Seamless transition for extended personal area network (XPAN) coverage

Abstract

Methods, systems, and devices for wireless communication are described herein. Techniques described herein provide for extending the range of personal audio devices connected to a personal wireless communication device by enabling the personal audio device to connect to and communicate with the personal wireless communication device via an access point (AP). The AP may have a larger range than the personal wireless communication device, and thus, when the direct link quality between the personal audio device and the personal wireless communication device is below a threshold, the AP may be used to stream audio or voice calls to the personal audio device. To reduce latency and packet loss associated with transitions between communicating directly with a personal wireless communication device and communicating with a personal wireless communication device via an AP or transitions between multiple APs, a personal audio device may be configured to establish a new wireless communication connection prior to disconnecting a current wireless communication connection.

Description

[0001] Cross-references

[0002] This patent application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 486,211, filed on February 21, 2023, by ELSHERIF et al., entitled “SEAMLESS TRANSITIONS FOR EXTENDED PESONAL AUDIO NETWORK (XPAN) COVERAGE,” and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 18 / 581,259, filed on February 19, 2024, by ELSHERIF et al., entitled “SEAMLESS TRANSITIONS FOR EXTENDED PESONAL AUDIO NETWORK (XPAN) COVERAGE,” each of which is assigned to the assignee of this application and each of which is expressly incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communications and, more particularly, to seamless transitions for extended personal area network (XPAN) coverage. Background Art

[0004] A wireless local area network (WLAN) can be formed by one or more wireless access points (APs), which provide a shared wireless communication medium for multiple client devices (also known as wireless stations (STAs)). A fundamental component of a WLAN that complies with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 family of standards is the Basic Service Set (BSS), which is managed by the AP. Each BSS is identified by a Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID) advertised by the AP. The AP periodically broadcasts beacon frames, enabling any STA within the AP's wireless range to establish or maintain a communication link with the WLAN. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The systems, methods, and devices of the disclosure each have several innovative aspects, no single one of which is solely responsible for the desirable attributes disclosed herein.

[0006] The described technology relates to improved methods, systems, devices, or apparatuses that support seamless transitions for extended personal area network (XPAN) coverage. In general, the described technology provides for extending the range of a personal audio device connected to a personal wireless communication device (such as a handset device) by enabling the personal audio device to connect to and communicate with the personal wireless communication device via an access point (AP). The AP can have a greater range than the personal wireless communication device, and therefore, when the quality of the direct link between the personal audio device and the personal wireless communication device is below a threshold, the AP can be used to stream audio or voice calls to the personal audio device. Compared to direct peer-to-peer (P2P) communication between the wireless device and the personal audio device, communication between the personal wireless communication device and the personal audio device through the AP increases latency, and therefore, the personal audio device can be biased to communicate with the wireless device via a direct XPAN link (such as a P2P wireless communication link) when possible. To reduce the latency associated with transitioning between communicating directly with the personal wireless communication device and communicating with the personal wireless communication device via an AP, before disconnecting the P2P link with the wireless device, the personal audio device can associate with the AP and receive an Internet Protocol (IP) address from the AP, which the personal audio device then shares with the personal wireless communication device. Once the personal audio device is connected to the AP, the personal audio device can send a disassociation message to the personal wireless communication device and can communicate with the personal wireless communication device via the connection with the AP. While communicating with the personal wireless communication device via the AP, if the personal audio device determines that the link quality of the P2P wireless communication link satisfies the utility function, the personal audio device can transition back to a direct P2P wireless communication link with the wireless device. Additionally or alternatively, while communicating with the personal wireless communication device via a first AP, the personal audio device can transition to a connection with a second AP, for example, based on the link quality of the link with the second AP being stronger than the link quality of the link with the first AP.

[0007] A method for wireless communication at a first wireless communication device may include: when communicating with a second wireless communication device over a P2P wireless communication link, receiving an IP address for the first wireless communication device for a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the AP from an AP associated with the second wireless communication device; in response to a first link quality of the P2P wireless communication link falling below a first threshold, communicating a roaming indication with the second wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link; and, in response to the roaming indication, communicating data with the second wireless communication device via the second wireless communication link and the AP.

[0008] In some embodiments, a first wireless communication device may include a processing system comprising one or more processors and one or more memories coupled to the one or more processors, the processing system configured to cause the first wireless communication device to: when communicating with a second wireless communication device over a P2P wireless communication link, receive an IP address for the first wireless communication device from an AP associated with the second wireless communication device for a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the AP; in response to a first link quality of the P2P wireless communication link falling below a first threshold, communicate a roaming indication with the second wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link; and in response to the roaming indication, communicate data with the second wireless communication device via the second wireless communication link and the AP.

[0009] In some embodiments, an apparatus for wireless communication at a first wireless communication device may include: a unit for receiving, when communicating with a second wireless communication device over a P2P wireless communication link, an IP address for the first wireless communication device from an AP associated with the second wireless communication device for a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the AP; a unit for communicating a roaming indication with the second wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link in response to a first link quality of the P2P wireless communication link falling below a first threshold; and a unit for communicating data with the second wireless communication device via the second wireless communication link and the AP in response to the roaming indication.

[0010] In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable medium may store code for wireless communication at a first wireless communication device, and the code may include instructions executable by a processor for: when communicating with a second wireless communication device over a P2P wireless communication link, receiving an IP address for the first wireless communication device for a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the AP from an AP associated with the second wireless communication device; in response to a first link quality of the P2P wireless communication link falling below a first threshold, communicating a roaming indication with the second wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link; and in response to the roaming indication, communicating data with the second wireless communication device via the second wireless communication link and the AP.

[0011] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, means, or instructions for performing, in response to the first link quality falling below a second threshold, an association process with the AP to receive an IP address.

[0012] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, means, or instructions for receiving a message from a second wireless communication device over a P2P wireless communication link indicating that the first link quality has fallen below a second threshold.

[0013] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, means, or instructions for receiving, along with the message, an indication of a serving AP for the second wireless communication device.

[0014] Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, units, or instructions for performing the following: in response to the first link quality falling below a second threshold, sending a request for a channel scan result associated with the second wireless communication link to the second wireless communication device on the P2P wireless communication link; in response to the request, receiving a channel scan result associated with the second wireless communication link from the second wireless communication device on the P2P wireless communication link; and in response to the channel scan result indicating that the second link quality of the second wireless communication link meets a third threshold, performing an association process with the AP to receive the IP address.

[0015] Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, units, or instructions for performing the following: receiving, in response to the request, a set of channel scan results for a set of wireless communication links corresponding to a set of APs from a second wireless communication device on a P2P wireless communication link, the set of APs including the AP; and selecting the AP from the set of APs in response to the set of channel scan results.

[0016] Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, units, or instructions for performing the following: in response to the first link quality dropping below a second threshold, receiving a beacon from an AP on a second wireless communication link; determining a second link quality of the second wireless communication link using the beacon; and in response to the second link quality satisfying a third threshold, performing an association process with the AP to receive the IP address.

[0017] Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, units, or instructions for performing the following: in response to the first link quality dropping below a second threshold, sending a probe request to an AP; in response to the probe request, receiving a probe response from the AP; using the probe response to determine a second link quality of a second wireless communication link; and in response to the second link quality satisfying a third threshold, performing an association process with the AP to receive the IP address.

[0018] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, means, or instructions for sending an indication of the IP address or media access control address of the first wireless communication device to the second wireless communication device over a P2P wireless communication link.

[0019] Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, units, or instructions for performing the following: in response to the first link quality dropping below a second threshold, sending an indication of an AP to a third wireless communication device over a Bluetooth wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the third wireless communication device.

[0020] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, means, or instructions for communicating a disassociation message with the second wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link in response to the roaming indication.

[0021] Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, units, or instructions for performing the following: determining, based on a utility function, that a second link quality of the second wireless communication link may be better than the first link quality; and performing an association process with the AP to receive the IP address in response to determining that the second link quality may be better than the first link quality.

[0022] In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the utility function includes at least one of: a channel type for each of the P2P wireless communication link and the second wireless communication link, a received signal strength indicator value for each of the P2P wireless communication link and the second wireless communication link, and a bias factor for the P2P wireless communication link.

[0023] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, means, or instructions for switching a channel of the P2P wireless communication link to the same channel as the second wireless communication link in response to the association process.

[0024] A method for wireless communication at a second wireless communication device may include: when communicating with a first wireless communication device on a P2P wireless communication link and when communicating with an AP on a third wireless communication link, receiving from the first wireless communication device an IP address for the first wireless communication device for a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the AP; in response to link quality of the P2P wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device falling below a first threshold, communicating a roaming indication with the first wireless communication device on the P2P wireless communication link; and, in response to the roaming indication, communicating data with the first wireless communication device via the third wireless communication link and the AP using the IP address for the first wireless communication device.

[0025] In some embodiments, the second wireless communication device may include a processing system comprising one or more processors and one or more memories coupled to the one or more processors, the processing system configured to cause the second wireless communication device to: receive, from the first wireless communication device, an IP address for the first wireless communication device for a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the AP when communicating with the first wireless communication device on a P2P wireless communication link and when communicating with the AP on a third wireless communication link; communicate a roaming indication with the first wireless communication device on the P2P wireless communication link in response to link quality of the P2P wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device falling below a first threshold; and communicate data with the first wireless communication device via the third wireless communication link and the AP using the IP address for the first wireless communication device in response to the roaming indication.

[0026] In some embodiments, an apparatus for wireless communication at a second wireless communication device may include: a unit for receiving, from the first wireless communication device, an IP address for the first wireless communication device for a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the AP when communicating with the first wireless communication device on a P2P wireless communication link and when communicating with the AP on a third wireless communication link; a unit for communicating a roaming indication with the first wireless communication device on the P2P wireless communication link in response to link quality of the P2P wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device falling below a first threshold; and a unit for communicating data with the first wireless communication device via the third wireless communication link and the AP using the IP address for the first wireless communication device in response to the roaming indication.

[0027] In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable medium may store code for wireless communication at a second wireless communication device, and the code may include instructions executable by a processor to: when communicating with the first wireless communication device on a P2P wireless communication link and when communicating with an AP on a third wireless communication link, receive from the first wireless communication device an IP address for the first wireless communication device for a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the AP; in response to link quality of the P2P wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device falling below a first threshold, communicate a roaming indication with the first wireless communication device on the P2P wireless communication link; and, in response to the roaming indication, communicate data with the first wireless communication device via the third wireless communication link and the AP using the IP address for the first wireless communication device.

[0028] Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, units, or instructions for performing the following: sending a message to the first wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link indicating that the quality of the first link has dropped below a second threshold, the receipt of the IP address being in response to the message.

[0029] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, means, or instructions for sending an indication of a serving AP for the second wireless communication device along with the message.

[0030] Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, units, or instructions for performing the following: in response to the first link quality dropping below a second threshold, receiving a request for a channel scan result associated with a second wireless communication link from the first wireless communication device on the P2P wireless communication link; and in response to the request, sending a channel scan result associated with the second wireless communication link to the first wireless communication device on the P2P wireless communication link, the receiving of the IP address being in response to the channel scan result indicating that the second link quality of the second wireless communication link satisfies a third threshold.

[0031] Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, units, or instructions for performing the following: in response to the request, sending a set of channel scan results for a set of wireless communication links corresponding to a set of APs to a first wireless communication device on a P2P wireless communication link, the set of APs including the AP.

[0032] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, means, or instructions for communicating a disassociation message with the first wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link in response to the roaming indication.

[0033] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, means, or instructions for switching a channel of the P2P wireless communication link to the same channel as the second wireless communication link in response to receiving the IP address.

[0034] In some embodiments, a method for wireless communication at a first wireless communication device may include: when communicating with a second wireless communication device over a P2P wireless communication link, receiving from the second wireless communication device an indication of an IP address for the first wireless communication device for a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and an AP associated with the second wireless communication device; in response to a first link quality of the P2P wireless communication link falling below a first threshold, communicating a roaming indication with the second wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link; and in response to the roaming indication, communicating data with the second wireless communication device via the second wireless communication link and the AP.

[0035] In some embodiments, a first wireless communication device may include a processing system comprising one or more processors and one or more memories coupled to the one or more processors, the processing system configured to cause the first wireless communication device to: when communicating with a second wireless communication device over a P2P wireless communication link, receive from the second wireless communication device an indication of an IP address for the first wireless communication device for a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and an AP associated with the second wireless communication device; in response to a first link quality of the P2P wireless communication link falling below a first threshold, communicate a roaming indication with the second wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link; and in response to the roaming indication, communicate data with the second wireless communication device via the second wireless communication link and the AP.

[0036] In some embodiments, an apparatus for wireless communication at a first wireless communication device may include: a unit for receiving, from the second wireless communication device, an indication of an IP address for the first wireless communication device for a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and an AP associated with the second wireless communication device when communicating with the second wireless communication device over a P2P wireless communication link; a unit for communicating a roaming indication with the second wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link in response to a first link quality of the P2P wireless communication link falling below a first threshold; and a unit for communicating data with the second wireless communication device via the second wireless communication link and the AP in response to the roaming indication.

[0037] In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable medium may store code for wireless communication at a first wireless communication device, and the code may include instructions executable by a processor for: when communicating with a second wireless communication device over a P2P wireless communication link, receiving from the second wireless communication device an indication of an IP address for the first wireless communication device for a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and an AP associated with the second wireless communication device; in response to a first link quality of the P2P wireless communication link falling below a first threshold, communicating a roaming indication with the second wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link; and in response to the roaming indication, communicating data with the second wireless communication device via the second wireless communication link and the AP.

[0038] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, means, or instructions for receiving a message from a second wireless communication device over a P2P wireless communication link indicating that the first link quality has fallen below a second threshold.

[0039] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, means, or instructions for receiving, along with the message, an indication of a serving AP for the second wireless communication device.

[0040] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, means, or instructions for communicating a disassociation message with the second wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link in response to the roaming indication.

[0041] Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, units, or instructions for performing the following: determining, based on a utility function, that a second link quality of the second wireless communication link may be better than the first link quality, wherein the sending of the roaming indication is in response to determining that the second link quality may be better than the first link quality.

[0042] In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the utility function includes at least one of: a channel type for each of the P2P wireless communication link and the second wireless communication link, a received signal strength indicator value for each of the P2P wireless communication link and the second wireless communication link, and a bias factor for the P2P wireless communication link.

[0043] In some embodiments, a method for wireless communication at a second device may include: when communicating with a first wireless communication device on a P2P wireless communication link, and when communicating with an AP on a third wireless communication link, performing an association process with the AP using a media access control address for the first wireless communication device to receive an IP address for the first wireless communication device for a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the AP; sending the IP address to the first wireless device on the P2P wireless communication link; in response to a link quality of the P2P wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device falling below a first threshold, communicating a roaming indication with the first wireless communication device on the P2P wireless communication link; and, in response to the roaming indication, communicating data with the first wireless communication device via the third wireless communication link and the AP using the IP address for the first wireless communication device.

[0044] In some embodiments, the second wireless communication device may include a processing system comprising one or more processors and one or more memories coupled to the one or more processors, the processing system configured to cause the second wireless communication device to: when communicating with the first wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link and when communicating with the AP over a third wireless communication link, perform an association process with the AP using a media access control address for the first wireless communication device to receive an IP address for the first wireless communication device for a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the AP; send the IP address to the first wireless device over the P2P wireless communication link; in response to a link quality of the P2P wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device falling below a first threshold, communicate a roaming indication with the first wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link; and in response to the roaming indication, communicate data with the first wireless communication device via the third wireless communication link and the AP using the IP address for the first wireless communication device.

[0045] In some embodiments, an apparatus for wireless communication at a second wireless communication device may include: means for performing an association procedure with the AP using a medium access control address for the first wireless communication device when communicating with the first wireless communication device over a P2P wireless communication link and when communicating with the AP over a third wireless communication link to receive an IP address for the first wireless communication device for a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the AP; means for sending the IP address to the first wireless device over the P2P wireless communication link; means for communicating a roaming indication with the first wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link in response to link quality of the P2P wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device falling below a first threshold; and means for communicating data with the first wireless communication device via the third wireless communication link and the AP using the IP address for the first wireless communication device in response to the roaming indication.

[0046] In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable medium may store code for wireless communication at a second wireless communication device, and the code may include instructions executable by a processor to: when communicating with a first wireless communication device over a P2P wireless communication link and when communicating with an AP over a third wireless communication link, perform an association process with the AP using a media access control address for the first wireless communication device to receive an IP address for the first wireless communication device for a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the AP; send the IP address to the first wireless device over the P2P wireless communication link; in response to a link quality of the P2P wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device falling below a first threshold, communicate a roaming indication with the first wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link; and in response to the roaming indication, communicate data with the first wireless communication device via the third wireless communication link and the AP using the IP address for the first wireless communication device.

[0047] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, means, or instructions for sending a message to the first wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link indicating that the first link quality has fallen below a second threshold.

[0048] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, means, or instructions for sending an indication of a serving AP for the second wireless communication device along with the message.

[0049] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, means, or instructions for communicating a disassociation message with the first wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link in response to the roaming indication.

[0050] In some embodiments, a method for wireless communication at a first wireless communication device may include: receiving a beacon or a probe response from the second wireless communication device on a P2P wireless communication link when communicating with the second wireless communication device via a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and an AP and via a third wireless communication link between the AP and the second wireless communication device; performing an association process with the second wireless communication device for the P2P wireless communication link in response to a first link quality of the P2P wireless communication link satisfying a first threshold, the first link quality being detected using the beacon or the probe response; sending a disassociation message to the AP for the second wireless communication link in response to the association process; and communicating data with the second wireless communication device on the P2P wireless communication link.

[0051] In some embodiments, a first wireless communication device may include a processing system comprising one or more processors and one or more memories coupled to the one or more processors, the processing system being configured to cause the first wireless communication device to: receive a beacon or a probe response from the second wireless communication device on a P2P wireless communication link when communicating with the second wireless communication device via a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and an AP and via a third wireless communication link between the AP and the second wireless communication device; perform an association process with the second wireless communication device for the P2P wireless communication link in response to a first link quality of the P2P wireless communication link satisfying a first threshold, the first link quality being detected using the beacon or the probe response; send a disassociation message to the AP for the second wireless communication link in response to the association process; and communicate data with the second wireless communication device on the P2P wireless communication link.

[0052] In some embodiments, an apparatus for wireless communication at a first wireless communication device may include: a unit for receiving a beacon or a probe response from the second wireless communication device on a P2P wireless communication link when communicating with the second wireless communication device via a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and an AP and via a third wireless communication link between the AP and the second wireless communication device; a unit for performing an association process with the second wireless communication device for the P2P wireless communication link in response to a first link quality of the P2P wireless communication link satisfying a first threshold, the first link quality being detected using the beacon or the probe response; a unit for sending a disassociation message to the AP for the second wireless communication link in response to the association process; and a unit for communicating data with the second wireless communication device on the P2P wireless communication link.

[0053] In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable medium may store code for wireless communication at a first wireless communication device, and the code may include instructions executable by a processor to: receive a beacon or a probe response from the second wireless communication device on a P2P wireless communication link while communicating with the second wireless communication device via a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and an AP and via a third wireless communication link between the AP and the second wireless communication device; perform an association process with the second wireless communication device for the P2P wireless communication link in response to a first link quality of the P2P wireless communication link satisfying a first threshold, the first link quality being detected using the beacon or the probe response; send a disassociation message to the AP for the second wireless communication link in response to the association process; and communicate data with the second wireless communication device on the P2P wireless communication link.

[0054] Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, means, or instructions for performing the following: in response to a second link quality of the second wireless communication link falling below a second threshold, monitoring beacons on the P2P wireless communication link.

[0055] Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, units, or instructions for performing the following operations: in response to a second link quality of the second wireless communication link falling below a second threshold, sending a probe request via the second wireless communication link and the AP, and receiving the probe response in response to the probe request.

[0056] Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, units, or instructions for performing the following: periodically monitoring a beacon from a second wireless communication device while communicating with the second wireless communication device via a second wireless communication link and via an AP and a third wireless communication link, the reception of the beacon being responsive to the periodic monitoring.

[0057] Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, units, or instructions for performing the following: in response to a second link quality of the second wireless communication link falling below a second threshold, sending an indication to the second wireless communication device via the second wireless communication link and the AP that the second link quality may have fallen below the second threshold; and in response to the indication, receiving scheduling information for the beacon from the second wireless communication device via the AP and the second wireless communication link, the receiving of the beacon being based on the scheduling information.

[0058] Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, units, or instructions for performing the following: in response to a second link quality of the second wireless communication link falling below a second threshold, and also in response to determining that the second wireless communication device can be within the range of the Bluetooth wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device, sending a request to connect to the second wireless communication device to the second wireless communication device over the Bluetooth wireless communication link; and receiving scheduling information for a beacon from the second wireless communication device over the Bluetooth wireless communication link, the receiving of the beacon being based on the scheduling information.

[0059] Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, units, or instructions for performing the following: in response to a second link quality of the second wireless communication link falling below a second threshold, and further in response to determining that the second wireless communication device can be within range of the Bluetooth wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device, sending a probe request to the second wireless communication device on the second wireless communication link, the receiving of the probe response being in response to the probe request.

[0060] In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, a first link quality of a P2P wireless communication link satisfying a first threshold may include operations, features, units, or instructions for performing the following: determining, based on a utility function, that the first link quality may be better than a second link quality of a second wireless communication link.

[0061] In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the utility function includes at least one of: a channel type for each of the P2P wireless communication link and the second wireless communication link, a received signal strength indicator value for each of the P2P wireless communication link and the second wireless communication link, and a bias factor that prefers the P2P wireless communication link.

[0062] In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, sending the disassociation message may include operations, features, means, or instructions for performing the following: sending the disassociation message in response to a second link quality of the second wireless communication link falling below a second threshold.

[0063] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, units, or instructions for performing the following: in response to the first link quality satisfying the first threshold, sending an indication to the third wireless communication device over the Bluetooth wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the third wireless communication device to perform a second association process with the second wireless communication device for the third wireless communication device.

[0064] In some embodiments, a method for wireless communication at a second wireless communication device may include: sending a beacon or a probe response on a P2P wireless communication link when communicating with a first wireless communication device via a third wireless communication link between the second wireless communication device and an AP and via the AP and a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the AP; performing an association process with the first wireless communication device for the P2P wireless communication link in response to a link quality of the P2P wireless communication link satisfying a threshold; and communicating data with the first wireless communication device on the P2P wireless communication link.

[0065] In some embodiments, the second wireless communication device may include a processing system comprising one or more processors and one or more memories coupled to the one or more processors, the processing system being configured to cause the second wireless communication device to: send a beacon or a probe response on a P2P wireless communication link when communicating with the first wireless communication device via a third wireless communication link between the second wireless communication device and an AP and via a second wireless communication link between the AP and the first wireless communication device and the AP; perform an association process with the first wireless communication device for the P2P wireless communication link in response to a link quality of the P2P wireless communication link satisfying a threshold; and communicate data with the first wireless communication device on the P2P wireless communication link.

[0066] In some embodiments, an apparatus for wireless communication at a second wireless communication device may include: a unit for sending a beacon or a probe response on a P2P wireless communication link when communicating with the first wireless communication device via a third wireless communication link between the second wireless communication device and an AP and via the AP and a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the AP; a unit for performing an association process with the first wireless communication device for the P2P wireless communication link in response to a link quality of the P2P wireless communication link satisfying a threshold; and a unit for communicating data with the first wireless communication device on the P2P wireless communication link.

[0067] In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable medium may store code for wireless communication at a second wireless communication device, and the code may include instructions executable by a processor to perform the following operations: sending a beacon or a probe response on a P2P wireless communication link when communicating with the first wireless communication device via a third wireless communication link between the second wireless communication device and an AP and via the AP and a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the AP; performing an association process with the first wireless communication device for the P2P wireless communication link in response to a link quality of the P2P wireless communication link satisfying a threshold; and communicating data with the first wireless communication device on the P2P wireless communication link.

[0068] Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, units, or instructions for performing the following: in response to a second link quality of the second wireless communication link falling below a second threshold, receiving an indication from the first wireless communication device via the second wireless communication link and the AP that the second link quality may have fallen below the second threshold; and in response to the indication, sending scheduling information for a beacon to the first wireless communication device via the AP and the second wireless communication link, the sending of the beacon being based on the scheduling information.

[0069] Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, units, or instructions for performing the following: in response to a second link quality of the second wireless communication link dropping below a second threshold, receiving a probe request via the second wireless communication link and the AP, and sending the probe response in response to the probe request.

[0070] Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, units, or instructions for performing the following: in response to a second link quality of the second wireless communication link falling below a second threshold, and also in response to determining that the second wireless communication device can be within range of the Bluetooth wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device, receiving a request from the first wireless communication device to connect to the second wireless communication device over the Bluetooth wireless communication link; and sending scheduling information for a beacon to the first wireless communication device over the Bluetooth wireless communication link, wherein the sending of the beacon is based on the scheduling information.

[0071] Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, units, or instructions for performing the following: in response to a second link quality of the second wireless communication link falling below a second threshold, and also in response to determining that the second wireless communication device can be within range of the Bluetooth wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device, receiving a probe request from the first wireless communication device on the second wireless communication link, the sending of the probe response being in response to the probe request.

[0072] In some embodiments, a method for wireless communication at a first wireless communication device may include: when communicating with a second wireless communication device via a first wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and a first AP and the first AP, in response to a first link quality of the first wireless communication link dropping below a threshold, receiving a beacon or a probe response from the second AP on a second wireless communication link; in response to the second link quality of the second wireless communication link being higher than the first link quality, performing an association process with the second AP to receive an IP address for the first wireless communication device for the second wireless communication link; in response to the association process, sending an indication of the IP address to the second wireless communication device via the first wireless communication link and the first AP; in response to the sending of the IP address, sending a disassociation message to the first AP for the first wireless communication link; and communicating data with the second wireless communication device via the second wireless communication link and the second AP in response to the sending of the disassociation IP message.

