Networking method, related device and system

Abstract

This application discloses a networking method, related apparatus, and system. In this method, an electronic device can continuously access the internet by leveraging the networking capabilities of other devices, temporarily access a dedicated portal wireless network by leveraging the web capabilities of other devices, and activate an eSIM or blank SIM card. By implementing this method, an electronic device can seamlessly connect to the internet and communicate with the internet by leveraging the networking or web capabilities of other devices, thereby providing various services to users.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application. The application number of the original application is 202111439016.9, and the original application date is November 27, 2021. The entire content of the original application is incorporated into this application by reference.

[0002] This application claims priority from the following applications:

[0003] A Chinese patent application, application number 202110526259.X, titled “A Shared Network Method and Device,” was submitted to the China Patent Office on May 14, 2021;

[0004] A Chinese patent application was submitted to the China Patent Office on July 29, 2021, with application number 202110867211.5 and application name “Network Sharing Method, Related Devices and Systems”;

[0005] A Chinese patent application was submitted to the China Patent Office on August 6, 2021, with application number 202110900989.1 and application name “A method for activating an access point, an electronic device, and a communication system”;

[0006] A Chinese patent application was submitted to the China Patent Office on August 12, 2021, with application number 202110926406.2 and application name "Wi-Fi authentication method, electronic equipment and system".

[0007] The entire contents of the above applications are incorporated into this application by reference. Technical Field

[0008] The present application relates to the field of terminal equipment and communication technology, and in particular to networking methods, related devices and systems. Background Art

[0009] With the widespread adoption of mobile devices, individuals can now own multiple devices, such as mobile phones, tablets, large-screen TVs, smart speakers, and smartwatches. Most of these devices require internet access to function. Connecting these devices to the internet is a key area of research in this field. Summary of the Invention

[0010] The present application provides a networking method, related devices and systems that can enable electronic devices to connect to the Internet and communicate with the Internet without any obstacles.

[0011] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a networking method, which is applied to a communication system including a first device and a second device, the method comprising: the first device and the second device establish a first communication connection, the first communication connection comprising any one of the following: Wireless Fidelity Point-to-Point Wi-Fi P2P connection, Bluetooth connection, Near Field Communication NFC connection, wired connection or Ethernet connection; the first device communicates with the Internet through the second device based on the first communication connection; or, the first device sends an activation request to the operator server through the second device based on the first communication connection and receives a configuration file sent by the operator server, the configuration file is used to activate the first device, and the activated first device has networking capability.

[0012] By implementing the networking method provided in the first aspect, the first device can utilize the networking capability of the second device to communicate with the Internet or perform an activation operation.

[0013] In combination with the first aspect, in a first embodiment, the first device is used to communicate with the Internet through the second device based on the first communication connection; before the first device and the second device establish the first communication connection, they also receive networking capability information sent by the second device, and the networking capability information indicates whether the second device is connected to the Internet.

[0014] By implementing the method provided in the first embodiment of the first aspect, as long as other devices in the communication system can connect to the Internet, the electronic device can seamlessly use the networking capabilities of other devices to connect to the Internet.

[0015] In conjunction with the first implementation of the first aspect, in some implementations, the second device can access the internet via one or more of a WLAN established by a wireless access point, a cellular network, or a wired connection. In other words, the second device can share one or more of its networking capabilities with the first device. When the second device shares multiple networking capabilities with the first device, the speed of communication between the first device and the internet can be increased, thereby improving the user experience.

[0016] In combination with the first implementation of the first aspect, in some implementations, during the process of the first device communicating with the Internet through the second device, the method also includes one or more of the following: the first device is connected to a wireless access point AP in the communication system, and accesses the Internet through a wireless local area network WLAN created by the AP; or, the first device is connected to a network device in the communication system, accesses a cellular network through the network device, and accesses the Internet through the cellular network; or, the first device accesses the Internet via a wired method.

[0017] Through the above implementation, the first device can access the Internet through the second device while also accessing the Internet itself, thereby achieving multi-channel network concurrency and improving the speed of communication with the Internet.

[0018] In conjunction with the first implementation of the first aspect, in some implementations, the Wi-Fi P2P connection between the first device and the second device, and the connection between the first device and the AP, are established by the first device via a Wireless Fidelity Wi-Fi network card. That is, even if an electronic device is configured with only one Wi-Fi network card, the electronic device can still share the networking capabilities of other devices using the method of the first implementation of the first aspect.

[0019] In conjunction with the first implementation of the first aspect, in some implementations, the first device and the second device may establish a second communication connection and, based on the second communication connection, receive networking capability information sent by the second device. After the first device selects the second device and before the first device communicates with the internet through the second device, the first device may establish a first communication connection with the second device. The first communication connection and the second communication connection are different.

[0020] That is, the first device and the second device may use different connections to synchronize networking capability information and share networking capabilities.

[0021] In combination with the previous embodiment, the second communication connection includes any one of the following: a communication connection established based on a wireless access point in the communication system, a communication connection established when the second device is in AP mode, a Wireless Fidelity Point-to-Point Wi-Fi P2P connection, a Bluetooth connection, a Near Field Communication NFC connection, a wired connection or a remote connection.

[0022] In combination with the first implementation of the first aspect, in some implementations, the first device may establish a first communication connection with the second device, and receive networking capability information sent by the second device based on the first communication connection.

[0023] That is, the first device and the second device can use the same connection to synchronize networking capability information and share networking capabilities, which can reduce interactions between devices and improve the efficiency of sharing the network.

[0024] In conjunction with the first implementation of the first aspect, in some implementations, before establishing a first communication connection with the second device based on the networking capability information of the second device, the first device may receive networking capability information sent by a third device other than the first and second devices, where the networking capability information sent by the third device indicates whether the third device is connected to the network. The first device then selects the second device from among the connected devices. In this way, the first device can learn whether other devices in the communication system are connected to the network and select an appropriate second device from among the connected devices to borrow its networking capability.

[0025] In conjunction with the first implementation of the first aspect, in some implementations, the first device may select the second device from other devices in the communication system in any one or more of the following ways:

[0026] 1. The first device determines an electronic device selected by a user as a second device among the networked electronic devices.

[0027] Specifically, the first device displays one or more device options, and the device options correspond to networked devices among other devices; the first device receives a first operation acting on the device option, and selects the electronic device corresponding to the device option acted on by the first operation as the second device.

[0028] The first method allows users to independently select a second device based on their needs, fully meeting their actual needs and improving user experience.

[0029] 2. The first device selects a trusted device as the second device among the networked electronic devices.

[0030] Trusted devices include: devices logged into the same system account as the first device, devices bound to the first device, devices added to the same group as the first device, or devices set by the user.

[0031] The second method allows the first device to connect to the Internet through a trusted and secure electronic device, thereby ensuring the data security of the first device and avoiding risks such as data leakage.

[0032] 3. The first device selects the control device of the first device as the second device among the networked electronic devices.

[0033] 4. The networking capability information also indicates the network quality of other devices. The first device selects the electronic device with the best network quality among the other networked devices as the second device.

[0034] In this way, the network with the best network quality can be shared with the first device, thereby improving the efficiency of the first device in accessing the Internet and enhancing the user experience.

[0035] 5. The first device determines the most recently selected device as the second device.

[0036] In combination with the first implementation of the first aspect, in some implementations, the first device may also select a shared first networking mode in advance.

[0037] Methods for selecting the first networking method include the following:

[0038] 1. If the first device has a display, the first device may display one or more networking mode options, where the networking mode options correspond to networking modes, including one or more of the following: networking via a cellular network, WLAN, or a wired connection. The first device receives a second operation that acts on a networking mode option. The first networking mode is the networking mode corresponding to the networking mode option acted on by the second operation.

[0039] 2. If the first device does not have an information input and output device, the control device of the first device may select the first networking mode and notify the first device.

[0040] 3. If the first device does not have a display screen, the user may also input a voice command, and the first device may select the first networking mode according to the voice command.

[0041] After the first device determines the first networking mode, it can send indication information of the first networking mode to the second device, so that the second device uses the first networking mode to support communication between the first device and the Internet.

[0042] In conjunction with the first implementation of the first aspect, in some implementations, the first device may also select a shared first network in advance. Methods for selecting the first network may include the following:

[0043] 1. If the first device has a display, the first device may display one or more network options, where the network options correspond to internet access networks connected to the second device, and the number of internet access networks connected to the second device is one or more; the first device receives a third operation applied to a network option. The first network is the network corresponding to the network option applied to the third operation.

[0044] 2. If the first device does not have an information input and output device, the control device of the first device may select the first network and notify the first device.

[0045] 3. If the first device does not have a display screen, the user may input a voice instruction, and the first device may select the first network according to the voice instruction.

[0046] 4. The first device determines the network with the best network quality as the first network, or determines the network with the most borrowing times as the first network, or determines the network with the most recent borrowing time as the first network.

[0047] After determining the first network, the first device may send indication information of the first network to the second device, so that the second device uses the first network to support communication between the first device and the Internet.

[0048] In conjunction with the first implementation of the first aspect, in some implementations, the second device may autonomously determine a first network for supporting communication between the first device and the Internet. For example, the first network includes any one or more of the following: a network with the best network quality among the Internet access networks connected by the second device, a most recently selected network, or any network.

[0049] In combination with the first implementation of the first aspect, in some implementations, before the first device receives the networking capability information sent by the second device, it can also start the first communication service, which is used for the first device to communicate with the Internet through the second device based on the first communication connection between the first device and the second device.

[0050] The manner of enabling the first communication service may include: the first device receiving a fourth operation for enabling the first communication service, and enabling the first communication service in response to the fourth operation; or, the first device enabling the first communication service by default.

[0051] In combination with the first implementation of the first aspect, in some implementations, before the first device communicates with the Internet through the second device, the first device may send a request message to the second device, where the request message is used by the first device to request that the first device communicate with the Internet through the second device; the second device responds to the request message by displaying a third prompt message and a first control, where the third prompt message is used to prompt the first device to request that the first device communicate with the Internet through the second device; the second device receives the fifth operation acting on the first control and sends a feedback message to the first device, where the feedback message indicates that the second device agrees to support communication between the first device and the Internet.

[0052] Through the above implementation, the first device can share the networking capability of the second device only after the user agrees to share the network, which can give the user full right to know.

[0053] In combination with the first implementation of the first aspect, in some implementations, before the first device communicates with the Internet through the second device, the first device may send a request message to the second device, where the request message is used by the first device to request communication with the Internet through the second device; after the second device receives the request message, it may determine whether the first device is a trusted device of the second device, and if so, send a feedback message to the first device.

[0054] With the above implementation, when a trusted device on a second device initiates a request to share a network, the second device can directly respond to the request, enabling communication between the first device and the Internet. This solution requires no user intervention and ensures data security on the first device, avoiding risks such as data leakage.

[0055] In conjunction with the first implementation of the first aspect, in some implementations, the communication system further includes a network device and a server; the second device is connected to the network device, accesses a cellular network through the network device, and the cellular network accesses the Internet; the network device is connected to the server; and the second device activates a data-free service for the first application. The method further includes: the server monitoring data packets transmitted by the second device via the cellular network; and the server not calculating data charges required to transmit data packets from the first application.

[0056] According to the above embodiment, if the free flow service is enabled on the second device, the data packets involved in the running of the free flow application in the first device will not be charged for the required flow fees when transmitted through the cellular network of the second device.

[0057] In combination with the first aspect, in a second embodiment, the first device can also receive an activation instruction sent by the second device based on the first communication connection before sending an activation request to the operator server through the second device and receiving the configuration file sent by the operator server. The activation instruction is used to trigger the first device to send an activation request to the operator server.

[0058] The subscriber identity module may include an eSIM or a physical blank SIM. The first device may be a first device configured with a subscriber identity module, and the second device may be a second device with networking capability.

[0059] A profile may specifically refer to an operator profile. The profile may include, but is not limited to, a combination of a file system, file content, data, and applications provided on a universal integrated circuit card (UICC), primarily carrying information such as an international mobile subscriber identification number (IMSI) and authentication parameters, and may access its corresponding mobile network after activation. In an embodiment of the present application, after the profile is activated, the user identity module can be connected to the network, and the first device configured with the user identity module can be activated to provide communication services. A UICC may include a SIM and an eSIM, which is not limited in this application.

[0060] By implementing the method provided in the second embodiment of the first aspect, the first device can establish a near-field connection with the second device, so that the second device and the first device can act as peer-to-peer networked parties, and at the same time act as the server and client to provide their respective services to each other. The first device can obtain a configuration file from the operator's server via the network of the second device, thereby activating the first device. In this technical solution, no other devices are required besides the second and first devices, which is very convenient, makes activation conditions easier to meet, and provides a better user experience. In addition, the operator does not need to pre-set configuration files for eSIM or blank SIM cards, which can save equipment manufacturers and card vendors costs and save operator number resources.

[0061] In combination with the second embodiment of the first aspect, in some possible implementations, based on the near-field connection, a configuration file from the operator server is received from the second device, including: based on the near-field connection, a fourth data packet from the operator server is received from the second device, the fourth data packet is a data packet that the operator server feedbacks in response to the activation request, and the fourth data packet carries the configuration file.

[0062] In the above technical solution, the first device can use the second device as the server. When the first device sends an activation request to the operator server with the help of the second device, after passing the verification of the operator service, the operator server can send a fourth data packet carrying the configuration file to the first device through the second device, so that the first device can be successfully activated.

[0063] In combination with the second embodiment of the first aspect, in some possible implementations, the method also includes: based on the near-field connection, sending management interface data of the first device to the second device, the management interface data is used to generate a management interface, the management interface is used to input the activation code and / or input the setting information, the activation code corresponds to the configuration file, and the setting information is used for parameter configuration of the first device.

[0064] In the above technical solution, the first device can use the second device as a client. Based on the near-field connection between the first device and the second device, the first device sends the management interface data to the second device, so that the management interface is displayed on the second device, thereby providing the user with an entry for entering the activation code and / or changing the setting information, making it convenient for the user to perform activation operations and / or setting operations on the first device.

[0065] In combination with the second implementation of the first aspect, in some possible implementations, the activation instruction and the activation request carry an activation code.

[0066] In combination with the second implementation of the first aspect, in some possible implementations, the method further includes: receiving setting information from the second device based on the near field connection; and configuring parameters of the first device based on the setting information.

[0067] In the above technical solution, the first device can use the second device as a server, and based on the near-field connection with the second device, can receive setting information from the second device, so that the first device can also respond to the user's settings on the first device and configure its own parameters during the activation process.

[0068] In combination with the second implementation of the first aspect, in some possible implementations, activation instructions, activation requests and configuration files belong to activation data, management interface data and setting information belong to setting data, and the transmission path of activation data is different from the transmission path of setting data.

[0069] In the above technical solution, the first device may perform different processing on the activation data and setting data generated by itself or received from the second device.

[0070] In combination with the second implementation of the first aspect, in some possible implementations, a transmission path of the activation data is different from a transmission path of the setting data, including: a destination address of the activation data is different from a destination address of the setting data.

[0071] The destination address of the activation data is different from the destination address of the configuration data. The first device can set different destination addresses for the activation data and configuration data it generates, and can also receive activation data or configuration data from the second device, so that the management interface data of the first device can be sent to the second device, and the activation request of the first device can be sent to the operator server through the second device, thereby achieving activation.

[0072] In combination with the second embodiment of the first aspect, in some possible implementations, the transmission path of the activation data is different from the transmission path of the setting data, including: the near-field connection method used to transmit the activation data is different from the near-field connection method used to transmit the setting data, and the near-field connection method includes: Bluetooth connection, Wi-Fi direct connection, universal serial bus (USB) connection or Ethernet connection.

[0073] When at least two near-field connection channels are established between the first device and the second device, the near-field connection method used to transmit activation data is different from the near-field connection method used to transmit configuration data. The first device can send activation data and configuration data generated by itself to the second device through different near-field connection channels, and receive activation data and configuration data from the second device through different near-field connection channels, so that management interface data of the first device can be sent to the second device, and the activation request of the first device can be sent to the operator server through the second device, thereby achieving activation.

[0074] In combination with the second implementation of the first aspect, in some possible implementations, the transmission path of the activation data is different from the transmission path of the setting data, including: the port through which the activation data is transmitted is different from the port through which the setting data is transmitted.

[0075] When both the first device and the second device have at least two transmission ports, the port through which activation data is transmitted is different from the port through which configuration data is transmitted. The first device can send activation data and configuration data generated by itself to the second device through different ports according to routing rules, and receive activation data and configuration data from the second device through different ports. This allows management interface data of the first device to be sent to the second device, and the activation request of the first device to be sent to the operator server through the second device, thereby achieving activation.

[0076] In a second implementation of the first aspect, the present application provides a method for activating an access point. This method can be performed by a second device, or by a component configured in the second device (such as a chip, a chip system, etc.), or by a logic module or software that implements all or part of the functions of the second device. This embodiment of the present application is not limited to this. The following is merely an example, using the second device as the execution subject to illustrate the access point activation method provided by this application.

[0077] Exemplarily, the method includes: based on a near-field connection with the access point first device, sending an activation instruction to the first device, the activation instruction being used to download a configuration file; based on the near-field connection, receiving an activation request from the first device, the activation request being used to request downloading a configuration file from an operator server; forwarding the activation request to the operator server; receiving the configuration file from the operator server; and forwarding the configuration file to the first device based on the near-field connection.

[0078] The subscriber identity module may include an eSIM or a physical blank SIM. The second device is a second device with networking capability, and the first device may be a first device configured with a subscriber identity module.

[0079] Based on the above solution, the second device can establish a near-field connection with the first device, so that the second device and the first device can act as peer-to-peer networked parties, and at the same time act as the server and client to provide their respective services to each other. The second device can use its own network to obtain the configuration file from the operator's server and forward the configuration file to the first device, thereby activating the first device. In this technical solution, in addition to the second device and the first device, no other devices are required to participate, which is very convenient, the activation conditions are easier to meet, and the user experience is better. In addition, the operator does not need to pre-set configuration files for eSIM or blank SIM, which can save equipment manufacturers and card vendors costs and save operator number resources.

[0080] In combination with the second implementation of the first aspect, in some possible implementations, receiving the configuration file from the operator server includes: receiving a fourth data packet from the operator server, the fourth data packet is a data packet that the operator server feedbacks in response to the activation request, and the fourth data packet carries the configuration file.

[0081] In the above technical solution, the second device can serve as the server of the first device. When the activation request passes the verification of the operator service, the second device can help the first device receive the fourth data packet carrying the configuration file from the operator server.

[0082] In combination with the second implementation of the first aspect, in some possible implementations, forwarding the configuration file to the first device based on the near field connection includes: forwarding a fourth data packet to the first device.

[0083] In the above technical solution, the second device may serve as the server of the first device, and the second device may forward the fourth data packet carrying the configuration file received from the operator server to the first device.

[0084] In combination with the second embodiment of the first aspect, in some possible implementations, the method also includes: based on a near-field connection, receiving management interface data of the first device from the first device, the management interface data is used to display a management interface on the second device, the management interface is used to input an activation code and / or input setting information, the activation code corresponds to a configuration file, and the setting information is used to configure the parameters of the first device.

[0085] In the above technical solution, the second device can act as a client of the first device, receive the management interface data of the first device from the first device based on the near-field connection with the first device, and display the management interface of the first device, thereby providing the user with an entry for inputting the activation code and / or changing the setting information, making it convenient for the user to perform activation operations and / or setting operations on the first device.

[0086] In combination with the second implementation of the first aspect, in some possible implementations, the activation instruction and the activation request carry an activation code.

[0087] In combination with the second implementation of the first aspect, in some possible implementations, the method further includes: sending setting information to the first device based on the near field connection.

[0088] In the above technical solution, the second device can serve as the server of the first device. In response to the user's setting operation on the management interface of the first device, based on the near-field connection with the first device, the second device can send setting information to the first device, so that the first device can also receive the user's setting information for the first device during the activation process.

[0089] In combination with the second implementation of the first aspect, in some possible implementations, a transmission path of the activation data is different from a transmission path of the setting data, including: a destination address of the activation data is different from a destination address of the setting data.

[0090] The destination address of the activation data is different from the destination address of the setup data. The second device can set different destination addresses for the activation data and setup data it generates, and can also process or forward the activation data or setup data sent from the first device and the operator's server. This allows the second device to receive the management interface data of the first device sent by the first device and help the first device forward the first device's activation request to the operator's server, thereby achieving activation.

[0091] In combination with the second embodiment of the first aspect, in some possible implementations, the transmission path of the activation data is different from the transmission path of the setting data, including: the near-field connection method used to transmit the activation data is different from the near-field connection method used to transmit the setting data, and the near-field connection method includes: Bluetooth connection, Wi-Fi direct connection, universal serial bus (USB) connection or Ethernet connection.

[0092] When the second device and the first device have established at least two near-field connection channels, the near-field connection method used to transmit activation data is different from the near-field connection method used to transmit configuration data. The second device can send its own activation data and configuration data to the first device via different near-field connections, receive the activation data and configuration data from the first device via different near-field connection channels, process the received configuration data, and forward the received activation data to the operator's server on behalf of the first device, thereby achieving activation.

[0093] In combination with the second implementation of the first aspect, in some possible implementations, the transmission path of the activation data is different from the transmission path of the setting data, including: the port through which the activation data is transmitted is different from the port through which the setting data is transmitted.

[0094] If both the second device and the first device have at least two transmission ports, the port through which activation data is transmitted is different from the port through which configuration data is transmitted. The second device can send its own activation data and configuration data to the first device through different ports, and receive activation data and configuration data from the first device through different ports. The second device processes the received configuration data and forwards the received activation data to the operator's server on behalf of the first device, thereby achieving activation.

[0095] In the second aspect, the present application provides a networking method, which is applied to a first device. The method includes the operations performed by the first device in the above-mentioned first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect. Please refer to the previous description and will not repeat them here.

[0096] In a third aspect, the present application provides a networking method, which is applied to a second device. The method includes the operations performed by the second device in the above-mentioned first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect. Please refer to the previous description and will not repeat them here.

[0097] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a networking method, which is applied to a communication system including a fourth device, a fifth device and an AP device, and the method includes: the AP device is used to provide an exclusive portal wireless network, and after receiving an access request from the fourth device, sends a first data packet to the fourth device, the first data packet including page data of a portal website, and the portal website is a login authentication website corresponding to the exclusive portal wireless network; the fourth device is used to obtain the first data packet sent by the AP device, and forward the first data packet to the fifth device; the fifth device is used to display the portal website page based on the page data of the portal website in the received first data packet, and after detecting the user's fifth operation on the portal website page, generates a second data packet corresponding to the login confirmation operation, and sends the second data packet to the fourth device; the fourth device is also used to receive and forward the second data packet sent by the fifth device to the AP device, and determine that the login authentication of the exclusive portal wireless network is completed.

[0098] By implementing the networking method provided in the fourth aspect, the fourth device that does not have Web capabilities can use the Web capabilities of the fifth device to display the login authentication page of the portal website, complete the login authentication of the Captive portal Wi-Fi, and access the Captive portal Wi-Fi.

[0099] In combination with the fourth aspect, the fourth device determines that the login authentication of the exclusive portal wireless network is completed, including: the fourth device determines that the login authentication of the exclusive portal wireless network is completed according to the first preset timing; the first preset timing includes one or more of the following contents: the status of the received data packet sent by the AP device or the data packet sent by the fifth device is the Hypertext Transfer Protocol HTTP data packet sending closed state, the preset period, the preset time point, and the signal sent by the fifth device to confirm the completion of the login authentication is received.

[0100] In some implementations, the fourth device may determine whether login authentication has been completed according to a preset login confirmation timing while forwarding data packets sent by the AP device and the fifth device. After determining that login authentication has been completed, the fourth device may access the captive portal Wi-Fi provided by the AP device.

[0101] In conjunction with the fourth aspect, or any implementation of the fourth aspect above, the fourth device determines that login authentication for the captive portal wireless network is complete, including: the fourth device determines that login authentication for the captive portal wireless network is complete according to a first preset method. The first preset method includes: after sending an HTTP request to an AP device, if the received HTTP status code is not 302, then the login authentication for the captive portal wireless network is complete. And / or, after sending Domain Name Resolution System (DNS) query requests for at least two different domain names to the AP device, if different Internet Protocol (IP) addresses corresponding to the at least two DNS query requests for different domain names are received, then the login authentication for the captive portal wireless network is complete.

[0102] In some embodiments, if the network provided by the AP is captive portal Wi-Fi, the AP's preconfigured redirection technology includes HTTP redirection or DNS redirection. Therefore, the fourth device can quickly determine whether the AP is captive portal Wi-Fi by using the first preset method and the response to the request received from the AP. This can further improve the efficiency of determining the network type and reduce the difficulty of determining the network type.

[0103] In combination with the fourth aspect, or any implementation method of the above fourth aspect, before the fourth device forwards the first data packet to the fifth device, the method also includes: the fourth device establishes a communication connection with a fifth device with World Wide Web (Web) capabilities; the fifth device has Web capabilities including supporting HTTP or supporting Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure HTTPS and having a Web application installed.

[0104] In some implementations, if a fourth device lacks web capabilities and wishes to access captive portal Wi-Fi, it must utilize the web capabilities of a fifth device. Therefore, after determining that the network type to be accessed is captive portal Wi-Fi, the fourth device must establish a communication connection with the web-capable fifth device to transmit data packets for subsequent login authentication.

[0105] In combination with the fourth aspect, or any implementation of the fourth aspect above, the method also includes: the fourth device sends a connection disconnection signal to the fifth device; the connection disconnection signal is used to disconnect the communication connection with the fifth device.

[0106] In this way, after completing the login authentication by using the Web capability of the fifth device, the fourth device disconnects the communication connection with the fifth device, thereby achieving independent access to the Captive portal Wi-Fi.

[0107] In combination with the fourth aspect, or any implementation of the fourth aspect above, the fourth device obtains the first data packet sent by the AP device, including: the fourth device sends a network access request to the AP device; the network access request carries at least one HTTP request and / or DNS query requests for at least two different domain names. Receive a third data packet sent by the AP device, the third data packet includes the address of the portal website. Determine that the network provided by the AP device is a dedicated portal wireless network, send an access request for the portal website to the AP device, and the access request carries the address of the portal website. Receive the first data packet sent by the AP device.

[0108] In some embodiments, the fourth device needs to access the network and must send an access request to the network hotspot. Furthermore, when the network provided by the AP is a captive portal Wi-Fi network, the redirection technology used includes HTTP redirection or DNS redirection. The network access request includes at least one HTTP request and / or at least two DNS query requests for different domain names. The network type of the AP device can then be determined based on the network access response.

[0109] In combination with the fourth aspect, or any implementation method of the above fourth aspect, the third data packet also includes an HTTP status code, and the fourth device determines that the network provided by the AP device is a dedicated portal wireless network, including: the fourth device determines that the HTTP status code is 302, then determines that the network provided by the AP device is a dedicated portal wireless network.

