireless access point or the user, the correct password;

determining information relating to contacting the mobile device; and

transmitting, based on the information relating to contacting the mobile device, the correct password.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein transmitting the correct password includes:

transmitting a Short Message Service (SMS) message to the mobile device;

placing an automated telephone call to the mobile device;

or

sending an email to an email address account associated with the account.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein monitoring the wireless access point additionally includes:

analyzing the operational logs to obtain the indication of a failed attempt to attach to the wireless network.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the interface with the wireless access point includes a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) interface or an application program interface (API).

6. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the failed attempt to attach to the wireless network further includes:

determining that at least a threshold number of incorrect passwords have been entered in attempting to attach to the wireless network.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the wireless network includes a short range wireless network.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the failed attempt to attach to the wireless network is made from a second computing device, and wherein the computing device, the second computing device, and the network device are different from one another.

9. A device associated with a user of a residence that obtains network connectivity from a telecommunications provider, the device comprising:

a non-transitory memory device storing;

a plurality of processor-executable instructions; and

one or more processors to execute the processor-executable instructions, wherein executing the processor-executable instructions causes the one or more processors to;

monitor network access requests to attach to a wireless network, at the residence of the user, provided by a wireless router, the monitoring of the network access requests including;

obtaining operational logs of the wireless router via an interface with the wireless router, the interface being implemented over the wireless network at the residence of the user;

identify, based on the monitoring of the operational logs, a failed attempt to attach to the wireless network due to entry of an incorrect network password;

determine, based on the identification of the failed attempt to attach to the wireless network, a correct password for the wireless network; and

initiate transmission of a message to a mobile device of the user, the message including the correct password.

10. The device of claim 9, wherein the message includes a text message or an automated telephone call.

11. The device of claim 9, wherein the wireless network includes a short range wireless network.

12. The device of claim 9, wherein when initiating the transmission of the message to the mobile device, the processor-executable instructions further include instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, to:

transmit a message, identifying the wireless router, to a remote server.

13. The device of claim 9, wherein the device includes a user device connected to the wireless router, and wherein the plurality of processor-executable instructions further include instructions, that when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:

analyzing the operational logs to obtain the indication of the failed attempt to attach to the wireless network.

14. The device of claim 13, wherein the interface with the wireless router includes a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) interface or an application program interface (API).

15. The device of claim 9, wherein when initiating the transmission of the message to the mobile device, the processor-executable instructions further include instructions to cause the one or more processors to:

directly transmit the message to the mobile device.

16. The device of claim 9, wherein the failed attempt to attach to the wireless network is made from another device, and wherein the device and the another device are different from one another.

17. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a plurality of processor-executable instructions, which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:

monitor, at a computing device associated with a user of a residence that obtains network connectivity from a telecommunications provider, a wireless access point that provides a wireless network at the residence of the user, the monitoring including;

obtaining, by the computing device, operational logs of the wireless access point via an interface with the wireless access point, the interface being implemented over the wireless network at the residence of the user;

identify, based on the monitoring of the operational logs, a failed attempt to attach to the wireless network due to entry of an incorrect network password; and

cause, based on the identification of the failed attempt to attach to the wireless network, transmission of a correct password for the wireless network, to a mobile device associated with the user.

18. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 17, wherein the plurality of processor-executable instructions additionally include instructions, that when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:

determine, based on information identifying the wireless access point or the user, the correct password;

determine information relating to contacting the mobile device; and

transmit, based on the information relating to contacting the mobile device, the correct password.

19. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 18, wherein the plurality of processor-executable instructions additionally include instructions, that when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:

transmit a Short Message Service (SMS) message to the mobile device;

place an automated telephone call to the mobile device;

or

send an email to an email address account associated with the account.

20. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 17, wherein the plurality of processor-executable instructions additionally include instructions, that when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:

analyze the operational logs to obtain the indication of a failed attempt to attach to the wireless network.