[0073] In some embodiments, a first wireless communication device may include a processing system comprising one or more processors and one or more memories coupled to the one or more processors, the processing system being configured to cause the first wireless communication device to cause the apparatus to: when communicating with a second wireless communication device via a first wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and a first AP and the first AP, receive a beacon or a probe response from the second AP on a second wireless communication link in response to a first link quality of the first wireless communication link dropping below a threshold; perform an association process with the second AP to receive an IP address for the first wireless communication device for the second wireless communication link in response to the second link quality of the second wireless communication link being higher than the first link quality; send an indication of the IP address to the second wireless communication device via the first wireless communication link and the first AP in response to the association process; send a disassociation message to the first AP for the first wireless communication link in response to the sending of the IP address; and communicate data with the second wireless communication device via the second wireless communication link and the second AP in response to the sending of the disassociation IP message.

[0074] In some embodiments, an apparatus for wireless communication at a first wireless communication device may include: a unit for receiving a beacon or a probe response from a second AP on a second wireless communication link in response to a first link quality of the first wireless communication link dropping below a threshold when communicating with a second wireless communication device via a first wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and a first AP and the first AP; a unit for performing an association process with the second AP to receive an IP address for the first wireless communication device for the second wireless communication link in response to the second link quality of the second wireless communication link being higher than the first link quality; a unit for sending an indication of the IP address to the second wireless communication device via the first wireless communication link and the first AP in response to the association process; a unit for sending a disassociation message to the first AP for the first wireless communication link in response to sending the IP address; and a unit for communicating data with the second wireless communication device via the second wireless communication link and the second AP in response to sending the disassociation IP message.

[0075] In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable medium may store code for wireless communication at a first wireless communication device, and the code may include instructions executable by a processor to perform the following operations: when communicating with a second wireless communication device via a first wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and a first AP and the first AP, in response to a first link quality of the first wireless communication link dropping below a threshold, receiving a beacon or probe response from the second AP on a second wireless communication link; in response to the second link quality of the second wireless communication link being higher than the first link quality, performing an association process with the second AP to receive an IP address for the first wireless communication device for the second wireless communication link; in response to the association process, sending an indication of the IP address to the second wireless communication device via the first wireless communication link and the first AP; in response to the sending of the IP address, sending a disassociation message to the first AP for the first wireless communication link; and in response to the sending of the disassociation IP message, communicating data with the second wireless communication device via the second wireless communication link and the second AP.

[0076] In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, receiving a beacon may include operations, features, means, or instructions for receiving a set of beacons from a set of APs, the set of APs including the second AP, and the set of beacons including the beacon.

[0077] Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, units, or instructions for selecting the second AP from the set of APs based on respective link qualities of respective wireless communication links with the set of APs determined using the set of beacons.

[0078] Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, units, or instructions for performing the following: in response to a first link quality of a first wireless communication link falling below a threshold, sending a probe request to a second AP, the receipt of a probe response being in response to the probe request.

[0079] Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, units, or instructions for performing the following: in response to the first link quality falling below a threshold, receiving a second beacon from the second wireless communication device on a third wireless communication link, wherein receiving the beacon is in response to a third link quality of the wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device determined using the second beacon being below a third threshold.

[0080] Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, means, or instructions for performing the following: in response to determining that a second link quality of the second wireless communication link may be higher than the first link quality and the third link quality according to the utility function, performing an association process.

[0081] In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the utility function includes at least one of: a channel type for each of the first wireless communication link and the second wireless communication link, and a received signal strength indicator value for each of the first wireless communication link and the second wireless communication link.

[0082] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, units, or instructions for performing the following: in response to a second link quality of the second wireless communication link being higher than the first link quality, sending an indication to the third wireless communication device over the Bluetooth wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the third wireless communication device to perform a second association process with the second AP for the third wireless communication device.

[0083] In some embodiments, a method for wireless communication at a second wireless communication device may include: receiving an indication of a second IP address for the first wireless communication device for a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and a second AP when communicating with the first wireless communication device via a first AP and a first wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the first AP and using a first IP address for the first wireless communication device for the first wireless communication link, the indication of the second IP address being received via the first AP and the first wireless communication link; receiving a roaming indication from the first wireless device via the first AP and the first wireless communication link; and communicating data with the first wireless communication device via the second wireless communication link and the second AP using the second IP address in response to the roaming indication.

[0084] In some embodiments, the second wireless communication device may include a processing system comprising one or more processors and one or more memories coupled to the one or more processors, the processing system being configured to cause the second wireless communication device to: receive an indication of a second IP address for the first wireless communication device for a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the second AP when communicating with the first wireless communication device via a first AP and a first wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the first AP and using a first IP address for the first wireless communication device for the first wireless communication link, the indication of the second IP address being received via the first AP and the first wireless communication link; receive a roaming indication from the first wireless device via the first AP and the first wireless communication link; and, in response to the roaming indication, communicate data with the first wireless communication device via the second wireless communication link and the second AP using the second IP address.

[0085] In some embodiments, an apparatus for wireless communication at a second wireless communication device may include: a unit for receiving an indication of a second IP address for the first wireless communication device for a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and a second AP when communicating with the first wireless communication device via a first AP and a first wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the first AP and using a first IP address for the first wireless communication device for the first wireless communication link, the indication of the second IP address being received via the first AP and the first wireless communication link; a unit for receiving a roaming indication from the first wireless device via the first AP and the first wireless communication link; and a unit for communicating data with the first wireless communication device via the second wireless communication link and the second AP using the second IP address in response to the roaming indication.

[0086] In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable medium may store code for wireless communication at a second wireless communication device, and the code may include instructions executable by a processor to: receive an indication of a second IP address for the first wireless communication device for a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the second AP when communicating with the first wireless communication device via a first AP and a first wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the first AP and using a first IP address for the first wireless communication device for the first wireless communication link, the indication of the second IP address being received via the first AP and the first wireless communication link; receive a roaming indication from the first wireless device via the first AP and the first wireless communication link; and, in response to the roaming indication, communicate data with the first wireless communication device via the second wireless communication link and the second AP using the second IP address.

[0087] Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, units, or instructions for performing the following: receiving an indication of a media access control address for the first wireless communication device for a second wireless communication link from the first wireless device via the first AP and the first wireless communication link, and communicating data with the first wireless communication device via the second wireless communication link and the second AP also using the media access control address.

[0088] Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, units, or instructions for performing the following: sending an acknowledgment in response to the roaming indication to the first wireless device via the first AP and the first wireless communication link, the communication of data with the first wireless communication device via the second wireless communication link and the second AP being in response to the acknowledgment.

[0089] Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, units, or instructions for adjusting at least one of an audio delay or an audio bit rate in response to the roaming indication, and using the adjusted audio delay or the adjusted audio bit rate for communicating data with the first wireless communication device via the second wireless communication link and the second AP.

[0090] Details of one or more implementations of the subject matter described in this disclosure are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, aspects, and advantages will become apparent from the description, drawings, and claims. It should be noted that the relative dimensions of the following figures may not be drawn to scale. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0091] Figure 1A schematic diagram illustrating an example wireless communication network is shown.

[0092] Figure 2a 、 2b , 2c and 2d show examples of an extended personal area network (XPAN) scenario including a personal wireless communication device, an access point (AP), an application server and a personal audio device.

[0093] Figure 3 An example of transitioning between a peer-to-peer (P2P) wireless connection and a personal audio device-AP connection in an XPAN scenario is shown.

[0094] Figure 4 An example of transitioning between a personal audio device-AP connection and a P2P wireless connection in an XPAN scenario is shown.

[0095] Figure 5 An example of transitioning between a personal audio device-first AP connection and a personal audio device-second AP connection in an XPAN scenario is shown.

[0096] Figure 6 An example of an XPAN scenario is shown where the personal audio device is within range of the personal wireless communication device but out of range of the AP serving the personal wireless communication device.

[0097] Figure 7 An example of an XPAN scenario is shown where the personal audio device is within the 2.4G range of the personal wireless communication device but outside the 5G / 6G range of the personal wireless communication device.

[0098] Figure 8 An example of an XPAN scenario is shown where a personal wireless communications device is connected to a cellular base station and a personal audio device is within range of the personal wireless communications device.

[0099] Figure 9a An example of an XPAN scenario is shown where the personal audio device is within the 5G / 6G range of the AP but outside the 2.4G range of the personal wireless communication device.

[0100] Figure 9b An example of an XPAN scenario is shown where the personal audio device is within 2.4G range of the AP but outside 2.4G range of the personal wireless communication device 2 and 5G / 6G range of the AP.

[0101] Figure 10 An example of an XPAN scenario is shown where the personal audio device is within the 2.4G range of the personal wireless communication device but outside the 5G / 6G range of the personal wireless communication device.

[0102] Figure 11aAn example of an XPAN scenario is shown in which a personal wireless communication device relays audio data to a personal audio device over the same basic service set (BSS).

[0103] Figure 11b An example of an XPAN scenario is shown, where a personal wireless communication device relays audio data (such as a voice call or offline stream) to a personal audio device over an extended service set (ESS), where the personal wireless communication device and the personal audio device are in the same L2 / L3 network.

[0104] Figure 12 An example of an XPAN scenario is shown, where a personal wireless communication device relays audio data to a personal audio device through an ESS, where the personal wireless communication device and the personal audio device are in different L2 / L3 networks.

[0105] Figure 13 An example of transitioning between a P2P wireless connection and a personal audio device-AP connection in an XPAN scenario is shown.

[0106] Figure 14 An example of the process flow for transitioning between a P2P wireless connection and a personal audio device-AP connection in an XPAN scenario is shown.

[0107] Figure 15 An example of a process flow for transitioning between a first-time P2P wireless connection and a personal audio device-AP connection in an XPAN scenario is shown, where a personal wireless communication device assists in initiating the transition.

[0108] Figure 16 An example of transitioning between a P2P wireless connection and a personal audio device-AP connection in an XPAN scenario is shown, where a personal wireless communication device performs an association process with the AP for the personal audio device.

[0109] Figure 17 An example of a process flow for transitioning between a P2P wireless connection and a personal audio device-AP connection in an XPAN scenario is shown, where a personal wireless communication device performs an association process with the AP for the personal audio device.

[0110] Figure 18 An example of transitioning between a personal audio device-AP connection and a P2P wireless connection in an XPAN scenario is shown.

[0111] Figure 19 An example of the process flow for transitioning between a personal audio device-AP connection and a P2P wireless connection in an XPAN scenario is shown.

[0112] Figure 20An example of transitioning between a personal audio device-first AP connection and a personal audio device-second AP connection in an XPAN scenario is shown.

[0113] Figure 21 An example of a process flow for transitioning between a personal audio device-first AP connection and a personal audio device-second AP connection in an XPAN scenario is shown.

[0114] Figure 22 and 23 A block diagram of devices that can support seamless transition for XPAN overlay is shown.

[0115] Figure 24 A block diagram of a communications manager that can support seamless transitions for XPAN overlays is shown.

[0116] Figure 25 A schematic diagram of a system including devices that can support seamless transition for XPAN coverage is shown.

[0117] Figures 26 to 33 A flow chart illustrating a method for supporting seamless transition for XPAN overlay is presented.

[0118] Figure 34 An example of the process flow for transitioning between a P2P wireless connection and a personal audio device-AP connection in an XPAN scenario is shown.

[0119] Figure 35 An example of a process flow for transitioning between a first-time P2P wireless connection and a personal audio device-AP connection in an XPAN scenario is shown, where a personal wireless communication device assists in initiating the transition.

[0120] Figure 36 An example of a process flow for transitioning between a P2P wireless connection and a personal audio device-AP connection in an XPAN scenario is shown, where a personal wireless communication device performs an association process with the AP for the personal audio device.

[0121] Figure 37 An example of the process flow for transitioning between a personal audio device-AP connection and a P2P wireless connection in an XPAN scenario is shown.

[0122] Figure 38 An example of a process flow for transitioning between a personal audio device-first AP connection and a personal audio device-second AP connection in an XPAN scenario is shown.

[0123] Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicate like elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0124] The following description refers to some specific examples for the purpose of describing the innovative aspects of the present disclosure. However, those skilled in the art will readily recognize that the teachings herein can be applied in a variety of different ways. Some or all of the described examples can be implemented in any device, system, or network capable of sending and receiving radio frequency (RF) signals in accordance with one or more of the following: the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard, the IEEE 802.15 standard, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), or any other standard defined by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG). Standards, or Long Term Evolution (LTE), 3G, 4G or Fifth Generation (New Radio (NR)) standards promulgated by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), and other standards. The described examples can be implemented in any device, system or network capable of sending and receiving RF signals according to one or more of the following technologies or techniques: Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), Single Carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), Spatial Division Multiplexing (SDMA), Rate Splitting Multiple Access (RSMA), Multi-User Shared Access (MUSA), Single User (SU) Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) and Multi-User (MU) MIMO. The described implementations can also be implemented using other wireless communication protocols or RF signals that are suitable for use in one or more of a Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN), a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), a Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN), a Wireless Metropolitan Area Network (WMAN), or an Internet of Things (IoT) network.

[0125] A wireless communication device, such as a station (STA) in a wireless local area network (WLAN), can communicate with an access point (AP) via a channel, such as a 2.4 gigahertz (GHz) (also known as a 2 GHz), 5 GHz, or 6 GHz wireless communication link. A wireless communication device can also communicate with a wireless communication device, such as a personal audio device, in an extended personal area network (XPAN) via a peer-to-peer (P2P) wireless communication link, such as a 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, or 6 GHz wireless communication link. For example, a personal wireless communication device, such as a handset or a desktop computer, can communicate with a personal audio device, such as an earbud or a headset. A personal audio device can also be a STA. The communication link of an XPAN can be a 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, or 6 GHz wireless communication link for reduced latency and / or high throughput applications, such as streaming audio for gaming applications, music, or voice calls.

[0126] In XPAN, audio is streamed from a personal wireless communication device to (multiple) personal audio devices using a Wi-Fi link (such as a 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, or 6 GHz wireless communication link) between the personal wireless communication device and the personal audio device, while the personal wireless communication device communicates with the AP over an infrastructure (infra) Wi-Fi link. The physical range of the XPAN Wi-Fi link between the personal wireless communication device and (multiple) personal audio devices may be limited, and therefore, if the user of the personal audio device is far away from the personal wireless communication device, the link quality may degrade, which may affect the audio streaming quality.

[0127] The range of personal audio devices connected to personal wireless communication devices can be extended by enabling the personal audio device to connect to the personal wireless communication device via an AP and communicate with the personal wireless communication device. The AP can have a larger range than the personal wireless communication device, and therefore, when the quality of the direct P2P link between the personal audio device and the personal wireless communication device is below a threshold, the AP can be used to stream audio to the personal audio device. Compared to direct P2P communication between the personal wireless communication device and the personal audio device, communication between the personal wireless communication device and the personal audio device through the AP increases latency, and therefore, the personal audio device can be biased to prefer communicating with the personal wireless communication device via a direct XPAN link (such as a P2P wireless communication link) when possible. In order to reduce the latency and packet loss associated with the transition between communicating directly with the personal wireless communication device and communicating with the personal wireless communication device via the AP, before disconnecting the P2P link with the wireless communication device, the personal audio device can associate with the AP and receive an IP address from the AP, which the personal audio device can then share with the personal wireless communication device. Once the personal audio device is connected to the AP, the personal audio device can send a disassociation message to the personal wireless communication device and can communicate with the personal wireless communication device via the connection with the AP. Compared to a transition in which the previous wireless communication link is disconnected before a new wireless communication link is established, this seamless transition reduces latency and avoids packet loss. When communicating with the personal wireless communication device via an AP, if the personal audio device determines that the link quality of the P2P wireless communication link satisfies the utility function, the personal audio device can transition back to a direct P2P wireless communication link with the personal wireless communication device. Additionally or alternatively, when communicating with the personal wireless communication device via a first AP, the personal audio device can transition to a connection with the second AP, for example, based on the link quality of the link with the second AP being stronger than the link quality of the link with the first AP.

[0128] Certain aspects of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented to achieve one or more of the following potential advantages. In some examples, the range of XPAN communications can be extended by enabling a personal audio device and a personal wireless communication device to communicate via one or more access points (APs). Thus, the XPAN range can be increased to encompass an entire building or office, for example, in a scenario where the building or office is served by a mesh network of APs. Additionally or alternatively, the latency associated with transitions can be reduced by establishing a new wireless link before disconnecting an existing wireless link. For example, before disconnecting a P2P link with the personal wireless communication device, the personal audio device can associate with an AP and establish a wireless communication link with the AP. Once the personal audio device is connected to the AP, the personal audio device can send a disassociation message to the personal wireless communication device and can communicate with the personal wireless communication device via the connection with the AP. Similarly, before disconnecting from the AP to connect to the personal wireless communication device via a P2P wireless communication link or to a different AP, the personal audio device can associate with the personal wireless communication device or the different AP and establish communication with the personal wireless communication device or the different AP, thereby reducing the latency associated with such transitions. Additionally or alternatively, due to the increased latency of communication between the personal wireless communication device and the personal audio device through an AP (or through multiple APs) compared to direct P2P communication between the personal wireless communication device and the personal audio device, the personal audio device may be biased to prefer communicating with the personal wireless communication device via a direct XPAN link when possible.

[0129] Figure 1 A block diagram of an example wireless communication network 100 is shown. According to some aspects, the wireless communication network 100 may be an example of a WLAN, such as a Wi-Fi network (and will be referred to as WLAN 100 hereinafter). For example, the WLAN 100 may be a network that implements at least one standard of the IEEE 802.11 family of wireless communication protocol standards, such as those defined by the IEEE 802.11-2020 specification or its amendments, which include, but are not limited to, 802.11ay, 802.11ax, 802.11az, 802.11ba, 802.11bd, 802.11be, 802.11bf, and 802.11 modifications associated with Wi-Fi 8. The WLAN 100 may include a plurality of wireless communication devices, such as a wireless AP 102 and a plurality of wireless STAs 104. Although Figure 1 Only one AP 102 is shown in FIG. 1 , but the WLAN network 100 may also include multiple APs 102 . Figure 1The AP 102 shown in the figure can represent a variety of different types of APs, including but not limited to enterprise-class APs, single-band APs, dual-band APs, stand-alone APs, software-implemented APs (soft APs), and multi-link APs. The coverage area and capacity of cellular networks (such as LTE, fifth-generation NR, etc.) can be further improved by small cells supported by APs that act as micro base stations. In addition, small cells can also be used to establish private cellular networks over wireless area networks.

[0130] Each of the STAs 104 may also be referred to as a mobile station (MS), a mobile device, a mobile handset, a wireless handset, an access terminal (AT), a user equipment (UE), a subscriber station (SS), or a subscriber unit, among other examples. The STAs 104 may represent various devices, such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), other handheld devices, netbooks, notebook computers, tablet computers, laptop computers, computers equipped with Chrome, extended reality (XR) headsets, wearable devices, wireless headsets, wireless earbuds, display devices (e.g., TVs (including smart TVs), computer monitors, navigation systems, etc.), music or other audio or stereo equipment, remote control devices (“remote controls”), printers, kitchen appliances (including smart refrigerators) or other home appliances, smart speaker devices, networked exercise equipment, key fobs (such as for passive keyless entry and start (PKES) systems), Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and vehicles, among other examples. The various STAs 104 in the network are capable of communicating with each other via the AP 102.

[0131] A single AP 102 and the associated set of STAs 104 may be referred to as a basic service set (BSS), which is managed by the corresponding AP 102 . Figure 1Also shown is an example coverage area 108 of the AP 102, which may represent a basic service area (BSA) of the WLAN 100. A BSS may be identified or indicated to users by a service set identifier (SSID) and to other devices by a basic service set identifier (BSSID), which may be a media access control (MAC) address of the AP 102. The AP 102 may periodically broadcast a beacon frame ("beacon") including the BSSID to enable any STA 104 within wireless range of the AP 102 to "associate" or re-associate with the AP 102 to establish or maintain a corresponding communication link 106 (also referred to hereinafter as a "Wi-Fi link") with the AP 102. For example, the beacon may include an identification or indication of a primary channel used by the corresponding AP 102 and a timing synchronization function for establishing or maintaining timing synchronization with the AP 102. The AP 102 may provide various STAs 104 in the WLAN with access to external networks via corresponding communication links 106 .

[0132] To establish a communication link 106 with an AP 102, each of the STAs 104 is configured to perform passive or active scanning operations ("scans") on frequency channels in one or more frequency bands (e.g., the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz, or 60 GHz bands). To perform a passive scan, the STA 104 listens for beacons transmitted by the corresponding AP 102 at periodic time intervals called target beacon transmission times (TBTTs) (measured in time units (TUs), where one TU may be equal to 1024 microseconds (μs)). To perform an active scan, the STA 104 generates and sequentially transmits a probe request on each channel to be scanned and listens for probe responses from the AP 102. Each STA 104 may identify, determine, ascertain, or select an AP 102 with which to associate based on the scan information obtained through the passive scan or the active scan, and perform authentication and association operations to establish a communication link 106 with the selected AP 102. At the end of the association operation, the AP 102 assigns the STA 104 an association identifier (AID) that the AP 102 uses to track the STA 104 .

[0133] As wireless networks become increasingly popular, a STA 104 may have the opportunity to select one of many BSSs within its range, or to select from multiple APs 102 that collectively form an extended service set (ESS) comprising multiple connected BSSs. Extended network stations associated with a WLAN 100 may be connected to a wired or wireless distribution system that may allow multiple APs 102 to connect within such an ESS. Thus, a STA 104 may be covered by more than one AP 102 and may associate with different APs 102 at different times for different transmissions. Furthermore, after associating with an AP 102, a STA 104 may also periodically scan its surroundings to find a more suitable AP 102 with which to associate. For example, a STA 104 that is moving relative to its associated AP 102 may perform a "roaming" scan to find another AP 102 with more desirable network characteristics, such as a greater received signal strength indicator (RSSI) or reduced traffic load.

[0134] In some cases, STAs 104 can form a network without an AP 102 or other devices other than the STAs 104 themselves. An example of such a network is an ad hoc network (or wireless ad hoc network). An ad hoc network may alternatively be referred to as a mesh network or a peer-to-peer (P2P) network. In some cases, an ad hoc network may be implemented within a larger wireless network, such as WLAN 100. In such an example, while STAs 104 may be able to communicate with each other using a communication link 106 via AP 102, STAs 104 may also be able to communicate directly with each other via a direct wireless communication link 110. In addition, two STAs 104 may communicate via a direct communication link 110, regardless of whether both STAs 104 are associated with and served by the same AP 102. In such an ad hoc system, one or more of the STAs 104 may assume the roles that AP 102 would have in a BSS. Such STAs 104 may be referred to as group owners (GOs) and may coordinate transmissions within the ad hoc network. Examples of direct wireless communication links 110 include Wi-Fi direct connections, connections established using a Wi-Fi Tunneled Direct Link Setup (TDLS) link, and other P2P group connections.

[0135] The AP 102 and the STA 104 may operate and communicate (via corresponding communication links 106) in accordance with one or more standards in the IEEE 802.11 family of wireless communication protocol standards. These standards define WLAN radio and baseband protocols for the PHY and MAC layers. The AP 102 and the STA 104 send and receive wireless communications (hereinafter also referred to as "Wi-Fi communications" or "wireless packets") to each other in the form of PHY protocol data units (PPDUs). The AP 102 and the STA 104 in the WLAN 100 may send PPDUs over an unlicensed spectrum, which may be a portion of the spectrum that includes frequency bands traditionally used by Wi-Fi technology, such as the 2.4 GHz band, the 5 GHz band, the 60 GHz band, the 3.6 GHz band, and the 900 MHz band. Some examples of the AP 102 and the STA 104 described herein may also communicate in other frequency bands, such as the 5.9 GHz and 6 GHz bands, which may support both licensed and unlicensed communications. The AP 102 and STAs 104 may also communicate on other frequency bands, such as shared licensed frequency bands, where multiple operators may have licenses to operate on the same or overlapping frequency band or bands.

[0136] Each of these frequency bands may include multiple sub-bands or multiple frequency channels. For example, PPDUs compliant with IEEE 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11ax, and 802.11be standard revisions may be sent in the 2 GHz, 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, or 6 GHz frequency bands, each of which is divided into multiple 20 MHz channels. Thus, these PPDUs are sent on a physical channel with a minimum bandwidth of 20 MHz, but larger channels may be formed through channel bonding. For example, a PPDU may be sent on a physical channel with a bandwidth of 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz, or 320 MHz by bonding multiple 20 MHz channels together.

[0137] Each PPDU is a composite structure that includes a PHY preamble and a payload in the form of a PHY service data unit (PSDU). The receiving device can use the information provided in the preamble to decode subsequent data in the PSDU. In an example where the PPDU is sent on a bonded channel, the preamble field can be replicated and sent in each of the multiple component channels. The PHY preamble can include a legacy portion (or "legacy preamble") and a non-legacy portion (or "non-legacy preamble"). The legacy preamble can be used for packet detection, automatic gain control, and channel estimation, among other purposes. The legacy preamble can also typically be used to maintain compatibility with legacy devices. The format of the non-legacy portion of the preamble, the encoding of the non-legacy portion of the preamble, and the information provided in the non-legacy portion of the preamble are associated with the specific IEEE 802.11 protocol that will be used to transmit the payload.