[0110] In combination with the fourth aspect, or any implementation method of the above fourth aspect, the fourth device determines that the network provided by the AP device is a dedicated portal wireless network, including: the fourth device determines that the address in the third data packet is the same IP address, then determines that the network provided by the AP device is a dedicated portal wireless network.

[0111] According to the fourth aspect, after the fifth device sends the second data packet to the fourth device, the method further includes: the fifth device sends a signal to the fourth device to confirm the completion of login authentication in response to the user's seventh operation.

[0112] According to the fourth aspect, or any implementation of the fourth aspect above, the fifth device has World Wide Web (Web) capabilities; the fifth device has Web capabilities including that the fifth device supports the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) or supports the Hypertext Transfer Security (HTTPS) protocol and has a Web application installed; before receiving the first data packet sent by the fourth device, the method also includes: establishing a communication connection with the fourth device.

[0113] According to the fourth aspect, or any implementation of the fourth aspect above, the method further includes: the fifth device receives a connection disconnection signal sent by the fourth device; the connection disconnection signal is used to disconnect the communication connection with the fourth device.

[0114] In the fifth aspect, the present application provides a networking method, which is applied to a fourth device. The method includes the operations performed by the fourth device in the above-mentioned fourth aspect or any possible implementation of the fourth aspect. Please refer to the previous description and will not repeat them here.

[0115] In the sixth aspect, the present application provides a networking method, which is applied to a fifth device. The method includes the operations performed by the fifth device in the above-mentioned fourth aspect or any possible implementation of the fourth aspect. Please refer to the previous description and will not repeat them here.

[0116] In the seventh aspect, the present application provides an electronic device comprising: a memory, one or more processors; the memory is coupled to the one or more processors, the memory is used to store computer program code, the computer program code includes computer instructions, and the one or more processors call the computer instructions to enable the electronic device to execute a method such as the second aspect or any one of the embodiments of the second aspect, the third aspect or any one of the embodiments of the third aspect, the fifth aspect or any one of the embodiments of the fifth aspect, or the sixth aspect or any one of the embodiments of the sixth aspect.

[0117] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a communication system comprising a first device and a second device, wherein the first device is used to execute a method as in the second aspect or any one of the embodiments of the second aspect, and the second device is used to execute a method as in the third aspect or any one of the embodiments of the third aspect.

[0118] In the ninth aspect, the present application provides a communication system, including a fourth device and a fifth device, the fourth device is used to execute the method as in the fifth aspect or any one of the embodiments of the fifth aspect, and the fifth device is used to execute the method as in the sixth aspect or any one of the embodiments of the sixth aspect.

[0119] In the tenth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions, which, when executed on an electronic device, causes the electronic device to execute a method such as the second aspect or any one of the second embodiments, the third aspect or any one of the third embodiments, the fifth aspect or any one of the fifth embodiments, or the sixth aspect or any one of the sixth embodiments.

[0120] In the eleventh aspect, the present application provides a computer program product, which, when running on a computer, enables the computer to execute a method such as the second aspect or any one of the embodiments of the second aspect, the third aspect or any one of the embodiments of the third aspect, the fifth aspect or any one of the embodiments of the fifth aspect, or the sixth aspect or any one of the embodiments of the sixth aspect.

[0121] In the twelfth aspect, the present application provides a circuit system, the circuit system including a processing circuit, the processing circuit being configured to execute the method of the first aspect or any one of the embodiments of the first aspect; or, the processing circuit being configured to execute the method of the second aspect or any one of the embodiments of the second aspect, the third aspect or any one of the embodiments of the third aspect, the fifth aspect or any one of the embodiments of the fifth aspect, the sixth aspect or any one of the embodiments of the sixth aspect.

[0122] In the thirteenth aspect, the present application provides a chip system comprising at least one processor and at least one interface circuit, wherein the at least one interface circuit is used to perform transceiver functions and send instructions to the at least one processor. When the at least one processor executes the instructions, the at least one processor executes the method of the second aspect or any one of the embodiments of the second aspect, the third aspect or any one of the embodiments of the third aspect, the fifth aspect or any one of the embodiments of the fifth aspect, or the sixth aspect or any one of the embodiments of the sixth aspect.

[0123] Implementing the technical solution provided in this application can enable electronic devices to connect to the Internet and communicate with the Internet without any obstacles. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0124] Figure 1 An architectural diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0125] Figure 2A A hardware structure diagram of a terminal device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0126] Figure 2B A software architecture diagram of a terminal device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0127] Figure 3A-Figure 3I 、 Figures 4A-4C 、 Figures 5A-5E A series of user interfaces provided for embodiments of the present application;

[0128] Figure 6 A flowchart of a networking method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0129] Figure 7 A data flow diagram for implementing the network sharing method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0130] Figure 8It shows how each device processes data packets when the terminal device 100 borrows the networking capability of the terminal device 200 and communicates with the Internet;

[0131] Figure 9 A schematic diagram of a Wi-Fi authentication scenario provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0132] Figure 10 A schematic diagram of the interface provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0133] Figure 11 A schematic diagram of a communication system for a networking method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0134] Figure 12 A software structure diagram of the terminal device 400 and the terminal device 500 provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0135] Figure 13 A flowchart of the networking method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0136] Figure 14 A schematic diagram of the interface provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0137] Figure 15 This figure shows how each device processes data packets when the terminal device 400 uses the web capability of the terminal device 500 to access the captive portal Wi-Fi.

[0138] Figure 16 A schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal device 400 provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0139] Figure 17 A schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal device 500 provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0140] Figure 18 This is a schematic diagram of an existing CPE activation scenario;

[0141] Figure 19 is a schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0142] Figure 20 This is a schematic block diagram of the software and hardware structure of the terminal of the networking method provided in the embodiment of the present application;

[0143] Figure 21 This is a schematic block diagram of the software and hardware structure of the CPE of the networking method provided in the embodiment of the present application;

[0144] Figure 22 is a schematic flow chart of a networking method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0145] Figure 23 This is a schematic diagram of a scenario of the networking method provided by this application;

[0146] Figure 24 This is a schematic diagram of the interaction process between the CPE, terminal and operator server for activating the CPE provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0147] Figure 25 It shows how each device processes data packets during the process of AP 800 borrowing the networking capability of terminal device 700 to activate eSIM or blank SIM. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0148] The following is a clear and detailed description of the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the description of the embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified, " / " means or, for example, A / B can mean A or B; "and / or" in the text is only a description of the association relationship between related objects, indicating that there can be three relationships, for example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. In addition, in the description of the embodiments of the present application, "multiple" means two or more than two.

[0149] In the following, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood to imply or suggest relative importance or implicitly indicate the number of the technical features indicated. Therefore, the features defined as "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features. In the description of the embodiments of this application, unless otherwise specified, "plurality" means two or more.

[0150] The term "user interface (UI)" in the following embodiments of this application refers to a medium interface for interaction and information exchange between an application or operating system and a user, which realizes the conversion between the internal form of information and the form acceptable to the user. The user interface is a source code written in a specific computer language such as Java and extensible markup language (XML). The interface source code is parsed and rendered on the terminal device and finally presented as content that the user can recognize. The commonly used form of user interface is graphical user interface (GUI), which refers to a user interface related to computer operations that is displayed in a graphical manner. It can be a visual interface element such as text, icons, buttons, menus, tabs, text boxes, dialog boxes, status bars, navigation bars, widgets, etc. displayed on the display screen of the terminal device.

[0151] The following embodiments of the present application provide networking methods, related devices, and systems. In the networking method, an electronic device can connect to the Internet and communicate with the Internet without obstacles by leveraging the capabilities of other devices. The capabilities of other devices leveraged by the electronic device may include, for example, networking capabilities, web capabilities, and the like. The electronic device may include terminal devices such as mobile phones, tablet computers, large-screen TVs, smart speakers, smart watches, and car computers, and may also include devices such as routers and customer premise equipment (CPE) that can serve as wireless access points (APs).

[0152] The Internet is a collection of information and resources, which can be made up of multiple interconnected subnetworks. The Internet, also known as the Internet, is used to provide information search, query, and communication functions.

[0153] After being connected to the Internet, different electronic devices can communicate with the Internet and provide different functions for users.

[0154] For example, after mobile phones, tablets, large-screen TVs, smart speakers, smart watches, car computers and other terminal devices are connected to the Internet, they can provide a variety of rich services, such as playing music, playing videos, navigation, games, etc.

[0155] After being connected to the Internet, devices such as routers and CPEs that act as APs can send wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) signals and allow terminal devices that receive the Wi-Fi signals to connect to the Internet through the AP.

[0156] With the widespread adoption of terminal devices, individuals can own multiple devices, and most of their functions require internet access. Terminal devices can connect to wireless local area networks (WLANs) through access points (APs), directly to cellular networks, or through hotspots, leveraging the cellular network capabilities of other devices to access the internet.

[0157] However, terminal devices are usually only equipped with a set of devices for sending and receiving Wi-Fi signals, such as Wi-Fi network cards, antennas, etc. If the terminal device has been connected to the WLAN generated by the wireless access point, it can no longer borrow the cellular network of other devices through the hotspot.

[0158] In the networking method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device can establish a communication connection with other devices in a manner different from a hotspot, and the other device is connected to the Internet. Thereafter, the terminal device can communicate with the Internet through the other device based on the communication connection. In other words, the terminal device can continuously borrow the networking capabilities of other devices to connect to the Internet. In this way, as long as other devices near the terminal device are connected to the Internet, the terminal device can borrow the networking capabilities of other devices to connect to the Internet. In some other embodiments, the terminal device can also borrow the networking capabilities of remote devices to connect to the Internet. Networking capability refers to the ability to connect to and access the Internet.

[0159] APs can be used to provide users with public captive portal wireless networks (captive portal Wi-Fi) in public places such as airports, stations, shopping malls, and cafes, ensuring network security while meeting users' network usage needs. Captive portal Wi-Fi is an open wireless network that provides security authentication. When a terminal device, acting as a station (STA) device, requests access to the captive portal Wi-Fi, the AP will intercept the STA device's request and provide a login portal page with specific authentication or user license agreement instructions. After the AP determines that the STA device has completed authentication or agreed to the license agreement, it allows the STA device to access the captive portal Wi-Fi. Therefore, the STA device needs to have World Wide Web (Web) capabilities in order to display the login portal page, complete user authentication or agree to the license agreement, and achieve network access. However, some devices that do not have Web capabilities cannot access the captive portal Wi-Fi, which cannot meet the user's network usage needs and affects the user's experience.

[0160] In the networking method provided in the embodiments of the present application, when a terminal device without web capabilities needs to access captive portal Wi-Fi, it can temporarily use the web capabilities of other terminal devices to complete authentication and access the captive portal Wi-Fi, thereby meeting the user's needs for different terminal devices to access captive portal Wi-Fi and improving the user experience.

[0161] Electronic devices that support embedded subscriber identity modules (eSIMs) or physical blank subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as access points (e.g., CPEs), smartwatches, smart bands, and car computers, can only access networks provided by telecommunications service providers (e.g., cellular networks) through the eSIM or blank SIM card after activating it. Typically, a CPE or other device creates a wireless LAN (WLAN) via a hotspot. Another device, such as a mobile phone, connects to this WLAN to log in to the CPE's management interface, providing the user with access to the eSIM or blank SIM card. Furthermore, the CPE or other device requires network access to complete activation. However, due to limitations in hotspot communication protocols, when a CPE acts as a server and a mobile phone or other terminal device acts as a client to access the CPE's management interface, the CPE cannot reversely access the network capabilities of the mobile phone or other terminal device. Therefore, the CPE or other device requires network access through another device, such as a router. That is, when activating an eSIM or blank SIM card, the CPE or other device requires at least two other devices (e.g., a mobile phone and a router): one for logging in to the CPE's management interface and the other for providing the CPE or other device with initial network connectivity. This activation method has many complicated steps, involves many devices, has strict activation conditions, and provides a poor user experience.

[0162] In the networking method provided in the embodiment of the present application, electronic devices such as CPE, smart watches, smart bracelets, and car computers that support eSIM or blank SIM can establish a connection with a networked terminal device. Devices such as CPE can act as a server to provide a management interface for the terminal device, and the terminal device can also act as a server to provide networking capabilities for devices such as CPE, so that devices such as CPE can be connected to the network to activate the eSIM or blank SIM. Through this networking method, electronic devices that support eSIM or blank SIM can temporarily borrow the networking capabilities of other terminal devices to successfully activate the eSIM or blank SIM. This method does not require the participation of other devices, is very convenient, and the activation conditions are easier to meet, providing a better user experience.

[0163] The networking method provided in the embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below.

[0164] First, we will introduce how terminal devices can continuously borrow the networking capabilities of other devices to connect to the Internet.

[0165] In the networking method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device can establish a communication connection with other devices in a manner different from a hotspot, and the other device is connected to the Internet. Thereafter, the terminal device can communicate with the Internet based on the communication connection by borrowing the networking capabilities of the other device.

[0166] In the embodiments of the present application, a terminal device that borrows the networking capabilities of another device may also be referred to as a client, a master device, or a host, and the other device providing the networking capabilities may also be referred to as a server, a slave device, or an auxiliary machine. For ease of description, the terminal device that borrows the networking capabilities of another device will be referred to as the first device, and the other device providing the networking capabilities will be referred to as the second device.

[0167] The communication connection established between the first device and the second device in a manner different from a hotspot may include any of the following: wireless fidelity direct connection (Wi-Fi direct) / wireless fidelity point-to-point (Wi-Fi peer-to-peer, Wi-Fi P2P) connection, Bluetooth (Bluetooth, BT) connection, near field communication (near field communication, NFC) connection, infrared (infrared, IR) connection, wired connection, Ethernet connection or remote connection, etc. Among them, the Bluetooth connection can be a classic Bluetooth connection or a low-power Bluetooth (bluetooth low energy, BLE) connection. Remote connection means that the first device and the second device are each connected to a server and communicate through the server.

[0168] A hotspot is a technology that converts cellular network signals received by a terminal device into Wi-Fi signals and then transmits them. Establishing a connection through a hotspot involves one terminal device operating in access point mode and creating a wireless local area network (WLAN). Another terminal device then connects to the WLAN created by that device, thereby establishing a connection with the other device.

[0169] The second device can access the Internet through one or more of the following: a WLAN established by a wireless access point, a cellular network, or a wired connection. The first device can then access the Internet through the communication connection between the second device and the first device, as well as the connection between the second device and the Internet. In other words, the second device can share one or more of its networking capabilities with the first device. When the second device shares multiple networking capabilities with the first device, it can increase the speed of communication between the first device and the Internet, improving the user experience.

[0170] In this networking method, during the process of establishing a communication connection and communicating with the first device and the second device, the first device can also access the Internet through one or more of the WLAN established by the wireless access point, a cellular network, or a wired method. Because the first device establishes a connection with the second device through a method different from a hotspot, the first device can simultaneously access the Internet through the WLAN established by the wireless access point. In other words, the first device's own access to the Internet has no effect on the first device's ability to borrow the networking capabilities of the second device. In this way, while the first device is accessing the Internet through the second device, it can also access the Internet itself, achieving multi-channel network concurrency and increasing the speed of communication with the Internet.

[0171] refer to Figure 1 , Figure 1 This is an architecture diagram of the communication system 10 provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0172] like Figure 1 As shown, the communication system 10 includes multiple terminal devices, such as terminal device 100 and terminal device 200 , and also includes one or more network devices 300 and one or more wireless access points 400 .

[0173] The multiple terminal devices in the communication system 10, such as the terminal device 100 or the terminal device 200, can be of various types, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific types of the terminal device 100 or the terminal device 200. For example, the terminal device 100 or the terminal device 200 may include a mobile phone, and may also include a tablet computer, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a handheld computer, a notebook computer, a large-screen TV, a smart screen, a wearable device, an augmented reality (AR) device, a virtual reality (VR) device, an artificial intelligence (AI) device, a car computer, a smart headset, a game console, and may also include an Internet of Things (IOT) device or a smart home device such as a smart speaker, a smart lamp, a smart air conditioner, a smart water heater, a camera, etc. Without being limited to this, the terminal device 100 may also include a laptop computer with a touch-sensitive surface or touch panel, a desktop computer with a touch-sensitive surface or touch panel, and other non-portable terminal devices.

[0174] The multiple terminal devices in the communication system 10 can be configured with different software operating systems (OS), including but not limited to Harmony OS, The multiple terminal devices may also all be configured with the same software operating system, for example, they may all be configured with Harmony OS.

[0175] The multiple terminal devices of the communication system 10 can communicate with each other through any one or more of the following technologies: Wi-Fi softAP, WLAN, BT, Wi-Fi P2P, NFC, IR, wired technology or remote communication technology. For example, Wi-Fi softAP technology is the same as a hotspot. A terminal device can be implemented as a wireless access point through software. After other devices access the WLAN generated by the wireless access point, the terminal device and other devices can communicate through Wi-Fi softAP. For another example, a terminal device can communicate with other devices in the same wireless local area network (WLAN) through a wireless local area network (WLAN). For another example, a terminal device can discover other nearby devices through short-range communication technologies such as BT and NFC, and communicate with other devices after establishing a communication connection. For another example, multiple terminal devices can log in to the same account, such as the same system account (such as a Huawei account), and then each communicate with a server that maintains the system account (such as a server provided by Huawei) through cellular network technologies such as 3G, 4G, and 5G or wide area network technologies, and then communicate through the server.

[0176] It can be seen that the multiple terminal devices in the communication system 10 can be short-range terminal devices or long-range terminal devices.

[0177] The network device 300 is provided by a communication service operator and is used to communicate with the terminal device via an air interface technology. The air interface technology may include: 2G (such as the global system for mobile communications (GSM)), 3G (such as the universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS), wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA), time division-synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA)), long term evolution (LTE) / 4G, and new radio access technology (New RAT), such as 4.5G, 5G, and the future 6G.

[0178] The network device 300 can be a base transceiver station (BTS) in GSM or CDMA, a base station (NodeB) in WCDMA, an evolved Node B (eNB) in LTE, or a relay station, as well as an access network device in a 5G network or an access network device in a public land mobile network (PLMN) network.

[0179] The network device 300 is responsible for connecting the terminal devices to the core network using wired or wireless communication technology, providing a connection between the terminal devices and the Internet. The network device 300, the core network, and the terminal devices form a cellular network.

[0180] The wireless access point 400 may be a router, a CPE, a gateway, a bridge, or the like.

[0181] The wireless access point 400 is used to establish a WLAN. In some embodiments, the wireless access point 400 can be used to establish a captive portal Wi-Fi network. After a terminal device joins the network established by the wireless access point 400, it can connect to the Internet through the wireless access point 400.

[0182] Routers, gateways, bridges and other devices can be used to convert wired networks into wireless WLANs to facilitate access by terminal devices.

[0183] The CPE receives mobile signals (i.e., cellular network signals) from the network device 300 and retransmits them as Wi-Fi signals. The CPE can provide Wi-Fi signals to multiple devices simultaneously and can also perform secondary Wi-Fi signal enhancement. It is a widely used access device.

[0184] In an embodiment of the present application, the terminal device 100 can obtain the networking capability information of other terminal devices in the communication system 10 based on the communication between the terminal devices. The networking capability information indicates whether the terminal device is connected to the network, and can also indicate one or more of the following: the networking method of the terminal device, the identifier of the network to which the terminal device is connected to access the Internet, and the quality of the network to which the terminal device is connected to access the Internet. Specifically, each device can obtain the networking capability information of other terminal devices through one or more of wireless technologies such as Wi-Fi P2P, Wi-Fi software access point (softAP), WLAN, BT, NFC, IR, wired technology, or remote connection technology.

[0185] Afterwards, the terminal device 100 determines a terminal device that provides networking capabilities among the networked terminal devices. The terminal device that provides networking capabilities determined by the terminal device 100 can be referred to as the terminal device 200. The strategy for the terminal device 100 to determine the terminal device that provides networking capabilities can be referred to in detail in the subsequent method embodiments and will not be repeated here. After determining the terminal device that provides networking capabilities, the terminal device 100 and the terminal device 200 can establish a communication connection through a method other than a hotspot, such as a Wi-Fi direct / Wi-Fi P2P connection, a BT connection, an NFC connection, an IR connection, a wired connection, an Ethernet connection, or a remote connection, etc. Here, the connection established between the terminal device 100 and the terminal device 200 that is different from the hotspot method and the communication connection established when the terminal device 100 obtains the networking capability information of the terminal device 200 can be the same or different. If the communication connection established when the terminal device 100 obtains the networking capability information of the terminal device 200 is a connection that is different from the hotspot method, then after the terminal device 100 selects the terminal device 200, there is no need to establish any other communication connections.

[0186] Terminal device 200 is connected to the Internet. Terminal device 200 can access the WLAN established by wireless access point 400 and connect to the Internet through wireless access point 400. Terminal device 200 can also connect to network device 300 and connect to the Internet via a cellular network. Terminal device 200 can also connect to the Internet via a wired connection, such as an Ethernet cable. Furthermore, terminal device 200 can also connect to the Internet using a combination of any of the aforementioned methods.

[0187] The terminal device 100 is used to access the Internet and communicate with the Internet based on the communication connection between the terminal device 200 and the connection between the second device and the Internet.

[0188] During the process of establishing a communication connection and communicating between the terminal device 100 and the terminal device 200, the terminal device 100 itself may also access the Internet. The terminal device 100 may access the WLAN created by the wireless access point 400 and connect to the Internet through the wireless access point 400. The terminal device 100 may also connect to the network device 300 and connect to the Internet via a cellular network. The terminal device 100 may also connect to the Internet via a wired method, such as an Ethernet cable. In addition, the terminal device 100 may also connect to the Internet using a combination of any of the above methods. The terminal device 100 and the terminal device 200 may connect to different wireless access points 400 or different network devices 300.

[0189] In some embodiments, the communication system 10 may further include a server 500 provided by a communication service operator. The server 500 may be connected to the network device 300 via a wired or wireless connection, such as a wide area network (WAN) technology or a local area network (LAN) technology. The server 500 may be used to monitor the amount of data transmitted by the terminal device via the cellular network, that is, the amount of data transmitted by the terminal device via the network device 300. The server 500 may bill the terminal device based on the amount of data transmitted by each monitored terminal device. The communication service operator is the provider of the network device 300.

[0190] In some embodiments, the server 500 can perform free-flow processing on data packets from free-flow applications transmitted by the terminal device 200 through the network device 300, that is, exempt the cost of transmitting the data packets. The data packets involved in the communication of the terminal device 200 include data packets from the terminal device 100.

[0191] For example, during the communication between the terminal device 100 and the Internet via the terminal device 200, the data packets involved may also carry an application identifier, or other application information (such as the identifier or address of the server providing services for the application). If these data packets come from a free-flow application, the server 500 may be exempted from the cost of transmitting the data packet. For an introduction to free-flow applications, please refer to the description of the subsequent method embodiments.

[0192] The server 500 and the network device 300 may also be combined into the same device, which is not limited here. For example, the network device 300 may also perform the operations performed by the server 500.

[0193] For the specific functions of each device in the communication system 10, please refer to the detailed description of the subsequent method embodiments.

[0194] Figure 1 The communication system 10 shown is only an example. In a specific implementation, the communication system 10 may also include more devices, which is not limited here. The communication system 10 may also be referred to as a distributed system or other terms, which is not limited here.

[0195] Figure 2A This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the terminal device provided in the embodiment of the present application. The terminal device can be Figure 1 The terminal device 100 or the terminal device 200 in the communication system is shown.

[0196] The terminal device may include a processor 110, an external memory interface 120, an internal memory 121, a universal serial bus (USB) interface 130, a charging management module 140, a power management module 141, a battery 142, an antenna 1, an antenna 2, a mobile communication module 150, a wireless communication module 160, an audio module 170, a speaker 170A, a receiver 170B, a microphone 170C, an earphone interface 170D, a sensor module 180, a button 190, a motor 191, an indicator 192, a camera 193, a display screen 194, and a subscriber identification module (SIM) card interface 195, etc. The sensor module 180 may include a pressure sensor 180A, a gyroscope sensor 180B, an air pressure sensor 180C, a magnetic sensor 180D, an acceleration sensor 180E, a distance sensor 180F, a proximity light sensor 180G, a fingerprint sensor 180H, a temperature sensor 180J, a touch sensor 180K, an ambient light sensor 180L, a bone conduction sensor 180M, etc.

[0197] The processor 110 may include one or more processing units. For example, the processor 110 may include an application processor (AP), a modem processor, a graphics processing unit (GPU), an image signal processor (ISP), a controller, a video codec, a digital signal processor (DSP), a baseband processor, and / or a neural-network processing unit (NPU). The different processing units may be independent devices or integrated into one or more processors.

[0198] The controller can generate operation control signals according to the instruction operation code and timing signal to complete the control of instruction fetching and execution.

[0199] Processor 110 may also include a memory for storing instructions and data. In some embodiments, the memory in processor 110 is a cache memory. This memory can store instructions or data that have just been used or are being recycled by processor 110. If processor 110 needs to use the same instruction or data again, it can directly access the memory. This avoids duplicate accesses, reduces processor 110 latency, and thus improves system efficiency.

[0200] The wireless communication function of the terminal device can be implemented through antenna 1, antenna 2, mobile communication module 150, wireless communication module 160, modem processor and baseband processor.

[0201] Antenna 1 and Antenna 2 are used to transmit and receive electromagnetic wave signals. Each antenna in the terminal device can be used to cover a single or multiple communication frequency bands. Different antennas can also be reused to improve antenna utilization. For example, antenna 1 can be reused as a diversity antenna for a wireless local area network. In other embodiments, the antennas can be used in conjunction with a tuning switch.

[0202] The mobile communication module 150 can provide solutions for wireless communications including 2G / 3G / 4G / 5G applied to terminal devices. The mobile communication module 150 may include at least one filter, a switch, a power amplifier, a low noise amplifier (LNA), etc. The mobile communication module 150 can receive electromagnetic waves from the antenna 1, and filter, amplify, and process the received electromagnetic waves, and transmit them to the modulation and demodulation processor for demodulation. The mobile communication module 150 can also amplify the signal modulated by the modulation and demodulation processor, and convert it into electromagnetic waves for radiation through the antenna 1. In some embodiments, at least some of the functional modules of the mobile communication module 150 can be set in the processor 110. In some embodiments, at least some of the functional modules of the mobile communication module 150 can be set in the same device as at least some of the modules of the processor 110.

