Patent ID: 7460855

Claim:
At a wireless device connected to a wireless network, the wireless network having a plurality of wireless access points that can be used to access the wireless network, the wireless device configured to associate with wireless access points to access resources of the wireless network, a method for the wireless device to prepare a wireless access point to associate with the wireless device prior to but in anticipation of the wireless device subsequently associating with the wireless access point, the method comprising: an act of the wireless device associating with a first wireless access point to access the wireless network, including configuring applications at the wireless device to communicate over the first wireless access point; an act of an application at the wireless device communicating over the first wireless access point; an act of the wireless device detecting that the wireless device is within range of a plurality of other wireless access points providing access to the wireless network; act of anticipating that the wireless device is to subsequently transition to a next wireless access point from among the plurality of the other wireless access points based on the wireless device being within range of each of the plurality of other second wireless access points; an act of identifying latency requirements for the application in response to the anticipated transition to one of the other wireless access points; an act of determining that the latency requirements of the application are likely to be violated if authentication with the next wireless access points is performed at the time the wireless device transitions to the next wireless access points; and in response to the determination, and prior to the wireless device disassociating with the first wireless access point: an act of the wireless device pre-authenticating the wireless device directly with the next wireless access point to obtain an authenticated state with the next wireless access point in preparation for the anticipated transition by the wireless device to the next wireless access point so as to decrease the likelihood of violating the identified latency requirements of the application upon transitioning the application to the next access point; and an act of the wireless device concurrently communicating with the first wireless access device concurrent to the wireless device pre-authenticating with the next wireless access point.