[0138] Figure 2a 、 2b , 2c and 2d respectively show examples of XPAN scenarios 200, 220, 225 and 230, which include a personal wireless communication device 204, AP 102-a, AP 102-b, an application server 215 and personal audio devices 210-a and 210-b. The personal wireless communication device 204 can be as shown in FIG. Figure 1 The personal wireless communication device 204 may be, for example, a handheld device, a laptop computer, or a desktop computer. The personal audio devices 210-a and 210-b may be as described in reference Figure 1 Another example of STA 104 is described. For example, personal audio devices 210-a and 210-b may be earbuds, head-mounted devices, or headphones. AP 102-a and AP 102-b may be as described in reference Figure 1 An example of AP 102 is described.

[0139] XPAN can be applied in the use case of lossless audio or voice call streaming to personal audio devices (such as personal audio devices 210-a and 210-b).For example, in the XPAN scenario, personal audio devices 210-a and 210-b can be earbuds / headsets / headsets connected by the cloud.As described herein, XPAN can realize the complete / family building coverage for audio streaming.In the complete family / building coverage scenario, the user can walk around with personal audio devices 210-a and 210-b without carrying personal wireless communication device 204, while personal audio devices 210-a and 210-b are still connected to the network, thereby realizing the uninterrupted listening to audio such as music, podcasts or audio books, or realizing uninterrupted voice calls.Technology described herein realizes the seamless conversion between the wireless communication links for XPAN.The audio formats supported by the example can include 48K / 96K / 192K lossless or lossy audio streaming, voice calls, music and voice assistants. For example, in an office environment, a user may be in a cubicle during a conference call and may walk to the break room while leaving the personal wireless communication device 204 on her desk without interrupting the conference call.

[0140] exist Figure 2a 、 2b In the example XPAN scenarios 200, 220, 225, and 230 of Figures 2a, 2c, and 2d, an application can be run on a personal wireless communication device 204 that streams audio (such as for music, video, podcasts, audio books, or voice calls). The data for the application can be provided to the personal wireless communication device 204 from an application server 215. Two routes (shown as "a" and "b") for streaming audio from the personal wireless communication device 204 to personal audio devices 210-a and 210-b are possible. In the first example, shown as the "a" route, audio data can be streamed via a P2P wireless communication link between the personal wireless communication device 204 and the personal audio devices 210-a and 210-b. In the second example, shown as the "b" route, audio data can be streamed from the personal wireless communication device 204 to the AP 102-a, and then from the AP 102-a to the personal audio devices 210-a and 210-b. Compared to the P2P links of route “a”, route “b” has higher latency due to the multiple links, but route “b” may have a greater range because AP 102 - a may have a greater transmission range than personal wireless communication device 204 .

[0141] In the example XPAN scenario 200, in a first route, labeled “a,” audio data is streamed from the application server 215 to the AP 102-a via wireless communication link a0, streamed from the AP 102-a to the personal wireless communication device 204 via wireless communication link a1, and streamed from the personal wireless communication device 204 to the personal audio devices 210-a and 210-b via the P2P wireless communication link a2. In a second route, labeled “b,” audio data is streamed from the application server 215 to the AP 102-a via wireless communication link b0, streamed from the AP 102-a to the personal wireless communication device 204 via wireless communication link b1, streamed from the personal wireless communication device 204 back to the AP 102-a via wireless communication link b2, and streamed from the AP 102-a to the personal audio devices 210-a and 210-b via wireless communication link b3. The example XPAN scenario 200 illustrates an online streaming / Voice over Internet Protocol (IP) / voice assistant scenario in which an application server 215 provides audio data to an application running on a personal wireless communication device 204 via the AP 102-a.

[0142] In the example XPAN scenario 220, in a first route labeled "a", audio data is streamed from the application server 215 to the mobile communication base station 205 via a wireless communication link a0, streamed from the mobile communication base station 205 to the personal wireless communication device 204 via a wireless communication link a1 (such as a long term evolution (LTE) link, a fifth generation link, or a new radio (NR) link), and streamed from the personal wireless communication device 204 to the personal audio devices 210-a and 210-b via a P2P wireless communication link a2. In the second route, labeled "b," audio data is streamed from application server 215 to mobile communication base station 205 via wireless communication link b0, from mobile communication base station 205 to personal wireless communication device 204 via wireless communication link b1 (such as an LTE, fifth generation, or NR link), from personal wireless communication device 204 to AP 102-a via wireless communication link b2, and from AP 102-a to personal audio devices 210-a and 210-b via wireless communication link b3. Example XPAN scenario 220 illustrates an example of a voice call with cellular backhaul (such as without Wi-Fi calling).

[0143] Example XPAN scenario 225 illustrates an example of offline streaming of audio from a personal wireless communication device 204 to personal audio devices 210-a and 210-b. For example, audio data stored in the local memory of the personal wireless communication device 204 can be streamed to the personal audio devices 210-a and 210-b without being provided by the application server 215. In a first route, labeled "a," audio data is streamed from the personal wireless communication device 204 to the personal audio devices 210-a and 210-b via a P2P wireless communication link a2. In a second route, labeled "b," audio data is streamed from the personal wireless communication device 204 to the AP 102-a via a wireless communication link b2, and from the AP 102-a to the personal audio devices 210-a and 210-b via a wireless communication link b3.

[0144] As described herein, in example XPAN scenarios 200, 220, and 225, the "b" route has higher latency due to the multiple links compared to the P2P links of the "a" route, but the "b" route can have a greater range because the AP 102-a can have a greater transmission range than the personal wireless communication device 204. Thus, roaming methods and techniques can be implemented for seamless, bidirectional transitions between a P2P connection (the "a" route) and a direct connection to the AP 102-a (the "b" route) for full home / office / building coverage for personal audio devices 210-a and 210-b without service interruption. Example transitions include: 1) personal audio device-personal wireless communication device to personal audio device-AP; 2) personal audio device-AP to personal audio device-personal wireless communication device; and 3) personal audio device-first AP to personal audio device-second AP. The described techniques may ensure make-before-break transitions and may reduce scanning overhead at the personal audio devices 210 - a and 210 - b to reduce power consumption at the personal audio devices 210 - a and 210 - b .

[0145] In the example XPAN scenario 230, in a first route, labeled "a," audio data is streamed from the application server 215 to the AP 102-a via wireless communication link a0, from the AP 102-a to the personal wireless communication device 204 via wireless communication link a1, and from the personal wireless communication device 204 to the personal audio devices 210-a and 210-b via the P2P wireless communication link a2. In a second route, labeled "b," audio data is streamed from the application server 215 to the AP 102-a via wireless communication link b0, from the AP 102-a to the personal wireless communication device 204 via wireless communication link b1, back to the AP 102-a from the personal wireless communication device 204 via wireless communication link b2, from the AP 102-a to the AP 102-b via wireless communication link b'2, and from the AP 102-b to the personal audio devices 210-a and 210-b via wireless communication link b3. Example XPAN scenario 230 illustrates an online streaming / Voice over Internet Protocol (IP) / voice assistant scenario in which an application server 215 provides audio data to an application running on a personal wireless communication device 204 via AP 102-a, where personal audio devices 210-a and 210-b are connected to a different AP (AP 102-b) than the personal wireless communication device 204 (AP 102-a). For example, AP 102-a and AP 102-b may be part of a mesh network or a range extension network.

[0146] Figure 3 An example in an XPAN scenario is shown transitioning between a P2P wireless connection at a first time 300 and a personal audio device-AP connection at a second time 305 . Figure 3 The example XPAN scenario shown in FIG includes: AP 102-b (which may be an example of AP 102 as described herein), personal wireless communication device 204-a (which may be an example of personal wireless communication device 204 as described herein), and personal audio device 210-c (which may be an example of personal audio device 210-a or 210-b as described herein). For example, Figure 3 A scenario may be shown in which the user of the XPAN-enabled earbuds (personal audio device 210-c) moves out of range of the personal wireless communication device 204-a. For example, the user of the XPAN-enabled earbuds may leave their desk while leaving their cell phone (personal wireless communication device 204-a) at their desk.

[0147] AP 102-b may have a 2.4G range 310 and a 5G / 6G range 315. As used herein, 2.4G refers to the 2.4 GHz radio frequency band, 5G refers to the 5 GHz radio frequency band, and 6G refers to the 6 GHz radio frequency band. 2.4G range 310 may be greater than 5G / 6G range 315. Personal wireless communication device 204-a may have a 2.4G range 320 and a 5G / 6G range 325. 2.4G range 320 may be greater than 5G / 6G range 325. AP 102-b may have a greater range than personal wireless communication device 204-a. For example, the 5G / 6G range 315 of AP 102-b may be greater than the 2.4G range 320 of personal wireless communication device 204-a.

[0148] Thus, at a first time 300, when the personal audio device 210-c is within 5G / 6G range of the personal wireless communication device 204-a, the personal wireless communication device 204-a and the personal audio device 210-c can communicate audio data (shown as EB traffic) via a direct P2P wireless communication link. The personal wireless communication device 204-a can communicate with the AP 102-b for the following: audio data (shown as EB traffic) for relaying to or from the personal audio device 210-c, as well as other data specific to the personal wireless communication device 204-a (shown as HS traffic).

[0149] At a second time 305, when the personal audio device 210-c is out of range of the personal wireless communication device 204-a (both the 2.4G range 320 and the 5G / 6G range 325), the personal audio device 210-c and the personal wireless communication device 204-a may communicate audio data via the AP 102-b. Thus, between the first time 300 and the second time 305, the personal audio device 210-c may transition from a personal audio device-to-personal wireless communication device connection scenario to a personal audio device-to-AP connection scenario.

[0150] Figure 4 An example in an XPAN scenario is shown transitioning between a personal audio device-AP connection at a first time 400 and a P2P wireless connection at a second time 405 . Figure 4 The example XPAN scenario shown includes reference Figure 3 The AP 102-b, personal wireless communication device 204-a and personal audio device 210-c are depicted. For example, Figure 4A scenario may be shown in which the user of the XPAN-enabled earbuds (personal audio device 210-c) moves back into range of the personal wireless communication device 204-a. For example, the user of the XPAN-enabled earbuds may return to their desk where they left their cell phone (personal wireless communication device 204-a).

[0151] At a first time 400 (which may correspond to Figure 3 At a second time 305 (the first time 400), the personal audio device 210-c is out of range (both the 2.4G range 320 and the 5G / 6G range 325) of the personal wireless communication device 204-a, and the personal audio device 210-c and the personal wireless communication device 204-a can communicate audio data via the AP 102-b. Between the first time 400 and the second time 405, the user of the personal audio device 210-c moves into 5G / 6G range of the personal wireless communication device 204-a.

[0152] Because the direct P2P wireless communication link between the personal audio device 210-c and the personal wireless communication device 204-a has lower latency than communication via the AP 102-b, at the second time 405, when the personal audio device 210-c is within the 5G / 6G range of the personal wireless communication device 204-a, the personal wireless communication device 204-a and the personal audio device 210-c can communicate audio data (shown as EB traffic) via the direct P2P wireless communication link. Therefore, between the first time 400 and the second time 405, the personal audio device 210-c can transition from the personal audio device-AP connection scenario to the personal audio device-personal wireless communication device connection scenario.

[0153] Figure 5 An example in an XPAN scenario is shown transitioning between a personal audio device-first AP connection at a first time 500 and a personal audio device-second AP connection at a second time 505 . Figure 5 The example XPAN scenario shown includes reference Figure 3 Depicted are an AP 102-b, a personal wireless communication device 204-a, and a personal audio device 210-c. Figure 5The example XPAN scenario shown in FIG5 includes AP 102-c, which may be an example of AP 102 as described herein. AP 102-b and AP 102-c may be within the same mesh network or extended service set 530. AP 102-c may have a 2.4G range 510 and a 5G / 6G range 515. The 2.4G range 310 may be greater than the 5G / 6G range 515. For example, a user who leaves their cell phone (personal wireless communication device 204-a) and XPAN-enabled earbuds (personal audio device 210-c) at their desk may move from one floor or section of their office or home served by a first AP to a second floor or section of their office served by a second AP.

[0154] At a first time 500 (which may correspond to Figure 3 At a second time 305 (the first time 500), the personal audio device 210-c is out of range (both the 2.4G range 320 and the 5G / 6G range 325) of the personal wireless communication device 204-a, and the personal wireless communication device 204-a and the personal audio device 210-c can communicate audio data via the AP 102-b. Between the first time 500 and the second time 505, the user of the personal audio device 210-c moves out of the 2.4G range 510 of the AP 102-b (which is the serving AP for the personal wireless communication device 204-a) and into the 5G / 6G range 515 of the AP 102-c.

[0155] At a second time 505, the personal audio device 210-c and the personal wireless communication device 204-a may communicate audio data via the AP 102-c and the AP 102-b (the personal wireless communication device 204-a may relay the audio data to the personal audio device 210-c via the AP 102-b and the AP 102-c). Thus, between the first time 500 and the second time 505, the personal audio device 210-c may transition from a personal audio device-first AP connection scenario to a personal audio device-second AP connection scenario.

[0156] Figure 6 An example of an XPAN scenario 600 is shown in which a personal audio device 210-c is within range of a personal wireless communication device 204-a, but out of range of an AP 102-b serving the personal wireless communication device 204-a. The example XPAN scenario 600 includes reference Figure 3102-b, personal wireless communication device 204-a, and personal audio device 210-c are depicted. For example, a user of an XPAN-enabled earbud headset (personal audio device 210-c) may leave their cell phone (personal wireless communication device 204-a) at their desk, which may be near the edge of the range served by the AP. The user may walk a distance from the desk, leaving the user out of range of the AP but still within range of the cell phone.

[0157] In the example XPAN scenario 600, the personal wireless communication device 204-a is near the edge of the 5G / 6G range 315 and the 2.4G range 310 of the AP 102-b, and therefore the 5G / 6G range 325 and the 2.4G range 320 of the personal wireless communication device 204-a are not completely contained within the 5G / 6G range 315 and the 2.4G range 310 of the AP 102-b. As shown, the personal audio device 210-c is within the 5G / 6G range 325 of the personal wireless communication device 204-a, but outside the 2.4G range 310 of the AP 102-b serving the personal wireless communication device 204-a. In the XPAN scenario 600, the personal wireless communication device 204-a and the personal audio device 210-c can communicate audio data (shown as EB traffic) via a direct P2P wireless communication link. The personal wireless communication device 204-a may communicate with the AP 102-b for audio data (shown as EB traffic) for relaying to or from the personal audio device 210-c, as well as other data specific to the personal wireless communication device 204-a (shown as HS traffic).

[0158] Figure 7 An example of an XPAN scenario 700 is shown in which the personal audio device 210-c is within the 2.4G range 320 of the personal wireless communication device 204-a, but outside the 5G / 6G range 325 of the personal wireless communication device 204-a. The example XPAN scenario 700 includes reference Figure 3 AP 102-b, personal wireless communication device 204-a, and personal audio device 210-c are depicted. For example, a user of an XPAN-enabled earbud headset (personal audio device 210-c) who leaves their cell phone (personal wireless communication device 204-a) at their desk may be at a distance from their desk that is within the cell phone's 2.4G range but not within the cell phone's 5G / 6G range.

[0159] As shown, the personal audio device 210-c is within the 2.4G range 320 of the personal wireless communication device 204-a and within the 5G / 6G range of the AP 102-b, but outside the 5G / 6G range 325 of the personal wireless communication device 204-a. In the XPAN scenario 700, the personal wireless communication device 204-a and the personal audio device 210-c can communicate audio data (shown as EB traffic) via a 2.4G direct P2P wireless communication link. The personal wireless communication device 204-a can communicate with the AP 102-b via the AP 102-b's 5G / 6G link for the following: audio data (shown as EB traffic) for relaying to or from the personal audio device 210-c and other data specific to the personal wireless communication device 204-a (shown as HS traffic). In some cases, the personal wireless communication device 204-a and the personal audio device 210-c may communicate audio data (shown as EB traffic) via a Bluetooth (BT) low energy communication link rather than a 2.4G direct P2P wireless communication link. For example, the link used to communicate audio data between the personal wireless communication device 204-a and the personal audio device 210-c may be changed based on distance, received signal strength indicator (RSSI) measurements, channel congestion, and / or latency considerations.

[0160] Figure 8 An example of an XPAN scenario 800 is shown in which a personal wireless communication device 204-a is connected to a cellular base station 205-a and a personal audio device 210-c is within range of the personal wireless communication device 204-a. The example XPAN scenario 800 includes reference Figure 3 The example XPAN scenario 800 includes a base station 205-a, which may be a personal wireless communication device 204-a and a personal audio device 210-c. Figure 2b An example of base station 205 is depicted. Base station 205-a may have a communication range 810. For example, a user of an XPAN-enabled earbud (personal audio device 210-c) may be in a location where there is no WLAN and, instead, their phone may connect to a cellular network.

[0161] The personal wireless communication device 204-a and the personal audio device 210-c can communicate audio data (shown as EB traffic) via a direct P2P wireless communication link. The personal wireless communication device 204-a can communicate the following with the base station 205-a via a communication link such as an LTE link, a fifth generation link, or an NR link: audio data (shown as EB traffic) for relaying to or from the personal audio device 210-c and other data dedicated to the personal wireless communication device 204-a (shown as HS traffic). XPAN scenario 800 can illustrate an example personal audio device 210-c to personal wireless communication device 204-a connection over XPAN 5G with cellular backhaul.

[0162] Figure 9a An example XPAN scenario 900 is shown in which the personal audio device 210-c is within the 5G / 6G range 315 of the AP 102-b, but outside the 2.4G range 320 of the personal wireless communication device 204-a. The example XPAN scenario 900 includes reference Figure 3 1 . The AP 102-b, personal wireless communication device 204-a, and personal audio device 210-c are depicted. For example, a user of an XPAN-enabled earbud headset (personal audio device 210-c) may leave their mobile phone (personal wireless communication device 204-a) at their desk and may be at a distance from their desk that is outside the 2.4G range of the mobile phone but within the 5G / 6G range of the AP serving the mobile phone. The personal audio device 210-c and the personal wireless communication device 204-a may communicate audio data via the AP 102-b (and specifically, via the 5G / 6G wireless communication link between the AP 102-b and the personal audio device 210-c). The personal wireless communication device 204-a can communicate with the AP 102-b via the 5G / 6G wireless communication link between the AP 102-b and the personal wireless communication device 204-a for the following: audio data (shown as EB traffic) for relaying to or from the personal audio device 210-c and other data dedicated to the personal wireless communication device 204-a (shown as HS traffic).

[0163] Figure 9b An example XPAN scenario 905 is shown in which the personal audio device 210-c is within the 2.4G range 310 of the AP 102-b, but outside the 2.4G range 320 of the personal wireless communication device 204-a and the 5G / 6G range 315 of the AP 102-b. The example XPAN scenario 905 includes reference Figure 31 , a personal wireless communication device 204-a, and a personal audio device 210-c are depicted. For example, a user of an XPAN-enabled earbud headset (personal audio device 210-c) may leave their cell phone (personal wireless communication device 204-a) at their desk and may be at a distance from their desk that is outside the 2.4 GHz range of the cell phone but within the 2.4 GHz range of the AP serving the cell phone. The personal audio device 210-c and the personal wireless communication device 204-a may communicate audio data via the AP 102-b (and specifically, via the 2.4 GHz wireless communication link between the AP 102-b and the personal audio device 210-c). The personal wireless communication device 204-a can communicate with the AP 102-b via the 5G / 6G wireless communication link between the AP 102-b and the personal wireless communication device 204-a for the following: audio data (shown as EB traffic) for relaying to or from the personal audio device 210-c and other data dedicated to the personal wireless communication device 204-a (shown as HS traffic).

[0164] Figure 10 An example of an example XPAN scenario 1000 is shown in which the personal audio device 210-c is within the 2.4G range 320 of the personal wireless communication device 204-a, but outside the 5G / 6G range of the personal wireless communication device 204-a. The example XPAN scenario 1000 includes reference Figure 3 1 , a personal wireless communication device 204-a, and a personal audio device 210-c are depicted. For example, a user of an XPAN-enabled earbud headset (personal audio device 210-c) may leave their cell phone (personal wireless communication device 204-a) at their desk and may be at a distance from their desk that is within the 2.4G range of the cell phone but not within the 5G / 6G range of the cell phone, and is within the 5G / 6G range of the AP serving the cell phone.

[0165] The personal wireless communication device 204-a can communicate with the AP 102-b via the 5G / 6G wireless communication link between the AP 102-b and the personal wireless communication device 204-a for the following: audio data for relaying to or from the personal audio device 210-c (shown as EB traffic) and other data dedicated to the personal wireless communication device 204-a (shown as HS traffic). Depending on channel quality and power consumption considerations, the personal audio device 210-c and the personal wireless communication device 204-a can communicate the audio data via the AP 102-b (and specifically via the 5G / 6G wireless communication link between the AP 102-b and the personal audio device 210-c) or via the 2.4G P2P link between the personal audio device 210-c and the personal wireless communication device 204-a. For example, a 5G / 6G connection with the AP 102-a may involve higher power consumption than a 2.4G P2P connection with the personal wireless communication device 204-a.

[0166] Figure 11a An example of an XPAN scenario 1100 is shown in which a personal wireless communication device 204-a relays audio data (such as a voice call or offline stream) to a personal audio device 210-c over the same basic service set (BSS). The example XPAN scenario 1100 includes reference Figure 3 10. AP 102-b, personal wireless communication device 204-a, and personal audio device 210-c are depicted. AP 102-b can serve the same L2 / L3 network. For example, AP 102-b can provide a BSS to area 310 / 315. For example, a user of an XPAN-enabled earbud (personal audio device 210-c) can leave their mobile phone (personal wireless communication device 204-a) at their desk and move it some distance from their desk that is outside the 2.4G range of the mobile phone. The XPAN-enabled earbud can connect to an AP with the same BSS as the AP to which the mobile phone is connected.

[0167] The personal audio device 210-c and the personal wireless communication device 204-a can communicate audio data via the AP 102-b (over the same BSS). The personal wireless communication device 204-a can communicate with the AP 102-b via the 5G / 6G wireless communication link between the AP 102-b and the personal wireless communication device 204-a: audio data (shown as EB traffic) relayed to or from the personal audio device 210-c and other data specific to the personal wireless communication device 204-a (shown as HS traffic).

[0168] Figure 11bAn example of an XPAN scenario 1105 is shown in which a personal wireless communication device 204-a relays audio data (such as a voice call or offline stream) to a personal audio device 210-c via an ESS, where the personal wireless communication device 204-a and the personal audio device 210-c are in the same L2 / L3 network (such as in a home mesh network scenario). The example XPAN scenario 1105 includes reference Figure 3 10. Example XPAN scenario 1105 includes AP 102-c and AP 102-d, which may be examples of AP 102 as described herein. AP 102-b and AP 102-d may serve the same L2 / L3 network. For example, AP 102-b may provide a BSS to areas 310 / 315, and AP 102-d may provide a BSS to areas 1110 / 1115. An ESS may serve area 1120. For example, a user of an XPAN-enabled earbud (personal audio device 210-c) may leave their cell phone (personal wireless communication device 204-a) at their desk and may be a distance away from their desk that is outside the 2.4G range of the cell phone. The XPAN-enabled earbud may connect to an AP that is within the same mesh network as the AP to which the cell phone is connected.

[0169] The personal audio device 210-c and the personal wireless communication device 204-a can communicate audio data via the AP 102-b, AP 102-c, and AP 102-d (the personal wireless communication device 204-a can relay a voice call or offline stream to the personal audio device 210-c in a different BSS via the same ESS). The personal wireless communication device 204-a can communicate with the AP 102-b via the 5G / 6G wireless communication link between the AP 102-b and the personal wireless communication device 204-a for the following: audio data (shown as EB traffic) relayed to or from the personal audio device 210-c and other data dedicated to the personal wireless communication device 204-a (shown as HS traffic).

[0170] Figure 12 An example of an XPAN scenario 1200 is shown in which a personal wireless communication device 204-a relays audio data (such as a voice call or offline stream) to a personal audio device 210-c via an ESS, where the personal wireless communication device 204-a and the personal audio device 210-c are in different L2 / L3 networks (such as in an office building scenario). The example XPAN scenario 1200 includes reference Figure 310. Example XPAN scenario 1200 includes AP 102-b, personal wireless communication device 204-a, and personal audio device 210-c. Example XPAN scenario 1200 includes AP 102-c, which may be an example of AP 102 as described herein. AP 102-b and AP 102-c may serve different L2 / L3 networks. For example, AP 102-b may provide a BSS to areas 310 / 315, and AP 102-c may provide a BSS to areas 1210 / 1215. ESS 1225 may serve area 1220. For example, a user of an XPAN-enabled earbud (personal audio device 210-c) may leave their cell phone (personal wireless communication device 204-a) at their desk and may be some distance away from the desk that is outside the 2.4 GHz range of the cell phone. The XPAN-enabled earbud may connect to an AP that is a different L1 or L2 network than the AP to which the cell phone is connected, but to the same ESS 1225.

[0171] The personal audio device 210-c and the personal wireless communication device 204-a can communicate audio data via the AP 102-b and the AP 102-c (the personal wireless communication device 204-a can relay a voice call or offline stream to the personal audio device 210-c in a different BSS via the same ESS 1225). The personal wireless communication device 204-a can communicate with the AP 102-b via the 5G / 6G wireless communication link between the AP 102-b and the personal wireless communication device 204-a: audio data (shown as EB traffic) relayed to or from the personal audio device 210-c and other data dedicated to the personal wireless communication device 204-a (shown as HS traffic).