[0203] The modem processor may include a modulator and a demodulator. The modulator is used to modulate the low-frequency baseband signal to be transmitted into a medium-high frequency signal. The demodulator is used to demodulate the received electromagnetic wave signal into a low-frequency baseband signal. The demodulator then transmits the demodulated low-frequency baseband signal to the baseband processor for processing. After being processed by the baseband processor, the low-frequency baseband signal is passed to the application processor. The application processor outputs a sound signal through an audio device (not limited to the speaker 170A, the receiver 170B, etc.) or displays an image or video through the display screen 194. In some embodiments, the modem processor may be an independent device. In other embodiments, the modem processor may be independent of the processor 110 and be set in the same device as the mobile communication module 150 or other functional modules.

[0204] The wireless communication module 160 can provide wireless communication solutions including wireless local area networks (WLAN) (such as Wi-Fi networks), Bluetooth (BT), global navigation satellite system (GNSS), frequency modulation (FM), near field communication (NFC), infrared (IR), etc. applied to terminal devices. The wireless communication module 160 can be one or more devices integrating at least one communication processing module. The wireless communication module 160 receives electromagnetic waves via the antenna 2, demodulates and filters the electromagnetic wave signals, and sends the processed signals to the processor 110. The wireless communication module 160 can also receive the signal to be sent from the processor 110, frequency modulate it, amplify it, and convert it into electromagnetic waves for radiation through the antenna 2.

[0205] In some embodiments, antenna 1 of the terminal device is coupled to mobile communication module 150, and antenna 2 is coupled to wireless communication module 160, so that the terminal device can communicate with a network and other devices via wireless communication technology. The wireless communication technology may include global system for mobile communications (GSM), general packet radio service (GPRS), code division multiple access (CDMA), wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA), time-division code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA), long term evolution (LTE), BT, GNSS, WLAN, NFC, FM, and / or IR technology. The GNSS may include a global positioning system (GPS), a global navigation satellite system (GLONASS), a Beidou navigation satellite system (BDS), a quasi-zenith satellite system (QZSS) and / or a satellite based augmentation system (SBAS).

[0206] In the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device may include one or more network interface controllers (NICs), which have a built-in processor and memory for performing operations such as data encapsulation and decapsulation, link management, encoding and decoding, etc.

[0207] A network card can also be called a network interface card, a physical network card, or a physical network interface card.

[0208] The network card of the terminal device in the embodiment of the present application may include any one or more of the following:

[0209] 1. The Wi-Fi network card in the wireless communication module 160 .

[0210] Wi-Fi network cards support the 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, and 802.11n standards developed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), as well as the Wi-Fi P2P technical specification developed by the Wi-Fi Alliance. Wi-Fi network cards enable terminal devices to communicate with other devices using these standards.

[0211] In some embodiments, some Wi-Fi network cards may only support standards such as 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, and 802.11n, and other Wi-Fi network cards may only support Wi-Fi P2P technology standards.

[0212] 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, and 802.11n standards support terminal devices connecting to wireless LANs established by wireless access point 400, as well as connecting to wireless LANs established by other devices operating in AP mode. Wi-Fi P2P technology standards support terminal devices establishing Wi-Fi P2P connections with other devices. A single Wi-Fi network card can simultaneously support a terminal device connecting to a wireless LAN and establishing Wi-Fi P2P connections with other devices.

[0213] A Wi-Fi network card cannot support simultaneous connection of a terminal device to two or more wireless LANs. It can only connect to the same WLAN at a time. Therefore, a Wi-Fi network card cannot simultaneously connect to a WLAN created by wireless access point 400 and a WLAN created by another device operating in AP mode.

[0214] In some embodiments, the Wi-Fi network card may also support the Bluetooth wireless communication technology standard established by IEEE, such as 802.15. The Bluetooth standard supports terminal devices to communicate with other devices via Bluetooth technology.

[0215] 2. The cellular network card in the mobile communication module 150 .

[0216] Cellular network cards support GSM, GPRS, CDMA, WCDMA, TD-SCDMA, LTE, NR, and other standards. They enable terminal devices to communicate with other devices using these standards.

[0217] 3. Wired network card.

[0218] A wired network card is a fiber-optic Ethernet adapter, also known as a fiber-optic network card. A wired network card connects to a network cable and communicates with other devices through the network cable. A wired network card supports the Ethernet standard and enables end devices to communicate with other devices using the Ethernet standard.

[0219] The terminal device implements display functionality through a GPU, display screen 194, and an application processor. The GPU is a microprocessor for image processing that connects display screen 194 and the application processor. The GPU is used to perform mathematical and geometric calculations for graphics rendering. Processor 110 may include one or more GPUs that execute program instructions to generate or modify display information.

[0220] The display screen 194 is used to display images, videos, etc. The display screen 194 includes a display panel. The display panel can be a liquid crystal display (LCD). The display panel can also be made of an organic light-emitting diode (OLED), an active-matrix organic light-emitting diode or an active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED), a flexible light-emitting diode (FLED), a miniLED, a microLED, a micro-OLED, a quantum dot light-emitting diode (QLED), etc. In some embodiments, the terminal device can include one or N display screens 194, where N is a positive integer greater than one.

[0221] The terminal device can realize the shooting function through the ISP, camera 193, video codec, GPU, display 194 and application processor.

[0222] The internal memory 121 may include one or more random access memories (RAM) and one or more non-volatile memories (NVM).

[0223] Random access memory may include static random-access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM, for example, the fifth generation DDR SDRAM is generally referred to as DDR5 SDRAM), etc.; non-volatile memory may include disk storage devices and flash memory.

[0224] The random access memory can be directly read and written by the processor 110, and can be used to store executable programs (such as machine instructions) of the operating system or other running programs, and can also be used to store user and application data.

[0225] The non-volatile memory may also store executable programs and user and application data, etc., and may be loaded into the random access memory in advance for direct reading and writing by the processor 110 .

[0226] The terminal device can implement audio functions such as music playback and recording through the audio module 170, the speaker 170A, the receiver 170B, the microphone 170C, the headphone jack 170D, and the application processor.

[0227] The SIM card interface 195 is used to connect a SIM card. The SIM card can be connected to and separated from the terminal device by inserting it into or removing it from the SIM card interface 195. The terminal device can support 1 or N SIM card interfaces, where N is a positive integer greater than 1. The SIM card interface 195 can support Nano SIM cards, Micro SIM cards, SIM cards, etc. Multiple cards can be inserted into the same SIM card interface 195 at the same time. The types of the multiple cards can be the same or different. The SIM card interface 195 can also be compatible with different types of SIM cards. The SIM card interface 195 can also be compatible with external memory cards. The terminal device interacts with the network through the SIM card to implement functions such as calls and data communications. In some embodiments, the terminal device uses an eSIM, i.e., an embedded SIM card. The eSIM card can be embedded in the terminal device and cannot be separated from the terminal device.

[0228] Multiple SIM cards may belong to different communication service operators or the same communication service operator. The terminal device interacts with the network device 300 provided by the communication service operator to which the SIM card belongs through the SIM card, thereby communicating with the cellular network to realize functions such as call and data communication.

[0229] Different SIM cards have different identifiers, such as the International Mobile Subscriber Identification Number (IMSI), the communication number bound to the SIM card (such as a mobile phone number), and the like.

[0230] It is understood that the structure illustrated in the embodiments of the present application does not constitute a specific limitation on the terminal device. In other embodiments of the present application, the terminal device may include more or fewer components than shown in the figure, or combine some components, or split some components, or arrange the components differently. For example, Figure 2A The terminal device shown may not have components such as a display screen, etc. The components shown in the figure may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0231] when Figure 2A When the terminal device shown is the terminal device 100:

[0232] The wireless communication module 160 or the mobile communication module 150 may be used to obtain networking capability information of other terminal devices in the communication system 10 .

[0233] The internal memory 121 is used to store the networking capability information of the terminal device 100 , and is also used to store the networking capability information of other terminal devices acquired by the terminal device 100 .

[0234] The processor 110 is configured to select one of the terminal devices connected to the communication system 10 as the terminal device 200 .

[0235] The wireless communication module 160 or the mobile communication module 150 is also used to establish a communication connection with the terminal device 200 in a manner different from the hotspot, and based on the communication connection with the terminal device 200 different from the hotspot, communicate with the Internet through the terminal device 200.

[0236] The display screen 194 may be used to display a user interface implemented on the terminal device 100 provided in subsequent method embodiments.

[0237] For details on the steps executed by each module of the terminal device 100, please refer to the detailed description of the subsequent method embodiments.

[0238] when Figure 2A When the terminal device shown is terminal device 200:

[0239] The wireless communication module 160 or the mobile communication module 150 may be used to send the networking capability information of the terminal device 200 to other terminal devices in the communication system 10 , including the terminal device 100 .

[0240] The internal memory 121 is used to store the networking capability information of the terminal device 200 , and is also used to store the networking capability information of other terminal devices acquired by the terminal device 200 .

[0241] The wireless communication module 160 or the mobile communication module 150 is also used to establish a communication connection with the terminal device 100 in a manner different from a hotspot, and based on the communication connection with the terminal device 100 different from a hotspot, supports communication between the terminal device 100 and the Internet.

[0242] The display screen 194 may be used to display a user interface implemented on the terminal device 200 provided in subsequent method embodiments.

[0243] For details on the steps executed by each module of the terminal device 200, please refer to the detailed description of the subsequent method embodiments.

[0244] The software system of the terminal device can adopt a layered architecture, event-driven architecture, micro-kernel architecture, micro-service architecture, or cloud architecture. The software system of the terminal device includes but is not limited to Harmony OS, The embodiment of the present application takes the Android system with a layered architecture as an example to illustrate the software structure of the terminal device, but the present application is not limited thereto.

[0245] Figure 2B This is a software structure diagram of the terminal device in the embodiment of the present application. The terminal device can be Figure 1 The terminal device 100 or the terminal device 200 in the communication system is shown.

[0246] A layered architecture divides software into several layers, each with distinct roles and responsibilities. Layers communicate with each other through software interfaces. In some embodiments, the Android system is divided into four layers: the application layer, the application framework layer, the Android runtime and system libraries, the hardware abstraction layer (HAL), and the kernel layer.

[0247] The application layer can include a series of application packages.

[0248] like Figure 2B As shown, the application package may include applications such as camera, gallery, calendar, call, map, navigation, WLAN, Bluetooth, music, video, short message, etc.

[0249] The application framework layer provides an application programming interface (API) and programming framework for the applications in the application layer. The application framework layer includes some predefined functions.

[0250] like Figure 2B As shown, the application framework layer may include: distributed networking services, system services (SystemService), connectivity services (ConnectivityService), window manager, content provider, view system, phone manager, resource manager, notification manager, etc.

[0251] Distributed networking services are used to provide connections between terminal devices and other devices, and support terminal devices to access the Internet through these connections.

[0252] Distributed networking services may include the following modules: network detection module, dynamic start and stop module, device management module, message management module, traffic statistics module, connection module, and distributed network card module.

[0253] The network detection module is used to detect and synchronize network capabilities. Specifically, the network detection module may include a network capability writing module, a network capability synchronization module, and a network quality detection module. The network capability writing module is used to obtain the network capabilities of a terminal device. The network capability synchronization module is used to send the network capability information of the terminal device to other terminal devices in the communication system 10 and also to receive network capability information sent by other terminal devices. The network quality detection module is used to detect the network quality of the terminal device.

[0254] The dynamic start-stop module is responsible for managing the opening and closing of the "distributed networking" service. For example, when the terminal device 100 needs to connect to the Internet but there is no Wi-Fi, cellular, or other network available, the dynamic start-stop module will automatically start the "distributed networking" service and attempt to borrow the networking capabilities of other devices. For another example, if the terminal device 100 is currently borrowing the networking capabilities of another device, but the other device suddenly loses its networking capabilities, the dynamic start-stop module will search for other devices in the surrounding area that can connect to the Internet and borrow their networking capabilities.

[0255] The device management module is used to manage other devices associated with the terminal device. Specifically, the device management module may include a device whitelist module and an online and offline monitoring module. The device whitelist module is used to manage a whitelist, which may include one or more devices. For detailed implementation of the whitelist, please refer to the detailed description of the subsequent method embodiments. The online and offline monitoring module is responsible for detecting devices in the communication system 10 where the terminal device 100 resides, for example, monitoring devices joining or leaving the communication system 10.

[0256] The message management module is used to transmit messages. The message module may include a signaling transmission module for transmitting signaling and a data encryption and decryption module for encrypting and decrypting data.

[0257] The traffic statistics module is used to count the amount of data transmitted by the terminal device through the cellular network. Specifically, the traffic statistics module can count the amount of data transmitted by the terminal device itself when accessing the cellular network, and can also count the amount of data transmitted by other terminal devices accessing the cellular network.

[0258] The connection module can be used to establish a communication connection between the terminal device and other terminal devices through a method other than a hotspot. For example, the connection module can be a P2P module or a Wi-Fi P2P service, which is used to establish a Wi-Fi P2P connection between two terminal devices.

[0259] The distributed network card module may include a distributed networking initialization module and a distributed networking configuration module. The distributed networking initialization module is used to establish a distributed network within the terminal device 100 that is perceptible to applications. This module notifies each application that it can currently utilize the networking capabilities of other devices and communicate with the internet. It also binds the distributed network to the connection module so that each application can utilize the networking capabilities of other devices to access the internet. The distributed networking configuration module is used to obtain network configuration information from other devices whose networking capabilities the terminal device utilizes, such as Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, domain names, and network connection status.

[0260] Among the various modules of the distributed networking service, the network detection module can also belong to the connectivity service (connectivity service), and the dynamic start and stop module, device management module, message module, traffic statistics module, connection module, and distributed network card module can also belong to the system service (system service).

[0261] The window manager is used to manage window programs. The window manager can obtain the display size, determine whether there is a status bar, lock the screen, take screenshots, etc.

[0262] Content providers are used to store and retrieve data and make it accessible to applications. The data may include videos, images, audio, calls made and received, browsing history and bookmarks, phone books, etc.

[0263] The view system includes visual controls, such as those for displaying text and images. The view system is used to build applications. A display interface can consist of one or more views. For example, a display interface containing a text notification icon might include a view for displaying text and a view for displaying images.

[0264] The phone manager is used to provide communication functions for terminal devices, such as call status management (including answering, hanging up, etc.).

[0265] The resource manager provides various resources for applications, such as localized strings, icons, images, layout files, video files, and so on.

[0266] The Notification Manager allows applications to display notifications in the status bar. These messages can be displayed briefly and then disappear automatically, without requiring user interaction. For example, the Notification Manager can be used to notify users of completed downloads and message reminders. The Notification Manager can also display notifications in the top status bar of the system as icons or scrolling text, such as notifications from background applications, or as dialog windows on the screen. Examples include displaying text messages in the status bar, emitting alert sounds, vibrating the device, or flashing indicator lights.

[0267] Android Runtime includes core libraries and a virtual machine. Android runtime is responsible for scheduling and management of the Android system.

[0268] HAL is the interface layer between the kernel and the hardware, providing interfaces for calling various hardware of the terminal device. HAL can include multiple modules, each of which implements a set of interfaces for a specific type of hardware. When the application framework layer calls the hardware of the terminal device, the terminal device can load the corresponding module in HAL. For example, the HAL layer may include local RIL, rild, Netd, local NIC, distributed NIC, etc. Among them, local RIL and rild are bridges for telephone service (telephony) and modem (modem) communication. Netd is a background daemon program specifically responsible for network management and control. Local NIC provides an interface for calling the network card to connect the terminal device itself to the Internet. Distributed NIC provides an interface for calling the network card to connect the terminal device to the Internet by borrowing the networking capabilities of other devices.

[0269] The core library consists of two parts: one is the function that needs to be called by the Java language, and the other is the Android core library.

[0270] The application layer and application framework layer run in a virtual machine. The virtual machine executes Java files in the application layer and application framework layer as binary files. The virtual machine manages object lifecycles, stack management, thread management, security and exception management, and garbage collection.

[0271] The system library can include multiple functional modules, such as surface manager, media library, 3D graphics processing library (such as OpenGL ES), 2D graphics engine (such as SGL), etc.

[0272] The surface manager is used to manage the display subsystem and provide fusion of 2D and 3D layers for multiple applications.

[0273] The media library supports playback and recording of a variety of common audio and video formats, as well as static image files. The media library can support a variety of audio and video encoding formats, such as: MPEG4, H.264, MP3, AAC, AMR, JPG, PNG, etc.

[0274] The 3D graphics processing library is used to implement 3D graphics drawing, image rendering, compositing, and layer processing.

[0275] A 2D graphics engine is a drawing engine for 2D drawings.

[0276] The kernel layer is the layer between hardware and software. The kernel layer includes at least display driver, camera driver, audio driver, and sensor driver.

[0277] The following describes the networking method provided in the embodiments of the present application in combination with a series of user interfaces provided as examples in the present application.

[0278] Figure 3A-Figure 3I The user interface involved when the terminal device 100 with a display screen borrows the networking capabilities of other devices is exemplified.

[0279] In one possible implementation, the device that provides networking capabilities to the terminal device 100 may be a trusted device of the terminal device 100. Trusted devices may include, but are not limited to, at least one of the following devices: a device that logs into the same account or family account as the terminal device 100, a device bound to the terminal device 100, a device that joins the same group (such as a family group) as the terminal device 100, a device that is scanned and authenticated by the terminal device 100, a device used by a contact added by the terminal device 100, a device preset by the user to which the terminal device 100 belongs, a device in the same local area network as the terminal device 100, or a device set by the user, etc. Providing networking capabilities to the terminal device 100 by a trusted device can improve the data security of the terminal device 100 and avoid the risk of data leakage.

[0280] In some other embodiments, the device that provides networking capability to the terminal device 100 may also be a device in the communication system 10 where the terminal device 100 is located. For example, it may be a device in the communication system 10 selected by the user, or it may be a device in the communication system 10 selected by the terminal device 100 by default.

[0281] Figure 3A An exemplary user interface 31 for displaying installed applications on the terminal device 100 is shown.

[0282] The user interface 31 displays: a status bar, a calendar and time indicator, a weather indicator, a page indicator, a tray with common application icons, and other application icons.

[0283] The status bar may include: one or more signal strength indicators of mobile communication signals (also known as cellular signals), a Bluetooth indicator, one or more signal strength indicators of Wi-Fi signals, a battery status indicator, a time indicator, etc. The calendar and time indicators are used to indicate the calendar and the current time.

[0284] The weather indicator is used to indicate the weather.

[0285] The page indicator can be used to indicate which page the user is currently browsing. In an embodiment of the present application, the application icons can be distributed on multiple pages, and the user can slide left and right to browse the application icons on different pages.

[0286] The tray with commonly used application icons can display icons of commonly used applications such as a phone icon, a text message icon, a camera icon, and a contact book icon.

[0287] Other application icons are used to display icons of some applications installed in the terminal device, such as icons of video applications, wallets, file browsers, calendars, device management applications, settings applications, gallery applications, etc.

[0288] Not limited to this, Figure 3A The user interface 31 shown may also include a navigation bar, a sidebar, etc. In some embodiments, Figure 3A The exemplary user interface 31 may be referred to as a home screen.

[0289] Figure 3B-3C It shows a way for the terminal device 100 to borrow the networking capabilities of other devices through the notification bar.

[0290] refer to Figure 3AThe terminal device 100 can detect a user operation of sliding downward from the top in the user interface 31, and in response to the user operation, display the following Figure 3B Notification bar 301 is shown.

[0291] Not limited to Figure 3A In the manner shown, the terminal device 100 can also display other user interfaces in response to a detected user operation of sliding from the top downward. Figure 3B Notification bar 301 is shown.

[0292] The notification bar 301 displays switch controls for some functions, such as a wireless local area network (WLAN) switch control 301a, a cellular network switch control 301b, a "distributed networking" switch control 301c, a Bluetooth switch control, a flashlight switch control, a ring switch control, an airplane mode switch control, an automatic rotation switch control, a screenshot switch control, and the like.

[0293] Distributed networking is a service or feature provided by terminal devices that enables them to establish a communication connection with other devices connected to the internet through a method other than a hotspot. Based on this communication connection, these other devices can communicate with the internet. In other words, distributed networking allows terminal devices to leverage the networking capabilities of other devices and share their networks.

[0294] "Distributed networking" is just a term used in this embodiment. Its meaning has been recorded in this embodiment, and its name does not constitute any limitation to this embodiment. In other embodiments of this application, "distributed networking" can also be referred to as other terms such as "network sharing".

[0295] The embodiment of the present application does not limit the implementation form of the switch controls of each function in the notification bar 301. For example, it can be an icon, text, etc.

[0296] In addition, the notification bar 301 may also display a calendar and time indicator, setting controls, a screen brightness adjustment bar, and the like.

[0297] The terminal device 100 can detect user operations (such as click operations, touch operations, etc.) on switch controls of some functions in the notification bar 301, and turn on or off the functions corresponding to the controls in response to the user operations.

[0298] like Figure 3BAs shown, the terminal device can also detect a user operation on the "Distributed Networking" switch control 301c and, in response to the operation, directly borrow the networking capabilities of other devices, or, with the consent of the other devices, borrow the networking capabilities of other devices. Specifically, the terminal device 100 selects a networked terminal device from other terminal devices in the communication system 10 as the terminal device 200, establishes a communication connection with the terminal device 200 in a manner different from a hotspot, and thereby borrows the networking capabilities of the terminal device 200. Here, the strategy of the terminal device 100 selecting the terminal device 200 and the specific implementation of the terminal device 100 borrowing the networking capabilities of the terminal device 200 can be found in the detailed description of the subsequent method embodiments.

[0299] like Figure 3C As shown, after the terminal device 100 responds to the user operation of the switch control of the function in the notification bar 301, the corresponding switch control can be highlighted to prompt the user that the function corresponding to the switch control has been turned on. Figure 3C The wireless local area network (WLAN) switch control 301a and the "distributed networking" switch control 301c are highlighted to prompt the user that the WLAN function and the shared network function are both turned on.

[0300] Figure 3D-3F This shows another way in which the terminal device 100 borrows the networking capabilities of other devices through the notification bar.

[0301] Figure 3D-Figure 3E It shows a way for the terminal device 100 to borrow the cellular network capabilities of other devices through the notification bar.

[0302] Figure 3D The user interface 31 shown may be a terminal device 100 in response to the Figure 3A Displayed by the user sliding down from the top.

[0303] Figure 3D and Figure 3B The user interface 31 shown differs in that Figure 3D The notification bar 301 does not include the switch control 301c of "distributed networking", and a drop-down control 301a-1 is added to the wireless local area network (WLAN) switch control 301a, and a drop-down control 301b-1 is added to the cellular network switch control 301b.

[0304] like Figure 3D As shown, the terminal device 100 can detect the user operation on the switch control 301b of the cellular network, or the user operation on the drop-down control 301b-1, and display Figure 3E A cellular network settings window 302 is shown.

[0305] The cellular network setting window 302 displays: a display area 302a for the local cellular network and a display area 302b for the cellular networks of other devices.

[0306] The display area 302a is used to display cellular network options corresponding to the cellular network to which the terminal device 100 is connected, such as cellular network options 302a-1 and 302a-2.

[0307] The display area 302b is used to display cellular network options corresponding to the cellular networks to which other terminal devices in the communication system 10 are connected, such as cellular network options 302b-1 and 302b-2.

[0308] Each terminal device is connected to a cellular network through a SIM card. Therefore, the cellular network that a terminal device can connect to refers to the cellular network that the terminal device can connect to through the SIM card. A terminal device can be connected to one or more cellular networks.

[0309] In the embodiment of the present application, the cellular network option is used to indicate a cellular network and may include an identifier of a SIM card in a terminal device, such as a telephone number, an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI), etc. The cellular network option may also include an identifier of an air interface technology currently provided by the network device 300 to which the terminal device can connect via the corresponding SIM card, such as 2G, 3G, 4G, or 5G, to facilitate user selection of an appropriate air interface technology for the terminal device 100 to access a cellular network.

[0310] In addition to the identification of the SIM card in other devices, the cellular network options in the display area 302b may also include device identification, such as the name and model of the device connected to the corresponding cellular network. Figure 3E The cellular network option in the

[0065] is also a device option. This makes it easier for the user to select a suitable terminal device 200 for the terminal device 100 and to utilize the cellular network capability of the terminal device 200.

[0311] The terminal device 100 may detect a user operation selecting a cellular network option in the display area 302a, then detect a user operation on the confirmation control 302c, and connect to the cellular network corresponding to the cellular network option in response to the operation. In other embodiments, the terminal device 100 may also directly connect to the cellular network corresponding to the cellular network option after detecting a user operation selecting the cellular network option in the display area 302a.

[0312] The terminal device 100 can detect the user operation of selecting the cellular network option in the display area 302b, and then detect the user operation acting on the confirmation control 302c, and in response to the operation, directly borrow the cellular network of the device corresponding to the cellular network option, or request to borrow the cellular network of the device corresponding to the cellular network option.

[0313] In some other embodiments, the terminal device 100 may also directly borrow the cellular network of the device corresponding to the cellular network option in response to a detected user operation of selecting the cellular network option in the display area 302b, or request to borrow the cellular network of the device corresponding to the cellular network option.

[0314] Here, the device corresponding to the cellular network option selected by the terminal device 100 in the display area 302b is the terminal device 200 selected by the terminal device 100. For the specific implementation of the cellular network of the terminal device 200 by the terminal device 100, please refer to the detailed description of the subsequent method embodiments.

[0315] Figure 3D 、 Figure 3F It shows a way for the terminal device 100 to borrow the WLAN capability of other devices through the notification bar.

[0316] The terminal device 100 can also detect the Figure 3D The user operation on the wireless local area network (WLAN) switch control 301a, or the user operation on the drop-down control 301a-1, displays Figure 3F The wireless local area network (WLAN) setting window 303 is shown.

[0317] The WLAN setting window 303 displays: a display area 303a for the local WLAN and a display area 303b for the WLANs of other devices.

[0318] The display area 303a is used to display WLAN options corresponding to the WLAN searched by the terminal device 100, such as WLAN options 303a-1 and 303a-2.

[0319] The display area 303b is used to display WLAN options corresponding to WLANs connected to other devices in the communication system 10, such as WLAN options 303b-1 and 303b-2. Here, the WLANs corresponding to the WLAN options in the display area 303b are all connected to the Internet.

[0320] A terminal device can connect to one or more WLAN networks. A terminal device connects to a WLAN through a Wi-Fi network card. If a terminal device is equipped with multiple Wi-Fi network cards, it can connect to multiple WLANs.

[0321] The WLAN option may include an identifier of a WLAN, such as a name of an available WLAN.

[0322] In addition to the WLAN logo, the WLAN options in the display area 303b may also include a device logo, such as the name and model of the device connected to the corresponding WLAN. Figure 3F The WLAN option in the

[0065] is also a device option. This makes it easier for the user to select a suitable terminal device 200 for the terminal device 100 and to use the WLAN capability of the terminal device 200.

