Patent ID: 8432262

Claim:
A method for establishing a secure wireless communications network between electronic devices, said method comprising: providing a plurality of electronic devices which use a common protocol for wireless communications with other devices, each device containing a Near Field Communication reader/writer; providing a master electronic device which is capable of controlling other devices in the network; providing a plurality of Near Field Communication read-only tags within a defined geographic space, where the defined geographic space is a vehicle which includes an entertainment system, and each tag of the plurality of Near Field Communication read-only tags is placed at a different seating location within the vehicle, and where each tag contains secret information about the master electronic device; passing each electronic device which is intended to be added to the network near one of the Near Field Communication read-only tags; computing and wirelessly transmitting an authentication certificate from each device which is calculated from the secret information which was read from a Near Field Communication tag; using the transmitted authentication certificate, if valid, to trigger the master electronic device to temporarily switch from a non-discoverable mode to a discoverable mode; and completing the establishment of communications by exchanging additional data as required by the wireless communications protocol being used.