[0172] Figure 13 An example of transitioning between a P2P wireless connection and a personal audio device-AP connection in an XPAN scenario 1300 is shown. The XPAN scenario 1300 includes reference Figure 3 Because the transition shown in the XPAN scenario 1300 establishes a connection between the personal audio device 210-c and the AP 102-b before disconnecting the P2P connection between the personal audio device 210-c and the personal wireless communication device 204-a, the transition shown in the XPAN scenario 1300 can reduce latency and packet loss compared to a transition from a P2P connection to an AP connection in which a connection to the AP is not established before disconnecting the P2P connection.

[0173] At 1305, the personal wireless communication device 204-a communicates audio data (shown as EB traffic) for relaying to or from the personal audio device 210-c and other data specific to the personal wireless communication device 204-a (shown as HS traffic) with the AP 102-b via the communication link 106-a. At 1305, the personal wireless communication device 204-a communicates the audio data (shown as EB traffic) via the direct P2P wireless communication link 106-b.

[0174] The personal audio device 210-c monitors the link quality of the P2P wireless communication link 106-b. If the P2P wireless communication link 106-b drops below a threshold value (LQ AssocAP ), the personal audio device 210-c may request the most recent channel scan results from the personal wireless communication device 204-a. In response, the personal wireless communication device 204-a may share the most recent scan results along with the BSS identifier (BSSID) of the associated AP (AP 102-b), the channel of AP 102-b, and the capabilities of AP 102-b. In some examples, if the most recent scan results are older than a threshold, the personal wireless communication device 204-a may perform a channel scan in response to the request from the personal audio device 210-c, and the personal wireless communication device 204-a may share the results of the newly performed channel scan with the personal audio device 210-c. The personal audio device 210-c may calculate a utility function for the P2P connection relative to the APs in the vicinity of the personal audio device 210-c.

[0175] At 1310, if the personal audio device 210-c determines that a connection to the AP 102-b provides a better utility function, the personal audio device 210-c begins an association / authentication or connection process with the AP 102-b. In some examples, the association / authentication or connection process may involve a secure key exchange or Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server negotiation with a candidate AP (e.g., AP 102-b). The personal audio device 210-c obtains an IP address from the AP 102-b and shares the IP address and / or MAC address with the personal wireless communication device 204-a. Thus, the personal audio device 210-c establishes a wireless communication link 106-c with the AP 102-b and has dual connectivity via the wireless communication link 106-c and the wireless communication link 106-b. The personal wireless communication device 204-a may use the Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) to look up the MAC address of the personal audio device 210-c, and the personal wireless communication device 204-a may switch the BT control path to communicate with the personal audio device 210-c via the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP). In some examples, the personal audio device 210-c may share the IP address and MAC address of the personal audio device 210-c with the personal wireless communication device 204-a.

[0176] If the link quality of the P2P wireless communication link 106-b drops to a second threshold (LQ roamAP ), the personal audio device 210-c may send a roaming indication or a roaming request to the personal wireless communication device 204-a. In response to the roaming indication or the roaming request, the personal wireless communication device 204-a may increase the audio delay to account for the delay across the network, may reduce the audio bit rate, and / or may increase the audio delay to account for the end-to-end delay across the network.

[0177] At 1315, the personal wireless communication device 204-a switches the audio data from Ethernet to User Datagram Protocol (UDP), and the personal wireless communication device 204-a forwards the audio data to the personal audio device 210-c via the AP 102-b (via the wireless communication link 106-a and the wireless communication link 106-c). In some examples, in response to the roaming indication, the personal wireless communication device 204-a may switch BT control from Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) to TCP via the AP 102-b. In some examples, in response to the roaming indication, the personal wireless communication device 204-a and the personal audio device may disassociate / disconnect the P2P wireless communication link 106-b, and the personal wireless communication device 204-a may forward the data to the personal audio device 210-c via the AP 102-b using the IP and MAC addresses of the personal audio device 210-c.

[0178] In some examples, the personal audio device 210-c may initiate the transition. For example, the personal audio device 210-c may monitor the average link quality (such as RSSI, packet error rate (PER), number of retries, congestion level, or a combination thereof) of the P2P wireless communication link 106-b from downlink transmissions. As described herein, if the link quality of the P2P wireless communication link 106-b drops below a first threshold (LQ AssocAP ), the personal audio device 210-c may begin a scanning process for neighboring APs. In some examples, the personal wireless communication device 204-a may share the scan results with the personal audio device 210-c and / or may perform the scan on behalf of the personal audio device 210-c, and the personal audio device 210-c may use the shared scan results or may perform the scan if no AP 102 is available in the shared list. For example, the personal wireless communication device 204-a may forward the scan results to the personal audio device 210-c along with a timestamp of when the channel scan results were obtained, for example, if the personal wireless communication device 204-a and the personal audio device 210-c are within a threshold physical proximity of each other (in which case the channel scan results at the personal wireless communication device 204-a will be similar to the channel scan results at the personal audio device 210-c). For example, the personal wireless communication device 204-a may forward the channel scan results in a vendor-specific action frame. In a home scenario, the personal wireless communication device 204-a may forward the BSSID of the serving AP 102-b and the home channel of the serving AP 102-b to the personal audio device 210-c. In some examples, the personal audio device 210-c may attempt to connect to one of the most recently used APs 102 in the list received from the personal wireless communication device 204-a.

[0179] In some examples, the personal audio device 210-c can request the personal wireless communication device 204-a to perform a scan on behalf of the personal audio device 210-c via a vendor specific action frame. For example, scanning can be performed as needed to reduce power consumption at the personal audio device 210-c. In some examples, the personal audio device 210-c scan can be limited to a subset of channels to reduce power consumption at the personal audio device 210-c. In some examples, a higher weight can be given to the AP to which the personal wireless communication device 204-a is directly connected (AP 102-b).

[0180] In some examples, if an AP with a better RSSI is found (than the RSSI of the P2P wireless communication link 106-b), the personal audio device 210-c can use a utility function to determine whether it is better to roam to the AP with the better RSSI or remain connected to the P2P wireless communication link 106-b. The RSSI can be calculated based on the beacon or probe response (which is sent by the AP 102 in response to the probe request sent by the personal audio device 210-c). The utility function can be based on: the RSSI difference of the 2.4G channel relative to the 5G / 6G channel, and / or a bias factor for the preference for a direct P2P connection to the personal wireless communication device 204-a (for energy conservation considerations (because most APs do not support / enable target wake time (TWT))), and the end-to-end latency of the direct P2P connection compared to a multipoint connection via the AP. For example, the utility function can select the wireless communication link with the higher RSSI while taking the bias into account. In some examples, where there are multiple APs 102 (such as in a mesh network), the utility function may involve a bias factor that favors the AP 102 to which the personal wireless communication device 204-a is connected in order to reduce latency associated with communicating via the multiple APs 102. In some examples, if the personal audio device 210-c determines, using the utility function, that a connection to the AP 102 would be better, the personal audio device 210-c begins a roaming process to the AP 102. The AP 102 may be the serving AP 102-b for the personal wireless communication device 204-a, or may be a different AP 102.

[0181] As described herein, the personal audio device 210-c may establish a connection with the AP 102-b (such as via an association / authentication process). The personal audio device 210-c may maintain the connection to the AP 102-b by listening for traffic indication map (DTIM) beacons and ensuring that the BSS maximum idle period transmitted by the AP 102-b in the association response is not exceeded. In some examples, if the AP 102-b is on a different channel than the P2P wireless communication link 106-b (the wireless communication link 106-c uses a different channel than the P2P wireless communication link 106-b), the personal audio device 210-c may periodically switch channels to maintain the connection with the AP 102-b and the P2P connection with the personal wireless communication device 204-a. In some examples, the personal wireless communication device 204-a may switch the channel of the P2P wireless communication link 106-b to be the same as the infrastructure channel (the wireless communication link 106-a) to reduce the overhead of frequent channel switching from the personal audio device 210-c. In response to initiating a channel switch of the P2P wireless communication link 106-b to the same channel as the infrastructure channel, the personal wireless communication device 204-a may send a channel switch announcement (CSA) to the personal audio device 210-c, and the personal audio device 210-c may accordingly switch the P2P wireless communication link 106-b to the same channel as the infrastructure channel. In some cases, if the AP 102-b is on the same channel as the P2P wireless communication link 106-b (the wireless communication link 106-c uses the same channel as the P2P wireless communication link 106-b), channel contention may occur between the wireless communication link 106-c and the P2P wireless communication link 106-b.

[0182] As described herein, in some examples, during the authentication / association process, the personal audio device 210-c obtains an IP address from the AP 102-b and shares the IP address with the personal wireless communication device 204-a. For example, the IP address from the personal audio device 210-c (or for both devices in the case of two earbuds) can be shared with the personal wireless communication device 204-a via a vendor-specific action frame. In some examples where there are two personal audio devices 210 (e.g., in the case of two earbuds), the primary personal audio device 210 (e.g., personal audio device 210-a) can share the BSSID of the target AP with the secondary personal audio device 210 (e.g., personal audio device 210-b) to ensure that the two personal audio devices 210 do not connect to two different APs. The primary personal audio device 210-a can then share the IP and MAC addresses of both personal audio devices 210 with the personal wireless communication device 204-a. At 1310, the personal audio device 210-c connects to the AP 102-b and the personal wireless communication device 204-a via the wireless communication link 106-c and the P2P wireless communication link 106-b, respectively, as described herein (the dual personal audio device 210-c connections enable seamless transition).

[0183] As described herein, if the link quality of the P2P wireless communication link 106-b drops below a second threshold (LQ roamAP ) below, the personal audio device 210-c sends an indication to the personal wireless communication device 204-a that the personal audio device 210-c will roam to the AP 102-b. roamAP ≤LQ assocAP , where LQ roamAP and LQ assocAP It can be a programmable link quality metric threshold. You can select LQ roamAP , to at least ensure that the personal audio device 210-c can reliably send a roaming indication to the personal wireless communication device 204-a. In some examples, the personal audio device 210-a can implement a hysteresis check as to whether the connection to the AP 102-a still provides a higher utility than the BLE / XPAN P2P link, and can accordingly send a roaming request for XPAN over AP to the personal wireless communication device 204-a.

[0184] The personal wireless communication device 204-a may use the indicated IP address and MAC address of the personal audio device 210-c to continue forwarding data to the personal audio device 210-c through the AP 102-b. In some examples, the MAC address of the personal audio device 210-c may be known to the personal wireless communication device 204-a based on previous communications. If the MAC address is not available in the MAC address cache of the personal wireless communication device 204-a, the personal wireless communication device 204-a may query the MAC address of the personal audio device 210-c using an ARP request with the obtained IP address of the personal audio device 210-c. At 1315, the personal audio device 210-c may continue monitoring the link quality of the wireless communication link 106-c.

[0185] In some examples, the personal wireless communication device 204-a can assist in monitoring the link quality of the P2P wireless communication link 106-b. For example, at 1305, the personal audio device 210-c can monitor the link quality of the P2P wireless communication link 106-b to / from the personal wireless communication device 204-a and periodically share the monitoring information with the personal wireless communication device 204-a via a vendor-specific action frame or via a Bluetooth link. The personal wireless communication device 204-a can also monitor the uplink link quality. For example, the personal wireless communication device 204-a can monitor the quality of the uplink transmission via the P2P wireless communication link 106-b. If the link quality of the P2P wireless communication link 106-b drops below a first threshold (LQ AssocAP ) is below, the personal wireless communication device 204-a may send a roaming suggestion to the personal audio device 210-c. The personal wireless communication device 204-a responds to the link quality of the P2P wireless communication link 106-b falling below the first threshold (LQ AssocAP ) Thereafter, a scan may be performed (or the most recent scan results may be used) and the scan results, along with the associated BSSID of the AP 102-b, the channel of the AP 102-b, and the capabilities of the AP 102-b, may be shared with the personal audio device 210-c. The personal audio device 210-c may then determine the utility of the connection with the AP 102-b relative to the P2P wireless communication link 106-b and proceed to 1310 / 1315 as described herein.

[0186] The personal wireless communication device 204-a assisted transition is similar to the transition initiated by the personal audio device 210-c, except that in the personal wireless communication device 204-a assisted transition, the personal wireless communication device 204-a may monitor the average link quality from the uplink transmission (such as based on RSSI, PER, number of retries, congestion level, or a combination thereof), and the personal wireless communication device 204-a may also receive periodic reports on downlink quality from the personal audio device 210-c (such as via vendor-specific action frames). Additionally or alternatively, in the personal wireless communication device 204-a assisted transition, the personal wireless communication device 204-a may initiate a P2P wireless communication link 106-b transition when the link quality drops to a first threshold (LQ AssocAP ), an indication is sent to the personal audio device 210-c to suggest roaming, and optionally, the personal wireless communication device 204-a may indicate the BSSID of the associated AP 102-b, the channel of the AP 102-b, and the capabilities of the AP 102-b. For example, the roaming indication and the indication of the AP BSSID may be sent via a vendor-specific action frame. For example, if the personal audio device 210-c is within close physical proximity of the personal wireless communication device 204-a, the AP 102-b serving the personal wireless communication device 204-a may be a good candidate AP for the personal audio device 210-c. In some examples, the personal wireless communication device 204-a may scan for neighboring APs 102 and may share the scan results with the personal audio device 210-c.

[0187] Figure 14 An example of a process flow 1400 for transitioning between a P2P wireless connection and a personal audio device-AP connection in an XPAN scenario is shown. The process flow 1400 includes reference Figure 31400. The process flow 1400 depicts an example of an AP 102-b, a personal wireless communication device 204-a, and a personal audio device 210-c. In the following description of process flow 1400, operations between the AP 102-b, the personal wireless communication device 204-a, and the personal audio device 210-c may be sent in a different order than the example order shown, or operations performed by the AP 102-b, the personal wireless communication device 204-a, and the personal audio device 210-c may be performed in a different order or at a different time. Some operations may also be omitted from process flow 1400, while other operations may be added to process flow 1400. Because the transition shown in process flow 1400 establishes a connection between the personal audio device 210-c and the AP 102-b before disconnecting the P2P connection between the personal audio device 210-c and the personal wireless communication device 204-a, the transition shown in process flow 1400 may reduce latency and packet loss compared to a transition from a P2P connection to an AP connection in which a connection to the AP is not established before disconnecting the P2P connection.

[0188] At 1405, the personal audio device 210-c may communicate with the user via a P2P wireless communication link such as Figure 13 At 1410, the personal audio device 210-c may monitor the link quality of the P2P wireless communication link. At 1415, the personal audio device 210-c may determine that the link quality of the P2P wireless communication link has dropped to a threshold value LQ AssocAP the following.

[0189] In some examples, at 1420 and in response to determining that the link quality of the P2P wireless communication link has dropped to a threshold value LQ AssocAP Next, the personal audio device 210-c may send a request for the most recent channel scan results to the personal wireless communication device 204-a. Then, at 1425, the personal wireless communication device 204-a may send the most recent channel scan results to the personal audio device 210-c. In an alternative example, at 1430 and in response to determining that the link quality of the P2P wireless communication link has fallen below the threshold value LQ AssocAP Next, the personal audio device 210 - c may measure the RSSI of the probe response or beacon from the AP 102 - b .

[0190] At 1435, based on the channel scan results or the measured RSSI of the probe response / beacon, the personal audio device 210-c may determine that a connection to the AP 102-b provides a higher utility (based on a utility function as described herein) than a P2P wireless communication link. In some examples, if a second personal audio device (such as a second earbud) is present, the personal audio device 210-c may share the target AP 102-b with the second personal audio device.

[0191] At 1440, the personal audio device 210-c may perform an association / authentication process with the AP 102-b. In some examples, the personal audio device 210-c may exchange security keys with the AP 102-b. At 1445, the personal audio device 210-c may share the IP address for the personal audio device 210-c received during the association / authentication process with the personal wireless communication device 204-a. At 1450, the personal wireless communication device 204-a may switch the BT control path to communicate with the personal audio device 210-c via TCP.

[0192] At 1455, the personal audio device 210-c may determine that the link quality of the P2P wireless communication link 106-b has dropped to a second threshold value (LQ roamAP At 1460, in response to the link quality of the P2P wireless communication link 106-b dropping to a second threshold (LQ roamAP ) Following this, the personal audio device 210-c may send a roaming indication to the personal wireless communication device 204-a. At 1465, in response to the roaming indication, the personal wireless communication device 204-a may increase the audio delay. At 1470, in response to the roaming indication, the personal wireless communication device 204-a may look up the MAC address of the personal audio device 210-c, or may obtain the MAC address of the personal audio device 210-c through ARP. In some examples, in response to the roaming indication, the personal wireless communication device 204-a may switch the audio data from Ethernet to UDP.

[0193] In some examples, at 1475, in response to the roaming indication, the personal wireless communication device 204-a and the personal audio device may disassociate / disconnect the P2P wireless communication link ( Figure 13 P2P wireless communication link 106-b).

[0194] At 1480, the personal wireless communication device 204-a and the personal audio device may communicate with each other via the AP 102-b (via Figure 13 For example, the personal wireless communication device 204-a may encapsulate the audio data in a UDP packet.

[0195] Figure 15 An example of a process flow 1500 for transitioning between a first-time P2P wireless connection and a personal audio device-AP connection in an XPAN scenario is shown, wherein the personal wireless communication device assists in initiating the transition. Figure 3 102-b, personal wireless communication device 204-a, and personal audio device 210-c are described. In the following description of process flow 1500, operations between AP 102-b, personal wireless communication device 204-a, and personal audio device 210-c may be sent in a different order than the example order shown, or operations performed by AP 102-b, personal wireless communication device 204-a, and personal audio device 210-c may be performed in a different order or at different times. Some operations may also be omitted from process flow 1500, while other operations may be added to process flow 1500. Because the transition shown in process flow 1500 establishes a connection between personal audio device 210-c and AP 102-b before disconnecting the P2P connection between personal audio device 210-c and personal wireless communication device 204-a, the transition shown in process flow 1500 may reduce latency and packet loss compared to a transition from a P2P connection to an AP connection in which a connection to the AP is not established before disconnecting the P2P connection. Additionally, because the personal wireless communication device 204-a assists in initiating the transition, less processing may be performed at the personal audio device 210-c, which may reduce latency because the personal wireless communication device 204-a may have more processing power than the personal audio device 210-c and / or may reduce power consumption at the personal audio device 210-c.

[0196] At 1505, the personal audio device 210-c may communicate with the user via a P2P wireless communication link such as Figure 13 At 1510, the personal audio device 210-c may monitor the link quality of the P2P wireless communication link. At 1515, the personal audio device 210-c may determine that the link quality of the P2P wireless communication link has dropped to a threshold value LQ AssocAP the following.

[0197] At 1520, the personal audio device 210-c may send an indication of link quality statistics for the P2P wireless communication link to the personal wireless communication device 204-a. At 1525, the personal wireless communication device 204-a may send an indication of channel scan results at the personal wireless communication device 204-a or a channel scan command to the personal audio device 210-c. At 1530, in response to the channel scan command, the personal audio device 210-c may measure the RSSI of a probe response or beacon from the AP 102-b. At 1535, the personal audio device 210-c may send the RSSI measurement to the personal wireless communication device 204-a. At 1540, the personal wireless communication device 204-a may determine that the connection to the AP 102-b provides a higher utility than the P2P wireless communication link (based on the utility function as described herein). At 1545, in response to determining that the connection to the AP 102-b provides higher utility than the P2P wireless communication link, the personal wireless communication device 204-a sends an association command to the personal audio device 210-c.

[0198] At 1550, the personal audio device 210-c may perform an association / authentication process with the AP 102-b. In some examples, the personal audio device 210-c may exchange security keys with the AP 102-b. At 1555, the personal audio device 210-c may share the IP address for the personal audio device 210-c received during the association / authentication process with the personal wireless communication device 204-a. At 1560, the personal wireless communication device 204-a may switch the BT control path to communicate with the personal audio device 210-c via TCP.

[0199] At 1565, the personal audio device 210-c may determine that the link quality of the P2P wireless communication link 106-b has dropped to a second threshold value (LQ roamAP At 1570, in response to the link quality of the P2P wireless communication link 106-b dropping to a second threshold (LQ roamAP ) below, the personal audio device 210-c may send a message to the personal wireless communication device 204-a regarding the link quality dropping to a second threshold value (LQ roamAP) following instructions. In response, at 1575, the personal wireless communication device 204-a may send a roaming suggestion to the personal audio device 210-c. At 1580, in response to the roaming suggestion, the personal wireless communication device 204-a may increase the audio delay. At 1585, in response to the roaming suggestion, the personal wireless communication device 204-a may look up the MAC address of the personal audio device 210-c, or may obtain the MAC address of the personal audio device 210-c through ARP. In some examples, in response to the roaming suggestion, the personal wireless communication device 204-a may switch the audio data from Ethernet to UDP.

[0200] In some examples, at 1590, in response to the roaming suggestion, the personal wireless communication device 204-a and the personal audio device may disassociate / disconnect the P2P wireless communication link ( Figure 13 P2P wireless communication link 106-b).

[0201] At 1595, the personal wireless communication device 204-a and the personal audio device may communicate with each other via the AP 102-b (via Figure 13 For example, the personal wireless communication device 204-a may encapsulate the audio data in a UDP packet.

[0202] Figure 16 An example of transitioning between a P2P wireless connection and a personal audio device-AP connection in an XPAN scenario 1600 is shown, wherein the personal wireless communication device 204-a performs an association process with the AP for the personal audio device 210-c. The XPAN scenario 1600 includes reference Figure 3 102-b, personal wireless communication device 204-a, and personal audio device 210-c are depicted. Because the transition shown in XPAN scenario 1600 establishes a connection between personal audio device 210-c and AP 102-b before disconnecting the P2P connection between personal audio device 210-c and personal wireless communication device 204-a, the transition shown in XPAN scenario 1600 can reduce latency and packet loss compared to a transition from a P2P connection to an AP connection in which a connection to the AP is not established before disconnecting the P2P connection. Additionally, because personal wireless communication device 204-a establishes an AP connection for personal audio device 210-c, less processing can be performed at personal audio device 210-c, which can reduce latency because personal wireless communication device 204-a can have more processing power than personal audio device 210-c and / or can reduce power consumption at personal audio device 210-c.

[0203] At 1605, the personal wireless communication device 204-a communicates with the AP 102-b via the communication link 106-b for audio data (shown as EB traffic) to be relayed to or from the personal audio device 210-c, as well as other data specific to the personal wireless communication device 204-a (shown as HS traffic). At 1605, the personal wireless communication device 204-a communicates the audio data (shown as EB traffic) via the direct P2P wireless communication link 106-b. The personal wireless communication device 204-a uses the MAC address of the personal audio device 210-c and the capabilities of the personal audio device 210-c (or two MAC addresses for two earbuds) to forge or mimic an association with the AP 102-b. For example, the personal wireless communication device 204-a can mimic the TA / RA address of the personal audio device 210-c. The personal wireless communication device 204-a and the personal audio device 210-c share an IP address.

[0204] At 1610, the personal wireless communication device 204-a may listen for packets destined for the MAC address of the personal wireless communication device 204-a or the MAC address of the personal audio device 210-c. The personal audio device 210-c may monitor the link quality of the P2P wireless communication link 106-b and periodically share link quality information with the personal wireless communication device 204-a via vendor specific action frames. The personal audio device 210-c may have dual connectivity at 1610 (via the P2P wireless communication link 106-b, and the wireless communication link 106-c established by the personal wireless communication device 204-a using the MAC address of the personal audio device 210-c to forge an association with the AP 102-c). The personal wireless communication device 204-a may also monitor the link quality of the P2P wireless communication link 106-b via uplink transmissions. If the personal wireless communication device 204-a determines that the link quality of the P2P wireless communication link 106-b has dropped below a first threshold (LQ AssocAP ), the personal wireless communication device 204-a may send a roaming indication to the personal audio device 210-c. In some examples, the personal wireless communication device 204-a may perform a channel scan (or use the most recent channel scan results) and share the channel scan results with the personal audio device 210-c. In some cases, the personal wireless communication device 204-a may share the BSSID of the associated AP (AP 102-b), the channel of AP 102-b, and the capabilities of AP 102-b. The personal audio device 210-c may calculate a utility function for the P2P connection relative to the APs in the vicinity of the personal audio device 210-c.

[0205] If the link quality of the P2P wireless communication link 106-b drops to a second threshold (LQ roamAP ), the personal audio device 210-c may send a roaming indication to the personal wireless communication device 204-a. In response to the roaming indication, the personal wireless communication device 204-a may increase the audio delay to handle the delay across the network.

[0206] At 1615, the personal wireless communication device 204-a switches the audio data from Ethernet to UDP, and the personal wireless communication device 204-a forwards the audio data to the personal audio device 210-c via the AP 102-b (via the wireless communication link 106-a and the wireless communication link 106-c). In some examples, in response to the roaming indication, the personal wireless communication device 204-a and the personal audio device may disassociate / disconnect the P2P wireless communication link 106-b, and the personal wireless communication device 204-a may forward the data to the personal audio device 210-c via the AP 102-b using the IP and MAC addresses of the personal audio device 210-c.