[0323] The terminal device 100 may detect a user operation selecting the WLAN option in the display area 303a, then detect a user operation acting on the confirmation control 303c, and in response to the operation, connect to the WLAN corresponding to the WLAN option. In other embodiments, the terminal device 100 may also directly connect to the WLAN corresponding to the WLAN option after detecting a user operation selecting the WLAN option in the display area 303a.

[0324] The terminal device 100 can detect the user operation of selecting the WLAN option in the display area 303b, and then detect the user operation acting on the confirmation control 303c, and respond to the operation to directly borrow the WLAN of the device corresponding to the WLAN option, or request to borrow the WLAN of the device corresponding to the WLAN option.

[0325] In some other embodiments, the terminal device 100 may also directly borrow the WLAN of the device corresponding to the WLAN option in response to a detected user operation of selecting the WLAN option in the display area 303b, or request to borrow the WLAN of the device corresponding to the WLAN option.

[0326] Here, the device corresponding to the WLAN option selected by the terminal device 100 in the display area 303b is the terminal device 200 selected by the terminal device 100. For the specific implementation of the terminal device 100 using the WLAN of the terminal device 200, please refer to the detailed description of the subsequent method embodiments.

[0327] Figure 3G-Figure 3I It shows a way in which the terminal device 100 borrows the networking capability of other devices by setting an application.

[0328] Figure 3G The user interface 32 is provided for the setting application installed in the terminal device 100. The user interface 32 may be a user interface provided by the terminal device 100 in response to the setting application installed in the terminal device 100. Figure 3A In the user interface 31 shown, a user operation on an application icon is set, or in response to a user operation on an application icon in Figure 3B or Figure 3CThe Settings app is an application used to set various functions of the terminal device.

[0329] like Figure 3G As shown, one or more functional options are displayed in the user interface 32, such as a system account option, an airplane mode switch option, a WLAN option 304, a cellular network option 305, a Bluetooth option, and the like.

[0330] The terminal device 100 can detect the user operation acting on the cellular network option 305 and display the user interface 33 for setting the cellular network. Figure 3E The cellular network setting window 302 is similar. The user can set the cellular network to which he is connected in the user interface 33, as well as the cellular network of other devices borrowed. For specific operations, please refer to Figure 3E Related description in .

[0331] The terminal device 100 can also detect the user operation acting on the WLAN option 304 and display the user interface 34 for setting the WLAN. Figure 3F The WLAN setting window 303 in the user interface 34 is similar. The user can set the WLAN connected to himself, as well as the WLAN of other devices borrowed. For specific operations, please refer to Figure 3F Related description in .

[0332] from Figure 3E and Figure 3F As can be seen from the user interface 31 shown, the user can select multiple network options at the same time. Figure 3E As shown, the user can select the cellular network option of the local device to access the cellular network of the local device, or select the cellular network option of other devices in the communication system 10 to borrow the cellular network of other devices. Figure 3F As shown, the user can select the WLAN option of the local device to access the WLAN of the local device, or select the WLAN option of other devices in the communication system 10 to borrow the WLAN of other devices.

[0333] In some other embodiments, after the user selects multiple network options, the terminal device 100 can access or borrow the network corresponding to the network option according to the preset rules. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the preset rules. For example, if the user Figure 3E or Figure 3F As shown, if multiple network options are selected, the terminal device 100 can preferentially borrow the network of other devices.

[0334] The terminal device 100 is not limited to selecting multiple network options at the same time. In some embodiments, the terminal device 100 may only allow one network option to be selected at a time. In this way, the terminal device 100 can directly access or borrow the network corresponding to the network option selected by the user.

[0335] Not limited to the above Figure 3A-Figure 3I Several exemplary ways in which the terminal device 100 borrows the networking capabilities of other devices are shown. In some other embodiments, the terminal device 100 can also borrow the networking capabilities of other devices in other ways, which are not specifically limited here.

[0336] For example, the setting application of the terminal device 100 may provide a switch control for "distributed networking" and, after detecting a user operation acting on the switch control, borrow the networking capabilities of other devices.

[0337] For another example, the terminal device 100 may also display device options for networked terminal devices in the communication system 10. The terminal device 100 may then detect a user operation on the device option and, in response to the user operation, utilize the network capabilities of the terminal device corresponding to the device option. The network methods and specific networks used in the network capabilities utilized by the terminal device 100 will be described in detail in the subsequent method embodiments and are not detailed here.

[0338] Not limited to the above Figure 3D-Figure 3I In addition to the cellular network option and WLAN option shown, the terminal device 100 can also provide more networking options for other devices, such as wired mode, etc., for user selection.

[0339] After successfully borrowing the networking capability of another device, the terminal device 100 may also output a prompt message to remind the user that the terminal device 100 is currently borrowing the networking capability of another device.

[0340] Figure 3H-Figure 3I It also shows a prompt message outputted after the terminal device 100 successfully borrows the networking capability of other devices.

[0341] like Figure 3H and Figure 3I As shown, after the terminal device 100 successfully borrows the networking capability of other devices, a shared network logo 306 may be displayed in the status bar. The shared network logo 306 is used to prompt that the current terminal device 100 is borrowing the networking capability of other devices.

[0342] In some embodiments, the terminal device 100 may also display more information in the status bar. For example, the status bar may also display information 307 indicating the networking method used by the terminal device 100. The networking method may include connecting to the Internet via a cellular network, WLAN, or a wired network, and the cellular network may further include 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, 6G, etc. For example, Figure 3H The indication information 307 in the terminal device 100 indicates that the terminal device 100 is currently borrowing the 5G cellular network of another device. Figure 3I The indication information 307 in the WLAN indicates that the terminal device 100 is currently borrowing the WLAN of another device.

[0343] In some embodiments, the terminal device 100 may also display the identifier of the borrowed network, the identifier of the terminal device 200 providing networking capability, the network quality of the borrowed network, etc. in the status bar.

[0344] The above information is not limited to being displayed in the status bar. In other embodiments, the terminal device 100 may also use other methods to prompt the user that the terminal device 100 is currently borrowing the networking capabilities of other devices, the borrowed networking method, the borrowed network, and the network quality of the terminal device 200 and the borrowed network, which are not limited here. For example, the terminal device 100 may also output voice prompt information, etc.

[0345] Figure 3A-Figure 3I The terminal device 100 with the user interface shown in FIG. 1 has a display screen. The terminal device 100 with a display screen can use the above Figure 3A-Figure 3I Shows ways to borrow the networking capabilities of other devices.

[0346] Not limited to this, the terminal device 100 without a display screen can also borrow the networking capabilities of other devices.

[0347] Figures 4A-4C The user interface involved when the terminal device 100 without a display screen borrows the networking capability of other devices is exemplified.

[0348] Figures 4A-4C A user interface provided by a control device of the terminal device 100, such as the terminal device 300. The terminal device 300 is also Figure 1 The terminal device in the communication system 10 is shown. For example, the terminal device 300 may be a mobile phone, and the terminal device 100 may be a device such as a smart speaker without a display screen.

[0349] A terminal device in the communication system 10 can be bound to other devices. After binding to other devices, the terminal device can manage various functions of the other bound devices through a device management application for managing bound devices.

[0350] refer to Figure 4A , Figure 4A The following example illustrates a user interface 41 provided by a device management application installed in a terminal device 300. The user interface 41 displays tabs for one or more devices bound to the terminal device 300, such as a tab 401 for a smartwatch, a tab 402 for a tablet, and a tab 403 for a smart speaker, as well as a control 404 for binding a new device.

[0351] Control 404 can be used to detect user operations, and the terminal device 300 can discover other nearby devices in response to the user operation and bind to the other nearby devices. The method for the terminal device 300 to discover and bind to other devices is not specifically limited here. For example, the terminal device 300 can discover other devices through technologies such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, etc., and then send a binding request and successfully bind to the other device.

[0352] The device tab may include a picture of the device, its name, and the connection status between the terminal device 100, etc. The device tab may detect a user operation, and the terminal device 300 may display more information about the device corresponding to the tab in response to the user operation.

[0353] like Figure 4A As shown, the terminal device 300 can detect the user operation on the tab 403 of the terminal device 100 (i.e., the smart speaker), and in response to the user operation, display the following Figure 4B User interface 42 is shown.

[0354] Displayed in the user interface 42 are: a return key 405 , a current page indicator 406 , an information display area 407 of the smart speaker, controls 408 and controls 409 .

[0355] The return key 405 is used to monitor user operations. The terminal device 300 can display the previous interface in response to the user operation, such as displaying Figure 4A User interface 41 is shown.

[0356] The current page indicator 406 is used to indicate the current page. For example, the text message “smart speaker” is used to indicate that the current page is a page for managing a smart speaker.

[0357] The information display area 407 is used to display various information of the smart speaker, such as pictures, connection status with the terminal device 300, remaining power, etc.

[0358] Control 409 is used to monitor user operations, and the terminal device 300 can display a page for setting the networking function of the terminal device 100 (i.e., the smart speaker) in response to the user operation.

[0359] Figure 4CThe user interface 43 shown is an example of a page for configuring the networking functionality of the terminal device 100 (i.e., a smart speaker). The user interface 43 displays: a back button, a current page indicator, current network information 410, a "distributed networking" switch 411, and network options for one or more other devices, such as WLAN options 412a-412b and a cellular network option 412c.

[0360] The return key is used to monitor user operations, and the terminal device 300 can display the previous interface in response to the user operation, such as displaying Figure 4B User interface 42 is shown.

[0361] The current page indicator is used to indicate the current page. For example, the text message "smart speaker, network settings" is used to indicate that the current page is used to set the networking function of the terminal device 100 (ie, the smart speaker).

[0362] The current network information 410 is used to display the network to which the current terminal device 100 (i.e., smart speaker) is connected. Figure 4C As shown, the current terminal device 100 (i.e., smart speaker) is connected to a WLAN named "Wi-Fi 1".

[0363] The switch control 411 of "distributed networking" is used to monitor user operations, and the terminal device 300 can turn on or off the "distributed networking" of the terminal device 100 (i.e., the smart speaker) in response to the user operation.

[0364] like Figure 4C After the terminal device opens the distributed shared network, the terminal device 300 displays the network options of one or more other devices. The specific implementation of the network options can be referred to in the previous text. Figure 3E Cellular options in Figure 3F Description of the WLAN options in .

[0365] In response to the user operation of selecting a network option, the terminal device 300 can trigger the terminal device 100 (i.e., the smart speaker) to use the network provided by the device corresponding to the network option. Here, the device corresponding to the network option is the terminal device 200.

[0366] Not limited to Figure 4C In the manner shown, the terminal device 300 can also trigger the terminal device 100 (i.e., the smart speaker) to borrow the network provided by other devices through other methods. For example, the terminal device 300 can also provide different network options for the user to choose from according to different networking methods. For another example, the terminal device 300 can also directly trigger the terminal device 100 to borrow the network provided by other devices after opening the distributed shared network.

[0367] Not limited to Figures 4A-4C The terminal device 100 is shown as being triggered by the terminal device 300 to borrow the networking capabilities of other devices. When the terminal device 100 does not have a display screen, the terminal device 100 can also receive a user's voice command and respond to the voice command to borrow the networking capabilities of other devices. In addition, the terminal device 100 can also directly borrow the networking capabilities of the device controlling the terminal device 100, or the networking capabilities of a device logged into the same system account as the terminal device 100, etc. For details, please refer to the detailed description of the subsequent method embodiments.

[0368] Figures 5A-5C The user interface involved in providing the terminal device 200 with networking capabilities for the terminal device 100.

[0369] Figure 5A The user interface 51 is displayed when the terminal device 200 receives a request from the terminal device 100 for borrowing networking capabilities.

[0370] A prompt window 501 is displayed in the user interface 51. The prompt window 501 displays prompt information 501a, a control 501b, and a control 501c.

[0371] The prompt information 501a is used to prompt the user that the current terminal device 100 requests to borrow the networking capability of the terminal device 200. In some embodiments, the prompt information 501a may also prompt the terminal device 100 to request to borrow the network type.

[0372] The control 501 b is used to monitor user operations, and the terminal device 200 may agree to lend the networking capability to the terminal device 100 in response to the user operations.

[0373] The control 501 c is used to monitor user operations, and the terminal device 200 may refuse to lend the networking capability to the terminal device 100 in response to the user operation.

[0374] Not limited to Figure 5A As shown in the prompt window 501, the terminal device 200 may also respond to the request from the terminal device 100 to borrow networking capabilities in other ways. For example, the terminal device 100 may generate and display a PIN code. When the user enters the same PIN code on the terminal device 200, the terminal device 200 agrees to lend the networking capabilities to the terminal device 100.

[0375] Figure 5B FIG. 2 shows the prompt information displayed by the terminal device 200 after the terminal device 100 successfully borrows the networking capability of the terminal device 200. FIG.

[0376] like Figure 5BAs shown, terminal device 200 may display prompt information 502 in the form of a notification. Prompt information 502 is used to prompt the user terminal device 100 to start sharing the network capabilities of terminal device 200. In some embodiments, prompt information 502 may also indicate the type of network used by terminal device 100. Prompt information 502 may disappear after being displayed for a period of time without requiring user interaction.

[0377] Figure 5C FIG. 2 shows another prompt message output by the terminal device 200 after the terminal device 100 successfully borrows the networking capability of another device.

[0378] like Figure 5C As shown, after the terminal device 200 lends the networking capability to the terminal device 100, a shared network identifier 503 may be displayed in the status bar. The shared network identifier 503 is used to prompt that the current terminal device 200 is lending the networking capability to other devices.

[0379] In some embodiments, the terminal device 200 may also display more information in the status bar. For example, the status bar may also display indication information 504 of the networking mode that the terminal device 200 uses to connect to other devices. The networking mode may include accessing the Internet via a cellular network, WLAN, or a wired network, and the cellular network may further include 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, 6G, etc. For example, Figure 5C The indication information 504 in the 5G cellular network indicates that the terminal device 200 is currently lending the 5G cellular network to other devices.

[0380] In some embodiments, the terminal device 200 may further display the identifier of the terminal device 100 that borrows networking capabilities, the network quality of the borrowed network, etc. in the status bar.

[0381] The above information is not limited to being displayed in the status bar. In other embodiments, the terminal device 200 may also use other methods to prompt the user that the terminal device 200 is currently lending networking capabilities to other devices, the provided networking method, the terminal device 100 that is lending networking capabilities, and the network quality of the borrowed network. For example, the terminal device 200 may also output voice prompt information, etc.

[0382] Figure 5D-5E The user interface involved in setting a whitelist for the terminal device 200.

[0383] Figure 5D A user interface 54 is provided for the setting application installed in the terminal device 200. The user interface 54 may be displayed by the terminal device 100 in response to a user operation on the setting application icon in the main interface.

[0384] like Figure 3GAs shown, one or more functional options are displayed in the user interface 32, such as system account options, airplane mode switch options, WLAN options, cellular network options, Bluetooth options, hotspot options, whitelist options 505, etc.

[0385] The terminal device 100 can detect the user operation acting on the whitelist option 505 and display Figure 5E A user interface 55 is shown for setting up a whitelist.

[0386] like Figure 5E As shown, the user interface 55 displays: a status bar, a return key 506, a current page indicator 507, prompt information 508, one or more device options 509, and controls 510 corresponding to the device options.

[0387] The return key 506 is used to monitor user operations. The terminal device 200 can display the previous interface in response to the user operation, such as displaying Figure 5D User interface 54 is shown.

[0388] The current page indicator 507 is used to indicate the current page. For example, the text information “distributed networking whitelist” is used to indicate that the current page is a page for setting a whitelist.

[0389] The prompt information 508 is used to prompt the user that the devices added to the whitelist can use the networking capability of the current device (ie, the terminal device 200 ).

[0390] The one or more device options correspond to the devices to which the terminal device 200 is connected.

[0391] The terminal device 200 may detect a user operation on the control 510 corresponding to a device option, and in response to the user operation, add the device indicated by the device option corresponding to the control 510 to the whitelist or delete it from the whitelist.

[0392] like Figure 5E As shown, the whitelist set by the user includes a mobile phone, a watch and a speaker, that is, the mobile phone, the watch and the speaker can share the networking capability of the terminal device 200.

[0393] Not limited to Figure 5D-5E In the manner of setting a whitelist shown in the figure, in other embodiments of the present application, the terminal device 200 may also set a whitelist in other ways. For example, the terminal device 200 may also add devices that have historically borrowed the terminal device 200 to the whitelist, or the terminal device 200 may add each of its bound devices to the whitelist, and so on.

[0394] based on Figure 1 The communication system 10 shown, Figure 2A and Figure 2B The terminal device introduced, as well as the user interface provided by the above UI embodiment, the networking method provided by the embodiment of the present application is described in detail below.

[0395] refer to Figure 6 , Figure 6 The process of the networking method provided by the embodiment of the present application is exemplified. Figure 6 In the networking method shown, the terminal device 100 can continuously borrow the networking capability of another device to continuously access the Internet.

[0396] like Figure 6 As shown, the method may include the following steps:

[0397] Step S101, the terminal device 100 turns on "distributed networking".

[0398] The terminal device 100 can be any terminal device in the communication system 10. The terminal device 100 can have an information input and output device (such as a display screen), for example, a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a large-screen TV, etc. The terminal device 100 can also not have an information input and output device (such as a display screen), for example, it can be a smart speaker, a smart camera, etc.

[0399] "Distributed networking" is a service or function provided by terminal devices that enables them to establish a communication connection with other devices connected to the internet through a method other than a hotspot. Based on this communication connection, these other devices can communicate with the internet. In other words, "distributed networking" allows terminal devices to leverage the networking capabilities of other devices.

[0400] In some embodiments of the present application, the terminal device 100 may enable "distributed networking" by default. In this way, there is no need to specifically enable "distributed networking" on the terminal device 100, and the networking capabilities of other devices can be borrowed.

[0401] In other embodiments of the present application, the terminal device 100 may start "distributed networking" in response to a received user operation (such as a click operation, a touch operation, etc.). Figure 3B , operations for enabling "distributed networking" can include acting on Figure 3B The user operation of the "Distributed Networking" switch control 301c in the user interface 31 is shown. Without limitation to this, the terminal device 100 may also respond to other user operations, such as a user operation on the "Distributed Networking" switch control provided by the settings application of the terminal device 100, an operation input on a physical button, or a voice command, etc., and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0402] In other embodiments of the present application, if the terminal device 100 does not have an information input and output device, the control device of the terminal device 100, such as the terminal device 300, can trigger the terminal device 100 to start "distributed networking" in response to a received user operation. For example, the terminal device 300 can detect the action on Figure 4C The terminal device 300 receives a user operation (e.g., a click operation, a touch operation, etc.) of the switch control 411, and in response to the user operation, sends a message to the terminal device 100 for instructing to turn on "distributed networking". Here, the communication technology used by the terminal device 300 to send the message to the terminal device 100 can be referred to the relevant description in the subsequent S102.

[0403] The “distributed networking” may also be referred to as the first communication service, and the user operation for starting the “distributed networking” may be referred to as the fourth operation.

[0404] Step S102 : The terminal device 100 obtains the networking capability information of other devices in the communication system 10 .

[0405] The communication system 10 may include multiple terminal devices, the types of which can be referred to Figure 1 Related descriptions may include, for example, mobile phones, tablet computers, smart watches, smart speakers, etc.

[0406] Each terminal device in the communication system 10 can detect its own networking capability. The networking capability of the terminal device depends on the hardware configuration and software settings of the terminal device itself.

[0407] Networking capabilities include whether the terminal device is connected to the Internet. If the terminal device is configured with a SIM card, has a cellular network service activated, and has the cellular network function enabled, the terminal device can access the Internet via the cellular network. If the terminal device joins a WLAN created by wireless access point 400 and the WLAN is connected to the Internet, the terminal device can access the Internet via the WLAN. If the terminal device can access the Internet via a wired network, the terminal device can access the Internet via a wired network.

[0408] In some embodiments, the networking capability may further include one or more of the following: the networking mode of the terminal device, the identifier of the Internet access network connected to the terminal device, and the quality of the Internet access network connected to the terminal device.

[0409] Among them, the networking method may include accessing the Internet through a cellular network, WLAN or wired network, etc., and the cellular network may further include 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, 6G, etc.

[0410] A network identifier uniquely identifies a network. A cellular network identifier may include the identifier of the SIM card or the air interface technology used by a terminal device to access the cellular network, such as "4G 139XXXXXXXX." A WLAN network identifier may include the identifier of the wireless access point 400 that created the WLAN or the name of the WLAN, such as "Wi-Fi 3."

[0411] Network quality can be determined by factors such as uplink / downlink transmission rates, packet loss rate, latency, bandwidth, or signal strength. Network quality can include several of these factors and can be categorized as high, medium, or low, or measured using a score.

[0412] The terminal device may be connected to one or more networks that access the Internet.

[0413] For example, referring to Table 1, Table 1 lists an example of networking capability information of a terminal device.

[0414]

[0415] Table 1

[0416] The networking capabilities of the terminal device shown in Table 1 specifically include: networking, networking through cellular networks, WLAN and wired networks; the networks connected to the Internet by the terminal device include the cellular network identified as "4G 139xxxxxxxx", the cellular network identified as "5G 139xxxxxxxx", the wireless local area network identified as "Wi-Fi 3", and the wired network identified as "Wired Network 1", and the network quality of the above networks is high, high, medium and high, respectively.

[0417] The various terminal devices in the communication system 10 can communicate with each other through any one or more of the following technologies: Wi-Fi softAP, WLAN, BT, Wi-Fi P2P, NFC, IR, wired technology or remote communication technology. For the specific implementation of the communication between the various terminal devices in the communication system, please refer to Figure 1 Related description.

[0418] That is to say, the connection between the various devices in the communication system 10 for synchronizing the networking capability information includes any of the following: a communication connection established based on the wireless access point 400 in the communication system, a communication connection established when other devices are in AP mode, a wireless fidelity point-to-point Wi-Fi P2P connection, a Bluetooth connection, a near-field communication NFC connection, a wired connection, an Ethernet connection or a remote connection, etc.

[0419] Based on the inter-device communication technologies listed above, the terminal devices in the communication system 10 can synchronize or send their own networking capability information to other devices in any of the following situations:

[0420] 1. After a terminal device detects other devices in communication system 10, it transmits its networking capability information to the detected other devices. Terminal devices can detect other devices in communication system 10 using the aforementioned inter-device communication technologies. In this way, all terminal devices participating in communication system 10 can obtain the networking capability information of other devices.

[0421] 2. The terminal device may periodically send its networking capability information to other devices in the communication system 10. The sending period is not specifically limited and may be, for example, one day or one week.

[0422] 3. When a terminal device's networking capabilities change or are updated, it can send its networking capability information to other devices in the communication system 10. This ensures that when a terminal device's networking capabilities change or are updated, other terminal devices in the communication system 10 can be informed of the terminal device's latest networking capabilities.

[0423] The networking capability information specifically indicates the networking capability of the terminal device. That is, the networking capability information indicates whether the terminal device is connected to the Internet. It may also indicate one or more of the following: the terminal device's networking method, the identifier of the Internet access network to which the terminal device is connected, and the quality of the Internet access network to which the terminal device is connected.

[0424] After the terminal device 100 obtains the networking capability information of other devices in the communication system 10, it can also display the networking capability information of other devices to the user. This makes it easy for the user to know the networking capabilities of other devices that the terminal device 100 can borrow, thereby triggering the terminal device 100 to borrow the networking capabilities of other devices.

[0425] For example, refer to Figure 3E 、 Figure 3F 、 Figure 3H 、 Figure 3I , which shows the network capability information of other devices in the communication system 10 obtained by the terminal device 100. Figure 3E 、 Figure 3H As shown, the terminal device 100 displays the cellular network type and SIM card identification of other devices (such as tablets and watches). Figure 3F 、 Figure 3H As shown, the terminal device 100 displays the name of the WLAN network to which other devices (such as tablets and watches) are connected.

[0426] Not limited to the terminal device 100 Figure 3E、 Figure 3F 、 Figure 3H 、 Figure 3I In addition to the networking capability information of other devices displayed in the figure, in some other embodiments, the terminal device 100 can also display more networking capability information of the other devices, such as signal strength, signal transmission rate, etc., which is not limited here.

[0427] In step S103 , the terminal device 100 determines a terminal device that provides networking capability among various networked terminal devices.

[0428] The terminal device 100 may use any one of the following strategies or a combination of strategies to determine a terminal device that provides networking capabilities among various networked terminal devices:

[0429] 1. The terminal device 100 determines a terminal device that provides networking capabilities among the terminal devices that are connected to the network and that the terminal device 100 trusts.

[0430] A terminal device trusted by the terminal device 100 may be referred to as a trusted device of the terminal device 100 .

[0431] Trusted devices of the terminal device 100 include but are not limited to: devices that log in to the same system account (such as a Huawei account) as the terminal device 100, devices bound to the terminal device 100, devices that join the same group (such as a family group) as the terminal device 100, or devices set by the user, etc.

[0432] refer to Figure 3G The terminal device 100 shown provides a user interface 32, and Figure 5D As can be seen from the user interface 54 provided by the terminal device 200, both the terminal device 100 and the terminal device 200 are logged into a Huawei account named "ID1".

[0433] refer to Figure 4A The user interface 41 provided by the terminal device 300 is shown, and the user can bind the terminal device 300 to other devices by clicking the control 404. The terminal device 100 can also bind other devices in a similar manner. Without limitation, the terminal device 100 can also bind other devices in other ways, such as by tapping, using NFC to bind other devices, etc., which are not limited here.

[0434] After the terminal device 100 binds multiple devices, it can also add multiple devices to the same or different groups in response to user operations. For example, the user can create two groups: a home group and an office group, and then add devices to different groups.

[0435] In addition, the user can also manually set up a trusted device on the terminal device 100, and the setting method is not limited here. For example, the setting application of the terminal device 100 can provide a user interface for setting up a trusted device, and the user can set up the trusted device through the user interface.

[0436] It can be seen that the trusted devices of the terminal device 100 are all related to user operations and are secure devices trusted by the user. Here, if the terminal device 100 has an information input and output device, the terminal device 100 can independently complete the relevant operations involving the trusted device. If the terminal device 100 does not have an information input and output device, the relevant operations involving the trusted device can be completed by the control device of the terminal device 100 (such as the terminal device 300). For example, the terminal device 300 can bind the terminal device 100 and other devices, add the terminal device 100 and other devices to the same group, provide a user interface for the user to set up the trusted device, and so on.

[0437] Using the first strategy, the terminal device 100 selects a trusted device as the terminal device that provides networking capabilities, so that the terminal device 100 can connect to the Internet through a trusted and secure terminal device, thereby ensuring the data security of the terminal device 100 and avoiding risks such as data leakage.

[0438] 2. The terminal device 100 determines the terminal device selected by the user as a terminal device providing networking capability among the networked terminal devices.

