Any standard WiFi router offers many ways of connecting a device to it. The most popular method is by entering a password (WPA/WPA2) after selecting an available WiFi network or AP in your devices. So if you want to connect your mobile phone to a WiFi hotspot, then you have to select the target hotspot detected by your phone and enter the password. But there is a much simpler and yet considerably secure method to connect to any WiFi network – through WPS (short for WiFi Protected Setup). While in standard devices (like an Android phone) it is called WPS, some routers (like some of the TP-Link N series routers) may label it as QSS (quick secure setup).
Here is how you can connect your Android smart phone with your WiFi router via WPS or QSS (the instructions are for TP-Link WiFi router but they are not very different for other routers):
- Open the WiFi router interface in a web browser on your PC (a device already connected to the router via Ethernet cable or WiFi). Typically it is done by entering 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1 in the address bar of your web browser and supplying the web interface password (usually both the username and password are admin).
- Open the WPS or QSS section in the router’s web interface and click on the Add Device button.
- In your Android device, open the WiFi settings, open the menu and select WPS Pin Entry options. You will be shown a message with the generated PIN. Note this PIN code down – you have to enter this PIN in the WiFi router.
- Back in the web interface of the router, enter the PIN code generated by your Android device. Then click on the Connect button.
- In a few seconds, you will see the message “Connected successfully” in both the web interface of the router and the Android smart phone.
WPS offers quick and secure way of connecting your devices to your WiFi routers. This way you do not have to enter long and cryptic passwords for connecting to the WiFi networks.