[0207] Figure 17 An example of a process flow 1700 for transitioning between a P2P wireless connection and a personal audio device-AP connection in an XPAN scenario is shown, wherein the personal wireless communication device 204-a performs an association process with the AP for the personal audio device 210-c. The process flow 1700 includes reference to Figure 31700. The process flow 1700 depicts an example of an AP 102-b, a personal wireless communication device 204-a, and a personal audio device 210-c. In the following description of process flow 1700, operations between the AP 102-b, the personal wireless communication device 204-a, and the personal audio device 210-c may be sent in a different order than the example order shown, or operations performed by the AP 102-b, the personal wireless communication device 204-a, and the personal audio device 210-c may be performed in a different order or at a different time. Some operations may also be omitted from process flow 1700, while other operations may be added to process flow 1700. Because the transition shown in process flow 1700 establishes a connection between the personal audio device 210-c and the AP 102-b before disconnecting the P2P connection between the personal audio device 210-c and the personal wireless communication device 204-a, the transition shown in process flow 1700 may reduce latency and packet loss compared to a transition from a P2P connection to an AP connection in which a connection to the AP is not established before disconnecting the P2P connection. Additionally, because the personal wireless communication device 204-a establishes an AP connection for the personal audio device 210-c, less processing may be performed at the personal audio device 210-c, which may reduce latency because the personal wireless communication device 204-a may have more processing power than the personal audio device 210-c and / or may reduce power consumption at the personal audio device 210-c.

[0208] At 1705, the personal audio device 210-c may communicate with the user via a P2P wireless communication link such as Figure 13 The P2P wireless communication link 106-b) communicates with the personal wireless communication device 204-a.

[0209] At 1710, the personal wireless communication device 204-a may perform an authentication / association process with the AP 102-b for the personal audio device 210-c. In some examples, the personal wireless communication device 204-a may exchange security keys with the AP 102-b for the personal audio device 210-c. At 1715, the personal wireless communication device 204-a may share the IP address for the personal audio device 210-c received during the authentication / association process at 1710.

[0210] At 1720, the personal audio device 210-c may monitor the link quality of the P2P wireless communication link. At 1725, the personal audio device 210-c may determine that the link quality of the P2P wireless communication link has dropped to a threshold value LQ AssocAP the following.

[0211] At 1730, the personal audio device 210-c may send an indication of link quality statistics for the P2P wireless communication link to the personal wireless communication device 204-a. At 1740, the personal audio device 210-c may measure the RSSI of the probe response or beacon from the AP 102-b. At 1745, the personal audio device 210-c may send the RSSI measurement to the personal wireless communication device 204-a.

[0212] At 1746, the personal wireless communication device 204-a may determine that the connection to the AP 102-b provides a higher utility than the P2P wireless communication link (based on the utility function as described herein). At 1750, the personal wireless communication device 204-a may switch the BT control path to communicate with the personal audio device 210-c via TCP. At 1755, in response to determining that the connection to the AP 102-b provides a higher utility than the P2P wireless communication link, the personal wireless communication device 204-a sends a roaming indication to the personal audio device 210-c.

[0213] At 1760, in response to the roaming indication, the personal wireless communication device 204-a may increase the audio delay. At 1765, in response to the roaming indication, the personal wireless communication device 204-a may look up the MAC address of the personal audio device 210-c, or may obtain the MAC address of the personal audio device 210-c through ARP. In some examples, in response to the roaming indication, the personal wireless communication device 204-a may switch the audio data from Ethernet to UDP.

[0214] In some examples, at 1770, in response to the roaming indication, the personal wireless communication device 204-a and the personal audio device may disassociate / disconnect the P2P wireless communication link ( Figure 13 P2P wireless communication link 106-b).

[0215] At 1775, the personal wireless communication device 204-a and the personal audio device may communicate with each other via the AP 102-b (via Figure 16 For example, the personal wireless communication device 204-a may encapsulate the audio data in a UDP packet.

[0216] Figure 18 An example of transitioning between a personal audio device-AP connection and a P2P wireless connection in an XPAN scenario 1800 is shown. The XPAN scenario 1800 includes reference Figure 3Because the transition shown in XPAN scenario 1800 establishes a P2P connection between the personal audio device 210-c and the personal wireless communication device 204-a before disconnecting the connection between the personal audio device 210-c and the AP 102-b, the transition shown in XPAN scenario 1800 may reduce latency and packet loss compared to a transition from a personal audio device-AP connection to a P2P connection in which a P2P connection is not established before disconnecting the personal audio device-AP connection.

[0217] When a personal audio device 210-c is connected to an AP 102-b and the link quality degrades as the user moves away from the serving AP 102-b, two potential scenarios may occur. Figure 5 and 20 In the first scenario shown, the personal audio device 210-c may move into the coverage of another AP 102 within the same network as the current AP 102-b / personal wireless communication device 204-a. For example, the other AP 102 may be another mesh node or range extender in the home mesh network, or another BSS in the same ESS. Figure 4 and 18 In the second scenario shown, the user may move back into coverage of the personal wireless communication device 204-a. One solution may be that when the personal audio device 210-c moves back into coverage of the personal wireless communication device 204-a, and both are within reasonable range of the serving AP 102-b, the personal audio device 210-c may remain connected to the serving AP 102-b, but doing so may result in higher power consumption than if it were directly connected to the personal wireless communication device 204-a. A second solution may be to switch back to a direct P2P wireless communication link with the personal wireless communication device 204-a.

[0218] In some examples, for example, Figure 13 and Figure 16 As shown, once the personal audio device 210-c is out of direct coverage of the personal wireless communication device 204-a, the personal wireless communication device 204-a can terminate the soft AP (SAP) link used for the XPAN P2P wireless communication link with the personal audio device 210-c, and the personal wireless communication device 204-a can stop beaconing on the channel. In some examples, the personal audio device 210-c can directly initiate a connection to the AP 102-b outside the range of the personal wireless communication device 204-a (such as by initiating a call from a distance via a voice-assisted command).

[0219] To obtain the RSSI from the personal wireless communication device 204-a at the personal audio device 210-c, in some examples, if a previous P2P wireless communication link 106-b was established with the personal wireless communication device 204-a, the personal wireless communication device 204-a can maintain a SAP link on the same channel for DTIM beacon transmission for the duration of the XPAN session for the personal audio device 210-c. The personal wireless communication device 204-a can reduce the period of DTIM beacon transmission to save power / concurrency time. In some examples, if the link quality of the P2P wireless communication link 106-b exceeds a link quality threshold (such as based on DTIM beacon transmission), the personal audio device 210-c can switch to the channel on which the personal wireless communication device 204-a is currently transmitting the DTIM beacon (the previous SAP channel). In some examples, if the link quality of the wireless communication link 106-c with the AP 102-b drops below a link quality threshold, the personal audio device 210-c may switch to the channel on which the personal wireless communication device 204-a is transmitting the DTIM beacon (the previous SAP channel) if the link quality of the P2P wireless communication link 106-b exceeds the link quality threshold (such as based on the DTIM beacon transmission).

[0220] In some examples, to obtain the RSSI from the personal wireless communication device 204-a at the personal audio device 210-c, the personal audio device 210-c may send an indication to the personal wireless communication device 204-a via the AP 102-b that the link quality of the wireless communication link 106-c with the AP 102-b has fallen below a threshold and that the personal audio device 210-c is evaluating a direct connection to the personal wireless communication device 204-a. In some examples, the indication may be sent to the personal wireless communication device 204-a via the AP 102-b, a TCP control link, or in a real-time transport protocol (RTP) header using an uplink vendor-specific action frame. The personal wireless communication device 204-a may transmit scheduling information for beacons to the personal audio device 210-c via the AP 102-b via Wi-Fi, such as a specific channel on which the personal wireless communication device 204-a intends to send beacons (if the SAP link is terminated), the time / period at which beacons will be sent, and / or the TBTT of the next beacon. The personal audio device 210-c may listen for beacons on the indicated channel to measure the current RSSI of the P2P wireless communication link 106-b. Alternatively, the personal wireless communication device 204-a may indicate a specific channel and a listening schedule to the personal audio device 210-c, and the personal audio device 210-c may send a probe request on the channel. In response to the probe request, the personal wireless communication device 204-a may send a probe response to the personal audio device 210-c.

[0221] In some examples, to obtain the RSSI from the personal wireless communication device 204-a at the personal audio device 210-c, the personal audio device 210-c may check whether the personal audio device 210-c is within the BT coverage of the personal wireless communication device 204-a, and if so, the personal audio device 210-c may send a dedicated indication via BT to indicate the personal audio device 210-c's intention to roam back to the P2P wireless communication link 106-b. The personal wireless communication device 204-a may transmit an indication via BT to the personal audio device 210-c regarding the specific channel on which the personal wireless communication device 204-a intends to send beacons (if the SAP link is terminated) and the time / period at which the beacons will be sent. The personal audio device 210-c may listen for beacons on the indicated channel to measure the current RSSI of the P2P wireless communication link 106-b.

[0222] like Figure 18 As shown, at 1805, the personal audio device 210-c may communicate with the personal wireless communication device 204-a via the AP 102-b (via the wireless communication link 106-c between the personal audio device 210-c and the AP 102-b and the wireless communication link 106-a between the AP 102-b and the personal wireless communication device 204-a). The personal audio device 210-c may monitor the link quality of the wireless communication link 106-c. If the link quality of the wireless communication link 106-c drops below a first threshold (LQ), the personal audio device 210-c may be disconnected. assocAP ), the personal audio device 210-c may send a roaming indication to the personal wireless communication device 204-a via Wi-Fi via the AP 102-b, or, if the personal audio device 210-c is within the BT range of the personal wireless communication device 204-a, send a roaming indication to the personal wireless communication device 204-a via BT. The personal audio device 210-c may measure the RSSI of the beacon or probe response from the personal wireless communication device 204-a on the SAP channel. The personal audio device 210-c may calculate a utility function for the direct P2P wireless connection based on the RSSI of the beacon or probe response relative to the wireless communication link 106-c.

[0223] At 1810, if roaming to a P2P wireless connection provides a better utility function, the personal audio device 210-c may perform an association / authentication process with the personal wireless communication device 204-a to establish a P2P wireless communication link 106-b. At 1810, the personal audio device 210-c may connect to the personal wireless communication device 204-a via the P2P wireless communication link 106-b and to the AP 102-b via the wireless communication link 106-c. If the link quality of the wireless communication link 106-c degrades to a second threshold (LQ), the personal audio device 210-c may be connected to the personal wireless communication device 204-a via the P2P wireless communication link 106-b and to the AP 102-b via the wireless communication link 106-c. roamHS ), the personal audio device 210-c may be deauthenticated / disassociated from the AP 102-b. Thus, at 1815, the personal audio device 210-c has a single connection, namely the P2P wireless communication link 106-b, and the personal wireless communication device 204-a forwards data directly to the personal audio device 210-c over the SAP link (the P2P wireless communication link 106-b).

[0224] Figure 19 An example of a process flow for transitioning between a personal audio device-AP connection and a P2P wireless connection in an XPAN scenario 1900 is shown. The process flow 1900 includes reference Figure 3 1900. The process flow 1900 is described below with reference to the AP 102-b, personal wireless communication device 204-a, and personal audio device 210-c. In the following description of process flow 1900, operations between the AP 102-b, personal wireless communication device 204-a, and personal audio device 210-c may be performed in a different order than the example shown, or the operations performed by the AP 102-b, personal wireless communication device 204-a, and personal audio device 210-c may be performed in a different order or at a different time. Some operations may also be omitted from process flow 1900, while other operations may be added to process flow 1900. Because the transition shown in process flow 1900 establishes a P2P connection between the personal audio device 210-c and the personal wireless communication device 204-a before disconnecting the connection between the personal audio device 210-c and the AP 102-b, the transition shown in process flow 1900 can reduce latency and packet loss compared to a transition from a personal audio device-AP connection to a P2P connection in which a P2P connection is not established before disconnecting the personal audio device-AP connection.

[0225] At 1905, the personal wireless communication device 204-a and the personal audio device 210-c may communicate with each other via the AP 102-b (via Figure 18For example, the personal wireless communication device 204-a may encapsulate the audio data in a UDP packet. At 1910, the personal audio device 210-c may monitor the wireless communication link ( Figure 18 At 1915, the personal audio device 210-c may determine that the link quality of the wireless communication link between the personal audio device 210-c and the AP 102-b has dropped to a first threshold (LQ assocAP )the following.

[0226] In response to the link quality of the wireless communication link between the personal audio device 210-c and the AP 102-b falling below a first threshold (LQ assocAP ) Below, at 1920, if the personal wireless communication device 204-a has stopped beaconing on the SAP link, the personal audio device 210-c sends a request to the personal wireless communication device 204-a to beacon or send a probe request (via Wi-Fi through the AP 102-b, or via BT). At 1925, the personal audio device 210-c measures the RSSI of the beacon or probe response sent by the personal wireless communication device 204-a on the SAP link. At 1930, the personal audio device 210-c determines that a direct P2P connection to the personal wireless communication device 204-a provides a higher utility than a connection through the AP 102-b via the wireless communication link between the personal audio device 210-c and the AP 102-b. In a scenario where there are two personal audio devices (such as two earbuds), the primary personal audio device 210-c can share a determination that a direct P2P connection to the personal wireless communication device 204-a provides higher utility than a connection through the AP 102-b via the wireless communication link between the personal audio device 210-c and the AP 102-b.

[0227] In response to the determination at 1930, the personal audio device 210-c performs an association process with the personal wireless communication device 204-a at 1935. At 1940, the personal wireless communication device 204-a switches the BT control path to a low energy (LE) asynchronous connection-oriented logical transport (ACL).

[0228] At 1945, the personal audio device 210-c may determine that the link quality of the wireless communication link between the personal audio device 210-c and the AP 102-b has dropped to a second threshold value (LQ roamHSIn response to the link quality of the wireless communication link between the personal audio device 210-c and the AP 102-b falling below a second threshold (LQ roamHS ) Following, at 1950, the personal audio device 210-c may disassociate / deauthenticate from the AP 102-b.

[0229] At 1955, the personal wireless communication device 204-a may switch the audio data to raw Ethernet packets. At 1960, the personal audio device 210-c may communicate with the user via a P2P wireless communication link such as Figure 18 The P2P wireless communication link 106-b) communicates with the personal wireless communication device 204-a.

[0230] Figure 20 An example of transition between a personal audio device-first AP connection and a personal audio device-second AP connection in an XPAN scenario 2000 is shown. The XPAN scenario 2000 includes reference Figure 3 102-b, personal wireless communication device 204-a, and personal audio device 210-c as described herein. XPAN scenario 2000 also includes AP 102-c, which may be an example of AP 102 as described herein. Because the transition shown in XPAN scenario 2000 establishes a connection between personal audio device 210-c and second AP 102-c before disconnecting the connection between personal audio device 210-c and AP 102-b, the transition shown in XPAN scenario 2000 may reduce latency and packet loss compared to transitions between APs in which a connection to a new AP is not made until the connection to the current AP is disconnected.

[0231] At 2005, the personal audio device 210-c may communicate with the personal wireless communication device 204-a via the AP 102-b (via the wireless communication link 106-c between the personal audio device 210-c and the AP 102-b and the wireless communication link 106-a between the AP 102-b and the personal wireless communication device 204-a). The personal audio device 210-c may monitor the link quality of the wireless communication link 106-c. If the link quality of the wireless communication link 106-c drops below a first threshold (LQ), the personal audio device 210-c may be disconnected. assocAP), the personal audio device 210-c may send a roaming indication to the personal wireless communication device 204-a via Wi-Fi via the AP 102-b, or, if the personal audio device 210-c is within the BT range of the personal wireless communication device 204-a, send a roaming indication to the personal wireless communication device 204-a via BT. The personal audio device 210-c may measure the RSSI of the beacon or probe response from the personal wireless communication device 204-a on the SAP channel. The personal audio device 210-c may calculate a utility function for the direct P2P wireless connection based on the RSSI of the beacon or probe response relative to the wireless communication link 106-c.

[0232] If roaming to a P2P wireless connection does not provide a better utility function, the personal audio device 210-c may begin scanning for other APs. In some cases, the personal audio device 210-c may limit the scan to a set of channels to control power consumption at the personal audio device 210-c. The channel set may be obtained from a previous, recent scan of the personal audio device 210-c, or may be periodically transmitted from the personal wireless communication device 204-a (note that the channel scan results at the personal wireless communication device 204-a may be different from the channel scan results at the personal audio device 210-c). If roaming to another AP 102-c provides a better utility function than the wireless communication link 106-c, the personal audio device 210-c performs an association / authentication process with the other AP 102-c.

[0233] Thus, at 2010, the personal audio device 210-c receives an IP address from the AP 102-c and establishes a wireless communication link 106-d with the AP 102-c. The personal audio device 210-c shares the IP address for the personal audio device 210-c for the wireless communication link 106-d with the personal wireless communication device 204-a via the AP 102-b (via the wireless communication link 106-c between the personal audio device 210-c and the AP 102-b and the wireless communication link 106-a between the AP 102-b and the personal wireless communication device 204-a). For example, the IP address may be shared via a vendor-specific action frame. At 2010, the personal audio device 210-c is connected to the AP 102-c via the wireless communication link 106-d and is connected to the AP 102-b via the wireless communication link 106-c. If the link quality of the wireless communication link 106-c drops to a second threshold (LQ roamHS) below, the personal audio device 210-c can send a roaming indication to the personal wireless communication device 204-a via the AP 102-b (via the wireless communication link 106-c between the personal audio device 210-c and the AP 102-b and the wireless communication link 106-a between the AP 102-b and the personal wireless communication device 204-a) and can deauthenticate / disassociate with the AP 102-b.

[0234] Thus, at 2015, the personal audio device 210-c may have a single connection (the wireless communication link 106-d with the AP 102-c), and the personal audio device 210-c may communicate with the personal wireless communication device 204-a through the AP 102-c (via the wireless communication link 106-d, the wireless communication link between the AP 102-c and the AP 102-b, and the wireless communication link 106-a). For example, the network may route packets from the personal wireless communication device 204-a to the personal audio device 210-c over multiple hops. In some examples, priority may be given to roaming to the personal wireless communication device 204-a to avoid the increased latency associated with multiple hops and the energy savings enabled by the TWT of the P2P XPAN link. In some examples, the same priority may be given to roaming to the personal wireless communication device 204-a or to another AP 102.

[0235] Figure 21 An example of a process flow 2100 for transitioning between a personal audio device-first AP connection and a personal audio device-second AP connection is shown. The process flow 2100 includes reference Figure 32. The process flow 2100 may also include the AP 102-b, personal wireless communication device 204-a, and personal audio device 210-c described herein. The process flow 2100 may also include the AP 102-c, which may be an example of the AP 102 described herein. In the following description of the process flow 2100, operations between the AP 102-b, the AP 102-c, the personal wireless communication device 204-a, and the personal audio device 210-c may be presented in a different order than the example shown, or operations performed by the AP 102-b, the AP 102-c, the personal wireless communication device 204-a, and the personal audio device 210-c may be performed in a different order or at different times. Some operations may also be omitted from the process flow 2100, while other operations may be added to the process flow 2100. Because the transition shown in process flow 2100 establishes a connection between the personal audio device 210-c and the second AP 102-c before disconnecting the connection between the personal audio device 210-c and the AP 102-b, the transition shown in process flow 2100 can reduce latency and packet loss compared to transitions between APs in which a connection to a new AP is not made until the connection to the current AP is disconnected.

[0236] At 2105, the personal wireless communication device 204-a and the personal audio device 210-c may communicate with each other via the AP 102-b (via Figure 20 For example, the personal wireless communication device 204-a may encapsulate the audio data in a UDP packet. At 2110, the personal audio device 210-c may monitor the wireless communication link ( Figure 20 At 2115, the personal audio device 210-c may determine that the link quality of the wireless communication link between the personal audio device 210-c and the AP 102-b has dropped to a first threshold (LQ assocAP )the following.

[0237] At 2120, the personal audio device 210-c may measure the RSSI of the probe response or beacon from the AP 102-b. At 2125, the personal audio device 210-c may perform a roaming scan on a set of channels (for the set of APs including the AP 102-c). For example, the personal audio device 210-c may measure the corresponding RSSI for the set of channels. At 2130, the personal audio device 210-c may determine that the connection to the AP 102-c provides a higher utility function than the connection to the AP 102-b. In a scenario where there are two personal audio devices (such as two earbuds), the primary personal audio device 210-c may share the determination that the connection to the AP 102-c provides a higher utility function than the connection to the AP 102-b.

[0238] At 2135, in response to the determination at 2130, the personal audio device 210-c may perform an authentication / association process with the AP 102-c. Accordingly, the personal audio device 210-c receives an IP address from the AP 102-c and establishes a wireless communication link with the AP 102-c. At 2140, the personal audio device 210-c shares the IP address for the wireless communication link between the personal audio device 210-c and the AP 102-b with the personal wireless communication device 204-a via the AP 102-b (via the wireless communication link between the personal audio device 210-c and the AP 102-b and the wireless communication link between the AP 102-b and the personal wireless communication device 204-a).

[0239] At 2145, the personal wireless communication device 204-a switches the BT control path to the LE ACL. At 2150, the personal audio device 210-c determines that the link quality of the wireless communication link between the personal audio device 210-c and the AP 102-b has dropped to a second threshold (LQ). roamHS In response to the link quality of the wireless communication link between the personal audio device 210-c and the AP 102-b falling below a second threshold (LQ roamHS ) Following this, at 2155, the personal audio device 210-c may disassociate / deauthenticate from the AP 102-b.

[0240] Thus, at 2160, the personal audio device 210-c may have a single connection (a wireless communication link with the AP 102-c), and the personal audio device 210-c may communicate with the personal wireless communication device 204-a via multiple hops through the AP 102-c.

[0241] Figure 22A block diagram 2200 of a device 2205 supporting seamless transition for XPAN coverage according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The device 2205 can be an example of aspects of a STA as described herein (such as a personal wireless communication device 204 or a personal audio device 210 as described herein). The device 2205 can include a receiver 2210, a transmitter 2215, and a communication manager 2220. The device 2205 can also include a processor. Each of these components can communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0242] Receiver 2210 may provide a means for receiving information (such as packets, user data, control information, or any combination thereof) associated with various information channels (such as control channels, data channels, information channels related to seamless transition for XPAN coverage). The information may be transmitted to other components of device 2205. Receiver 2210 may utilize a single antenna or a collection of multiple antennas.

[0243] The transmitter 2215 may provide a means for transmitting signals generated by other components of the device 2205. For example, the transmitter 2215 may transmit information (such as packets, user data, control information, or any combination thereof) associated with various information channels (such as control channels, data channels, information channels related to seamless transition for XPAN coverage). In some examples, the transmitter 2215 may be co-located with the receiver 2210 in a transceiver module. The transmitter 2215 may utilize a single antenna or a collection of multiple antennas.

[0244] The communication manager 2220, the receiver 2210, the transmitter 2215, or various combinations thereof, or various components thereof, may be examples of means for performing various aspects of seamless transition for XPAN coverage as described herein. For example, the communication manager 2220, the receiver 2210, the transmitter 2215, or various combinations thereof, or components thereof, may support methods for performing one or more of the functions described herein.

[0245] In some examples, the communication manager 2220, the receiver 2210, the transmitter 2215, or various combinations or components thereof can be implemented in hardware (e.g., in a communication management circuit). The hardware can include a processor, a DSP, a CPU, an ASIC, an FPGA or other programmable logic device, a microcontroller, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof configured as or otherwise supporting means for performing the functions described in this disclosure. In some examples, the processor and a memory coupled to the processor can be configured to perform one or more of the functions described herein (e.g., by executing instructions stored in the memory by the processor).

[0246] Additionally or alternatively, in some examples, the communication manager 2220, receiver 2210, transmitter 2215, or various combinations or components thereof may be implemented in code executed by a processor (e.g., as communication management software or firmware). If implemented in code executed by a processor, the functionality of the communication manager 2220, receiver 2210, transmitter 2215, or various combinations or components thereof may be performed by a general purpose processor, DSP, CPU, ASIC, FPGA, microcontroller, or any combination of these or other programmable logic devices (e.g., units configured or otherwise supporting the functions described in this disclosure).

[0247] In some examples, the communication manager 2220 can be configured to perform various operations (such as receiving, obtaining, monitoring, outputting, transmitting) using or otherwise cooperating with the receiver 2210, the transmitter 2215, or both. For example, the communication manager 2220 can receive information from the receiver 2210, send information to the transmitter 2215, or integrate with the receiver 2210, the transmitter 2215, or both in combination to obtain information, output information, or perform various other operations as described herein.

[0248] The communication manager 2220 can support wireless communications at a first wireless communication device according to examples as disclosed herein. For example, the communication manager 2220 can be configured to, or otherwise support, receive, from an AP associated with the second wireless communication device, an IP address for the first wireless communication device for a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the AP when communicating with the second wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link. The communication manager 2220 can be configured to, or otherwise support, communicate a roaming indication to the second wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link in response to a first link quality of the P2P wireless communication link falling below a first threshold. The communication manager 2220 can be configured to, or otherwise support, communicate data with the second wireless communication device via the second wireless communication link and the AP in response to the roaming indication.

[0249] Additionally or alternatively, according to examples disclosed herein, the communication manager 2220 may support wireless communications at a second wireless communication device. For example, the communication manager 2220 may be configured to or otherwise support means for: receiving, from the first wireless communication device, an IP address for the first wireless communication device for a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the AP while communicating with the first wireless communication device over a P2P wireless communication link and while communicating with the AP over a third wireless communication link. The communication manager 2220 may be configured to or otherwise support means for: communicating a roaming indication to the first wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link in response to a first link quality of the P2P wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device falling below a first threshold. The communication manager 2220 may be configured to or otherwise support means for: communicating data with the first wireless communication device via the third wireless communication link and the AP using the IP address for the first wireless communication device in response to the roaming indication.