[0439] Specifically, the terminal device 100 may provide multiple options of networked terminal devices for the user to select, and determine the terminal device selected by the user as the terminal device providing the network capability.

[0440] For example, reference Figure 3E The terminal device 100 can detect the user operation on the cellular network option 302b-1 in the display area 302b, and determine the terminal device (i.e., tablet computer) corresponding to the cellular network option 302b-1 as the terminal device providing networking capability.

[0441] For example, refer to Figure 3F The terminal device 100 can detect the user operation acting on the WLAN option 303b-1 in the display area 303b, and determine the terminal device corresponding to the WLAN option 303b-1 (ie, the tablet computer) as the terminal device providing networking capability.

[0442] For example, refer to Figure 3H and Figure 3I The terminal device 100 can also detect user operations acting on cellular network options or WLAN options, and determine the corresponding device as a terminal device providing networking capabilities.

[0443] Using the second strategy allows users to independently determine the terminal devices that provide networking capabilities based on their needs, fully meeting their actual needs and improving user experience.

[0444] In the second strategy, the user operation used to determine the terminal device providing networking capabilities can be referred to as a first operation. The first operation can include, for example, a user operation on the cellular network option 302b-1 in the display area 302b, a user operation on the WLAN option 303b-1 in the display area 303b, a user operation on the cellular network option or the WLAN option, and so on.

[0445] 3. The terminal device 100 selects the control device of the terminal device 100 among the networked terminal devices as the terminal device providing networking capability.

[0446] For example, if a smartphone can be bound to devices such as smart watches, smart speakers, door locks, and smart screens, and can act as a control device to control each of the bound devices, then if the terminal device 100 is a smart watch, smart speaker, door lock, or smart screen, the terminal device 100 can select the control device, that is, select the smartphone as the terminal device that provides networking capabilities.

[0447] In addition to being limited to the three strategies described above, in the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device 100 may also determine the terminal device providing networking capabilities based on other strategies, which are not limited here. For example, the terminal device 100 may arbitrarily select a terminal device from among the networked terminal devices as the terminal device providing networking capabilities, or select the terminal device with the best network quality as the terminal device providing networking capabilities, or select the terminal device whose networking capabilities have been borrowed the most times as the terminal device providing networking capabilities, or select the terminal device whose networking capabilities have been borrowed the most recently as the terminal device providing networking capabilities, and so on.

[0448] For example, the terminal device 100 can combine the first and second strategies to determine the terminal device selected by the user as the terminal device providing networking capability among the terminal devices that are connected to the network and trusted by the terminal device 100.

[0449] In other embodiments of the present application, if the terminal device 100 does not have an information input / output device, a control device of the terminal device 100, such as the terminal device 300, may select a terminal device that provides networking capabilities for the terminal device 100. The strategy used by the terminal device 300 to select a terminal device that provides networking capabilities for the terminal device 100 is the same as the strategy used by the terminal device 100 to select the terminal device 200 mentioned above. The terminal device 300 may notify the terminal device 100 of the selected terminal device that provides networking capabilities.

[0450] For example, reference Figure 4C The terminal device 300 can detect the user operation acting on the WLAN option 412a, and send the identifier of the terminal device (i.e., tablet computer) corresponding to the WLAN option 412a to the terminal device 100, and then the terminal device 100 determines the terminal device (i.e., tablet computer) indicated by the identifier as the terminal device providing networking capability.

[0451] When the terminal device 100 does not have a display screen, the terminal device 100 can also receive the user's voice instructions through the microphone and respond to the voice instructions to borrow the networking capabilities of other devices.

[0452] In the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device that provides networking capabilities determined by the terminal device 100 may also be referred to as the terminal device 200.

[0453] In optional step S104 , the terminal device 100 determines a network connection method to be used and notifies the terminal device 200 of the network connection method.

[0454] In an embodiment of the present application, through optional step S104, the terminal device 100 can determine in advance the networking method it wants to borrow, so that the terminal device 100 can subsequently directly borrow the networking method selected in S104 to borrow the networking capabilities of the terminal device 200.

[0455] In S104, the terminal device 100 may determine that the network connection method to be used may include one or more. The network connection method may include accessing the Internet through a cellular network, WLAN, or a wired network, and the cellular network may further include 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, 6G, etc.

[0456] In some embodiments, the terminal device 100 may determine the network connection method to be used by default. For example, the terminal device 100 may determine the network connection method to be used by default, which is the method of connecting the cellular network to the Internet.

[0457] In other embodiments of the present application, the terminal device 100 may determine the network mode to be used in response to a received user operation (e.g., a click operation, a touch operation, etc.). For example, the terminal device 100 may provide one or more network mode options and determine the network mode corresponding to the network mode option detected by the user operation as the network mode to be used by the terminal device 100. For example, referring to Figure 3B The notification bar 301 may also include a switch control for "distributed cellular network," a switch control for "distributed WLAN," a switch control for "distributed wired network," and so on. The user can click one or more of these switches to determine the network mode corresponding to the switch control as the network mode to be used. This allows the user to determine the network mode to be used by the terminal device 100 based on their needs.

[0458] After the terminal device 100 determines the networking mode to be borrowed, it may notify the terminal device 200 of the determined networking mode, for example, by sending indication information of the determined networking mode to the terminal device 200 .

[0459] In other embodiments of the present application, if the terminal device 100 does not have an information input and output device, the control device of the terminal device 100, such as the terminal device 300, can determine the networking method to be borrowed for the terminal device 100, and then notify the terminal device 100 and the terminal device 200 of the determined networking method.

[0460] In S104, the terminal device 100 determines that the networking mode to be used may be referred to as the first networking mode. The user operation input by the user for determining the first networking mode may be referred to as the second operation.

[0461] In optional step S105 , the terminal device 100 determines a network to be borrowed and notifies the terminal device 200 of the network.

[0462] In an embodiment of the present application, through optional step S105, the terminal device 100 can determine in advance the network it wants to borrow among the networks connected to the Internet to which other devices are connected based on the networking capabilities of other devices, so that the terminal device 100 can subsequently directly borrow the network selected in S105.

[0463] In S105 , the network to be borrowed determined by the terminal device 100 may include one or more networks, which is not limited in this application.

[0464] In some embodiments, the terminal device 100 may determine the network with the best network quality as the network to be borrowed, or determine the network with the most borrowing times as the network to be borrowed, or determine the network with the most recent borrowing time as the network to be borrowed.

[0465] In other embodiments of the present application, the terminal device 100 may determine the network to be used in response to a received user operation (e.g., a click operation, a touch operation, etc.). For example, the terminal device 100 may provide one or more network options and determine the network corresponding to the network option detected by the user operation as the network to be used by the terminal device 100. In this way, the user can determine the network to be used by the terminal device 100 based on their own needs.

[0466] For example, reference Figure 3E The terminal device 100 can detect the user operation on the cellular network option 302b-1 in the display area 302b, and determine the network corresponding to the cellular network option 302b-1 (that is, a cellular network connected to the tablet computer) as the network to be borrowed.

[0467] For example, refer to Figure 3F , the terminal device 100 can detect the user operation acting on the WLAN option 303b-1 in the display area 303b, and determine the network corresponding to the WLAN option 303b-1 (that is, the WLAN named "Wi-Fi 3" connected to the tablet computer) as the network that the terminal device 200 will borrow.

[0468] For example, refer to Figure 3H and Figure 3I The terminal device 100 can also detect user operations acting on the cellular network option or the WLAN option, and determine the corresponding network as the network to be borrowed.

[0469] After the terminal device 100 determines the network to be borrowed, it may notify the terminal device 200 of the determined network, for example, by sending an identifier of the determined network to the terminal device 200 .

[0470] In other embodiments of the present application, if the terminal device 100 does not have an information input and output device, the control device of the terminal device 100, such as the terminal device 300, can also determine the network to be borrowed for the terminal device 100, and then notify the terminal device 100 and the terminal device 200 of the determined network.

[0471] For example, reference Figure 4C , the terminal device 300 can detect the user operation acting on the WLAN option 412a, and send the identifier of the network corresponding to the WLAN option 412a (that is, the WLAN named "Wi-Fi 3" provided by the tablet computer) to the terminal device 100, and then the terminal device 100 determines the network indicated by the identifier (that is, the WLAN named "Wi-Fi 3" provided by the tablet computer) as the network to be borrowed.

[0472] In S105, the terminal device 100 determines that the network to be borrowed can be called the first network. The user operation input by the user for determining the first network can be called the third operation.

[0473] In step S106 , the terminal device 100 and the terminal device 200 establish a communication connection through a method different from the hotspot.

[0474] Establishing a connection through a hotspot means that the terminal device 200 works in AP mode and creates a wireless local area network, and then the terminal device 100 connects to the wireless local area network created by the terminal device 200, thereby establishing a connection with the terminal device 200.

[0475] In S106, the communication connection established between the terminal device 100 and the terminal device 200 may include any of the following: Wi-Fi direct / Wi-Fi P2P connection, BT connection, NFC connection, IR connection, wired connection, Ethernet connection or remote connection, etc. Among them, the BT connection can be a classic Bluetooth connection or a low-power Bluetooth (Bluetooth Low Energy, BLE) connection. Remote connection means that the terminal device 100 and the terminal device 200 are each connected to the server and communicate through the server.

[0476] The process of establishing a connection between the terminal device 100 and the terminal device 200 in S106 is an internal interaction process of the device that is invisible to the user. During the execution of S106, no user intervention or operation is required.

[0477] For example, if the terminal device 100 and the terminal device 200 establish a BT connection, there is no need to perform the following steps: after the terminal device 100 searches for other nearby devices through Bluetooth technology, it displays the identifiers of the other searched devices, and then the user clicks on the identifier of the terminal device 200. After that, the terminal device 200 displays the pairing confirmation information. After the user clicks to confirm the pairing, the terminal device 100 and the terminal device 200 establish a Bluetooth connection.

[0478] That is to say, through S106 in the embodiment of the present application, the user's manual pairing operation can be omitted, the user behavior can be simplified, and the efficiency of establishing connections between devices can be improved, thereby improving the user experience.

[0479] In some embodiments, terminal device 100 may send a request message to terminal device 200 for borrowing networking capabilities. After receiving the request message, terminal device 200 may directly respond to the request message and establish a communication connection with terminal device 200 that is different from the hotspot, or may establish a communication connection with terminal device 100 that is different from the hotspot after outputting a prompt message and receiving a user operation. This prompt message may be referred to as third prompt message.

[0480] For example, reference Figure 5A After receiving the request message sent by terminal device 100, terminal device 200 displays prompt window 501. Terminal device 200 can then, in response to a user operation on control 501b, send a feedback message to terminal device 100 indicating consent to borrowing networking capabilities, and establish a communication connection with terminal device 100 that is different from the hotspot, thereby lending networking capabilities to terminal device 100. Control 501b can be referred to as a first control.

[0481] In other embodiments, after receiving the request message for borrowing networking capability sent by the terminal device 100, the terminal device 200 can determine whether the terminal device 100 is a device in the whitelist, or determine whether the terminal device 100 is a trusted device of the terminal device 200. If the judgment result is yes, the terminal device 200 and the terminal device 100 establish a communication connection different from the hotspot, thereby borrowing the networking capability to the terminal device 100. Among them, the whitelist can be set by the terminal device 200, and its setting method can refer to Figure 5D-5E For the definition of trusted devices, please refer to the relevant description in S103.

[0482] In some embodiments of the present application, if the terminal device 100 and the terminal device 200 have already established a communication connection through a method other than a hotspot when joining the communication system 10, step S106 may be omitted. For example, if the terminal device 100 and the terminal device 200 have already joined the communication system 10 by establishing a Bluetooth connection, step S106 may not be performed. For another example, if the terminal device 100 and the terminal device 200 have already joined the communication system 10 by establishing a remote connection, step S106 may not be performed.

[0483] In step S107 , the terminal device 100 communicates with the Internet through the terminal device 200 based on the communication connection between the terminal device 100 and the terminal device 200 .

[0484] When the terminal device 100 communicates with the Internet, the uplink path is: terminal device 100 - terminal device 200 - Internet. Uplink data sent by the terminal device 100 to the Internet is transmitted via the uplink path.

[0485] When the terminal device 100 communicates with the Internet, the downlink path is: Internet - terminal device 200 - terminal device 100. Downlink data sent from the Internet to the terminal device 100 is transmitted via the downlink path.

[0486] During communication between the terminal device 100 and the Internet, the terminal device 100 and the terminal device 200 communicate via a communication connection established in S106 that is different from the hotspot, and the terminal device 200 communicates with the Internet via one or more networks. The network between the terminal device 200 and the Internet used to support communication between the terminal device 100 and the Internet can be called a shared network. In other words, the terminal device 200 shares the shared network with the terminal device 100 to support communication between the terminal device 100 and the Internet. The shared network is a network that the terminal device 200 connects to the Internet. The number of shared networks can include one or more.

[0487] During the communication between the terminal device 100 and the Internet, the shared network may be determined in any one or more of the following ways:

[0488] 1. If the terminal device 100 executes the above S104, the terminal device 200 can select the network corresponding to the networking method determined by the terminal device 100 in S104 as the shared network among the networks connected to the Internet.

[0489] For example, if the terminal device 100 determines in S104 that the borrowed networking mode is to access the Internet via a cellular network, the terminal device 200 selects the connected cellular network as the shared network.

[0490] For another example, if the terminal device 100 determines in S104 that the borrowed networking mode is to access the Internet via WLAN, the terminal device 200 may select the connected wireless local area network as the shared network.

[0491] 2. If the terminal device 100 executes the above S105, the terminal device 200 selects the network determined by the terminal device 100 in S105 as the shared network.

[0492] For example, reference Figure 3E After the terminal device 100 determines the network corresponding to the cellular network option 302b-1 (i.e., a cellular network connected to the tablet computer) as the borrowed network, the terminal device 200 selects the network corresponding to the cellular network option 302b-1 (i.e., a cellular network connected to the tablet computer) as the shared network.

[0493] For example, refer to Figure 3F After the terminal device 100 determines the network corresponding to the WLAN option 303b-1 (i.e., the WLAN named "Wi-Fi 3" connected to the tablet computer) as the borrowed network, the terminal device 200 selects the network corresponding to the WLAN option 303b-1 (i.e., the WLAN named "Wi-Fi 3" provided by the tablet computer) as the shared network.

[0494] 3. If the terminal device 100 does not execute the above S104 and S105, the terminal device 200 can arbitrarily select one or more networks from the connected Internet access networks as shared networks, or select the network with the best network quality as the shared network, or select the network with the most sharing times as the shared network, or select the network that was shared most times as the shared network.

[0495] In embodiments of the present application, the terminal device 200 may also use other methods to determine a shared network, which are not limited here. For example, the terminal device 200 may designate all connected networks connected to the Internet as shared networks. For another example, the user may pre-set a shared network on the terminal device 200, and the terminal device 200 may select a shared network based on the user's settings.

[0496] In some embodiments, after determining the shared network, the terminal device 200 may also notify the shared network to the terminal device 100. For example, the terminal device 200 may send the identifier of the shared network to the terminal device 100.

[0497] In S107 , the networking mode used by the terminal device 200 may be referred to as a first networking mode, and the shared network may be referred to as a first network.

[0498] In the embodiment of the present application, after executing S106, during the execution of S107, both the terminal device 100 and the terminal device 200 may display a prompt message to prompt the user that the current terminal device 100 is sharing the networking capability of the terminal device 200. The manner in which the terminal device 100 outputs the prompt message may be referred to in the following example: Figure 3F 、 Figure 3I And related description, the terminal device 200 outputs the prompt information, please refer to Figure 5B 、 Figure 5C Here, the prompt information output by the terminal device 100 may be referred to as the first prompt information, and the prompt information output by the terminal device 200 may be referred to as the second prompt information.

[0499] Through the above Figure 6 In the illustrated networking method, steps S101-S103, S106, and S107 indicate that as long as other devices near the terminal device 100 can connect to the Internet, the terminal device 100 can leverage the networking capabilities of these other devices to connect to the Internet. In some embodiments, the terminal device 100 can also leverage the networking capabilities of a remote device to connect to the Internet. This allows multiple nearby terminal devices and remote devices to form a communication system, where each terminal device in the communication system can leverage the networking capabilities of other devices in the system, enabling the free flow of networking capabilities.

[0500] When the terminal device 100 itself cannot connect to the Internet, Figure 6 The method shown can enable the terminal device 100 to access the Internet by using the networking capabilities of other devices. When the network quality of the terminal device 100 itself is poor, the terminal device 100 can also Figure 6 The method shown is used to enhance the network connection between the terminal device 100 and the Internet. For example, when the terminal device 100 is a tablet computer and the current network quality is poor, the terminal device 100 can use the cellular network of surrounding mobile phones to access the Internet.

[0501] Furthermore, since the terminal device 100 and the terminal device 200 establish a communication connection in a manner different from that of a hotspot, the terminal device 100 does not need to display the WLAN identifiers of the other devices found and created in AP mode, nor does the user need to select one of the WLAN identifiers to borrow the networking capabilities of the other devices. In other words, the terminal device 100 can borrow the networking capabilities of other devices without complicated operations, which is more convenient and quick for the user.

[0502] Implementation Figure 6 In the networking method shown in S101-S103, S106 and S107, even if the terminal device 100 does not have a display screen, it can borrow the networking capabilities of other devices, and will not be unable to access the Internet due to the inability to perform information input and output operations (such as verifying WLAN).

[0503] Implementation Figure 6 In S101-S103, S106 and S107 of the networking method shown, the terminal device 100 can share the WLAN of the terminal device 200. If the WLAN is a network that requires tedious verification to join, the terminal device 100 can avoid the tedious verification process and can also borrow the WLAN.

[0504] In execution Figure 6 During the networking method shown, the terminal device 100 can also access the Internet through one or more of the WLAN, cellular network, or wired network established by the wireless access point 400. The connection between the terminal device 100 itself and the Internet does not affect the terminal device 100's ability to borrow networking capabilities from other devices.

[0505] Because terminal device 100 establishes a communication connection with terminal device 200 in a manner different from a hotspot, terminal device 100 can simultaneously access the Internet through the WLAN established by wireless access point 400. Even if terminal device 100 is only equipped with a Wi-Fi network card, terminal device 100 can still use the Wi-Fi network card to connect to a WLAN established by wireless access point 400 and simultaneously establish a communication connection with terminal device 200 in a manner different from a hotspot.

[0506] In this way, the terminal device 100 can access the Internet through the terminal device 200 while also accessing the Internet itself, thereby achieving multi-channel network concurrency and improving the speed and efficiency of communication with the Internet.

[0507] For example, the terminal device 100 can implement the following dual-path network concurrent scenarios:

[0508] The terminal device 100 accesses the Internet through the WLAN to which it is connected and the WLAN to which the terminal device 200 is connected;

[0509] The terminal device 100 accesses the Internet through the WLAN to which it is connected and the cellular network to which the terminal device 200 is connected;

[0510] The terminal device 100 accesses the Internet through the cellular network to which it is connected, and the WLAN to which the terminal device 200 is connected;

[0511] The terminal device 100 accesses the Internet through the cellular network to which it is connected and the cellular network to which the terminal device 200 is connected.

[0512] The terminal device 100 is not limited to a two-way concurrent scenario; it can also implement three or more concurrent network scenarios. For example, the terminal device 100 can also access the Internet simultaneously through the WLAN to which it is connected, the WLAN to which the terminal device 200 is connected, and the cellular network. For another example, the terminal device 100 can also access the Internet simultaneously through the WLAN and cellular network to which it is connected, as well as the WLAN or cellular network to which the terminal device 200 is connected.

[0513] The multi-channel concurrent scenarios listed above are only examples. In specific implementations, the terminal device 100 may also have other or more multi-channel concurrent scenarios, which are not listed here one by one.

[0514] Through the above Figure 6 In S104 of the method shown, the terminal device 100 can determine the borrowed networking method and notify the terminal device 200. The terminal device 200 does not need to determine the provided networking method, which can improve the efficiency of the terminal device 200 in providing networking capabilities and provide users with a better user experience.

[0515] Through the above Figure 6 In S105 of the method shown, the terminal device 100 can determine the borrowed network and notify the terminal device 200. The terminal device 200 does not need to determine the provided network, which can improve the efficiency of the terminal device 200 in providing networking capabilities and provide users with a better user experience.

[0516] exist Figure 6In the networking method shown, the terminal device 200 can also enable data-free services for some or all applications through the SIM card. Applications that enable data-free services can be called data-free applications. When the terminal device 200 runs a data-free application, data transmitted through the cellular network and the Internet corresponding to the SIM card is not charged. After the terminal device 200 enables the data-free service, the server 500 can record the corresponding relationship between the SIM card and the data-free application, that is, associate and record the SIM card identifier and the data-free application identifier.

[0517] When executing S107, if the server 500 monitors that the data packets (including uplink data packets and downlink data packets) involved in the communication between the terminal device 100 and the Internet are from the free-flow application, the fees required to transmit these data packets are waived.

[0518] Optionally, the data packets involved in the communication between the terminal device 100 and the Internet in S107 may carry a corresponding application identifier or other application information (such as the identifier or address of the server providing services for the application) and the identifier of the shared network of the terminal device 200. After the server 500 monitors the data packets of the terminal device 100 communicating with the Internet in S107, if any data packets come from a free-flow application and carry the identifier of the cellular network corresponding to the SIM card that has activated the free-flow service, the traffic fee required to transmit these data packets will be waived and no billing processing will be performed on these data packets.

[0519] That is to say, if the terminal device 200 has activated the free flow service, the data packets involved in the operation of the free flow application in the terminal device 100 will not be calculated in the required traffic charges when they are transmitted through the cellular network of the terminal device 200.

[0520] In some other embodiments, the data packets (including uplink data packets and downlink data packets) involved in the communication between the terminal device 100 and the Internet in S107 may also carry more information, such as the IP address and domain name of the terminal device 200, etc., which are not limited here. In this way, the server 500 will believe that the data packets in the communication process of S107 are all generated by the terminal device 200 during operation, thereby realizing the sharing of free flow traffic.

[0521] In the embodiments of this application Figure 1 The communication system 10 shown and Figure 6 In the method flow shown, the terminal device 100 may also be referred to as a first device, and the terminal device 200 may also be referred to as a second device.

[0522] The communication connection established between the terminal device 100 and the terminal device 200 in S106 through a method different from the hotspot can be called a first communication connection.

[0523] The communication connection when synchronizing the networking capability information between the terminal devices in S102 may be referred to as a second communication connection.

[0524] refer to Figure 7 , Figure 7 The diagram exemplarily shows the data flow involved when the terminal device 100 uses the networking method provided in the embodiment of the present application and communicates with the Internet.

[0525] like Figure 7 As shown, the terminal device 100 includes: applications in the application layer, distributed networking services in the application framework layer, connection modules, and the underlying HAL. The terminal device 200 includes: distributed networking services in the application framework layer, connection modules, networking modules, and the underlying HAL.

[0526] Understandable, Figure 7 The structures of the terminal devices 100 and 200 are simplified versions. For their detailed structures and functions of each module, please refer to Figure 2A and Figure 2B Related description.

[0527] For terminal device 100, applications in the application layer can be applications that need to interact with the Internet, such as browser applications, online video applications, and so on. After the distributed networking service determines that terminal device 200 is connected to the Internet, it notifies the application in the application layer, allowing the application to be informed that there is a network connection to the Internet and to operate normally. The distributed networking service then establishes a connection with the connection module, such as by establishing a socket interface, thereby binding the distributed networking service and the connection module to facilitate subsequent communication.

[0528] The connection modules of the terminal device 100 and the terminal device 200 are respectively used to support the terminal device 100 and the terminal device 200 to establish a communication connection in a manner different from a hotspot. For example, the connection module may include a Bluetooth communication module to support the terminal device 100 and the terminal device 200 to establish a Bluetooth communication connection. For another example, the connection module may include a Wi-Fi network card that supports the Wi-Fi P2P technical standard to support the terminal device 100 and the terminal device 200 to establish a Wi-Fi P2P connection. Here, the Wi-Fi network card that supports the Wi-Fi P2P technical standard in the connection module may be a physical network card, or it may be the result of virtualization of a part of the device that supports the Wi-Fi P2P technical standard in the Wi-Fi network card.

[0529] The networking module in the terminal device 200 is used to support the terminal device 200 to access the Internet. The networking module may include one or more of a wireless communication module (e.g., a Wi-Fi network card), a mobile communication module (e.g., a cellular network card), and a wired communication module (e.g., a wired network card). It may also include other related modules such as antennas. The wireless communication module supports the terminal device 200 to access the Internet via WLAN, the mobile communication module supports the terminal device 200 to access the Internet via a cellular network, and the wired communication module supports the terminal device 200 to access the Internet via a wired network.

[0530] The terminal device 200 uses the networking module corresponding to the shared network to transmit data during both uplink and downlink communications. For example, if the shared network is a cellular network, the cellular network card is used to transmit data; if the shared network is a wireless local area network, the Wi-Fi network card is used to transmit data.

[0531] Figure 7 The double-arrow line in represents the data flow during the communication between the terminal device 100 and the Internet.

[0532] During the uplink communication process, the application of the terminal device 100 generates a data packet, which then passes through the distributed networking service of the terminal device 100, the connection module, the communication connection between the terminal device 100 and the terminal device 200, the connection module and the networking module of the terminal device 200, and then flows to the Internet.

[0533] During the downlink communication process, the data packet returned by the Internet is first sent to the networking module of the terminal device 200, and then passes through the connection module of the terminal device 200, the communication connection between the terminal device 100 and the terminal device 200, the connection module of the terminal device 100, the distributed networking service, and finally reaches the application of the terminal device 100.

[0534] If the terminal device 200 has only one shared network, the terminal device 200 will use the networking module corresponding to the shared network to transmit data during both uplink and downlink communications. For example, if the shared network is a cellular network, the cellular network card will be used to transmit data; if the shared network is a wireless local area network, the Wi-Fi network card will be used to transmit data.

[0535] If the terminal device 200 has multiple shared networks of different types, the distributed networking service of the terminal device 100 or the terminal device 200 is also responsible for fragmenting or assembling the communication data.

[0536] For example, if terminal device 100 is responsible for data fragmentation and assembly, during uplink communication, the distributed networking service of terminal device 100 can divide the data packets from the application into different types of shared networks, for example, adding a cellular network identifier to some data packets and a WLAN identifier to others. These data packets are then transmitted from the distributed networking service of terminal device 100 to the distributed networking service of terminal device 200 without passing through the connection module. Terminal device 200 then uses different networking modules to transmit different data packets, for example, using a cellular network card to transmit data packets containing a cellular network identifier and using a Wi-Fi network card to transmit data packets containing a WLAN identifier.

