Patent ID: 8681759

Claim:
A method for use in scanning for wireless local area networks (WLANs) or WLAN devices by a mobile device which has a set of profiles stored therein, the method comprising: maintaining, with a controller of the mobile device, an external network connectivity indication in association with each profile of a first subset of profiles, the external network connectivity indication indicating that the WLAN or WLAN device associated with the profile has external network connectivity; maintaining, with the controller, a local-only connectivity indication in association with each profile of a second subset of profiles, the local-only connectivity indication indicating that the WLAN or WLAN device associated with the profile has no external network connectivity; when a first application in the mobile device is invoked, the controller scanning to search for one or more WLANs or WLAN devices identified in the first subset of profiles; and when a second application in the mobile device is invoked, the controller scanning to search for one or more WLANs or WLAN devices identified in the second subset of profiles.