[0250] Additionally or alternatively, according to examples disclosed herein, the communication manager 2220 can support wireless communications at a first wireless communication device. For example, the communication manager 2220 can be configured to or otherwise support means for, while communicating with a second wireless communication device over a P2P wireless communication link, receiving from the second wireless communication device an indication of an IP address for the first wireless communication device for a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and an AP associated with the second wireless communication device. The communication manager 2220 can be configured to or otherwise support means for, in response to a first link quality of the P2P wireless communication link falling below a first threshold, communicating a roaming indication to the second wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link. The communication manager 2220 can be configured to or otherwise support means for, in response to the roaming indication, communicating data with the second wireless communication device via the second wireless communication link and the AP.

[0251] Additionally or alternatively, according to examples disclosed herein, the communication manager 2220 may support wireless communications at a second wireless communication device. For example, the communication manager 2220 may be configured to, or otherwise support, means for: when communicating with the first wireless communication device over a P2P wireless communication link, and when communicating with the AP over a third wireless communication link, using the MAC address for the first wireless communication device to perform an association process with the AP to receive an IP address for the first wireless communication device for the second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the AP. The communication manager 2220 may be configured to, or otherwise support, means for: sending the IP address to the first wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link. The communication manager 2220 may be configured to, or otherwise support, means for: communicating a roaming indication to the first wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link in response to a link quality of the P2P wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device falling below a first threshold. The communication manager 2220 may be configured or otherwise support means for communicating data with the first wireless communication device via the third wireless communication link and the AP using the IP address for the first wireless communication device in response to the roaming indication.

[0252] Additionally or alternatively, according to examples disclosed herein, the communication manager 2220 may support wireless communications at the first wireless communication device. For example, the communication manager 2220 may be configured to or otherwise support means for receiving a beacon or probe response from the second wireless communication device over a P2P wireless communication link while communicating with the second wireless communication device via a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and an AP and via a third wireless communication link between the AP and the second wireless communication device. The communication manager 2220 may be configured to or otherwise support means for performing an association procedure with the second wireless communication device for the P2P wireless communication link in response to a first link quality of the P2P wireless communication link satisfying a first threshold, the first link quality being detected using the beacon or probe response. The communication manager 2220 may be configured to or otherwise support means for sending a disassociation message to the AP for the second wireless communication link in response to the association procedure. The communication manager 2220 may be configured to or otherwise support means for communicating data with the second wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link.

[0253] Additionally or alternatively, according to examples disclosed herein, the communication manager 2220 may support wireless communication at the second wireless communication device. For example, the communication manager 2220 may be configured to or otherwise support means for transmitting beacons or probe responses over a P2P wireless communication link while communicating with the first wireless communication device via a third wireless communication link between the second wireless communication device and the AP and via the AP and a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the AP. The communication manager 2220 may be configured to or otherwise support means for performing an association process with the first wireless communication device for the P2P wireless communication link in response to a link quality of the P2P wireless communication link satisfying a threshold. The communication manager 2220 may be configured to or otherwise support means for communicating data with the first wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link.

[0254] Additionally or alternatively, according to examples disclosed herein, the communication manager 2220 may support wireless communications at a first wireless communication device. For example, the communication manager 2220 may be configured to or otherwise support means for, while communicating with a second wireless communication device via a first wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and a first AP and the first AP, receiving a beacon or probe response from the second AP on a second wireless communication link in response to a first link quality of the first wireless communication link falling below a threshold. The communication manager 2220 may be configured to or otherwise support means for, in response to the second link quality of the second wireless communication link being higher than the first link quality, performing an association process with the second AP to receive an IP address for the first wireless communication device for the second wireless communication link. The communication manager 2220 may be configured to or otherwise support means for, in response to the association process, sending an indication of the IP address to the second wireless communication device via the first wireless communication link and the first AP. The communication manager 2220 may be configured to or otherwise support means for, in response to the sending of the IP address, sending a disassociation message to the first AP for the first wireless communication link. The communication manager 2220 may be configured or otherwise support means for communicating data with the second wireless communication device via the second wireless communication link and the second AP in response to sending the disassociation message.

[0255] Additionally or alternatively, according to examples disclosed herein, the communication manager 2220 can support wireless communications at a second wireless communication device. For example, the communication manager 2220 can be configured to, or otherwise support, receive an indication of a second Internet Protocol address for the first wireless communication device for a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and a second access point while communicating with the first wireless communication device via a first access point and a first wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the first access point and using a first Internet Protocol address for the first wireless communication device for the first wireless communication link, the indication of the second Internet Protocol address being received via the first access point and the first wireless communication link. The communication manager 2220 can be configured to, or otherwise support, receive a roaming indication from the first wireless device via the first access point and the first wireless communication link. The communication manager 2220 can be configured to, or otherwise support, communicate data with the first wireless communication device via the second wireless communication link and the second access point using the second Internet Protocol address in response to the roaming indication.

[0256] By including or configuring a communication manager 2220 according to examples as described herein, the device 2205 (such as, for example, a processor for controlling or otherwise coupling to the receiver 2210, the transmitter 2215, the communication manager 2220, or a combination thereof) can support techniques for reducing power consumption and more efficiently utilizing communication resources.

[0257] Figure 23 A block diagram 2300 of a device 2305 supporting seamless transition for XPAN coverage according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The device 2305 can be an example of aspects of the device 2205 or STA 104 as described herein (such as the personal wireless communication device 204 or personal audio device 210 as described herein). The device 2305 can include a receiver 2310, a transmitter 2315, and a communication manager 2320. The device 2305 can also include a processor. Each of these components can communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0258] Receiver 2310 may provide a means for receiving information (such as packets, user data, control information, or any combination thereof) associated with various information channels (such as control channels, data channels, information channels related to seamless transition for XPAN coverage). The information may be transmitted to other components of device 2305. Receiver 2310 may utilize a single antenna or a collection of multiple antennas.

[0259] The transmitter 2315 may provide a means for transmitting signals generated by other components of the device 2305. For example, the transmitter 2315 may transmit information (such as packets, user data, control information, or any combination thereof) associated with various information channels (such as control channels, data channels, information channels related to seamless transition for XPAN coverage). In some examples, the transmitter 2315 may be co-located with the receiver 2310 in a transceiver module. The transmitter 2315 may utilize a single antenna or a collection of multiple antennas.

[0260] Device 2305 or its various components may be examples of means for performing various aspects of seamless transition for XPAN coverage as described herein. For example, communications manager 2320 may include IP address manager 2325, roaming indication manager 2330, AP link communications manager 2335, link quality manager 2340, beacon / probe manager 2345, HS association process manager 2350, disassociation manager 2355, P2P link communications manager 2360, or any combination thereof. Communications manager 2320 may be examples of various aspects of communications manager 2220 as described herein. In some examples, communications manager 2320 or its various components may be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receiving, monitoring, transmitting) using or otherwise cooperating with receiver 2310, transmitter 2315, or both. For example, the communications manager 2320 may receive information from the receiver 2310, send information to the transmitter 2315, or be integrated with the receiver 2310, the transmitter 2315, or a combination of both to obtain information, output information, or perform various other operations as described herein.

[0261] The communication manager 2320 can support wireless communications at a first wireless communication device according to examples as disclosed herein. The IP address manager 2325 can be configured to or otherwise support means for, when communicating with a second wireless communication device over a P2P wireless communication link, receiving an IP address for the first wireless communication device from an AP associated with the second wireless communication device for a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the AP. The roaming indication manager 2330 can be configured to or otherwise support means for, in response to a first link quality of the P2P wireless communication link falling below a first threshold, communicating a roaming indication to the second wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link. The AP link communication manager 2335 can be configured to or otherwise support means for, in response to the roaming indication, communicating data with the second wireless communication device via the second wireless communication link and the AP.

[0262] Additionally or alternatively, according to examples disclosed herein, the communication manager 2320 may support wireless communications at the second wireless communication device. The IP address manager 2325 may be configured to or otherwise support means for receiving, from the first wireless communication device, an IP address for the first wireless communication device for a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the AP when communicating with the first wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link and when communicating with the AP over a third wireless communication link. The link quality manager 2340 may be configured to or otherwise support means for communicating a roaming indication with the first wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link in response to a first link quality of the P2P wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device falling below a first threshold. The AP link communication manager 2335 may be configured to or otherwise support means for communicating data with the first wireless communication device via the third wireless communication link and the AP using the IP address for the first wireless communication device in response to the roaming indication.

[0263] Additionally or alternatively, according to examples disclosed herein, the communication manager 2320 can support wireless communications at the first wireless communication device. The IP address manager 2325 can be configured to or otherwise support means for, when communicating with the second wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link, receiving from the second wireless communication device an indication of an IP address for the first wireless communication device for a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and an AP associated with the second wireless communication device. The roaming indication manager 2330 can be configured to or otherwise support means for, in response to a first link quality of the P2P wireless communication link falling below a first threshold, communicating a roaming indication to the second wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link. The AP link communication manager 2335 can be configured to or otherwise support means for, in response to the roaming indication, communicating data with the second wireless communication device via the second wireless communication link and the AP.

[0264] Additionally or alternatively, according to examples disclosed herein, the communication manager 2320 may support wireless communications at the second wireless communication device. The IP address manager 2325 may be configured to, or otherwise support, means for: when communicating with the first wireless communication device over a P2P wireless communication link, and when communicating with the AP over a third wireless communication link, using the MAC address for the first wireless communication device to perform an association process with the AP to receive an IP address for the first wireless communication device for the second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the AP. The IP address manager 2325 may be configured to, or otherwise support, means for: sending the IP address to the first wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link. The roaming indication manager 2330 may be configured to, or otherwise support, means for: communicating a roaming indication with the first wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link, in response to a link quality of the P2P wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device falling below a first threshold. The AP link communication manager 2335 may be configured or otherwise support means for communicating data with the first wireless communication device via the third wireless communication link and the AP using the IP address for the first wireless communication device in response to a roaming indication.

[0265] Additionally or alternatively, according to examples disclosed herein, the communication manager 2320 may support wireless communications at the first wireless communication device. The beacon / probe manager 2345 may be configured to or otherwise support means for receiving a beacon or probe response from the second wireless communication device over a P2P wireless communication link while communicating with the second wireless communication device via a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the AP and via a third wireless communication link between the AP and the second wireless communication device. The HS association process manager 2350 may be configured to or otherwise support means for performing an association process with the second wireless communication device for the P2P wireless communication link in response to a first link quality of the P2P wireless communication link satisfying a first threshold, the first link quality being detected using the beacon or probe response. The disassociation manager 2355 may be configured to or otherwise support means for sending a disassociation message to the AP for the second wireless communication link in response to the association process. The P2P link communication manager 2360 may be configured to or otherwise support means for communicating data with the second wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link.

[0266] Additionally or alternatively, according to examples disclosed herein, the communication manager 2320 can support wireless communications at the second wireless communication device. The beacon / probe manager 2345 can be configured to or otherwise support means for transmitting beacons or probe responses over a P2P wireless communication link when communicating with the first wireless communication device via a third wireless communication link between the second wireless communication device and the AP and via the AP and a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the AP. The link quality manager 2340 can be configured to or otherwise support means for performing an association process with the first wireless communication device for the P2P wireless communication link in response to a link quality of the P2P wireless communication link satisfying a threshold. The P2P link communication manager 2360 can be configured to or otherwise support means for communicating data with the first wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link.

[0267] Additionally or alternatively, according to examples disclosed herein, the communication manager 2320 may support wireless communications at the first wireless communication device. The beacon / probe manager 2345 may be configured to or otherwise support means for, while communicating with a second wireless communication device via a first wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and a first AP and the first AP, receiving a beacon or probe response from the second AP on a second wireless communication link in response to a first link quality of the first wireless communication link falling below a threshold. The IP address manager 2325 may be configured to or otherwise support means for, in response to the second link quality of the second wireless communication link being higher than the first link quality, performing an association process with the second AP to receive an IP address for the first wireless communication device for the second wireless communication link. The IP address manager 2325 may be configured to or otherwise support means for, in response to the association process, sending an indication of the IP address to the second wireless communication device via the first wireless communication link and the first AP. The disassociation manager 2355 may be configured to or otherwise support means for sending a disassociation message to the first AP for the first wireless communication link in response to sending the IP address. The AP link communication manager 2335 may be configured or otherwise support means for communicating data with the second wireless communication device via the second wireless communication link and the second AP in response to sending the disassociation message.

[0268] Additionally or alternatively, according to examples disclosed herein, the communication manager 2320 can support wireless communications at the second wireless communication device. The IP address manager 2325 can be configured to, or otherwise support, receive an indication of a second Internet Protocol address for the first wireless communication device for a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the second access point while communicating with the first wireless communication device via a first access point and a first wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the first access point and using a first Internet Protocol address for the first wireless communication device for the first wireless communication link, the indication of the second Internet Protocol address being received via the first access point and the first wireless communication link. The roaming indication manager 2330 can be configured to, or otherwise support, receive a roaming indication from the first wireless device via the first access point and the first wireless communication link. The AP link communication manager 2335 can be configured to, or otherwise support, communicate data with the first wireless communication device via the second wireless communication link and the second access point using the second Internet Protocol address in response to the roaming indication.

[0269] Figure 24 A block diagram 2400 is shown of a communication manager 2420 that supports seamless transition for XPAN coverage according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The communication manager 2420 may be an example of aspects of the communication manager 2220, the communication manager 2320, or both, as described herein. The communication manager 2420 or its various components may be examples of units for performing various aspects of seamless transition for XPAN coverage as described herein. For example, the communication manager 2420 may include an IP address manager 2425, a roaming indication manager 2430, an AP link communication manager 2435, a link quality manager 2440, a beacon / probe manager 2445, an HS association process manager 2450, a disassociation manager 2455, a P2P link communication manager 2460, an AP association process manager 2465, a utility function manager 2470, a channel scan manager 2475, a BT manager 2480, an AP selection manager 2485, or any combination thereof. Each of these components may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0270] The communication manager 2420 can support wireless communications at a first wireless communication device according to examples as disclosed herein. The IP address manager 2425 can be configured to or otherwise support means for, when communicating with a second wireless communication device over a P2P wireless communication link, receiving an IP address for the first wireless communication device from an AP associated with the second wireless communication device for a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the AP. The roaming indication manager 2430 can be configured to or otherwise support means for, in response to a first link quality of the P2P wireless communication link falling below a first threshold, communicating a roaming indication to the second wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link. The AP link communication manager 2435 can be configured to or otherwise support means for, in response to the roaming indication, communicating data with the second wireless communication device via the second wireless communication link and the AP.

[0271] In some examples, the AP association process manager 2465 may be configured or otherwise support means for performing an association process with the AP to receive an IP address in response to the first link quality falling below a second threshold.

[0272] In some examples, link quality manager 2440 may be configured or otherwise support means for receiving a message from a second wireless communication device over a P2P wireless communication link indicating that the first link quality has fallen below a second threshold.

[0273] In some examples, the AP selection manager 2485 may be configured or otherwise support means for receiving, along with the message, an indication of a serving AP for the second wireless communication device.

[0274] In some examples, the channel scan manager 2475 may be configured to or otherwise support means for: in response to the first link quality falling below a second threshold, sending a request for a channel scan result associated with the second wireless communication link to the second wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link. In some examples, the channel scan manager 2475 may be configured to or otherwise support means for: in response to the request, receiving a channel scan result associated with the second wireless communication link from the second wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link. In some examples, the AP association process manager 2465 may be configured to or otherwise support means for: in response to the channel scan result indicating that the second link quality of the second wireless communication link meets a third threshold, performing an association process with the AP to receive the IP address.

[0275] In some examples, the channel scan manager 2475 may be configured to or otherwise support means for: receiving, in response to the request, a set of channel scan results for a set of wireless communication links corresponding to a set of APs, including the AP, from the second wireless communication device on the P2P wireless communication link. In some examples, the AP selection manager 2485 may be configured to or otherwise support means for: selecting the AP from the set of APs in response to the set of channel scan results.

[0276] In some examples, beacon / probe manager 2445 may be configured or otherwise support means for receiving a beacon from an AP on a second wireless communication link in response to the first link quality falling below a second threshold. In some examples, link quality manager 2440 may be configured or otherwise support means for determining a second link quality of the second wireless communication link using the beacon. In some examples, AP association process manager 2465 may be configured or otherwise support means for performing an association process with the AP to receive an IP address in response to the second link quality satisfying a third threshold.

[0277] In some examples, beacon / probe manager 2445 may be configured to or otherwise support means for sending a probe request to an AP in response to a first link quality falling below a second threshold. In some examples, beacon / probe manager 2445 may be configured to or otherwise support means for receiving a probe response from the AP in response to the probe request. In some examples, link quality manager 2440 may be configured to or otherwise support means for determining a second link quality of a second wireless communication link using the probe response. In some examples, AP association process manager 2465 may be configured to or otherwise support means for performing an association process with the AP to receive an IP address in response to the second link quality satisfying a third threshold.

[0278] In some examples, IP address manager 2425 may be configured or otherwise support means for sending an indication of an IP address or MAC address of a first wireless communication device to a second wireless communication device over a P2P wireless communication link.

[0279] In some examples, the BT manager 2480 can be configured to or otherwise support means for sending an indication of an access point to a third wireless communication device over a Bluetooth wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the third wireless communication device in response to the first link quality falling below a second threshold.

[0280] In some examples, the disassociation manager 2455 may be configured or otherwise support means for communicating a disassociation message with the second wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link in response to a roaming indication.

[0281] In some examples, utility function manager 2470 may be configured to or otherwise support means for determining, based on the utility function, that a second link quality of the second wireless communication link is better than the first link quality. In some examples, AP association process manager 2465 may be configured to or otherwise support means for performing an association process with the AP to receive an IP address in response to determining that the second link quality is better than the first link quality.

[0282] In some examples, the utility function includes at least one of: a channel type for each of the P2P wireless communication link and the second wireless communication link, a received signal strength indicator value for each of the P2P wireless communication link and the second wireless communication link, and a bias factor for the P2P wireless communication link.

[0283] In some examples, P2P link communication manager 2460 may be configured or otherwise support means for switching a channel of the P2P wireless communication link to the same channel as the second wireless communication link in response to an association process.

[0284] Additionally or alternatively, according to examples disclosed herein, communication manager 2420 can support wireless communications at a second wireless communication device. In some examples, IP address manager 2425 can be configured to or otherwise support means for receiving, from a first wireless communication device, an IP address for the first wireless communication device for a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the AP when communicating with the first wireless communication device over a P2P wireless communication link and when communicating with the AP over a third wireless communication link. Link quality manager 2440 can be configured to or otherwise support means for communicating a roaming indication with the first wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link in response to a first link quality of the P2P wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device falling below a first threshold. In some examples, AP link communication manager 2435 can be configured to or otherwise support means for communicating data with the first wireless communication device via the third wireless communication link and the AP using the IP address for the first wireless communication device in response to the roaming indication.

[0285] In some examples, the link quality manager 2440 can be configured as or otherwise support means for sending a message to the first wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link indicating that the quality of the first link has dropped below a second threshold, the receipt of the IP address being in response to the message.

[0286] In some examples, the AP selection manager 2485 can be configured or otherwise support means for sending an indication of a serving AP for the second wireless communication device along with the message.

[0287] In some examples, the channel scan manager 2475 can be configured to or otherwise support means for: receiving, from the first wireless communication device on the P2P wireless communication link, a request for channel scan results associated with the second wireless communication link, in response to the first link quality falling below a second threshold. In some examples, the channel scan manager 2475 can be configured to or otherwise support means for: sending, to the first wireless communication device on the P2P wireless communication link, a channel scan result associated with the second wireless communication link, in response to the request, the receiving of the IP address in response to the channel scan result indicating that the second link quality of the second wireless communication link meets a third threshold.

[0288] In some examples, the channel scan manager 2475 can be configured as or otherwise support means for sending, in response to the request, a set of channel scan results for a set of wireless communication links corresponding to a set of APs to a first wireless communication device on a P2P wireless communication link, wherein the set of APs includes the AP.

[0289] In some examples, the disassociation manager 2455 may be configured or otherwise support means for communicating a disassociation message with the first wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link in response to a roaming indication.

[0290] In some examples, P2P link communication manager 2460 may be configured or otherwise support means for switching a channel of the P2P wireless communication link to the same channel as the second wireless communication link in response to receiving the IP address.

[0291] Additionally or alternatively, according to examples disclosed herein, communication manager 2420 can support wireless communications at a first wireless communication device. In some examples, IP address manager 2425 can be configured to or otherwise support means for, while communicating with a second wireless communication device over a P2P wireless communication link, receiving from the second wireless communication device an indication of an IP address for the first wireless communication device for a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and an AP associated with the second wireless communication device. In some examples, roaming indication manager 2430 can be configured to or otherwise support means for, in response to a first link quality of the P2P wireless communication link falling below a first threshold, communicating a roaming indication to the second wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link. In some examples, AP link communication manager 2435 can be configured to or otherwise support means for, in response to the roaming indication, communicating data with the second wireless communication device via the second wireless communication link and the AP.

[0292] In some examples, link quality manager 2440 may be configured or otherwise support means for receiving a message from a second wireless communication device over a P2P wireless communication link indicating that the first link quality has fallen below a first threshold.

[0293] In some examples, the AP selection manager 2485 may be configured or otherwise support means for receiving, along with the message, an indication of a serving AP for the second wireless communication device.

[0294] In some examples, the disassociation manager 2455 may be configured or otherwise support means for communicating a disassociation message with the second wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link in response to a roaming indication.

[0295] In some examples, the utility function manager 2470 can be configured to or otherwise support means for determining, based on the utility function, that a second link quality of the second wireless communication link is better than the first link quality, and sending the roaming indication is in response to determining that the second link quality is better than the first link quality.

[0296] In some examples, the utility function includes at least one of: a channel type for each of the P2P wireless communication link and the second wireless communication link, a received signal strength indicator value for each of the P2P wireless communication link and the second wireless communication link, and a bias factor for the P2P wireless communication link.

[0297] Additionally or alternatively, according to examples disclosed herein, communication manager 2420 can support wireless communications at a second wireless communication device. In some examples, IP address manager 2425 can be configured to, or otherwise support, means for: when communicating with the first wireless communication device over a P2P wireless communication link, and when communicating with the AP over a third wireless communication link, using the MAC address for the first wireless communication device to perform an association process with the AP to receive an IP address for the first wireless communication device for the second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the AP. In some examples, IP address manager 2425 can be configured to, or otherwise support, means for: sending the IP address to the first wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link. In some examples, roaming indication manager 2430 can be configured to, or otherwise support, means for: communicating a roaming indication with the first wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link in response to a link quality of the P2P wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device falling below a first threshold. In some examples, the AP link communication manager 2435 can be configured to or otherwise support means for communicating data with the first wireless communication device via a third wireless communication link and the AP using the IP address for the first wireless communication device in response to a roaming indication.

[0298] In some examples, link quality manager 2440 may be configured or otherwise support means for sending a message to the first wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link indicating that the first link quality has fallen below a first threshold.

[0299] In some examples, the AP selection manager 2485 can be configured or otherwise support means for sending an indication of a serving AP for the second wireless communication device along with the message.

[0300] In some examples, the disassociation manager 2455 may be configured or otherwise support means for communicating a disassociation message with the first wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link in response to a roaming indication.

[0301] Additionally or alternatively, according to examples disclosed herein, communication manager 2420 may support wireless communications at a first wireless communication device. Beacon / probe manager 2445 may be configured to or otherwise support means for receiving a beacon or probe response from a second wireless communication device over a P2P wireless communication link while communicating with the second wireless communication device via a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and an AP and via a third wireless communication link between the AP and the second wireless communication device. HS association process manager 2450 may be configured to or otherwise support means for performing an association process with the second wireless communication device for the P2P wireless communication link in response to a first link quality of the P2P wireless communication link satisfying a first threshold, the first link quality being detected using a beacon or probe response. Disassociation manager 2455 may be configured to or otherwise support means for sending a disassociation message to the AP for the second wireless communication link in response to the association process. P2P link communication manager 2460 may be configured to or otherwise support means for communicating data with the second wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link.

[0302] In some examples, beacon / probe manager 2445 may be configured or otherwise support means for monitoring beacons on the P2P wireless communication link in response to a second link quality of the second wireless communication link falling below a second threshold.

[0303] In some examples, the beacon / probe manager 2445 can be configured as or otherwise support means for sending a probe request via the second wireless communication link and the AP in response to a second link quality of the second wireless communication link dropping below a second threshold, the receipt of the probe response being in response to the probe request.

[0304] In some examples, the beacon / probe manager 2445 can be configured as or otherwise support means for periodically monitoring beacons from a second wireless communication device while communicating with the second wireless communication device via a second wireless communication link and via an AP and a third wireless communication link, receipt of the beacon being responsive to the periodic monitoring.

[0305] In some examples, link quality manager 2440 may be configured to or otherwise support means for: in response to the second link quality of the second wireless communication link falling below a second threshold, sending an indication to the second wireless communication device via the second wireless communication link and the AP that the second link quality has fallen below the second threshold. In some examples, beacon / probe manager 2445 may be configured to or otherwise support means for: in response to the indication, receiving scheduling information for a beacon from the second wireless communication device via the AP and the second wireless communication link, the beacon being received according to the scheduling information.

