Patent ID: 8572698

Claim:
A method comprising: establishing, at a Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) enabled access point having an associated personal identification number (PIN), a connection from a wireless network device; transmitting, from the WPS-enabled access point, an identity request message to the wireless network device; receiving an identity response message from the wireless network device, the identity response message including identification information; determining, at the WPS-enabled access point, that the wireless network device is not WPS-enabled based, at least in part, on the identification information included in an identity response message received from the wireless network device; in response to determining that the wireless network device is not WPS-enabled, switching the connection from a first authentication protocol used for authenticating WPS-enabled wireless network devices to a second authentication protocol used for authenticating legacy wireless network devices that are not WPS-enabled wireless network devices; authenticating the wireless network device in accordance with the second authentication protocol in conjunction with the PIN; and generating and providing an encryption key to the wireless network device for encryption of subsequent communications between the wireless network device and the WPS-enabled access point.