Patent ID: 8781441

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for handling a device that experiences a failure to complete an authentication process of a network, the method comprising: detecting a failure to complete a first authentication process by a device while attempting to establish a session over said network, wherein the first authentication process includes receiving a Media Access Control (MAC) address from the device; determining one or more causes of said failure to authenticate said device to said network when utilizing said first authentication process; analyzing at least a portion of said one or more causes of said authentication failure to select an alternative authentication process from a set of several alternative authentication processes, wherein said alternative authentication process is different from said first authentication process; when a cause of said authentication failure includes a determination that said MAC address is invalid or unauthorized, then determining whether said device has a device identifier; when said device has said device identifier, then attempting to authenticate said device to said network by utilizing said device identifier along with said alternative authentication process; when said device does not have said device identifier, then obtaining device attributes associated with said device from a database based on the MAC address received from said device, wherein said data base is a global registry of devices; based on the device attributes, determining whether the device is capable of being provisioned with a new device identifier; when the device is capable of being provisioned with the new device identifier, then provisioning the device, wherein said provisioning includes (A) negotiating, with at least one remote device, activation parameters to be used during said alternative authentication process, and (B) communicating said activation parameters to said device, wherein said activation parameters are to be used during said alternative authentication process and are stored on said device, wherein said negotiating and said communicating of said activation parameters do not rely on information provided by the user as part of the first authentication process or as part of the alternative authentication process, and (C) upon successfully provisioning said device, re-attempting to authenticate said device to said network by using the new device identifier along with said alternative authentication process; and incident to success of said alternative authentication process, allowing said device to establish a session over said network.