[0306] In some examples, the BT manager 2480 can be configured to, or otherwise support means for: in response to a second link quality of the second wireless communication link falling below a second threshold, and further in response to determining that the second wireless communication device is within range of the BT wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device, sending a request to the second wireless communication device over the BT wireless communication link to connect with the second wireless communication device. In some examples, the beacon / probe manager 2445 can be configured to, or otherwise support means for: receiving scheduling information for beacons from the second wireless communication device over the BT wireless communication link, the beacons being received in accordance with the scheduling information.

[0307] In some examples, the BT manager 2480 can be configured to or otherwise support means for sending a probe request to the second wireless communication device on the second wireless communication link in response to a second link quality of the second wireless communication link falling below a second threshold, and also in response to determining that the second wireless communication device is within range of the BT wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device, the receipt of the probe response being in response to the probe request.

[0308] In some examples, to support a first link quality of a P2P wireless communication link that meets a first threshold, the utility function manager 2470 may be configured to or otherwise support means for determining, based on a utility function, that the first link quality is superior to a second link quality of a second wireless communication link.

[0309] In some examples, the utility function includes at least one of: a channel type for each of the P2P wireless communication link and the second wireless communication link, a received signal strength indicator value for each of the P2P wireless communication link and the second wireless communication link, and a bias factor for the P2P wireless communication link.

[0310] In some examples, to support sending the disassociation message, the disassociation manager 2455 may be configured or otherwise support means for sending the disassociation message in response to a second link quality of the second wireless communication link falling below a second threshold.

[0311] In some examples, the BT manager 2480 can be configured to or otherwise support means for sending an indication to the third wireless communication device over the Bluetooth wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the third wireless communication device to perform a second association process with the second wireless communication device in response to the first link quality satisfying a first threshold.

[0312] Additionally or alternatively, according to examples disclosed herein, communication manager 2420 can support wireless communication at a second wireless communication device. In some examples, beacon / probe manager 2445 can be configured to or otherwise support means for transmitting beacons or probe responses over a P2P wireless communication link when communicating with a first wireless communication device via a third wireless communication link between the second wireless communication device and the AP and via the AP and a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the AP. In some examples, link quality manager 2440 can be configured to or otherwise support means for performing an association process with the first wireless communication device for the P2P wireless communication link in response to a link quality of the P2P wireless communication link satisfying a threshold. In some examples, P2P link communication manager 2460 can be configured to or otherwise support means for communicating data with the first wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link.

[0313] In some examples, link quality manager 2440 may be configured to or otherwise support means for: in response to the second link quality of the second wireless communication link falling below a second threshold, receiving an indication from the first wireless communication device via the second wireless communication link and the AP that the second link quality has fallen below a second threshold. In some examples, beacon / probe manager 2445 may be configured to or otherwise support means for: in response to the indication, sending scheduling information for a beacon to the first wireless communication device via the AP and the second wireless communication link, wherein the sending of the beacon is based on the scheduling information.

[0314] In some examples, the beacon / probe manager 2445 can be configured as or otherwise support means for receiving a probe request via the second wireless communication link and the AP in response to a second link quality of the second wireless communication link dropping below a second threshold, the sending of the probe response being in response to the probe request.

[0315] In some examples, the BT manager 2480 can be configured to, or otherwise support means for: in response to a second link quality of the second wireless communication link falling below a second threshold, and further in response to determining that the second wireless communication device is within range of the BT wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device, receiving a request from the first wireless communication device to connect to the second wireless communication device over the BT wireless communication link. In some examples, the beacon / probe manager 2445 can be configured to, or otherwise support means for: sending scheduling information for beacons to the first wireless communication device over the BT wireless communication link, the sending of the beacons being based on the scheduling information.

[0316] In some examples, the BT manager 2480 may be configured to or otherwise support means for receiving a probe request from the first wireless communication device on the second wireless communication link in response to a second link quality of the second wireless communication link falling below a second threshold, and further in response to determining that the second wireless communication device is within range of the BT wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device, the sending of the probe response being in response to the probe request.

[0317] Additionally or alternatively, according to examples disclosed herein, the communication manager 2420 can support wireless communications at a first wireless communication device. In some examples, the beacon / probe manager 2445 can be configured to or otherwise support means for, while communicating with a second wireless communication device via a first wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and a first AP and the first AP, receiving a beacon or probe response from the second AP on a second wireless communication link in response to a first link quality of the first wireless communication link falling below a threshold. In some examples, the IP address manager 2425 can be configured to or otherwise support means for, in response to the second link quality of the second wireless communication link being higher than the first link quality, performing an association process with the second AP to receive an IP address for the first wireless communication device for the second wireless communication link. In some examples, the IP address manager 2425 can be configured to or otherwise support means for sending an indication of the IP address to the second wireless communication device via the first wireless communication link and the first AP in response to the association process. In some examples, the disassociation manager 2455 can be configured or otherwise support means for sending a disassociation message to the first AP for the first wireless communication link in response to sending the IP address. In some examples, the AP link communication manager 2435 can be configured or otherwise support means for communicating data with the second wireless communication device via the second wireless communication link and the second AP in response to sending the disassociation message.

[0318] In some examples, to support receiving beacons, the beacon / probe manager 2445 may be configured or otherwise support means for receiving a set of beacons from a set of APs that includes the second AP and that includes the beacon.

[0319] In some examples, AP selection manager 2485 can be configured or otherwise support means for selecting a second AP from the set of APs based on respective link qualities of respective wireless communication links with the set of APs determined using the set of beacons.

[0320] In some examples, the beacon / probe manager 2445 can be configured to or otherwise support means for sending a probe request to a second AP in response to a first link quality of a first wireless communication link falling below a threshold, the receipt of a probe response being in response to the probe request.

[0321] In some examples, the beacon / probe manager 2445 can be configured to or otherwise support means for receiving a second beacon from the second wireless communication device on a third wireless communication link in response to the first link quality falling below a threshold, wherein receiving the beacon is in response to a third link quality of the wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device determined using the second beacon being below a third threshold.

[0322] In some examples, utility function manager 2470 may be configured or otherwise support means for performing an association process in response to determining that the second link quality of the second wireless communication link is higher than the first link quality according to the utility function.

[0323] In some examples, the utility function includes at least one of: a channel type for each of the first and second wireless communication links, and a received signal strength indicator value for each of the first and second wireless communication links.

[0324] In some examples, the BT manager 2480 may be configured to or otherwise support means for sending an indication to the third wireless communication device over the Bluetooth wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the third wireless communication device to perform a second association procedure with the second access point for the third wireless communication device in response to the second link quality of the second wireless communication link being higher than the first link quality.

[0325] Additionally or alternatively, according to examples disclosed herein, communication manager 2420 can support wireless communications at a second wireless communication device. In some examples, IP address manager 2425 can be configured to or otherwise support means for, while communicating with the first wireless communication device via a first access point and a first wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the first access point and using a first Internet Protocol address for the first wireless communication device for the first wireless communication link, receiving an indication of a second Internet Protocol address for the first wireless communication device for a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the second access point, the indication of the second Internet Protocol address being received via the first access point and the first wireless communication link. In some examples, roaming indication manager 2430 can be configured to or otherwise support means for receiving a roaming indication from the first wireless device via the first access point and the first wireless communication link. In some examples, AP link communication manager 2435 can be configured to or otherwise support means for communicating data with the first wireless communication device via the second wireless communication link and the second access point using the second Internet Protocol address in response to the roaming indication.

[0326] In some examples, the AP link communication manager 2435 can be configured as or otherwise support means for receiving an indication of a media access control address for the first wireless communication device for a second wireless communication link from the first wireless device via the first access point and the first wireless communication link, communication of data with the first wireless communication device via the second wireless communication link and the second access point also using the media access control address.

[0327] In some examples, the roaming indication manager 2430 can be configured to or otherwise support means for sending an acknowledgment in response to the roaming indication to the first wireless device via the first access point and the first wireless communication link, the communication of data with the first wireless communication device via the second wireless communication link and the second access point being in response to the acknowledgment.

[0328] In some examples, the AP link communication manager 2435 can be configured to or otherwise support means for adjusting at least one of the audio delay or the audio bit rate in response to the roaming indication, and communicating data with the first wireless communication device via the second wireless communication link and the second access point using the adjusted audio delay or the adjusted audio bit rate.

[0329] Figure 25 A schematic diagram of a system 2500 including a device 2505 supporting seamless transition for XPAN coverage according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown. Device 2505 may be an example of, or include components of, device 2205, device 2305, or a STA (such as personal wireless communication device 204 or personal audio device 210) as described herein. Device 2505 may include components for two-way voice and data communication, including components for sending and receiving communications, such as a communication manager 2520, an I / O controller 2510, a transceiver 2515, an antenna 2525, a memory 2530, code 2535, and a processor 2540. These components may be in electronic communication or otherwise coupled (e.g., operatively, communicatively, functionally, electronically, electrically) via one or more buses (e.g., bus 2545).

[0330] I / O controller 2510 can manage input and output signals for device 2505. I / O controller 2510 can also manage peripheral devices that are not integrated into device 2505. In some cases, I / O controller 2510 can represent a physical connection or port to an external peripheral device. In some cases, I / O controller 2510 can utilize a controller such as , or another known operating system. In some other cases, the I / O controller 2510 may represent or interact with a modem, keyboard, mouse, touch screen, or similar device. In some cases, the I / O controller 2510 may be implemented as part of a processor, such as the processor 2540. In some cases, a user may interact with the device 2505 via the I / O controller 2510 or via hardware components controlled by the I / O controller 2510.

[0331] In some cases, the device 2505 may include a single antenna 2525. However, in some other cases, the device 2505 may have more than one antenna 2525 that can simultaneously transmit or receive multiple wireless transmissions. The transceiver 2515 can communicate bidirectionally via one or more antennas 2525, wired or wireless links as described herein. For example, the transceiver 2515 can represent a wireless transceiver and can communicate bidirectionally with another wireless transceiver. The transceiver 2515 may also include a modem for modulating packets and providing the modulated packets to one or more antennas 2525 for transmission, and for demodulating packets received from one or more antennas 2525. The transceiver 2515 or the transceiver 2515 and one or more antennas 2525 can be examples of transmitters 2215, transmitters 2315, receivers 2210, receivers 2310, or any combination thereof, or components thereof as described herein.

[0332] The memory 2530 may include RAM and ROM. The memory 2530 may store computer-readable, computer-executable code 2535 including instructions that, when executed by the processor 2540, cause the device 2505 to perform the various functions described herein. In some cases, the memory 2530 may include BIOS, etc., which may control basic hardware or software operations, such as interaction with peripheral components or devices.

[0333] The processor 2540 may include an intelligent hardware device (such as a general-purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, a microcontroller, an ASIC, an FPGA, a programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic components, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof). In some cases, the processor 2540 may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In some other cases, the memory controller may be integrated into the processor 2540. The processor 2540 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (such as memory 2530) to cause the device 2505 to perform various functions (such as functions or tasks that support seamless transition for XPAN coverage). For example, the device 2505 or a component of the device 2505 may include the processor 2540 and the memory 2530 coupled to or coupled to the processor 2540, the processor 2540 and the memory 2530 being configured to perform the various functions described herein.

[0334] The communication manager 2520 can support wireless communications at a first wireless communication device according to examples as disclosed herein. For example, the communication manager 2520 can be configured to, or otherwise support, receive, from an AP associated with the second wireless communication device, an IP address for the first wireless communication device for a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the AP when communicating with the second wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link. The communication manager 2520 can be configured to, or otherwise support, communicate a roaming indication to the second wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link in response to a first link quality of the P2P wireless communication link falling below a first threshold. The communication manager 2520 can be configured to, or otherwise support, communicate data with the second wireless communication device via the second wireless communication link and the AP in response to the roaming indication.

[0335] Additionally or alternatively, according to examples disclosed herein, the communication manager 2520 may support wireless communications at a second wireless communication device. For example, the communication manager 2520 may be configured to or otherwise support means for: receiving, from the first wireless communication device, an IP address for the first wireless communication device for a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the AP while communicating with the first wireless communication device over a P2P wireless communication link and while communicating with the AP over a third wireless communication link. The communication manager 2520 may be configured to or otherwise support means for: communicating a roaming indication to the first wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link in response to a first link quality of the P2P wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device falling below a first threshold. The communication manager 2520 may be configured to or otherwise support means for: communicating data with the first wireless communication device via the third wireless communication link and the AP using the IP address for the first wireless communication device in response to the roaming indication.

[0336] Additionally or alternatively, according to examples disclosed herein, the communication manager 2520 can support wireless communications at a first wireless communication device. For example, the communication manager 2520 can be configured to or otherwise support means for, while communicating with a second wireless communication device over a P2P wireless communication link, receiving from the second wireless communication device an indication of an IP address for the first wireless communication device for a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and an AP associated with the second wireless communication device. The communication manager 2520 can be configured to or otherwise support means for, in response to a first link quality of the P2P wireless communication link falling below a first threshold, communicating a roaming indication to the second wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link. The communication manager 2520 can be configured to or otherwise support means for, in response to the roaming indication, communicating data with the second wireless communication device via the second wireless communication link and the AP.

[0337] Additionally or alternatively, according to examples disclosed herein, the communication manager 2520 may support wireless communications at a second wireless communication device. For example, the communication manager 2520 may be configured to, or otherwise support, perform an association procedure with an AP using a MAC address for the first wireless communication device when communicating with the first wireless communication device over a P2P wireless communication link and when communicating with an AP over a third wireless communication link to receive an IP address for the first wireless communication device for a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the AP. The communication manager 2520 may be configured to, or otherwise support, send an IP address to the first wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link. The communication manager 2520 may be configured to, or otherwise support, communicate a roaming indication to the first wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link in response to a link quality of the P2P wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device falling below a first threshold. The communication manager 2520 may be configured or otherwise support means for communicating data with the first wireless communication device via the third wireless communication link and the AP using the IP address for the first wireless communication device in response to the roaming indication.

[0338] Additionally or alternatively, according to examples disclosed herein, the communication manager 2520 may support wireless communications at the first wireless communication device. For example, the communication manager 2520 may be configured to or otherwise support means for receiving a beacon or probe response from the second wireless communication device over a P2P wireless communication link while communicating with the second wireless communication device via a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and an AP and via a third wireless communication link between the AP and the second wireless communication device. The communication manager 2520 may be configured to or otherwise support means for performing an association procedure with the second wireless communication device for the P2P wireless communication link in response to a first link quality of the P2P wireless communication link satisfying a first threshold, the first link quality being detected using the beacon or probe response. The communication manager 2520 may be configured to or otherwise support means for sending a disassociation message to the AP for the second wireless communication link in response to the association procedure. The communication manager 2520 may be configured to or otherwise support means for communicating data with the second wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link.

[0339] Additionally or alternatively, according to examples disclosed herein, the communication manager 2520 may support wireless communication at the second wireless communication device. For example, the communication manager 2520 may be configured to or otherwise support means for transmitting beacons or probe responses over a P2P wireless communication link while communicating with the first wireless communication device via a third wireless communication link between the second wireless communication device and the AP and via the AP and a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the AP. The communication manager 2520 may be configured to or otherwise support means for performing an association process with the first wireless communication device for the P2P wireless communication link in response to a link quality of the P2P wireless communication link satisfying a threshold. The communication manager 2520 may be configured to or otherwise support means for communicating data with the first wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link.

[0340] Additionally or alternatively, according to examples disclosed herein, the communication manager 2520 may support wireless communications at a first wireless communication device. For example, the communication manager 2520 may be configured to or otherwise support means for, while communicating with a second wireless communication device via a first wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and a first AP and the first AP, receiving a beacon or probe response from the second AP on a second wireless communication link in response to a first link quality of the first wireless communication link falling below a threshold. The communication manager 2520 may be configured to or otherwise support means for, in response to the second link quality of the second wireless communication link being higher than the first link quality, performing an association process with the second AP to receive an IP address for the first wireless communication device for the second wireless communication link. The communication manager 2520 may be configured to or otherwise support means for, in response to the association process, sending an indication of the IP address to the second wireless communication device via the first wireless communication link and the first AP. The communication manager 2520 may be configured to or otherwise support means for, in response to the sending of the IP address, sending a disassociation message to the first AP for the first wireless communication link. The communication manager 2520 may be configured or otherwise support means for communicating data with the second wireless communication device via the second wireless communication link and the second AP in response to sending the disassociation message.

[0341] By including or configuring a communication manager 2520 according to examples as described herein, the device 2505 can support techniques for improving communication reliability, reducing latency, reducing power consumption, more efficiently utilizing communication resources, improving coordination between devices, and extending battery life.

[0342] Figure 26A flow chart illustrating a method 2600 for supporting seamless transition for XPAN coverage according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The operations of the method 2600 may be implemented by a STA or personal audio device 210 or components thereof as described herein. For example, the operations of the method 2600 may be implemented by a STA or personal audio device 210 or components thereof as described herein. Figures 1 to 25 The STA or personal audio device 210 described herein may be executed by the STA or personal audio device 210. In some examples, the STA or personal audio device 210 may execute an instruction set to control functional elements of the STA or personal audio device 210 to perform the described functions. Additionally or alternatively, the STA or personal audio device 210 may use dedicated hardware to perform various aspects of the described functions.

[0343] At 2605, the method may include, when communicating with a second wireless communication device over a P2P wireless communication link, receiving, from an AP associated with the second wireless communication device, an IP address for the first wireless communication device for a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the AP. The operations of 2605 may be performed according to examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2605 may be described with reference to Figure 24 The IP address manager 2425 described is executed.

[0344] At 2610, the method may include: in response to a first link quality of the P2P wireless communication link falling below a first threshold, communicating a roaming indication with a second wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link. The operations of 2610 may be performed according to examples disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2610 may be performed as described in reference to Figure 24 The roaming instruction manager 2430 described above is executed.

[0345] At 2615, the method may include: communicating data with the second wireless communication device via the second wireless communication link and the AP in response to the roaming indication. The operations of 2615 may be performed according to the examples disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2615 may be performed as described in reference to Figure 24 The described AP link communication manager 2435 is executed.

[0346] Additionally or alternatively, according to examples disclosed herein, the communication manager 2520 can support wireless communications at a second wireless communication device. For example, the communication manager 2520 can be configured to, or otherwise support, receive an indication of a second Internet Protocol address for the first wireless communication device for a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and a second access point while communicating with the first wireless communication device via a first access point and a first wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the first access point and using a first Internet Protocol address for the first wireless communication device for the first wireless communication link, the indication of the second Internet Protocol address being received via the first access point and the first wireless communication link. The communication manager 2520 can be configured to, or otherwise support, receive a roaming indication from the first wireless device via the first access point and the first wireless communication link. The communication manager 2520 can be configured to, or otherwise support, communicate data with the first wireless communication device via the second wireless communication link and the second access point using the second Internet Protocol address in response to the roaming indication.

[0347] Figure 27 A flow chart illustrating a method 2700 for supporting seamless transition for XPAN coverage according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The operations of the method 2700 may be implemented by a STA or personal wireless communication device 204 or components thereof as described herein. For example, the operations of the method 2700 may be implemented by a STA or personal wireless communication device 204 or components thereof as described herein. Figures 1 to 25 The STA or personal wireless communication device 204 described herein may be executed. In some examples, the STA or personal wireless communication device 204 may execute an instruction set to control functional elements of the STA or personal wireless communication device 204 to perform the described functions. Additionally or alternatively, the STA or personal wireless communication device 204 may use dedicated hardware to perform various aspects of the described functions.

[0348] At 2705, the method may include: when communicating with the first wireless communication device on the P2P wireless communication link, and when communicating with the AP on the third wireless communication link, receiving from the first wireless communication device an IP address for the first wireless communication device for a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the AP. The operations of 2705 may be performed according to examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2705 may be described with reference to Figure 24 The IP address manager 2425 described is executed.

[0349] At 2710, the method may include: in response to a first link quality of a P2P wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device falling below a first threshold, communicating a roaming indication to the first wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link. The operations of 2710 may be performed according to examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2710 may be performed as described with reference to Figure 24 The link quality manager 2440 described above is executed.

[0350] At 2715, the method may include: in response to the roaming indication, communicating data with the first wireless communication device via the third wireless communication link and the AP using the IP address for the first wireless communication device. The operations of 2715 may be performed according to the examples disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2715 may be performed as described in reference to Figure 24 The described AP link communication manager 2435 is executed.

[0351] Figure 28 A flow chart illustrating a method 2800 for supporting seamless transition for XPAN coverage according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The operations of the method 2800 may be implemented by a STA or personal audio device 210 or components thereof as described herein. For example, the operations of the method 2800 may be implemented by a STA or personal audio device 210 or components thereof as described herein. Figures 1 to 25 The STA or personal audio device 210 described herein may be executed by the STA or personal audio device 210. In some examples, the STA or personal audio device 210 may execute an instruction set to control functional elements of the STA or personal audio device 210 to perform the described functions. Additionally or alternatively, the STA or personal audio device 210 may use dedicated hardware to perform various aspects of the described functions.

[0352] At 2805, the method may include, while communicating with a second wireless communication device over a P2P wireless communication link, receiving from the second wireless communication device an indication of an IP address for the first wireless communication device for a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and an AP associated with the second wireless communication device. The operations of 2805 may be performed according to examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2805 may be described with reference to Figure 24 The IP address manager 2425 described is executed.

[0353] At 2810, the method may include: in response to a first link quality of the P2P wireless communication link falling below a first threshold, communicating a roaming indication with a second wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link. The operations of 2810 may be performed according to examples disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2810 may be performed as described in reference to Figure 24 The roaming instruction manager 2430 described above is executed.

[0354] At 2815, the method may include: communicating data with the second wireless communication device via the second wireless communication link and the AP in response to the roaming indication. The operations of 2815 may be performed according to the examples disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2815 may be performed as described in reference to Figure 24 The described AP link communication manager 2435 is executed.

[0355] Figure 29 A flow chart illustrating a method 2900 for supporting seamless transition for XPAN coverage according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The operations of the method 2900 may be implemented by a STA or personal wireless communication device 204 or components thereof as described herein. For example, the operations of the method 2900 may be implemented by a STA or personal wireless communication device 204 or components thereof as described herein. Figures 1 to 25 The STA or personal wireless communication device 204 described herein may be executed. In some examples, the STA or personal wireless communication device 204 may execute an instruction set to control functional elements of the STA or personal wireless communication device 204 to perform the described functions. Additionally or alternatively, the STA or personal wireless communication device 204 may use dedicated hardware to perform various aspects of the described functions.

[0356] At 2905, the method may include, when communicating with the first wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link, and when communicating with the AP over the third wireless communication link, performing an association process with the AP using the MAC address for the first wireless communication device to receive an IP address for the first wireless communication device for a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the AP. The operations of 2905 may be performed according to examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2905 may be implemented by reference to Figure 24 The IP address manager 2425 described is executed.

[0357] At 2910, the method may include: sending an IP address to the first wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link. The operations of 2910 may be performed according to examples disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2910 may be described by reference to Figure 24 The IP address manager 2425 described is executed.

[0358] At 2915, the method may include: in response to the link quality of the P2P wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device falling below a first threshold, communicating a roaming indication with the first wireless communication device over the P2P wireless communication link. The operations of 2915 may be performed according to examples disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2915 may be performed as described in reference to Figure 24 The roaming instruction manager 2430 described above is executed.

[0359] At 2920, the method may include: in response to the roaming indication, communicating data with the first wireless communication device via a third wireless communication link and an AP using the IP address for the first wireless communication device. The operations of 2920 may be performed according to examples disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 2920 may be performed as described in reference to Figure 24 The described AP link communication manager 2435 is executed.

[0360] Figure 30 A flow chart illustrating a method 3000 for supporting seamless transition for XPAN coverage according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The operations of the method 3000 may be implemented by a STA or personal audio device 210 or components thereof as described herein. For example, the operations of the method 3000 may be implemented by a STA or personal audio device 210 or components thereof as described herein. Figures 1 to 25 The STA or personal audio device 210 described herein may be executed by the STA or personal audio device 210. In some examples, the STA or personal audio device 210 may execute an instruction set to control functional elements of the STA or personal audio device 210 to perform the described functions. Additionally or alternatively, the STA or personal audio device 210 may use dedicated hardware to perform various aspects of the described functions.

[0361] At 3005, the method may include receiving a beacon or a probe response from the second wireless communication device over a P2P wireless communication link while communicating with the second wireless communication device via a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the AP and via a third wireless communication link between the AP and the second wireless communication device. The operations of 3005 may be performed according to examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 3005 may be performed as described in reference to Figure 24 The beacon / probe manager 2445 described above is executed.

[0362] At 3010, the method may include: in response to a first link quality of a P2P wireless communication link satisfying a first threshold, performing an association process with a second wireless communication device for the P2P wireless communication link, the first link quality being detected using a beacon or a probe response. The operations of 3010 may be performed according to examples disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 3010 may be performed as described in reference to Figure 24 The HS Association Process Manager 2450 described is executed.

[0363] At 3015, the method may include: sending a disassociation message to the AP for the second wireless communication link in response to the association process. The operations of 3015 may be performed according to examples disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 3015 may be performed as described in reference to Figure 24 The described disassociation manager 2455 is executed.

[0364] At 3020, the method may include communicating data with a second wireless communication device over a P2P wireless communication link. The operations of 3020 may be performed according to examples disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 3020 may be performed as described in reference to Figure 24 The P2P link communication manager 2460 described above is executed.