[0537] During downlink communication, the terminal device 200 can use multiple networking modules to receive data packets sent from the Internet, and then transmit the data packets to the distributed networking service of the terminal device 100 through the distributed networking service. The distributed networking service in the terminal device 100 assembles multiple data packets and then transmits them to the upper-layer application.

[0538] The process of fragmenting and assembling communication data by the terminal device 200 is similar to the process of fragmenting and assembling communication data by the terminal device 100, and reference may be made to the relevant description.

[0539] Figure 7 The terminal device 100 may also include a networking module. The specific structure of the networking module is similar to that of the networking module of the terminal device 200. Please refer to the relevant description above.

[0540] If the terminal device 100 is connected to the Internet itself and is also connected to the Internet through the shared network of the terminal device 200, the distributed networking service of the terminal device 100 is responsible for fragmenting or assembling the communication data. Specifically, during the uplink communication process, the distributed networking service of the terminal device 100 divides the data packets from the application into the local network and the shared network respectively. The data packets divided into the local network are sent by the distributed networking service to the networking module and then sent to the Internet; the data packets divided into the shared network are sent by the distributed networking service via the shared network module. Figure 7 The path shown is transmitted to the networking module of terminal device 200 and then sent to the Internet. The downlink communication process is the reverse of the uplink communication process and will not be described in detail here. In this way, terminal device 100 can access the Internet through terminal device 200 while also accessing the Internet itself, achieving multi-channel network concurrency and improving the speed and efficiency of communication with the Internet.

[0541] In the networking methods provided in various embodiments of the present application, each device may use the Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol (TCP / IP) to transmit data.

[0542] The TCP / IP transmission model can include four layers from bottom to top:

[0543] 1. The link layer (data link layer / network interface layer), which includes the device drivers in the operating system and the corresponding network interface card in the computer. Link layer protocols include the Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) and the Reverse Address Resolution Protocol (RARP).

[0544] 2. The network layer (internet layer) handles packet movement within the network, such as packet routing. Network layer protocols include the Internet Protocol (IP), Routing Information Protocol (RIP), and Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP).

[0545] 3. The transport layer provides end-to-end communication between applications on two hosts. Transport layer protocols may include the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and the User Datagram Protocol (UDP).

[0546] 4. The application layer handles specific application details. Application layer protocols may include File Transfer Protocol (FTP), Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), Remote Terminal Protocol (Telent), Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), and Domain Name Service (DNS).

[0547] During the communication process, data packets have different formats at each layer, called segments, datagrams, frames, and data, from top to bottom. Data packets are passed down the protocol stack from the application layer, with each layer adding a header corresponding to the protocol layer. Finally, they are encapsulated into frames and sent to the transmission medium. Upon reaching the router or destination host, the header is stripped off and delivered to the upper layer.

[0548] In the above Figure 6 In the networking method shown, when the terminal device 100 uses the networking capability of the terminal device 200 to communicate with the Internet, each device processes the data packet differently.

[0549] refer to Figure 8 , Figure 8 The diagram exemplifies how each device processes data packets when the terminal device 100 uses the networking capability of the terminal device 200 to communicate with the Internet.

[0550] like Figure 8 As shown, when terminal device 100 accesses the Internet through terminal device 200, since terminal device 100 does not directly access the Internet, terminal device 100 only processes the data packets at the application layer and transport layer, without performing network layer and physical layer processing. Terminal devices 100 and 200 communicate at the application layer and transport layer, without performing network layer and physical layer communication. Terminal device 200 can perform network layer and physical layer processing on data packets from the Internet or terminal device 100, and then send the data packets to terminal device 100 or the Internet. Internet devices such as network device 300 and wireless access point 400 can perform the above four layer processing on data packets.

[0551] The above embodiment introduces a method for a terminal device to continuously borrow the networking capability of another device. The following describes a method for a terminal device to temporarily borrow the web capability of another device to access a captive portal Wi-Fi network.

[0552] In the networking method provided in an embodiment of the present application, when a terminal device without web capabilities needs to access captive portal Wi-Fi, it can temporarily utilize the web capabilities of other terminal devices to complete authentication and access the captive portal Wi-Fi. Here, the terminal device without web capabilities only displays the web capabilities borrowed from other devices. After accessing the captive portal Wi-Fi, it no longer needs to borrow the web capabilities of other devices. The terminal device requesting access to the captive portal Wi-Fi can also be called a STA device.

[0553] Captive portal Wi-Fi is provided by an AP. This AP can be the wireless access point 400 mentioned above in the process of a terminal device borrowing the networking capabilities of other devices. In other words, in each of the embodiments described above, the wireless access point 400 can be used to provide captive portal Wi-Fi that requires authentication.

[0554] A STA device with web capabilities generally has a web application (such as a browser application) installed, and the STA device with web capabilities may support the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) or the Hypertext Transfer Protocol over Secure Socket Layer (HTTPS).

[0555] Captive portal Wi-Fi is a web-based, open wireless network that provides secure authentication. When a STA device requests access to this type of wireless network, if the AP does not store the STA device's media access control (MAC) address, the AP can use redirection technology to provide the STA device with the address of a portal website (web page) that requires a mandatory login. If the STA device determines that the wireless network it is requesting access to is captive portal Wi-Fi, it can use a web application (such as a browser) to display the web page based on the portal page's address. This web page may require the user to enter authentication information, make a payment, accept certain licensing terms, or perform other user authorization. After the STA device confirms that the user has completed the web page authentication requirements, it sends a confirmation signal to the AP. Based on the received confirmation signal, the AP determines that the user has completed the web page authentication and only then can it provide the STA device with captive portal Wi-Fi. The AP then stores the STA device's MAC address. Within a preset time, when the STA device requests access to the captive portal Wi-Fi again, it can directly access the captive portal Wi-Fi without having to go through the login process.

[0556] The aforementioned redirection technology includes Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) redirection technology. HTTP redirection technology refers to the AP directing all World Wide Web traffic to a preset mandatory login portal website. For example, a STA device sends an HTTP request (i.e., a network access request) to the AP according to the HTTP protocol. When the AP determines that the STA device's MAC address is not currently stored (for example, when the STA device connects to the World Wide Web for the first time through the AP), it returns an HTTP 302 status code and the HTTP uniform resource locator (URL) of the portal website to the STA device based on the HTTP request sent by the STA device. The STA device then accesses the redirected URL according to the HTTP protocol, logs into the portal website, and displays the web page. That is, before authentication is completed, any HTTP request sent by the STA device to the AP will receive the same portal website URL and will receive an HTTP 302 status code. Based on this, the STA device can determine, based on the received HTTP status code, that the wireless network it is currently requesting access to is a captive portal Wi-Fi network.

[0557] The above-mentioned redirection technology also includes domain name system (DNS) redirection technology. DNS redirection technology refers to the AP directing all DNS queries to the Internet Protocol (IP) address of a preset forced login portal website. For example, after the AP receives any domain name resolution request (i.e., network access request) sent by the STA device, it will feedback the IP address of the portal website to the STA device, that is, the AP uses the IP address of the portal website as the destination address for the STA device to request Internet resources. Correspondingly, the STA device logs in to the portal website and displays the web page based on the received IP address. Based on this, if the STA device receives the same IP address after sending two or more domain name resolution requests, it is determined that the wireless network currently requested to access is captive portal Wi-Fi.

[0558] For example, Figure 9 As shown, assuming that the wireless network provided by AP11 is captive portal Wi-Fi, mobile phone 12 sends a network access request to AP11, and AP11 sends the URL or IP address of the portal page for forced login to mobile phone 12. Then, mobile phone 12 uses the browser application to enter the portal website page, which is displayed as follows Figure 10Interface 201 is shown, requesting user authentication. Afterward, mobile phone 12 detects that the user has clicked control 21, indicating that the user has completed authentication, and sends an authentication confirmation signal to AP 11. AP 11 determines that the user has completed authentication based on the authentication confirmation signal, saves mobile phone 12's MAC address, and allows mobile phone 12 to access the captive portal Wi-Fi.

[0559] It can be seen that STA devices (such as Figure 9 The mobile phone 12 shown in the figure can only complete portal website authentication and access the captive portal Wi-Fi if it has web capabilities. STA devices with web capabilities generally have web applications installed and can support HTTP or HTTPS. A web application is an application program accessible via the web, such as a browser application. However, for devices without screens, ultra-small screens, low memory, or other reasons that do not have web capabilities due to the lack of web applications installed, access to the captive portal Wi-Fi is impossible or difficult, which does not meet the user demand for such devices to access the captive portal Wi-Fi, affecting the user experience.

[0560] Therefore, the embodiments of the present application provide a networking method, which enables terminal devices without Web capabilities to complete captive portal Wi-Fi access authentication with the help of terminal devices with Web capabilities, meeting users' needs for different terminal devices to access captive portal Wi-Fi and improving users' usage experience.

[0561] Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 11 As shown, the communication system includes terminal device 400, terminal device 500, and AP 600. Terminal device 400 establishes a communication connection with terminal device 500. For example, AP 600 can provide captive portal Wi-Fi. Terminal device 400 does not have web capabilities, while the other terminal device has web capabilities. Terminal device 400 establishes a wireless communication connection with terminal device 500. Terminal device 400 can exchange authentication data with terminal device 500 through the wireless communication connection to access AP 600.

[0562] Optionally, the terminal device 400 can establish a wireless communication connection with the terminal device 500 through wireless communication technology. The wireless communication technology includes but is not limited to at least one of the following: Bluetooth (BT) (for example, traditional Bluetooth or Bluetooth low energy (BLE)), wireless local area networks (WLAN) (such as Wi-Fi networks), near field communication (NFC), Zigbee, frequency modulation (FM), infrared (IR), etc.

[0563] In some embodiments, both the terminal device 400 and the terminal device 500 support a proximity discovery function. For example, after the terminal device 400 approaches the terminal device 500, the terminal device 400 and the terminal device 500 can discover each other and then establish a wireless communication connection such as a Bluetooth connection or a Wi-Fi peer-to-peer (P2P) connection. Afterwards, the terminal device 400 and the terminal device 500 can determine the capabilities of the other party through signal interaction. For example, the terminal device 400 sends a capability query request to the terminal device 500 via a Bluetooth connection, and determines that the terminal device has Web capabilities based on the capability query response.

[0564] For example, the terminal device 400 includes but is not limited to smart speakers, wearable devices (such as smart watches, smart bracelets, smart glasses), other Internet of Things (IoT) devices, devices that do not have Web capabilities and cannot or have difficulty accessing captive portal Wi-Fi due to low memory or other reasons. The terminal device 400 can be installed with an operating system. The operating system installed on the terminal device 400 includes but is not limited to Or other operating systems. The terminal device 400 may not have an operating system installed. This application does not limit the specific type of the terminal device 400, whether an operating system is installed, or the type of operating system if an operating system is installed.

[0565] For example, the terminal device 500 includes but is not limited to a smartphone, tablet computer, laptop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), vehicle-mounted device, artificial intelligence (AI) device, and other devices with Web capabilities and capable of accessing captive portal Wi-Fi. The operating system installed on the terminal device 500 includes but is not limited to Or other operating systems. In some embodiments, the terminal device 500 can be a fixed device or a portable device. This application does not limit the specific type of the terminal device 500 or the installed operating system.

[0566] The terminal device 400 and the terminal device 100 mentioned in the embodiment in which the terminal device borrows the networking capability of other devices may be the same device or different devices.

[0567] The terminal device 500 and the terminal device 200 mentioned in the embodiment in which the terminal device borrows the networking capability of other devices may be the same device or different devices.

[0568] AP600 is used to provide captive portal Wi-Fi that requires authentication. AP600 can be the above Figure 1 The wireless access point 400 in the communication system shown may also be other wireless access points.

[0569] It should be noted that web-enabled terminal devices typically have web applications installed and support protocol stacks for accessing web pages, such as HTTP or HTTPS. A web application is an application program accessible via the web, such as a browser application. This will not be discussed further below.

[0570] In the embodiment of the present application, the structure and Figure 3A The structure of the terminal device shown is similar, please refer to Figure 2A For example, the terminal device 400 may include at least one processor, at least one memory, a wireless communication module, a power management module, an audio module, a sensor module, a universal serial bus (USB) interface, an indicator, and a motor. The terminal device 400 does not include a display screen.

[0571] Among them, the memory can be used to store application code, such as application code for wireless pairing connection between terminal device 400 and terminal device 500, so that a wireless connection is established between terminal device 400 and terminal device 500; processing wireless connection services of terminal device 400; and charging terminal device 400, etc.

[0572] The processor can be used to execute the aforementioned application code and call related modules to implement the functions of terminal device 400 in the embodiments of the present application. For example, it can implement functions such as wireless Bluetooth connection and wireless network access between terminal device 400 and terminal device 500. Another example is to implement signal exchange between terminal device 400 and terminal device 500 and use terminal device 500 to complete authentication on a captive portal Wi-Fi portal website.

[0573] The wireless communication module can be used to support data exchange between the terminal device 400 and the terminal device 500 using wireless communication technologies such as BT, WLAN (such as Wi-Fi), Zigbee, FM, NFC, IR, or general 2.4G / 5G wireless communication technologies.

[0574] In some embodiments, the wireless communication module can be a Bluetooth chip. The terminal device 400 can pair with the Bluetooth chip of the terminal device 500 through the Bluetooth chip and establish a wireless connection to realize wireless communication and business processing between the terminal device 400 and the terminal device 500 through the wireless connection. Typically, the Bluetooth chip can support basic rate (BR) / enhanced data rate (EDR) Bluetooth and Bluetooth low energy (BLE), for example, it can receive / send paging information, receive / send BLE broadcast messages, etc. Bluetooth can also be a Bluetooth transceiver. The terminal device 400 can establish a wireless connection with the terminal device 500 through the Bluetooth transceiver to realize short-range data exchange between the two. For example, exchanging portal website data, exchanging control data, etc.

[0575] In some embodiments, the wireless communication module may be a Wi-Fi chip, through which the terminal device 400 may detect an AP providing a wireless network and request to access the AP to access the wireless network.

[0576] In the embodiment of the present application, the structure and Figure 2A The structure of the terminal device shown is similar, please refer to Figure 2A and related descriptions.

[0577] The terminal device 500 may include a processor 110, an external memory interface 120, an internal memory 121, a universal serial bus (USB) interface 130, a charging management module 140, a power management module 141, a battery 142, an antenna 1, an antenna 2, a mobile communication module 150, a wireless communication module 160, an audio module 170, a sensor module 180, a button 190, a motor 191, an indicator 192, a camera 193, a display screen 194, and a subscriber identification module (SIM) card interface 195, etc.

[0578] In some embodiments, upon receiving a data packet corresponding to a portal website from terminal device 400, terminal device 500 displays the portal website page on display screen 194 based on the data packet. Terminal device 500 then detects a user's authentication operation on the portal website page via a touch sensor. Based on the user's authentication operation, terminal device 500 generates a corresponding data packet and sends the data packet to terminal device 400.

[0579] The software system of the terminal device can adopt a layered architecture, an event-driven architecture, a micro-kernel architecture, a micro-service architecture, or a cloud architecture. The embodiment of the present application takes the Android system of the layered architecture as an example to exemplify the software structure of the terminal device.

[0580] Figure 12 It is a software structure block diagram of the terminal device 400 and the terminal device 500 in the embodiment of the present application.

[0581] A layered architecture divides software into several layers, each with distinct roles and responsibilities. Layers communicate with each other through software interfaces. In some embodiments, the Android system is divided into four layers: the application layer, the application framework layer, the hardware abstraction layer (HAL), and the kernel layer.

[0582] The application layer may include a series of application packages, including camera, gallery, calendar, call, map, navigation, WLAN, Bluetooth, music, video, short message and other applications.

[0583] For example, Figure 12 As shown, the application layer of terminal device 500 may include applications such as browser, music, and call. The browser application is a web application. The application layer of terminal device 400 does not include a web application. That is, terminal device 400 does not have web capabilities, while terminal device 500 does.

[0584] Optionally, the software structure diagram illustrated in the embodiment of the present application does not constitute a specific limitation on the terminal device or the terminal device. For example, the terminal device may not include an application layer, that is, no application is installed in the terminal device.

[0585] The application framework layer provides an application programming interface (API) and programming framework for the applications in the application layer. The application framework layer includes some predefined functions.

[0586] For example, Figure 12 As shown, the application framework layer of the terminal device 400 may include network detection services, Wi-Fi connection services, near-field secure transmission services, etc. The application framework layer of the terminal device 500 may include Web services, near-field secure transmission services, etc.

[0587] In some embodiments, the network detection service is used to confirm whether the hotspot requested to connect is a captiveportal Wi-Fi hotspot, and to perform data transmission and other processing during the process of requesting access to this type of hotspot.

[0588] Wi-Fi connection service, used to control the Wi-Fi on / off status, scan for nearby Wi-Fi devices, and make Wi-Fi connections, etc.

[0589] Near-field secure transmission services are used for discovery, authentication and authorization, and information transmission between near-field devices. For example, terminal device 400 and terminal device 500 can discover each other through the near-field secure transmission service, complete authentication and authorization, and then transmit data. In some embodiments, terminal device 400 without web capabilities can establish a wireless connection with terminal device 500 with web capabilities through the near-field secure transmission service. Furthermore, terminal device 400 can determine that terminal device 500 has web capabilities through signal interaction with terminal device 500.

[0590] Web services are used to provide HTTP access and interactive support for applications. In some embodiments, if the terminal device 500 has Web capabilities, Web services are configured in the application framework layer to enable HTTP access for Web applications (such as browsers) and display the captive portal Wi-Fi portal website.

[0591] HAL is located between the kernel layer and the application framework layer, and is used to define the interface for the hardware implementation of the driver application and convert the value of the driver hardware implementation into the software implementation language. Figure 12In the terminal device 500 shown, the HAL recognizes the value of the camera driver, converts it into a software programming language and uploads it to the application framework layer, thereby implementing the call to the camera service system.

[0592] For example, Figure 12 As shown, the HAL of the terminal device 400 may include a Wi-Fi driver interface, a Wi-Fi direct connection / Bluetooth / USB / Ethernet interface, etc., and the HAL of the terminal device 500 may include a Wi-Fi direct connection / Bluetooth / USB / Ethernet interface, etc.

[0593] The kernel layer is the layer between hardware and software. The kernel layer may include display drivers, camera drivers, audio drivers, sensor drivers, etc.

[0594] For example, Figure 13 A schematic diagram of a networking method provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 13 In the networking method shown, the terminal device 400 can temporarily borrow the web capabilities of other devices to access the captive portal Wi-Fi.

[0595] like Figure 13 As shown, the method may include the following steps:

[0596] In step S701 , the terminal device 400 sends a network access request to the AP 600 , requesting to access the wireless network provided by the AP 600 .

[0597] In some embodiments, the terminal device 400 can Figure 12 The network detection service of the application framework layer shown in the figure detects the Wi-Fi hotspot provided by AP600 and sends a network access request to AP600 to request access to the wireless network provided by AP600. The network access request carries the MAC address of terminal device 400. In response, AP600 receives the network access request sent by terminal device 400.

[0598] Step S702 : AP 600 sends a portal website data packet to terminal device 400 .

[0599] The portal website data packet may be referred to as a first data packet.

[0600] If the Wi-Fi type provided by AP600 is captive portal Wi-Fi, AP600 determines whether it has the MAC address stored locally based on the MAC address in the received network access request. If the MAC address is stored locally, AP600 allows terminal device 400 to directly access the wireless network and sends an access confirmation response to terminal device 400, or sends network data corresponding to the network access request. If the MAC address is not stored locally, it determines that portal website login authentication is required for terminal device 400.

[0601] In some embodiments, if the AP 600 does not store the MAC address of the terminal device 400 , the AP 600 may directly send a portal website data packet to the terminal device 400 in response to the network access request received in S701 .

[0602] In other embodiments, if the AP 600 does not store the MAC address of the terminal device 400, the AP 600 may send a network access response carrying the address of the portal website (also referred to as the portal website address) to the terminal device 400 in response to the network access request received in S701. Here, the data packet of the network access response carrying the portal website address may be referred to as a third data packet.

[0603] Terminal device 400 receives and parses the network access response sent by AP 600, and determines whether the Wi-Fi type is captive portal Wi-Fi based on the network access response. If the Wi-Fi type of AP 600 is captive portal Wi-Fi, terminal device 400 obtains the portal website address after receiving and parsing the network access response, confirming that login authentication is required.

[0604] In some embodiments, as described above, corresponding to the HTTP redirection technology and DNS redirection technology of AP600, the terminal device 400 has two methods for determining whether the Wi-Fi type is captive portal Wi-Fi: one is to determine whether the Wi-Fi type is captive portal Wi-Fi based on the HTTP status code received after sending an HTTP request; the other is to determine whether the Wi-Fi type is captive portal Wi-Fi based on whether the IP addresses received after sending DNS query requests for different domain names are the same.

[0605] For example, in step S701 above, if the network access request sent by terminal device 400 to AP 600 includes an HTTP request, terminal device 400 determines the Wi-Fi type based on the HTTP status code carried in the received network access response. If the HTTP status code carried in the network access response received by terminal device 400 is 302, the Wi-Fi type is determined to be captive portal Wi-Fi. Correspondingly, if the HTTP status code carried in the network access response received by terminal device 400 is another status code (such as 204), the Wi-Fi type is determined not to be captive portal Wi-Fi. The HTTP request sent by terminal device 400 can be an HTTP request corresponding to any URL.

[0606] For example, in the above step S701, the network access request sent by the terminal device 400 to the AP600 includes at least two DNS query requests for different domain names. In step S703, the terminal device 400 determines the Wi-Fi type based on the IP address carried in the above-mentioned received network access response.

[0607] Specifically, if the AP600 does not provide captive portal Wi-Fi, upon receiving DNS query requests for different domain names, the network access response includes different IP addresses corresponding to the DNS query requests for different domain names. If the AP600 provides captive portal Wi-Fi, upon receiving DNS query requests for different domain names, the AP600 responds with the portal website's IP address for each DNS query request. In this case, the network access response includes the same IP address, which is the address of the portal website. Therefore, if the IP addresses carried in the network access responses received by the terminal device 400 are all the same, the Wi-Fi type is determined to be captive portal Wi-Fi. Alternatively, if the network access responses received by the terminal device 400 include different IP addresses, the Wi-Fi type is determined not to be captive portal Wi-Fi.

[0608] In some embodiments, the redirection technology preconfigured in AP600 includes HTTP redirection or DNS redirection. Terminal device 400 is unaware of whether AP600 provides captive portal Wi-Fi or the redirection technology currently used by AP600. Therefore, based on the two redirection technologies described above, in step S701, the network access request sent by terminal device 400 includes at least one HTTP request and at least two DNS query requests for different domain names. Upon receiving the network access request, AP600 can redirect the portal website address using either HTTP redirection or DNS redirection, sending a network access response containing an HTTP status code and URL to terminal device 400, or a network access response containing an IP address. Alternatively, terminal device 400 can send two network access requests to AP600, each containing at least one HTTP request and at least two DNS query requests for different domain names. This ensures that AP600 receives the corresponding network access response regardless of the redirection technology used.

[0609] In other embodiments, if the terminal device 400 is aware in advance of the redirection technology employed by the AP 600, then in step S701, the terminal device 400 sends a network access request carrying corresponding data to the AP 600 based on the redirection technology employed by the AP 600. For example, if the terminal device 400 is aware in advance that the redirection technology employed by the AP 600 is HTTP redirection, then the terminal device 400 sends a network access request carrying at least one HTTP request to the AP 600. For another example, if the terminal device 400 is aware in advance that the redirection technology employed by the AP 600 is DNS redirection, then the terminal device 400 sends a network access request carrying DNS query requests for at least two different domain names to the AP 600.

[0610] In some embodiments, the terminal device 400 may send a portal website access request to the AP 600 based on the portal website address carried in the network access response, such as a URL or IP address. Upon receiving the portal website access request, the AP 600 may send a data packet corresponding to the portal website to the terminal device 400.

[0611] In S702 , the portal website data packet sent by the AP 600 to the terminal device 400 includes page data corresponding to the portal website, which is used to display a login page of the portal website.

[0612] Step S703 : The terminal device 400 forwards the portal website data packet to the terminal device 500 .

[0613] In some embodiments, terminal device 400 lacks web capabilities. After determining that the Wi-Fi type of the desired hotspot is captive portal Wi-Fi, it may determine that it needs to access the hotspot using the web capabilities of another device. Therefore, it needs to establish a communication connection with a nearby web-capable terminal device 500. The communication connection between terminal devices 400 and 500 can be a Bluetooth connection, Wi-Fi Direct, or other method.

[0614] Exemplarily, the terminal device 400 scans for nearby devices that can establish a Bluetooth connection. If the terminal device 500 is scanned, a Bluetooth connection is established with the terminal device 500. Afterwards, based on the Bluetooth connection, a capability request signal is sent to the terminal device 500 to determine whether the terminal device 500 has Web capabilities. If the terminal device 400 determines that the terminal device 500 has Web capabilities based on the signal feedback sent by the terminal device 500, data transmission with the terminal device 500 can be performed based on the Bluetooth connection, such as sending a portal website data packet to the terminal device 500. If the terminal device 400 determines that the terminal device 500 does not have Web capabilities based on the signal feedback sent by the terminal device 500, the Bluetooth connection can be disconnected and rescanned to access other terminal devices with Web capabilities.

[0615] Optionally, during the process of establishing a communication connection (e.g., a Bluetooth connection), the terminal device 400 may determine, through signal interaction, whether the terminal device to be connected has Web capabilities. If so, a communication connection is established; if not, no communication connection is established. This embodiment of the application does not specifically limit the timing of confirming the Web capabilities of the terminal device 500.

[0616] It should be noted that the embodiments of the present application do not limit the timing of establishing a communication connection between terminal device 400 and terminal device 500. For example, terminal device 400 may establish a communication connection with terminal device 500 before step S701 (i.e., before requesting access to the hotspot). For another example, after determining that the Wi-Fi type is Captive Portal Wi-Fi and that the terminal device 400 itself does not have web capabilities, it establishes a communication connection with terminal device 500 that has web capabilities.

[0617] In addition, the embodiment of the present application does not limit the timing when the terminal device 400 determines nearby devices with Web capabilities. For example, before the above step S701 (i.e., before requesting to access the hotspot), the terminal device 400 first scans nearby devices to determine one or more devices with Web capabilities. Afterwards, when the terminal device 400 needs to access the Captive portal Wi-Fi, it directly establishes a communication connection with any device that has been determined to have Web capabilities (such as the terminal device 500) and forwards the portal website data packet to the device. Furthermore, the terminal device 400 can scan nearby devices according to a preset period and update the list of nearby devices with Web capabilities to avoid the inability to establish a communication connection due to the device moving beyond the communication distance.

