Patent ID: 8732315

Claim:
A method of establishing an ad-hoc network connection between a first device and a second device using an ad-hoc network established by the second device, wherein the first device is initially configured as a first registrar and the second device is initially configured as a second registrar, and wherein the first device as the first registrar and the second device as the second registrar are each operable in a beacon mode to transmit beacons and a scanning mode to receive beacons, the method comprising: transmitting beacons, with the first device as the first registrar, in the beacon mode, wherein beacon periods extend in between each of two consecutive beacon transmissions; during every Nth beacon period, scanning for beacons with the first device as the first registrar in a scanning mode for a scanning period that covers the entire beacon period, wherein N is an integer greater than one; during each of the beacon periods other than the every Nth beacon periods, entering a standby mode with the first device as the first registrar, wherein the first device does not transmit or scan for beacons in the standby mode; while operating in the scanning mode during one of the Nth beacon periods, receiving, with the first device as the first registrar, a beacon from the second device as the second registrar; upon receiving the beacon from the second device as the second registrar: determining, with the first device as the first registrar, whether to change from being configured as the first registrar to an enrollee to join the ad-hoc network established by the second device, the determining whether to change being based on a predetermined criteria; in response to determining to change from being configured as the first registrar to the enrollee based on the predetermined criteria, prompting, with the first device as the first registrar, a user of the first device with an option to join the ad-hoc network established by the second device; and in response to determining not to change from being configured as the first registrar to the enrollee based on the predetermined criteria, discarding, with the first device as the first registrar, results of receiving the beacon without prompting the user with the option to join the ad-hoc network established by the second device.