[0365] Figure 31 A flow chart illustrating a method 3100 for supporting seamless transition for XPAN coverage according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The operations of the method 3100 may be implemented by a STA or personal wireless communication device 204 or components thereof as described herein. For example, the operations of the method 3100 may be implemented by a STA or personal wireless communication device 204 or components thereof as described herein. Figures 1 to 25 The STA or personal wireless communication device 204 described herein may be executed. In some examples, the STA or personal wireless communication device 204 may execute an instruction set to control functional elements of the STA or personal wireless communication device 204 to perform the described functions. Additionally or alternatively, the STA or personal wireless communication device 204 may use dedicated hardware to perform various aspects of the described functions.

[0366] At 3105, the method may include sending a beacon or a probe response over a P2P wireless communication link while communicating with the first wireless communication device via a third wireless communication link between the second wireless communication device and the AP and via the AP and a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the AP. The operations of 3105 may be performed according to examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 3105 may be performed as described in reference to Figure 24 The beacon / probe manager 2445 described above is executed.

[0367] At 3110, the method may include: in response to the link quality of the P2P wireless communication link satisfying the threshold, performing an association process with the first wireless communication device for the P2P wireless communication link. The operations of 3110 may be performed according to the examples disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 3110 may be performed as described in reference to Figure 24 The link quality manager 2440 described above is executed.

[0368] At 3115, the method may include communicating data with the first wireless communication device over a P2P wireless communication link. The operations of 3115 may be performed according to examples disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 3115 may be performed as described in reference to Figure 24 The P2P link communication manager 2460 described above is executed.

[0369] Figure 32 A flow chart illustrating a method 3200 for supporting seamless transitions for XPAN according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The operations of the method 3200 may be implemented by a STA or personal audio device 210 or components thereof as described herein. For example, the operations of the method 3200 may be implemented by a STA or personal audio device 210 or components thereof as described herein. Figures 1 to 25 The STA or personal audio device 210 described herein may be executed by the STA or personal audio device 210. In some examples, the STA or personal audio device 210 may execute an instruction set to control functional elements of the STA or personal audio device 210 to perform the described functions. Additionally or alternatively, the STA or personal audio device 210 may use dedicated hardware to perform various aspects of the described functions.

[0370] At 3205, the method may include: in communicating with a second wireless communication device via a first wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the first AP and the first AP, in response to a first link quality of the first wireless communication link falling below a threshold, receiving a beacon or a probe response from the second AP on a second wireless communication link. The operations of 3205 may be performed according to examples disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 3205 may be performed as described in reference to Figure 24 The beacon / probe manager 2445 described above is executed.

[0371] At 3210, the method may include: in response to the second link quality of the second wireless communication link being higher than the first link quality, performing an association process with the second AP to receive an IP address for the first wireless communication device for the second wireless communication link. The operations of 3210 may be performed according to examples disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 3210 may be described with reference to Figure 24 The IP address manager 2425 described is executed.

[0372] At 3215, the method may include: sending an indication of the IP address to the second wireless communication device via the first wireless communication link and the first AP in response to the association process. The operations of 3215 may be performed according to examples disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 3215 may be described with reference to Figure 24 The IP address manager 2425 described is executed.

[0373] At 3220, the method may include: sending a disassociation message to the first AP for the first wireless communication link in response to sending the IP address. The operations of 3220 may be performed according to examples disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 3220 may be performed as described in reference to Figure 24 The described disassociation manager 2455 is executed.

[0374] At 3225, the method may include: communicating data with the second wireless communication device via the second wireless communication link and the second AP in response to sending the disassociation message. The operations of 3225 may be performed according to the examples disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 3225 may be performed as described in reference to Figure 24 The described AP link communication manager 2435 is executed.

[0375] Figure 33 A flow chart illustrating a method 3300 for supporting seamless transition for XPAN whole home / building coverage according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The operations of the method 3300 may be implemented by the STA herein or its components. For example, the operations of the method 3300 may be implemented by the STA as described in reference to FIG. Figures 1 to 25 The STA 115 described herein may be executed. In some examples, the STA may execute an instruction set to control the functional units of the STA to perform the described functions. Additionally or alternatively, the STA may use dedicated hardware to perform various aspects of the described functions.

[0376] At 3305, the method may include, while communicating with the first wireless communication device via a first access point and a first wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the first access point and using a first Internet Protocol address for the first wireless communication device for the first wireless communication link, receiving an indication of a second Internet Protocol address for the first wireless communication device for a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and a second access point, the indication of the second Internet Protocol address being received via the first access point and the first wireless communication link. The operations of 3305 may be performed according to examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 3305 may be performed by reference to Figure 24The IP address manager 2425 described is executed.

[0377] At 3310, the method may include receiving a roaming indication from a first wireless device via a first access point and a first wireless communication link. The operations of 3310 may be performed according to examples disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 3310 may be performed as described in reference to Figure 24 The roaming instruction manager 2430 described above is executed.

[0378] At 3315, the method may include: in response to the roaming indication, communicating data with the first wireless communication device via the second wireless communication link and the second access point using the second Internet Protocol address. The operations of 3315 may be performed according to the examples disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 3315 may be performed as described in reference to Figure 24 The described AP link communication manager 2435 is executed.

[0379] Figure 34 Shows something like Figure 14 An example of a process flow 3400 for converting between a P2P wireless connection and a personal audio device-AP connection in an XPAN scenario, based on the process flow 1400 of FIG. 3400 includes reference to Figure 3 3400. The process flow 3400 depicts an example of a transition between the AP 102-b, the personal wireless communication device 204-a, and the personal audio device 210-c. In the following description of process flow 3400, operations between the AP 102-b, the personal wireless communication device 204-a, and the personal audio device 210-c may be sent in a different order than the example shown, or operations performed by the AP 102-b, the personal wireless communication device 204-a, and the personal audio device 210-c may be performed in a different order or at different times. Some operations may also be omitted from process flow 3400, while other operations may be added to process flow 3400. Because the transition depicted in process flow 3400 establishes a connection between the personal audio device 210-c and the AP 102-b before disconnecting the P2P connection between the personal audio device 210-c and the personal wireless communication device 204-a, the transition depicted in process flow 3400 may reduce latency and packet loss compared to a transition from a P2P connection to an AP connection in which a connection to the AP is not established before disconnecting the P2P connection.

[0380] At 3405, the personal audio device 210-c may communicate with the user via an XPAN SAP wireless communication link such as Figure 13At 3410, the personal audio device 210-c may monitor the link quality of the P2P wireless communication link. At 3415, the personal audio device 210-c may determine that the link quality of the P2P wireless communication link has dropped to a threshold value LQ AssocAP the following.

[0381] In some examples, at 3420 and in response to determining that the link quality of the XPAN SAP link (P2P wireless communication link) has dropped to a threshold value LQ AssocAP Next, the personal audio device 210-c may send a request for the most recent channel scan results to the personal wireless communication device 204-a. The request at 3420 may be sent via XPAN control over BLE (e.g., the bearer for the request may be XPAN control over BLE). Then, at 3425, the personal wireless communication device 204-a may send the most recent channel scan results to the personal audio device 210-c. A signal indicating the most recent channel scan results at 3425 may be sent via XPAN control over BLE (e.g., the bearer for the request may be XPAN control over BLE). In some examples, the personal wireless communication device 204-a may utilize the scan results at 3425 to indicate the serving BSSID, the channel of the serving AP 102-b, and / or the capabilities of the serving AP 102-b. In some examples, if no most recent scan results are available, the personal wireless communication device 204-a may perform a channel scan.

[0382] In an alternative example, at 3430 and in response to determining that the link quality of the P2P wireless communication link has dropped to a threshold value LQ AssocAP Next, personal audio device 210-c may measure the RSSI of the probe response or beacon from AP 102-b. In some examples (e.g., in the presence of two paired earbuds), a second personal audio device 210 may also perform RSSI measurements. The bearer for the probe or beacon response may be a management packet on Wi-Fi.

[0383] At 3435, based on the channel scan results or the measured RSSI of the probe responses / beacons, the personal audio device 210-c may determine that a connection to the AP 102-b provides a higher utility (based on a utility function as described herein) than a P2P wireless communication link. In some examples, the utility function may favor AP 102-b that serves the personal wireless communication device 204-a over other APs 102. In some examples, in the presence of two paired personal audio devices 210 (e.g., in the case of paired earbuds), the personal audio device 210-c may synchronize with the other personal audio device 210 on the target AP 102-b.

[0384] At 3440, the personal audio device 210-c may perform an authentication process, an association process, and / or a security key exchange process with the AP 102-b. At 3445, the personal audio device 210-c may perform a DHCP server negotiation with the AP 102-b. Thus, at 3440 and 3445, the personal audio device 210-c may connect to the AP 102-b and receive an IP and / or MAC address for communicating with the AP 102-b. The bearer for the authentication process and association process at 3440 may be management packets over Wi-Fi. The bearer for the security key exchange process (also known as the Extensible Authentication Protocol over LAN (EAPOL) 4-way handshake) and / or DHCP server negotiation at 3440 and 3445 may be UDP data.

[0385] At 3450, the personal audio device 210-c may share the IP address and / or MAC address for the personal audio device 210-c received at 3440 or 3455 with the personal wireless communication device 204-a. In some examples, in a case where there are two paired personal audio devices 210 (e.g., in the case of paired earbuds), the personal audio device 210-c may also share the IP and / or MAC address of the other personal audio device 210 with the personal wireless communication device 204-a at 3450. The carrier for the signaling of the shared IP and / or MAC address at 3450 may be XPAN control over BLE.

[0386] At 3455, the personal audio device 210-c may determine that the link quality of the XPAN SAP link (eg, the P2P wireless communication link 106-b) has dropped to a second threshold value (LQ roamAP At 3460, in response to the link quality dropping to a second threshold (LQ roamAP) , the personal audio device 210-c may send a roaming request to the personal wireless communication device 204-a. The bearer for the roaming request at 3460 may be XPAN control over BLE. At 3465, in response to the roaming request, the personal wireless communication device 204-a may increase the audio latency and / or may reduce the audio bit rate for XPAN over AP.

[0387] At 3470, the personal wireless communication device 204-a may send a roaming confirmation to the personal audio device 210-c and / or may send a signal indicating a data path switch to UDP. The bearer for the signal at 3470 may be XPAN Control over BLE. At 3475, the personal wireless communication device 204-a may exchange a signal with the personal audio device 210-c indicating a switch of BT control to TCP. The bearer for the signal at 3475 may be XPAN Control over BLE. At 3480, the personal wireless communication device 204-a may send BT Control over TCP to the personal audio device 210-c via the AP 102-b. The bearer for the BT Control over TCP at 3480 may be XPAN Control over Wi-Fi TCP.

[0388] At 3485, the personal wireless communication device 204-a and the personal audio device may communicate via an XPAN wireless communication link over the AP (e.g., via Figure 13 106 - c) via AP 102 - b. In some examples, the personal wireless communication device 204 - a and the personal audio device may maintain the XPAN SAP link at low power, for example, for possible future reverse transitions. The bearer for maintaining the XPAN SAP link at low power may be XPAN Control over Wi-Fi TCP.

[0389] and Figure 15 The process flow 1500 is similar, Figure 35 An example of a process flow 3500 for transitioning between a first-time P2P wireless connection and a personal audio device-AP connection in an XPAN scenario is shown, wherein the personal wireless communication device assists in initiating the transition. Figure 33500. The process flow 3500 depicts an example of an AP 102-b, a personal wireless communication device 204-a, and a personal audio device 210-c. In the following description of process flow 3500, operations between the AP 102-b, the personal wireless communication device 204-a, and the personal audio device 210-c may be sent in a different order than the example shown, or operations performed by the AP 102-b, the personal wireless communication device 204-a, and the personal audio device 210-c may be performed in a different order or at a different time. Some operations may also be omitted from process flow 3500, while other operations may be added to process flow 3500. Because the transition shown in process flow 3500 establishes a connection between the personal audio device 210-c and the AP 102-b before disconnecting the P2P connection between the personal audio device 210-c and the personal wireless communication device 204-a, the transition shown in process flow 3500 may reduce latency and packet loss compared to a transition from a P2P connection to an AP connection in which a connection to the AP is not established before disconnecting the P2P connection. Additionally, because the personal wireless communication device 204-a assists in initiating the transition, less processing may be performed at the personal audio device 210-c, which may reduce latency because the personal wireless communication device 204-a may have more processing power than the personal audio device 210-c and / or may reduce power consumption at the personal audio device 210-c.

[0390] At 3505, the personal audio device 210-c may communicate with the user via an XPAN SAP wireless communication link such as Figure 13 At 3510, the personal audio device 210-c may monitor the link quality of the P2P wireless communication link. At 3515, the personal audio device 210-c may determine that the link quality of the P2P wireless communication link has dropped to a threshold value LQ AssocAP the following.

[0391] At 3520, the personal audio device 210-c may send an indication of link quality statistics of the P2P wireless communication link to the personal wireless communication device 204-a. At 3525, the personal wireless communication device 204-a may send an indication of the channel scan results at the personal wireless communication device 204-a or a channel scan command to the personal audio device 210-c. The carrier for the signals at 3520 and 3525 may be XPAN control over BLE. In some examples, the personal wireless communication device 204-a may indicate the serving BSSID, the channel of the serving AP 102-b, and / or the capabilities of the serving AP 102-b along with the scan results at 3525.

[0392] In an alternative example, at 3530 and in response to determining that the link quality of the P2P wireless communication link has dropped to a threshold value LQ AssocAP Next, the personal audio device 210-c may measure the RSSI of the probe response or beacon from the AP 102-b. In some examples (e.g., in the presence of two paired earbuds), the second personal audio device 210 may also perform an RSSI measurement. The bearer for the probe or beacon response may be a management packet over Wi-Fi. At 3535, the personal audio device 210-c may send a signal to the personal wireless communication device 204-a indicating the RSSI measurement measured at 1530. The bearer for the signal at 3535 may be XPAN control over BLE.

[0393] At 3540, the personal wireless communication device 204-a may determine that the connection to the AP 102-b provides a higher utility (based on a utility function as described herein) than the XPAN SAP (e.g., a P2P wireless communication link). At 3545, in response to determining that the connection to the AP 102-b provides a higher utility than the XPAN SAP communication link, the personal wireless communication device 204-a s...

Claims

1. A first wireless communication device, comprising: A processing system comprising one or more processors and one or more memories coupled to the one or more processors, the processing system being configured to cause the first wireless communication device to: while communicating with a second wireless communication device over a peer-to-peer wireless communication link, receiving, from an access point associated with the second wireless communication device, an Internet Protocol address for the first wireless communication device for a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the access point; communicating a roaming indication with the second wireless communication device over the peer to peer wireless communication link in response to a first link quality of the peer to peer wireless communication link falling below a first threshold; as well as In response to the roaming indication, data is communicated with the second wireless communication device via the second wireless communication link and the access point.

2. The first wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein The processing system is further configured to cause the first wireless communication device to: In response to the first link quality falling below a second threshold, performing an association process with the access point to receive the Internet Protocol address.

3. The first wireless communication device according to claim 2, wherein: The processing system is further configured to cause the first wireless communication device to: A message is received from the second wireless communications device over the peer to peer wireless communications link indicating that the first link quality has fallen below the second threshold.

4. The first wireless communication device according to claim 3, wherein: The processing system is further configured to cause the first wireless communication device to: An indication of a serving access point for the second wireless communication device is received with the message.

5. The first wireless communication device according to claim 2, wherein: The processing system is further configured to cause the first wireless communication device to: in response to the first link quality falling below the second threshold, sending a request to the second wireless communication device over the peer to peer wireless communication link for channel scan results associated with the second wireless communication link; receiving, in response to the request, channel scan results associated with the second wireless communication link from the second wireless communication device over the peer to peer wireless communication link; as well as In response to the channel scanning result indicating that the second link quality of the second wireless communication link meets a third threshold, performing the association process with the access point to receive the Internet Protocol address. The first wireless communication device according to claim 5 , wherein: The processing system is further configured to cause the first wireless communication device to: receiving, in response to the request, from the second wireless communication device over the peer to peer wireless communication link, a set of channel scan results for a set of wireless communication links corresponding to a set of access points, the set of access points including the access point; and The access point is selected from the set of access points in response to the set of channel scan results.

7. The first wireless communication device according to claim 2, wherein: The processing system is further configured to cause the first wireless communication device to: receiving a beacon from the access point over the second wireless communication link in response to the first link quality falling below the second threshold; determining a second link quality of the second wireless communication link using the beacon; as well as In response to the second link quality satisfying a third threshold, performing the association process with the access point to receive the Internet Protocol address.

8. The first wireless communication device according to claim 2, wherein: The processing system is further configured to cause the first wireless communication device to: In response to the first link quality falling below the second threshold, sending a probe request to the access point; receiving a probe response from the access point in response to the probe request; determining a second link quality of the second wireless communication link using the probe response; as well as In response to the second link quality satisfying a third threshold, performing the association process with the access point to receive the Internet Protocol address.

9. The first wireless communication device according to claim 2, wherein: The processing system is further configured to cause the first wireless communication device to: An indication of the Internet Protocol address or Media Access Control address of the first wireless communication device is sent to the second wireless communication device over the peer to peer wireless communication link.

10. The first wireless communication device according to claim 2, wherein: The processing system is further configured to cause the first wireless communication device to: In response to the first link quality falling below the second threshold, an indication of the access point is sent to the third wireless communication device over the Bluetooth wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the third wireless communication device.

11. The first wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein: The processing system is further configured to cause the first wireless communication device to: In response to the roaming indication, a disassociation message is communicated with the second wireless communication device over the peer to peer wireless communication link.

12. The first wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein The processing system is further configured to cause the first wireless communication device to: determining, based on a utility function, that a second link quality of the second wireless communication link is better than the first link quality; as well as In response to determining that the second link quality is better than the first link quality, an association process is performed with the access point to receive the Internet Protocol address.

13. The first wireless communication device according to claim 12, wherein: The utility function includes at least one of: a channel type for each of the peer to peer wireless communication link and the second wireless communication link, a received signal strength indicator value for each of the peer to peer wireless communication link and the second wireless communication link, and a bias factor for the peer to peer wireless communication link.

14. The first wireless communication device according to claim 12, wherein: The processing system is further configured to cause the first wireless communication device to: In response to the association process, a channel of the peer to peer wireless communication link is switched to the same channel as the second wireless communication link.

15. A second wireless communication device, comprising: A processing system comprising one or more processors and one or more memories coupled to the one or more processors, the processing system being configured to cause the second wireless communication device to: while communicating with a first wireless communication device on a peer-to-peer wireless communication link and while communicating with an access point on a third wireless communication link, receiving from the first wireless communication device an Internet Protocol address for the first wireless communication device for a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the access point; communicating a roaming indication with the first wireless communication device over the peer to peer wireless communication link in response to a first link quality of the peer to peer wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device falling below a first threshold; as well as In response to the roaming indication, data is communicated with the first wireless communication device via the third wireless communication link and the access point using the Internet Protocol address for the first wireless communication device.

16. The second wireless communication device according to claim 15, wherein: The processing system is further configured to cause the second wireless communication device to: A message is sent to the first wireless communication device over the peer to peer wireless communication link indicating that the quality of the first link has fallen below a second threshold, the Internet Protocol address being received in response to the message.

17. The second wireless communication device according to claim 16, wherein: The processing system is further configured to cause the second wireless communication device to: An indication of a serving access point for the second wireless communication device is sent with the message.

18. The second wireless communication device according to claim 15, wherein: The processing system is further configured to cause the second wireless communication device to: receiving, in response to the first link quality falling below a second threshold, a request from the first wireless communications device over the peer to peer wireless communications link for channel scan results associated with the second wireless communications link; as well as In response to the request, a channel scan result associated with the second wireless communication link is sent to the first wireless communication device over the peer wireless communication link, and the receiving of the Internet Protocol address is in response to the channel scan result indicating that a second link quality of the second wireless communication link meets a third threshold.

19. The second wireless communication device according to claim 18, wherein: The processing system is further configured to cause the second wireless communication device to: In response to the request, a set of channel scan results for a set of wireless communication links corresponding to a set of access points including the access point is sent to the first wireless communication device over the peer to peer wireless communication link.

20. The second wireless communication device according to claim 15, wherein The processing system is further configured to cause the second wireless communication device to: In response to the roaming indication, a disassociation message is communicated with the first wireless communication device over the peer to peer wireless communication link.

21. The second wireless communication device according to claim 15, wherein: The processing system is further configured to cause the second wireless communication device to: In response to receiving the Internet Protocol address, the channel of the peer to peer wireless communication link is switched to the same channel as the second wireless communication link.

22. A method for wireless communication at a first wireless communication device, comprising: while communicating with a second wireless communication device over a peer-to-peer wireless communication link, receiving, from an access point associated with the second wireless communication device, an Internet Protocol address for the first wireless communication device for a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the access point; communicating a roaming indication with the second wireless communication device over the peer to peer wireless communication link in response to a first link quality of the peer to peer wireless communication link falling below a first threshold; as well as In response to the roaming indication, data is communicated with the second wireless communication device via the second wireless communication link and the access point.

23. The method according to claim 22, further comprising: In response to the first link quality falling below a second threshold, performing an association process with the access point to receive the Internet Protocol address.

24. The method according to claim 23, further comprising: A message is received from the second wireless communications device over the peer to peer wireless communications link indicating that the first link quality has fallen below the second threshold.

25. The method according to claim 24, further comprising: An indication of a serving access point for the second wireless communication device is received with the message.

26. The method of claim 23, further comprising: in response to the first link quality falling below the second threshold, sending a request to the second wireless communication device over the peer to peer wireless communication link for channel scan results associated with the second wireless communication link; receiving, in response to the request, channel scan results associated with the second wireless communication link from the second wireless communication device over the peer to peer wireless communication link; as well as In response to the channel scanning result indicating that the second link quality of the second wireless communication link meets a third threshold, performing the association process with the access point to receive the Internet Protocol address.

27. The method according to claim 26, further comprising: receiving, in response to the request, from the second wireless communication device over the peer to peer wireless communication link, a set of channel scan results for a set of wireless communication links corresponding to a set of access points, the set of access points including the access point; and The access point is selected from the set of access points in response to the set of channel scan results.

28. The method of claim 23, further comprising: receiving a beacon from the access point over the second wireless communication link in response to the first link quality falling below the second threshold; determining a second link quality of the second wireless communication link using the beacon; as well as In response to the second link quality satisfying a third threshold, performing the association process with the access point to receive the Internet Protocol address.

29. The method of claim 23, further comprising: In response to the first link quality falling below the second threshold, sending a probe request to the access point; receiving a probe response from the access point in response to the probe request; determining a second link quality of the second wireless communication link using the probe response; as well as In response to the second link quality satisfying a third threshold, performing the association process with the access point to receive the Internet Protocol address.

30. The method of claim 23, further comprising: An indication of the Internet Protocol address or Media Access Control address of the first wireless communication device is sent to the second wireless communication device over the peer to peer wireless communication link.

31. The method of claim 23, further comprising: In response to the first link quality falling below the second threshold, an indication of the access point is sent to the third wireless communication device over the Bluetooth wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the third wireless communication device.

32. The method of claim 22, further comprising: In response to the roaming indication, a disassociation message is communicated with the second wireless communication device over the peer to peer wireless communication link.

33. The method of claim 22, further comprising: determining, based on a utility function, that a second link quality of the second wireless communication link is better than the first link quality; as well as In response to determining that the second link quality is better than the first link quality, an association process is performed with the access point to receive the Internet Protocol address.

34. The method according to claim 33, wherein The utility function includes at least one of: a channel type for each of the peer to peer wireless communication link and the second wireless communication link, a received signal strength indicator value for each of the peer to peer wireless communication link and the second wireless communication link, and a bias factor for the peer to peer wireless communication link.

35. The method of claim 33, further comprising: In response to the association process, a channel of the peer to peer wireless communication link is switched to the same channel as the second wireless communication link.

36. A method for wireless communication at a second wireless communication device, comprising: while communicating with a first wireless communication device on a peer-to-peer wireless communication link and while communicating with an access point on a third wireless communication link, receiving from the first wireless communication device an Internet Protocol address for the first wireless communication device for a second wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the access point; communicating a roaming indication with the first wireless communication device over the peer to peer wireless communication link in response to a first link quality of the peer to peer wireless communication link between the first wireless communication device and the second wireless communication device falling below a first threshold; as well as In response to the roaming indication, data is communicated with the first wireless communication device via the third wireless communication link and the access point using the Internet Protocol address for the first wireless communication device.

37. The method of claim 36, further comprising: A message is sent to the first wireless communication device over the peer to peer wireless communication link indicating that the quality of the first link has fallen below a second threshold, the Internet Protocol address being received in response to the message.

38. The method of claim 37, further comprising: An indication of a serving access point for the second wireless communication device is sent with the message.

39. The method of claim 36, further comprising: receiving, in response to the first link quality falling below a second threshold, a request from the first wireless communications device over the peer to peer wireless communications link for channel scan results associated with the second wireless communications link; as well as In response to the request, a channel scan result associated with the second wireless communication link is sent to the first wireless communication device over the second wireless communication link, and the Internet Protocol address is received in response to the channel scan result indicating that a second link quality of the second wireless communication link meets a third threshold.

40. The method of claim 39, further comprising: In response to the request, a set of channel scan results for a set of wireless communication links corresponding to a set of access points including the access point is sent to the first wireless communication device over the peer to peer wireless communication link.

41. The method of claim 36, further comprising: In response to the roaming indication, a disassociation message is communicated with the first wireless communication device over the peer to peer wireless communication link.

42. The method of claim 36, further comprising: In response to receiving the Internet Protocol address, the channel of the peer to peer wireless communication link is switched to the same channel as the second wireless communication link.

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