[0618] In some implementations, the terminal device 400 can be configured to: Figure 12 The near-field secure transmission service in the application framework layer shown establishes a communication connection with the web-enabled terminal device 500. Terminal device 400 then forwards the received portal website data packet to terminal device 500. In return, terminal device 500 receives the portal website data packet sent by terminal device 400.

[0619] In step S704, the terminal device 500 displays the portal website page, detects the user operation, and generates a data packet corresponding to the user operation.

[0620] In some embodiments, after the terminal device 500 receives the portal website data packet, it renders the portal website page on the browser application or other web application through the Web service according to the portal website data packet, and displays the portal website page visible to the user to receive the user's confirmation login operation during the login authentication process.

[0621] For example, Figure 10 The terminal device 500 may display the interface 201 to detect the user's login authentication operation and generate a data packet corresponding to the user operation. For example, if the terminal device 500 detects the user clicking the control 21, the data corresponding to the operation of clicking the control 21 is generated.

[0622] In some embodiments, when the terminal device 500 is running other applications in the foreground (e.g., when the user is playing a game and the game interface is displayed), it receives a portal website data packet. After receiving the portal website data packet, it can first display a prompt message (e.g., displaying the prompt message through the notification bar, displaying the prompt message through a prompt card, etc.) to prompt the user to confirm whether to help the terminal device 400 perform Wi-Fi login authentication. Afterwards, after detecting that the user clicks the confirmation control, the terminal device 500 displays the portal website interface, thereby avoiding directly displaying the portal website page to interrupt the user's ongoing operation.

[0623] In addition, if the terminal device 500 detects an operation that the user does not confirm (such as clicking the cancel control operation), it sends a display failure response to the terminal device 400 to notify the terminal device 400 that the portal website display has failed, so that the terminal device 400 reselects to establish a communication connection with other terminal devices with Web capabilities to perform Wi-Fi login authentication.

[0624] Furthermore, if the terminal device 400 does not receive a response signal sent by the terminal device 500 within the preset response time (such as the data packet corresponding to the user operation sent by the terminal device 500 in step S705 below), it can be determined that the Wi-Fi login authentication of the terminal device 500 has failed, and it is necessary to reselect to establish a communication connection with other terminal devices with Web capabilities to perform Wi-Fi login authentication.

[0625] In other embodiments, when the terminal device 500 receives a portal website data packet while in the locked screen state, a prompt message is displayed, prompting the user that a portal website page is currently required to be displayed to assist the terminal device 400 in Wi-Fi login authentication. After receiving the user's confirmation operation and unlock operation, the terminal device 500 can display the portal website page.

[0626] The login confirmation operation detected in step S704 may be referred to as a sixth operation, and the data packet generated in step S704 may be referred to as a second data packet.

[0627] Step S705 : The terminal device 500 sends a data packet corresponding to the user operation to the terminal device 400 .

[0628] In some embodiments, the Web service of the terminal device 500 monitors the data packets generated by the browser application or other Web applications, and then forwards the data packets to the terminal device 400. Accordingly, the terminal device 400 receives the data packets corresponding to the user operation. For example, in the above step S704, Figure 10 In the illustrated scenario, the terminal device 500 generates a corresponding data packet after detecting the user clicking on the control 21, packages the data packet and sends it to the terminal device 400. The data packet can represent the user's login confirmation operation. The user clicking on the control 21 detected by the terminal device 500 can be called the seventh operation.

[0629] In some embodiments, while executing steps related to connecting terminal device 400 to AP 600 (e.g., step S704), terminal device 500 can also perform its own Internet access steps, such as accessing a hotspot and sending and receiving network messages. For example, the web service of terminal device 500 can selectively monitor and forward network data packets related to CaptivePortal Wi-Fi login authentication of terminal device 400 (e.g., data packets corresponding to user operations) through a preset method, and send such data packets to terminal device 400, rather than directly interacting with AP 600 for such data packets. The preset method includes, for example, presetting a special system interface, presetting specific fields in data packets, etc., to distinguish network data packets corresponding to terminal device 400 from its own network data packets through the preset method.

[0630] In step S706 , the terminal device 400 forwards the data packet corresponding to the user operation to the AP 600 .

[0631] In some embodiments, after receiving a data packet corresponding to a user operation sent by terminal device 500, terminal device 400 forwards the data packet to AP 600 via the source address and source port of terminal device 400, and performs portal website login authentication interaction with AP 600. AP 600 determines that login authentication is being performed on terminal device 400 based on the address and port corresponding to the received data packet. Only after the subsequent login authentication succeeds can AP 600 allow the terminal device 400 with the source address and source port to interact with AP 600.

[0632] That is, during the login authentication process for the portal website corresponding to terminal device 400, terminal device 500 must send any feedback packets received from terminal device 400 to terminal device 400, which then forwards them to AP 600. Correspondingly, packets sent by AP 600 to terminal device 400 must also be forwarded by terminal device 400 to terminal device 500. In other words, data packets corresponding to terminal device 400 are not directly transmitted between terminal device 500 and AP 600; terminal device 400 acts as a data packet relay.

[0633] It should be noted that if Figure 13Steps S707 through S709 within the dashed box can be executed multiple times until the captive portal Wi-Fi login authentication is complete. For example, in some embodiments, after receiving a data packet corresponding to a user operation, the AP 600 determines the meaning of the data packet corresponding to the user operation and then determines whether login authentication is complete or whether further authentication is required. If further authentication is required, steps S704 through S706 must be executed again. Therefore, the number of user login confirmation operations received by the terminal device 500 during the display of the portal website page is one or more.

[0634] For example, assuming the portal website's login authentication method uses a short message verification code, the portal website page displayed on terminal device 500 is a text message verification page. After detecting the user inputting a phone number (which can be the phone number associated with terminal device 500 or another terminal device) and determining the operation to send a verification code (i.e., step S704), terminal device 500 sends a data packet corresponding to the user's operation to terminal device 400 (i.e., step S705). Terminal device 400 forwards this data packet to AP 600 (i.e., step S706). After receiving this data packet, AP 600, through a backend module such as a short message service center, sends the verification code to the terminal device associated with the received phone number and sends a response data packet to terminal device 400, indicating that the verification code request was successful. Terminal device 400 forwards the response data packet to terminal device 500. The user then views the verification code on the terminal device that received it and enters it on the portal website page displayed on terminal device 500 (i.e., step S704). After detecting that the user has input the verification code and confirming that the verification code has been filled in, the terminal device 500 sends the corresponding data packet to the terminal device 400 (ie, step S705), and the terminal device 400 then forwards the data packet to the AP 600 (ie, step S706).

[0635] After executing steps S704 through S706 one or more times, AP 600 can determine that terminal device 400 has successfully logged into the portal website and allow terminal device 400 to access the captive portal Wi-Fi network provided by AP 600. Thus, terminal device 400 has successfully accessed the captive portal Wi-Fi network provided by AP 600 by temporarily borrowing the web capabilities of terminal device 500 in S704.

[0636] Through the above steps S701-S706, when the terminal device 400 without web capabilities needs to access the captive portal Wi-Fi, it can temporarily use the web capabilities of other terminal devices (such as terminal device 500) to complete authentication and access the captive portal Wi-Fi, thereby meeting the user's needs for different terminal devices to access the captive portal Wi-Fi and improving the user experience.

[0637] In optional steps S707 to S709 , the AP 600 notifies the terminal device 400 that it has successfully accessed the captive portal Wi-Fi.

[0638] In some embodiments, after the AP 600 allows the terminal device 400 to access the captive portal Wi-Fi, it may notify the terminal device 400 that it has successfully accessed the captive portal Wi-Fi. This allows the terminal device to promptly know that it has accessed the captive portal Wi-Fi, thereby providing various services to the user.

[0639] Of course, in some embodiments, the AP 600 may not need to notify the terminal device 400 that it has successfully connected to the captive portal Wi-Fi, and may only need to provide normal services to the terminal device 400 through the captive portal Wi-Fi. Not notifying the terminal 400 can save communication resources between devices.

[0640] In optional step S707 , the AP 600 sends a response data packet to the terminal device 400 .

[0641] The response data packet may be a data packet indicating that the login authentication is completed.

[0642] In optional step S708 , the terminal device 400 forwards the response data packet to the terminal device 500 .

[0643] In some embodiments, the terminal device 400 itself does not have Web capabilities, and the received response data packet is forwarded to the terminal device 500 for processing.

[0644] In optional step S709 , the terminal device 400 determines that the login authentication has been completed.

[0645] In some embodiments, while forwarding data packets sent by AP 600 and terminal device 500, terminal device 400 may determine whether login authentication has been completed using a preset login confirmation method at a preset login confirmation timing. After determining that login authentication has been completed, terminal device 400 may access the captive portal Wi-Fi provided by AP 600. The preset login confirmation timing may be referred to as a first preset timing.

[0646] In some embodiments, the preset login confirmation timing includes, for example, one or more of the following: a data packet sent by AP 600 and received by terminal device 400, or a data packet sent by terminal device 500, corresponding to a state where HTTP data packet transmission is disabled; a preset period; a preset time point; and a signal sent by terminal device 500 confirming the completion of login authentication. Terminal device 400 may select the preset login confirmation timing based on its own performance requirements, power consumption requirements, and other conditions to determine whether login authentication is complete.

[0647] For example, during the exchange of HTTP packets between two devices, if either device confirms that it has completed the transmission of all HTTP packets, it will send a packet with HTTP packet transmission disabled to the other device, such as an HTTP packet carrying a "byebye signal." Therefore, terminal device 400 can determine whether to confirm the completion of login authentication using the preset login confirmation method based on the status of the packets forwarded in steps S705 and S707.

[0648] For another example, during the login authentication process, the terminal device 400 determines whether the login authentication has been completed according to a preset login confirmation method according to a preset period. The preset login confirmation method can also be called the first preset method.

[0649] For another example, the terminal device 400 regularly determines whether the login authentication has been completed through a preset login confirmation method at a preset time point.

[0650] For another example, the terminal device 500 displays a confirmation interface, and the user confirms whether all login authentication operations have been completed.

[0651] For example, Figure 14In the interface 801 shown, the terminal device 500 (such as a mobile phone) displays a prompt box 81 to prompt the user whether to confirm that the login authentication has been completed. If the terminal device 500 detects that the user clicks the OK control 82, it sends a signal to the terminal device 400 to confirm that the login authentication has been completed. After that, after receiving the login authentication signal, the terminal device 400 determines whether the login authentication has been completed through a preset login confirmation method. If the terminal device 500 detects that the user clicks the OK control 83 to re-access the control, the above steps S705-S708 are repeated to perform login authentication again.

[0652] In some embodiments, the preset login confirmation method may include, for example, sending an HTTP request to the AP 600 and determining whether captive portal Wi-Fi login authentication has been completed based on the HTTP status code carried in the received network access response. If the HTTP status code is any of 200-207, the captive portal Wi-Fi login authentication has been completed. Alternatively, DNS query requests for at least two different domain names may be sent to the AP 600 and determining whether captive portal Wi-Fi login authentication has been completed based on whether the IP addresses carried in the received network access responses are the same. If the IP addresses are different, the captive portal Wi-Fi login authentication is determined to have been completed.

[0653] It should be noted that, as described in the above steps, the terminal device 400 may not know which redirection technology is used by the AP 600. Therefore, in the process of determining whether login authentication has been completed according to the preset login confirmation method, the preset login confirmation method includes the terminal device 400 sending an HTTP request and / or sending DNS query requests for at least two different domain names to the AP 600.

[0654] In some embodiments, after determining that the portal website login authentication for the terminal device 400 has been successful, the AP 600 directly sends the corresponding network resources to the terminal device 400 based on the network access request sent by the terminal device 400 to the AP 600 in step S701. Therefore, the terminal device 400 does not need to perform the step of determining that the login authentication has been completed in step S709. Instead, the terminal device 400 can directly determine that the portal website login authentication has been completed based on the received network resources and access the Captive portalWi-Fi. Therefore, step S709 is optional.

[0655] In this way, the terminal device 400 without Web capability can use the Web capability of the terminal device 500 to display the login authentication page of the portal website, complete the login authentication of the Captive portal Wi-Fi, and access the Captive portal Wi-Fi.

[0656] In some scenarios, after determining that the login authentication is completed, the terminal device 400 may disconnect from the terminal device 500. Therefore, an optional step S710 may be included after step S709.

[0657] In optional step S710 , the terminal device 400 sends a disconnection signal to the terminal device 500 .

[0658] In some embodiments, after determining that the login authentication of the captive portal Wi-Fi is complete, the terminal device 400 no longer needs to send data packets related to the login authentication of the captive portal Wi-Fi to the terminal device 500. The terminal device 400 may send a connection disconnection signal to the terminal device 500 to disconnect the communication connection with the terminal device 500 and independently access the captive portal Wi-Fi.

[0659] Optionally, after receiving the disconnection signal, the terminal device 500 may disconnect the communication connection with the terminal device 400 and send a disconnection response to the terminal device 400 to confirm the disconnection.

[0660] In this way, after completing the login authentication by using the Web capability of the terminal device 500, the terminal device 400 disconnects the communication connection with the terminal device 500 to achieve independent access to the Captive portal Wi-Fi.

[0661] Through steps S701-S706, terminal device 400 has successfully borrowed the web capabilities of terminal device 500 to access the captive portal Wi-Fi network. It no longer needs to borrow the web capabilities of terminal device 500. Disconnecting the connection between terminal devices 400 and 500 at S710 conserves communication resources on terminal device 400 without affecting communication between terminal device 500 and the captive portal Wi-Fi network.

[0662] In the above Figure 13 In the networking method shown, when the terminal device 400 accesses the captive portal Wi-Fi by using the web capability of the terminal device 500, each device processes the data packet differently.

[0663] refer to Figure 15 , Figure 15The embodiment shows how each device processes a data packet when the terminal device 400 accesses the captive portal Wi-Fi by using the web capability of the terminal device 500.

[0664] like Figure 15 As shown, when terminal device 400 accesses captive portal Wi-Fi using the web capabilities of terminal device 500, because terminal device 400 lacks web capabilities, it only processes the data packets at the transport, network, and physical layers, without performing application layer processing. Terminal device 500 then performs application layer processing on the data packets. Terminal device 400 can transparently transmit application layer data packets from the internet to terminal device 500, which then performs application layer processing on the data packets. Terminal device 400 can also perform transport, network, and physical layer processing on the application layer data packets from terminal device 500 before sending the data packets to the internet. Internet devices, such as AP 600, can perform the aforementioned four-layer processing on the data packets.

[0665] Combination of the above Figure 13 This article details how a terminal device can temporarily use the web capabilities of other devices to access a captive portal Wi-Fi network. Figure 16 and Figure 17 The Wi-Fi authentication device provided in the embodiment of the present application is described in detail.

[0666] In one possible design, Figure 16 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the terminal device 400 provided in the embodiment of the present application. Figure 16 As shown, terminal device 400, as a Wi-Fi authentication device, may include: a transceiver unit 1001 and a processing unit 1002. Terminal device 400 can be used to implement the terminal device functions involved in the above method embodiments. The terminal device does not have web capabilities, and the terminal device has web capabilities. Terminal devices with web capabilities generally have web applications installed, and terminal devices with web capabilities support HTTP / HTTPS protocols.

[0667] Optionally, the transceiver unit 1001 is used to support the terminal device 400 to execute Figure 13 S701, S702, S703, S705, S706, S708, and S710 in the .

[0668] Optionally, the processing unit 1002 is configured to support the terminal device 400 in executing Figure 13 S709 in.

[0669] The transceiver unit may include a receiving unit and a transmitting unit, and may be implemented by a transceiver or transceiver-related circuit components, and may be a transceiver or a transceiver module. The operations and / or functions of each unit in the terminal device 400 are respectively for implementing the corresponding processes of the networking method described in the above method embodiment. All relevant contents of each step involved in the above method embodiment can be referred to the functional description of the corresponding functional unit. For the sake of brevity, they are not repeated here.

[0670] Optionally, Figure 16 The terminal device 400 shown may further include a storage unit ( Figure 16 (not shown), the storage unit stores a program or instruction. When the transceiver unit 1001 and the processing unit 1002 execute the program or instruction, Figure 16 The terminal device 400 shown can execute the above Figure 13 The networking method described in the method embodiment.

[0671] Figure 16 The technical effects of the terminal device 400 shown can refer to the technical effects of the networking method described in the above method embodiment, and will not be repeated here.

[0672] In addition to being in the form of the terminal device 400, the technical solution provided in this application may also be a functional unit or chip in the terminal device, or a device used in conjunction with the terminal device.

[0673] In one possible design, Figure 17 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the terminal device 500 provided in the embodiment of the present application. Figure 17 As shown, terminal device 500, as a Wi-Fi authentication device, may include: a transceiver unit 1101, a display unit 1102, and a processing unit 1103. Terminal device 500 can be used to implement the terminal device functions involved in the above method embodiments. Among them, the terminal device does not have web capabilities, and the terminal device has web capabilities. Terminal devices with web capabilities generally have web applications installed, and terminal devices with web capabilities support HTTP / HTTPS protocols.

[0674] Optionally, the transceiver unit 1101 is used to support the terminal device 500 to execute Figure 13 S703, S705, S708, and S710 in it.

[0675] Optionally, the display unit 1102 is used to support the terminal device 500 to execute Figure 13 S704 in.

[0676] Optionally, the processing unit 1103 is configured to support the terminal device 500 in executing Figure 13 S704 in.

[0677] The transceiver unit may include a receiving unit and a transmitting unit, and may be implemented by a transceiver or transceiver-related circuit components, and may be a transceiver or a transceiver module. The operations and / or functions of each unit in the terminal device 500 are respectively to implement the corresponding processes of the networking method described in the above method embodiment. All relevant contents of each step involved in the above method embodiment can be referred to the functional description of the corresponding functional unit. For the sake of brevity, they are not repeated here.

[0678] Optionally, Figure 17 The terminal device 500 shown may further include a storage unit ( Figure 17 (not shown), the storage unit stores a program or instruction. When the transceiver unit 1101, the display unit 1102 and the processing unit 1103 execute the program or instruction, Figure 17 The terminal device 500 shown can execute the networking method described in the above method embodiment.

[0679] Figure 17 The technical effects of the terminal device 500 shown can refer to the technical effects of the networking method described in the above method embodiment, and will not be repeated here.

[0680] In addition to being in the form of the terminal device 500, the technical solution provided in this application may also be a functional unit or chip in the terminal device, or a device used in conjunction with the terminal device.

[0681] In the above Figure 13-17 In the embodiment, the terminal device 400 that needs to rely on the web capability provided by other devices to access the captive portal Wi-Fi can be called a fourth device, and the terminal device 500 that provides the web capability can be called a fifth device.

[0682] The above embodiment introduces a method for a terminal device to temporarily borrow the web capabilities of other devices to access a captive portal Wi-Fi network. The following describes a method for a terminal device to temporarily borrow the networking capabilities of other devices to activate an eSIM or a blank SIM card, thereby accessing the Internet.

[0683] Electronic devices that support eSIM or blank SIM may include network-side devices such as APs (such as CPEs), and may also include terminal devices such as smart watches, smart bracelets, and car computers. Subsequent implementations will mainly be explained using APs as an example. Subsequent embodiments do not limit the scope of protection of this application. In the networking method provided in the embodiments of this application, other electronic devices that support eSIM or blank SIM other than APs may also use the networking method to activate eSIM or blank SIM using the networking capabilities of other devices, which is not limited here.

[0684] CPE is an access device that receives mobile signals and retransmits them as Wi-Fi signals. It can provide Wi-Fi signals to multiple terminals simultaneously and perform secondary Wi-Fi signal amplification, making it a widely used access device.

[0685] Figure 18 A CPE activation scenario is shown. Figure 18 As shown in the following scenario, activating an eSIM-enabled CPE requires a terminal and a router. The CPE is connected to the router via an Ethernet cable, enabling the CPE to connect to the internet. After purchasing an eSIM-enabled CPE, users can use the terminal to purchase a plan from the operator's online store and obtain an eSIM activation code. Users can also purchase a plan and obtain an eSIM activation code at a physical operator store. In step 401, the CPE can provide the terminal with the CPE's management interface data so that the CPE's management interface can be displayed on the terminal. In step 402, the user can enter the eSIM activation code on the CPE's management interface displayed on the terminal to generate an activation instruction, and then send the activation instruction to the CPE. In step 403, the CPE generates an activation request based on the activation instruction and transmits the activation request to the router via a network cable. In step 404, the router can forward the activation request from the CPE to the operator's server. In step 405, the operator's server can verify the data carried in the activation request sent by the CPE. If the verification is successful, the operator's server sends the profile to the router. In step 406, the router forwards the profile to the CPE on behalf of the operator's server to complete the activation of the eSIM card. However, in actual scenarios, the CPE may not be able to connect to the router, and in this case, the eSIM activation operation cannot be performed.

[0686] In the above scenario, the router provides network services to the CPE, making the router the server and the CPE the client. In addition, the CPE provides the terminal with a service for logging into the CPE management interface, making the CPE the server and the terminal the client.

[0687] If, in the above scenario, the router providing network services to the CPE is replaced with a terminal that can provide network services to the CPE via a hotspot, for ease of description, this terminal can be referred to as the first terminal, and the terminal used to log in to the CPE management interface can be referred to as the second terminal. In this case, the first terminal is the server of the CPE, the CPE is the client of the first terminal, and the CPE is the server of the second terminal. However, in actual scenarios, the conditions for the first and second terminals to coexist may not be met. That is, if there is only one terminal with network capabilities, if this terminal is used as the first terminal to provide network services to the CPE, it cannot also log in to the CPE management interface as a client. If this terminal is used as the second terminal to log in to the CPE management interface, it cannot also provide network services to the CPE as a server. In this case, the eSIM cannot be activated.

[0688] Therefore, embodiments of the present application provide a networking method whereby an AP and a terminal can exchange data via a near-field transmission connection, enabling the terminal and the AP to function as peer-to-peer networked parties, acting as both the server and client, providing each other with their respective services. This allows a user to activate a blank SIM card or eSIM card using a single network-capable terminal, and to perform configuration operations on the AP during the activation process. For example, the configuration operations may include setting a username and password for the AP, as well as parameters for how many terminal devices can simultaneously access the AP.

[0689] It should be understood that, for the sake of convenience of description, data related to the activation operation of a blank SIM or eSIM may be referred to as activation data, for example, profile, activation instructions, activation requests, and the fourth data packet fed back by the operator to the AP's activation request, etc. may be considered as activation data; data related to the setting operation of the AP may be referred to as setting data, for example, the AP's management interface data provided by the AP to the terminal, the setting information sent by the terminal to the AP, etc., wherein the setting information may, for example, include relevant information for the terminal to set a user name and password for the AP, and the setting information may also include relevant information for controlling the AP to allow several terminal devices to access at the same time. The setting information in this application includes but is not limited to this.

[0690] In an embodiment of the present application, near-field transmission may refer to the ability of devices (such as the AP and the terminal described above) to communicate under near-field conditions, such as data transmission. For example, communication between devices can be achieved based on the communication function of the wireless communication module of the terminal. The premise of near-field transmission is to establish a near-field connection. Establishing a near-field connection may, for example, include the discovery of near-field devices, the verification of near-field devices, and the establishment of a connection between devices. It should be understood that in an embodiment of the present application, a connection will be established between devices only after the near-field device verification is successful, and only after the connection is successfully established can the devices communicate; otherwise, the connection between the devices fails and the devices cannot communicate.

[0691] For example, in one possible implementation, devices communicate via Bluetooth. The Bluetooth communication protocol enables device discovery within a 50-meter radius. All Bluetooth-enabled electronic devices within a 50-meter radius, with the Bluetooth-enabled device as the center, are considered near-field devices (including the Bluetooth-enabled device). However, it should be understood that devices within this circular range can only establish a Bluetooth connection with the device at the center of the circle and communicate via Bluetooth if their Bluetooth function is enabled.

[0692] It should be understood that the implementation method of near-field transmission is not limited to Bluetooth. For example, two devices can also establish a near-field connection through Wi-Fi Direct; for another example, two devices can also establish a near-field connection through a universal USB interface; for another example, two devices can also establish a near-field connection through an Ethernet interface using a network cable. This application does not impose any restrictions on the method of establishing a near-field connection.

[0693] A near-field device may refer to a device in a near-field condition, such as an AP device (e.g., a router, CPE, etc.), a terminal device (e.g., a mobile phone, a laptop, etc.), etc. The near-field condition in the embodiment of the present application may refer to a near-field connection that can be established between devices.

[0694] A profile may refer to an operator profile. A profile may include, but is not limited to, a combination of a file system, file contents, data, and applications installed on a UICC. It primarily carries information such as the IMSI and authentication parameters, and upon activation, enables access to its corresponding mobile network. In embodiments of the present application, upon activation of the profile, the user identity module (UIM) can connect to the network, and the AP configured with the UIM can be activated to provide communication services. A UICC may include both a SIM and an eSIM, which is not limited in this application.

[0695] Figure 19 This is a schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 19As shown, the communication system includes a terminal device 700, an AP 800, and a server 900 provided by a communication service operator.

[0696] The terminal device 700 may also be referred to as a mobile device, etc. The terminal device may include a wireless terminal and a wired terminal. In the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device 700 may include, but is not limited to, a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a smart watch, a wearable device, an in-vehicle device, an augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) device, a laptop computer, a personal computer (PC), an ultra-mobile personal computer (UMPC), a netbook, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a distributed device, etc.

[0697] The terminal device 700 has networking capabilities, that is, the terminal can access the operator server 900 using a variety of methods such as cellular mobile network, WLAN, Ethernet, USB, Bluetooth, etc.

[0698] The terminal device 700 may be the above Figure 1 The networked terminal device 200 in the communication system shown can also be Figure 11 The terminal device 500 in the communication system shown may also be other networked terminal devices, which is not limited here.

[0699] The AP 800 is an access point for wireless terminals to access wired networks. It is primarily used in broadband homes, building interiors, campuses, campuses, warehouses, factories, and other locations requiring wireless monitoring. Its typical coverage range is tens to hundreds of meters, but it can also be used for long-distance transmission, reaching up to approximately 30 kilometers. The AP 800 acts as a bridge between wired and wireless networks, connecting wireless network clients and then connecting the wireless network to Ethernet. Routers, CPEs, gateways, bridges, and other devices can function as AP800s.

[0700] AP 800 is used to create a WLAN. After a terminal device joins the network created by AP 800, it can connect to the Internet through the AP 800.

[0701] Routers, gateways, bridges and other devices can be used to convert wired networks into wireless WLANs to facilitate access by terminal devices.

[0702] CPE receives mobile signals (i.e., cellular network signals) from network devices (such as base stations) and retransmits them as Wi-Fi signals. CPE can provide Wi-Fi signals to multiple devices simultaneously and can also provide secondary Wi-Fi signal amplification, making it a widely used access device.

