SWRU423A July 2015 – May 2016 WL1801MOD , WL1805MOD , WL1807MOD , WL1831MOD , WL1835MOD , WL1837MOD
The WPS method is an additional way to establish a Wi-Fi connection. The WPS-capable devices declare this capability in the beacons and probes. In this method, the connection is secured and the data exchange encrypted. The WPS connection method is invoked in two ways: hardware and software. Both the hardware and the software processes are invoked using one of two WPS connection methods: PBC or PIN. When one device has started a WPS connection process, the second device has two minutes to respond to the connection initiator device. After two minutes, the connection initiator stops the process.
An advantage in either WPS method is that the secured Wi-Fi network can be joined without knowing the privacy key.
A disadvantage is that during the WPS connection process, no specific SSID is defined. This limitation can result in a situation where two independent stations start a WPS process concurrently, for example, within the two minute time frame, and the peer station will not know which of them to connect to. This situation is called WPS overlapping. The peer station is only able to connect when one station terminates the WPS connection process.