[0703] AP 800 can be the above Figure 1 The wireless access point 400 in the communication system shown in the figure may also be the above-mentioned Figure 11 The AP 600 in the communication system shown may also be other wireless access points.

[0704] The terminal device 700 and the AP 800 communicate based on a near-field connection; the terminal device 700 is used to send an activation instruction to the AP 800, and the activation instruction is used to download the configuration file; the AP 800 is used to send an activation request to the terminal device 700 in response to the received activation instruction, and the activation request is used to request downloading the configuration file from the operator server 900; the terminal device 700 is used to forward the activation request to the operator server 900, and to forward the configuration file received from the operator server 900 to the AP 800.

[0705] The server 900 can communicate with the terminal device 700 to receive an activation request sent by the terminal device 700 and send a configuration file to the terminal device 700 in response to the activation request. The server 900 and the terminal device 700 can communicate using a variety of methods, such as a cellular mobile network, WLAN, Ethernet, USB, Bluetooth, etc., which are not limited here.

[0706] Server 900 and Figure 1 The servers 500 in the communication system 10 shown can be the same server or different servers, which is not limited here.

[0707] The structure and structure of the terminal device 700 that provides networking capability to activate eSIM or blank SIM in the embodiment of the present application Figure 2A The structure of the terminal device shown is similar, please refer to Figure 2A and related descriptions.

[0708] Among them, the memory can be used to store application code, such as application code used to provide the terminal device 700 with networking capabilities to activate the eSIM or blank SIM, so that a near-field transmission connection is established between the terminal device 700 and the AP800; process wireless connection services of the terminal device 700, etc.

[0709] The processor can be used to execute the above application code and call related modules to implement the functions of the terminal device 700 in the embodiment of the present application. For example, it can implement functions such as near field transmission connection between the terminal device 700 and the AP 800.

[0710] The wireless communication module can be used to support data exchange between the terminal device 700 and the AP 800 using wireless communication technologies such as BT, WLAN (such as Wi-Fi), Zigbee, FM, NFC, IR, or general 2.4G / 5G wireless communication technologies.

[0711] Figure 20 It is a structural block diagram of the software and hardware of the terminal device 700 that provides networking capabilities to activate the eSIM or blank SIM.

[0712] like Figure 20 As shown, the software architecture of the terminal device 700 may include four layers: application layer, application framework layer, system library and kernel layer. Figure 2B The software architecture shown is similar, please refer to Figure 2B and related descriptions.

[0713] The difference is that the application layer of terminal device 700 can include at least a browser and / or a CPE management application. The browser can be used to access world wide web (Web) applications, and terminal device 700 can access CPE management services provided by the CPE through the browser. The CPE management application can be used to manage and control CPE applications, and terminal device 700 can access and control CPE management services through the CPE application.

[0714] like Figure 20 As shown, the application framework layer of the terminal device 700 may include at least a routing management service and a near field transmission module, etc.

[0715] Among them, the routing management service of the terminal device 700 can be used to manage the transmission of data interacting between the terminal device 700 and the CPE.

[0716] The near-field transmission module of terminal device 700 is a functional module abstracted from near-field communication capabilities such as Bluetooth, WLAN, USB, and Ethernet. While the near-field transmission module may not physically exist, its functionality can be implemented through program code. This module can be used for near-field transmission between terminal device 700 and CPE. This includes device discovery, identity authentication, verification, and various other transmission methods, enabling the exchange of instructions, information, and network data between the terminal device 700 and the CPE.

[0717] It should be understood that, at the physical level, the near-field transmission module can adopt physical communication elements in the near field and / or local area network, including but not limited to Bluetooth communication elements, WLAN communication elements, Wi-Fi direct communication elements, Ethernet interfaces and USB interfaces, etc.; at the system level, the near-field transmission module can be used to realize the discovery of nearby devices, and can also be used to authenticate whether the devices to be connected belong to the same user, and can also be used to transmit information between connected devices.

[0718] The kernel layer of the terminal device 700 may include network routing and local routing.

[0719] Figure 21 This is a block diagram of the software and hardware structure of the CPE that uses the networking capabilities of other devices to activate the eSIM or blank SIM.

[0720] like Figure 21 As shown in Figure 2, the software architecture of CPE can be divided into four layers: application layer, application framework layer, system library layer and kernel layer. Figure 2B The software architecture shown is similar, please refer to Figure 2B and related descriptions.

[0721] like Figure 21 As shown, CPE is an example of AP 800, and the application framework layer of CPE may at least include CPE management service, SIM management service, routing management service and near field transmission module.

[0722] The CPE management service of the CPE may be a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) service, which is used for visual display of the terminal and control of various configurations of the CPE.

[0723] The CPE routing management service can be used to manage the transmission of data exchanged between the CPE and the terminal.

[0724] The SIM management service can be used to manage SIM activation, for example, generating an activation request based on an activation instruction from a terminal; the CPE control service can be used to configure or control the CPE, for example, making corresponding configuration responses based on terminal configuration information. It should be understood that when the CPE is an eSIM-supported CPE, the SIM management service can also be an eSIM management service.

[0725] The near-field transmission module of the CPE may be the same as or similar to the near-field transmission module of the terminal. For the sake of brevity, it will not be described here. For a specific description, please refer to the near-field transmission module of the terminal mentioned above.

[0726] The core layer of the CPE may also include network routing and local routing.

[0727] The data cards supported by CPEs on the market are divided into two types: SIM cards and eSIM cards. When using a CPE that supports a blank SIM card that can be inserted into a physical device, such as the SIM card that comes with the CPE; or when using a CPE that supports an eSIM card, users can purchase packages online, authenticate their real names, and remotely open and close accounts by themselves, as well as independently choose the network they want to use. However, this method has the problem of initial network activation of the CPE. That is, after the user purchases a CPE that supports a blank SIM card that can be inserted into a physical device or a CPE that supports eSIM cards, they need to connect to the operator's server to activate the blank SIM or eSIM card. However, before the blank SIM or eSIM card is activated, the CPE itself cannot connect to the Internet and needs to rely on other devices with Internet access to provide the network, but generally, such activation conditions are not met.

[0728] It should be understood that before being activated, blank SIMs and eSIMs are not configured with service-providing configuration files (e.g., profiles) and therefore cannot provide services. Therefore, even if a SIM is inserted into a CPE, if the SIM is blank, the CPE will still not be able to connect to the Internet; or, if the CPE supports eSIM, the CPE will still not be able to connect to the Internet before the eSIM is activated. Activating a blank SIM or an eSIM can be understood as downloading a configuration file from the operator's server and activating the configuration file and configuring it on the blank SIM or eSIM. Since blank SIMs and eSIMs can provide services after being configured with activated configuration files, the CPE has the ability to connect to the Internet and can provide services to the outside world, which means that the CPE is activated.

[0729] In order to better understand the method provided by this application, the following Figure 22 、 Figure 23 and Figure 24 The networking method provided in the embodiments of the present application is described in detail.

[0730] Figure 22 This is a schematic flow chart of a networking method provided in an embodiment of the present application. The method may include the following steps:

[0731] In step S801, the terminal device 700 and the AP 800 establish a near field transmission connection.

[0732] It should be understood that, as mentioned above, the AP 800 and the terminal device 700 can establish a near-field connection via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi Direct, USB, and Ethernet interfaces.

[0733] For example, when both AP 800 and terminal device 700 have Bluetooth communication elements, AP 800 and terminal device 700 can establish a near-field connection via Bluetooth; or, when both AP 800 and terminal device 700 have Wi-Fi direct communication elements, AP 800 and terminal device 700 can establish a near-field connection via Bluetooth; or, when both AP 800 and terminal device 700 have USB interfaces, AP 800 and terminal device 700 can establish a near-field connection via the USB interface with the aid of a data cable, and sometimes a data cable and an adapter are also required to establish a near-field connection via the USB interface; or, when both AP 800 and terminal device 700 have Ethernet interfaces, AP 800 and terminal device 700 can establish a near-field connection via the Ethernet interface with the aid of a network cable.

[0734] In optional step S802 , the AP 800 negotiates routing rules with the terminal device 700 .

[0735] The transmission path of the activation data and the transmission path of the setting data can be preset through routing rules.

[0736] Routing rules can be used to indicate the transmission path of data, and can also be understood as routing rules being used to indicate the transmission path of activation data and the transmission path of setting data. The activation data may include data related to the activation operation of the blank SIM or eSIM of the entity, and the setting data may include data related to the setting operation of the AP 800. The transmission path of the activation data is different from the transmission path of the setting data.

[0737] Specifically, routing rules can be used to guide terminal device 700 and AP 800 on how to process received data, for example, forwarding or performing corresponding processing on the data itself. For AP 800, routing rules can indicate the transmission path of data arriving at AP 800; for terminal device 700, routing rules can be used to indicate the transmission path of data arriving at terminal device 700. In other words, routing rules are the rules that should be followed for data transmission between AP 800 and terminal device 700. These routing rules can be pre-stored in the routing management services of AP 800 and terminal device 700, allowing AP 800 and terminal device 700 to make appropriate processing of data related to activation operations and data related to configuration operations.

[0738] There can be many types of routing rules, for example, routing rules based on the destination address, routing rules based on the method of establishing a near-field connection, or routing rules based on a network transmission port. It should be understood that a network transmission port refers to a logical port, for example, a port that supports the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), and this application does not limit this.

[0739] The AP 800 and the terminal device 700 may select corresponding routing rules according to the manner of establishing the near field connection.

[0740] Several routing rules are given as examples below.

[0741] Routing rules based on destination address:

[0742] In this routing rule, the destination address of the activation data is different from the destination address of the setting data.

[0743] For example, for data received from AP 800 or the operator server and data generated by itself, the terminal device 700 can determine whether the data is setting data by judging whether the destination address of the data is the terminal device 700 itself. If the destination address is the terminal device 700 itself, the data is setting data; if the destination address is the operator server or AP 800, the data is activation data; for activation data, the terminal device 700 needs to forward the data to the operator server or AP 800 according to the destination address. For setting operation data, the terminal device 700 can send it to AP 800 or itself for corresponding processing.

[0744] Routing rules based on the method of establishing near-field connections:

[0745] In this routing rule, the method of the near field connection used to transmit the activation data is different from the method of the near field connection used to transmit the setting data.

[0746] Since AP 800 and terminal device 700 can have multiple near-field connection methods, and AP 800 and terminal device 700 may establish near-field connections in multiple methods simultaneously, there can be multiple routing rules based on the method of establishing the near-field connection. After AP 800 and terminal device 700 establish a near-field connection, AP 800 and terminal device 700 can determine specific routing rules based on the method of establishing the near-field connection. This implementation method can be applied to the situation where AP 800 and terminal device 700 have established at least two near-field connections. For example, AP 800 and terminal device 700 have established two near-field connections, Wi-Fi Direct and USB, at the same time. AP 800 and terminal device 700 can negotiate to transmit configuration data via the near-field connection method of Wi-Fi Direct, and to transmit other data, including activation data, via the USB near-field connection method.

[0747] Routing rules based on network transmission ports:

[0748] In this routing rule, the port through which activation data is transmitted is different from the port through which setting data is transmitted.

[0749] This implementation can be applied to situations where AP 800 and terminal device 700 each have at least two identical transmission ports. AP 800 and terminal device 700 need to pre-agreed on the transmission ports. For example, AP 800 has two transmission ports, port 1 and port 2, and terminal device 700 also has two corresponding ports, port 1 and port 2. In this case, AP 800 and terminal device 700 can negotiate and determine a routing rule that transmits configuration data through port 1 and data, including activation data, through port 2. Alternatively, the routing rule can be such that activation data is transmitted through port 1 and other data, including configuration data, is transmitted through port 2. It should be understood that the ports mentioned here can be either logical or physical ports. As long as AP 800 and terminal device 700 agree on which type of data is transmitted through which port, this application does not impose any limitations on this.

[0750] Accordingly, after AP 800 and terminal device 700 negotiate and determine the routing rules, AP 800 also needs to process the data according to the routing rules:

[0751] Routing rules based on destination address:

[0752] For example, the AP 800 may set the destination address of the activation data generated by itself to the server, and set the destination address of the setting data generated by itself to the terminal device 700.

[0753] Routing rules based on the method of establishing near-field connections:

[0754] For example, the AP 800 may send data including activation data generated by itself through a USB interface, and may send setting data generated by itself through a Wi-Fi direct connection.

[0755] Routing rules based on network transmission ports:

[0756] AP 800 needs to use the specific routing rules determined by AP 800 and terminal device 700 to send the data it generates using the determined routing rules. For example, based on the routing rules, AP 800 can send data including activation data generated by itself through port 1 and send configuration data generated by itself through port 2. Alternatively, based on the routing rules, AP 800 can send data including activation data generated by itself through port 2 and send configuration data generated by itself through port 1. It should be understood that after AP 800 establishes a near-field connection with terminal device 700, all data transmission between AP 800 and terminal device 700 is transmitted via the near-field connection. It should also be understood that after AP 800 establishes a near-field connection with terminal device 700, AP 800 and terminal device 700 can know each other's Internet Protocol (IP) addresses. For example, AP 800 can act as a dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP) server to assign an IP to terminal device 700, and AP 800 itself uses a fixed IP to provide terminal device 700 with data of the AP 800 management interface, so that AP 800 and terminal device 700 can know each other's IPs. For example, when a terminal device 700 performs a setting operation on AP 800, AP 800 can know which terminal device 700 performed the setting operation on AP 800. The user can directly open the AP 800 management application on the terminal device 700, such as the CPE management application, to directly display the CPE management interface. Alternatively, the fixed IP address of AP 800 can be displayed on the AP 800 device in the form of a QR code or text. The user can log in to the AP 800 management interface by scanning the QR code of the AP 800 IP address with the terminal device 700, or by entering the AP 800 IP address in the browser of the terminal device 700. The data displayed on the AP 800 management interface can be considered as data related to the configuration operation. AP 800 sends this data to the terminal device 700 via a near-field connection. The terminal device 700 then displays the AP 800 management interface through the browser or the AP 800 management application.

[0757] The terminal device 700 and the AP 800 can transmit data based on a near field connection, and determine the transmission path and processing method for the data generated by themselves and the data received from the other end according to the routing rules.

[0758] Through optional step S802, the terminal device 700 and the AP 800 can negotiate routing rules, so that the transmission path and processing method for the data generated by themselves and the data received from the other end can be determined based on the routing rules, thereby supporting the AP 800 to borrow the networking capabilities of the terminal device 700 to activate the eSIM or blank SIM.

[0759] In step S803 , the AP 800 receives an activation instruction from the terminal device 700 based on the near field connection with the terminal device 700 .

[0760] In some embodiments, based on the near field connection, the terminal device 700 may request access to the management interface of the AP 800 through the fixed IP of the AP 800 , and the AP 800 may send the management interface data of the AP 800 to the terminal device 700 .

[0761] The management interface data of AP 800 is used to generate a management interface, which is sent to terminal device 700 for displaying the management interface of AP 800 on terminal device 700. The management interface of AP 800 is used for users to enter activation codes and / or setting information. The activation code corresponds to the configuration file, and the setting information is used to configure parameters of AP 800.

[0762] As mentioned above, after purchasing CPE, users can purchase packages from the operator's online store through terminal device 700 and obtain activation codes. Users can also go to the physical operator store to purchase packages and obtain activation codes.

[0763] After a user accesses the management interface of AP 800 using terminal device 700, they can perform operations on the management interface of AP 800, such as activating a physical blank SIM or eSIM. As mentioned above, the activation operation may include, for example, entering an activation code on the management interface of AP 800 displayed on terminal device 700. A configuration operation may include, for example, setting the user name and password of AP 800, the maximum number of terminal devices 700 that can be connected simultaneously, etc. on the management interface of AP 800 displayed on terminal device 700.

[0764] The user can enter the activation code on the management interface of AP 800 displayed on terminal device 700. In response to the user's operation, terminal device 700 generates an activation instruction and sends it to AP 800 via near-field connection. Correspondingly, AP 800 receives the activation instruction from terminal device 700 via near-field connection.

[0765] The activation instruction is used to download the profile. The activation instruction may include a profile download instruction, which may carry an activation code, and a profile activation instruction, which may carry the profile integrated circuit card identity (ICCID). The ICCID is a unique identifier for the profile. When the profile is configured on a SIM or eSIM, the ICCID can also be considered a unique identifier on the SIM or eSIM.

[0766] As mentioned above, the activation instruction may specifically include a profile download instruction and a profile activation instruction. The profile download instruction may carry an activation code, and the profile activation instruction may carry an ICCID. The activation instruction may be used to instruct AP 800 to activate a blank SIM or eSIM. The activation instruction may be understood as a carrier for carrying the activation code for the blank SIM or eSIM. This application is not limited to this.

[0767] As mentioned above, activation instructions, activation requests, and configuration files are activation data, while management interface data and setting information are setting data.

[0768] Optionally, the transmission path of the activation data is different from the transmission path of the setting data.

[0769] In step S804 , the AP 800 sends an activation request to the operator server through the terminal device 700 based on the near field connection in response to the activation instruction.

[0770] The activation request is used to request the download of a configuration file from the operator server. AP 800 generates an activation request in response to the activation instruction sent by terminal device 700. The activation request can be understood as a profile download request, or in other words, the activation request is a series of HTTP request data used to download the profile stored on the operator server. The destination address of the activation request is the operator server. Since AP 800 currently has no network capability, AP 800 can first transmit the activation request to terminal device 700 via a near-field secure transmission connection based on the routing rules pre-determined with terminal device 700. Terminal device 700 can also help AP 800 forward the activation request to the operator server based on the routing rules. For example, terminal device 700 can use its own network to forward the activation request to the operator server.

[0771] Step S805 : Based on the near field connection, the AP 800 receives a configuration file from the operator server from the terminal device 700 .

[0772] When the activation request sent by the terminal device 700 to the operator server by the AP 800 passes the verification of the operator service, the operator server can send the configuration file to the terminal device 700, which is then forwarded to the AP 800 by the terminal device 700.

[0773] In a possible implementation, based on the near field connection, the AP 800 receives a fourth data packet from the operator server from the terminal device 700 .

[0774] The fourth data packet may specifically be a data packet generated by the operator server to feedback the activation request, and the fourth data packet may carry the profile. For example, after receiving the activation request from AP 800, the operator server may respond to the activation request and generate a corresponding data packet to feedback the activation request. For example, the operator server verifies the request data sent by AP 800. If the verification is successful, the operator server sends the profile back to AP 800. In this case, the fourth data packet includes the profile. If the verification fails, the operator server sends back data to AP 800 indicating that the activation was unsuccessful. In this case, the fourth data packet does not include the profile. For ease of distinction and explanation, the data packet generated by the operator server in response to the activation request is referred to herein as the fourth data packet.

[0775] In step S806, ...

Claims

1. A communication system, characterized in that: The communication system includes a first device and a second device, The second device is used to access a cellular network and communicate with the Internet through the cellular network. The second device includes a Wi-Fi network card and a cellular network card. The Wi-Fi network card of the second device is used to support the second device and the first device to establish a first communication connection. The cellular network card is used to support the second device to access the cellular network. The Wi-Fi network card of the second device is used to receive data packets from the Wi-Fi network card of the first device, and the Wi-Fi network card of the second device is configured to forward the data packets to the cellular network card. The first device is configured to enable a distributed networking capability, the distributed networking capability being configured to support establishment of the first communication connection between the first device and the second device connected to the Internet, the first communication connection comprising a Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) point-to-point (P2P) connection, the first device comprising a Wi-Fi network card and not comprising a cellular network card, the Wi-Fi network card of the first device being configured to support establishment of the first communication connection between the first device and the second device; The first device is further configured to prompt the user that the distributed networking capability and the wireless local area network (WLAN) capability are both enabled; The second device is further configured to establish the first communication connection with the first device; The first device is further configured to communicate with the Internet via the first communication connection established with the second device; The first device is further configured to access the Internet based on a wireless local area network (WLAN) when communicating via the first communication connection; The first device is further configured to display, in a status bar, the network quality of the cellular network and the network quality of the wireless local area network (WLAN) shared by the second device.

2. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein: The Wi-Fi network card of the second device is a physical Wi-Fi network card, or a virtual Wi-Fi network card that is a virtualization of a portion of the physical Wi-Fi network card in the second device that supports the Wi-Fi P2P technical standard; and / or, The Wi-Fi network card of the first device is a physical Wi-Fi network card, or a virtual Wi-Fi network card that is a virtualization of a portion of the physical Wi-Fi network card in the first device that supports the Wi-Fi P2P technical standard.

3. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein: The first device is further configured to display, in a status bar, an identifier of the cellular network shared by the second device and / or an identifier of a terminal device providing the cellular network.

4. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein: The first device is further configured to access the Internet based on a wireless local area network (WLAN) when communicating with the Internet through the first communication connection.

5. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein: The second device is further configured to display a shared network identifier, where the shared network identifier is configured to prompt that the second device has lent its networking capability to the first device. The communication system according to claim 1 , wherein: The first device and the second device are logged in to the same system account.

7. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein: The second device is further configured to transparently transmit data packets communicated between the first device and the Internet.

8. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein: The second device is also used to send networking capability information to the first device, and the networking capability information includes one or more of the following: the networking mode of the second device, the identifier of the network connected to the Internet by the second device, and the quality of the network connected to the Internet by the second device.

9. The communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The communication system further includes a third device; The first device is further configured to receive networking capability information sent by the third device, where the networking capability information sent by the third device is used to indicate whether the third device is connected to the network, and to select the second device from the connected devices.

10. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: The second device accesses a cellular network and communicates with the Internet via the cellular network, the second device including a Wi-Fi network card and a cellular network card, the Wi-Fi network card of the second device being used to support the second device in establishing a first communication connection with the first device, the cellular network card being used to support the second device in accessing the cellular network, the Wi-Fi network card of the second device being used to receive data packets from the Wi-Fi network card of the first device, and the Wi-Fi network card of the second device being configured to forward the data packets to the cellular network card; The first device activates a distributed networking capability, the distributed networking capability being used to support establishment of the first communication connection between the first device and the second device connected to the Internet, the first communication connection comprising a Wireless Fidelity point-to-point (Wi-Fi) P2P connection, the first device comprising a Wi-Fi network card and not comprising a cellular network card, the Wi-Fi network card of the first device being used to support establishment of the first communication connection between the first device and the second device; The first device prompts the user that the distributed networking capability and the wireless local area network (WLAN) capability are both enabled; The second device establishes the first communication connection with the first device; The first device communicates with the Internet via the first communication connection established with the second device; The first device also accesses the Internet based on a wireless local area network (WLAN) when communicating via the first communication connection; The first device displays the network quality of the cellular network and the network quality of the wireless local area network (WLAN) shared by the second device in a status bar.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The Wi-Fi network card of the second device is a physical Wi-Fi network card, or a virtual Wi-Fi network card that is a virtualization of a portion of the physical Wi-Fi network card in the second device that supports the Wi-Fi P2P technical standard; and / or, The Wi-Fi network card of the first device is a physical Wi-Fi network card, or a virtual Wi-Fi network card that is a virtualization of a portion of the physical Wi-Fi network card in the first device that supports the Wi-Fi P2P technical standard.

12. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The method further comprises: The first device displays the shared identifier of the cellular network of the second device and / or the identifier of the terminal device providing the cellular network in a status bar.

13. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that When the first device accesses the Internet through the first communication connection, it also accesses the Internet based on a wireless local area network (WLAN).

14. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The second device displays a shared network identifier, where the shared network identifier is used to prompt that the second device has lent its networking capability to the first device.

15. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 14, characterized in that: The method further comprises: The second device sends networking capability information to the first device, where the networking capability information includes one or more of the following: a networking mode of the second device, an identifier of a network connected to the Internet by the second device, and a quality of the network connected to the Internet by the second device.

16. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: The first device activates a distributed networking capability, the distributed networking capability being used to support establishment of a first communication connection between the first device and a second device connected to the Internet, the first communication connection comprising a Wireless Fidelity point-to-point (Wi-Fi) P2P connection, the first device comprising a Wi-Fi network card and not comprising a cellular network card, the Wi-Fi network card of the first device being used to support establishment of the first communication connection between the first device and the second device; The first device prompts the user that the distributed networking capability and the wireless local area network (WLAN) capability are both enabled; The first device establishes the first communication connection with the second device, the second device accesses a cellular network and communicates with the Internet through the cellular network, the second device includes a Wi-Fi network card and a cellular network card, the Wi-Fi network card of the second device is used to support the second device to establish the first communication connection with the first device, the cellular network card is used to support the second device to access the cellular network, the Wi-Fi network card of the second device is used to receive data packets from the Wi-Fi network card of the first device, and the Wi-Fi network card of the second device is configured to forward the data packets to the cellular network card; The first device communicates with the Internet via the first communication connection established with the second device; The first device also accesses the Internet based on a wireless local area network (WLAN) when communicating via the first communication connection; The first device displays the network quality of the cellular network and the network quality of the wireless local area network (WLAN) shared by the second device in a status bar.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that The Wi-Fi network card of the second device is a physical Wi-Fi network card, or a virtual Wi-Fi network card that is a virtualization of a portion of the physical Wi-Fi network card in the second device that supports the Wi-Fi P2P technical standard; and / or, The Wi-Fi network card of the first device is a physical Wi-Fi network card, or a virtual Wi-Fi network card that is a virtualization of a portion of the physical Wi-Fi network card in the first device that supports the Wi-Fi P2P technical standard.

18. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that The method further comprises: The first device displays the shared identifier of the cellular network of the second device and / or the identifier of the terminal device providing the cellular network in a status bar.

19. The method according to claim 16, wherein The method further comprises: When the first device communicates with the Internet through the first communication connection, the first device also accesses the Internet based on a wireless local area network (WLAN).

20. The method according to claim 16, wherein The first device and the second device are logged in to the same system account.

21. The method according to claim 16, wherein The method further comprises: The first device receives networking capability information sent by the second device, where the networking capability information includes one or more of the following: a networking mode of the second device, an identifier of a network connected to the Internet by the second device, and a quality of the network connected to the Internet by the second device.

22. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 21, characterized in that The method further comprises: The first device receives networking capability information sent by a third device, where the networking capability information sent by the third device is used to indicate whether the third device is connected to the network, and selects the second device from the connected devices.

23. An electronic device, characterized in that: include: A memory, one or more processors; the memory is coupled to the one or more processors, the memory is used to store computer program code, the computer program code includes computer instructions, and the one or more processors call the computer instructions to enable the electronic device to execute the method as described in any one of claims 16-22.

24. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that The computer-readable storage medium comprises a computer program, and when the computer program is run on an electronic device, the electronic device is caused to perform the method according to any one of claims 16 to 22.

25. A computer program product, characterized in that The method comprises a program code, which, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 16 to 22.

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