Electronic device for determining whether to activate BSS transition function, and method for operating electronic device

Abstract

Provided are an electronic device and an operating method of the electronic device according to an embodiment, the electronic device comprising a communication circuit for supporting short-range wireless communication, a memory for storing at least one computer program, and at least one processor, wherein the at least one computer program may include instructions that, when executed individually or collectively by the at least one processor, cause the electronic device to: while performing a procedure for connecting a first AP and the electronic device, transmit, to the first AP, a frame including information indicating that the electronic device supports basic service set (BSS) transition; in a state in which the first AP and the electronic device are connected, receive a BSS transition management request frame from the first AP; after receiving the BSS transition management request frame, receive a disassociation frame or a deauthentication frame from the first AP; and while performing a procedure for reconnecting the first AP and the electronic device, transmit, to the first AP, a frame including information indicating that the electronic device does not support the BSS transition.

Description

Electronic device and method of operation of the electronic device for determining whether the BSS switching function is enabled

[0001] The present invention relates to an electronic device and a method of operating an electronic device, and more specifically, to an electronic device that determines whether a BSS switching function is activated.

[0002] With the proliferation of various electronic devices, speed improvements have been achieved for wireless communication that these devices can use. Among the wireless communications supported by recent electronic devices, IEEE 802.11 WLAN (or Wi-Fi) is a standard for implementing high-speed wireless connections on various electronic devices. While the first implemented Wi-Fi could support transmission speeds of up to 1 to 9 Mbps, Wi-Fi 6 technology (or IEEE 802.11ax) can support transmission speeds of up to approximately 10 Gbps.

[0003] The electronic device can support various services using relatively large data (e.g., UHD quality video streaming service, AR (augmented reality) service, VR (virtual reality) service, or MR (mixed reality) service) through wireless communication that supports high transmission speeds, and can also support various other services.

[0004] An electronic device can be connected via short-range wireless communication to an AP capable of providing short-range wireless communication in order to perform short-range wireless communication. An AP can manage a single basic service set (BSS), and electronic devices included in the BSS can transmit and / or receive data via the short-range wireless communication provided by the AP.

[0005] An AP managing a BSS can induce an electronic device to roam to another BSS, and this roaming of an electronic device to another BSS can be referred to as a basic service set transition (BSS transition). The AP can send a BSS management request frame to an electronic device to induce the electronic device that supports BSS transition to perform the BSS transition. Upon receiving the BSS management request frame, the electronic device can decide whether to perform the BSS transition. An AP that supports BSS transition can distribute traffic concentrated on the AP to other APs, thereby improving the speed (or performance, quality) of the short-range wireless communication provided by the AP.

[0006] An electronic device that receives a BSS transition management request frame can search for an AP to perform roaming based on information related to other BSSs included in the BSS transition management request frame, and can decide whether to perform a BSS transition. For example, if the electronic device does not find an AP to perform roaming, it may decide not to perform a BSS transition.

[0007] However, the AP may disconnect the connection via near-field communication between the AP and the electronic device even if the electronic device has determined that it will not perform BSS transition. To disconnect the connection via near-field communication between the AP and the electronic device, the AP may transmit a disconnect frame or a deauthentication frame to the electronic device. The AP does not transmit a BSS transition management request frame to other electronic devices that do not support BSS transition.

[0008] Although the electronic device has decided not to perform BSS switching, the connection via short-range wireless communication between the AP and the electronic device may be terminated by a disconnection frame or an authentication de-frame transmitted by the AP. The situation in which the electronic device decides not to perform BSS switching may refer to a situation in which there is no AP available to connect with the electronic device, or a situation in which it is difficult to perform appropriate short-range wireless communication with another AP. Because the electronic device can support BSS switching, the connection with the first AP may be terminated, and the quality of the service using short-range wireless communication performed by the electronic device may be degraded.

[0009] The technical problems to be solved in this document are not limited to those mentioned above, and other technical problems not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art to which this invention belongs from the description below.

[0010] An electronic device according to one embodiment may include a communication circuit that supports short-range wireless communication. The electronic device may include a memory that stores at least one computer program. The electronic device may include at least one processor. The at least one computer program may include an instruction that, when executed individually or collectively by the at least one processor, causes the electronic device to transmit to the first AP a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device supports a basic service set transition (BSS) while performing a procedure to connect the first AP and the electronic device. The instruction may, when executed individually or collectively by the at least one processor, cause the electronic device to receive a basic service set (BSS) transition management request frame from the first AP while the first AP and the electronic device are connected. When the above instruction is executed individually or collectively by the at least one processor, the electronic device may receive a disassociation frame or a deauthentication frame from the first AP after receiving the BSS transition management request frame. When the above instruction is executed individually or collectively by the at least one processor, the electronic device may transmit to the first AP a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device does not support the BSS transition while performing a procedure to reconnect the first AP and the electronic device.

[0011] In a recording medium storing at least one program comprising instructions that cause the electronic device to perform operations when executed individually or collectively by at least one processor of the electronic device, the instructions may cause the electronic device to transmit to the first AP a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device supports a basic service set transition in a procedure for connecting the first AP and the electronic device when executed. The instructions may cause the electronic device to receive a basic service set transition management request frame from the first AP when the first AP and the electronic device are connected when executed. The instructions may cause the electronic device to receive a disassociation frame or a deauthentication frame from the first AP when executed, after receiving the basic service set transition management request frame. The above instructions may cause the electronic device to transmit a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device does not support the BSS switching in a procedure to reconnect the electronic device with the first AP at execution.

[0012] A method of operation of an electronic device according to one example may include, in a procedure for connecting the first AP and the electronic device, an operation of transmitting to the first AP a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device supports a basic service set transition (BSS). A method of operation of the electronic device may include, while the first AP and the electronic device are connected, an operation of receiving a basic service set (BSS) transition management request frame from the first AP. A method of operation of the electronic device may include, after receiving the BSS transition management request frame, an operation of receiving a disassociation frame or a deauthentication frame from the first AP. A method of operation of the electronic device may include, in a procedure for reconnecting the first AP and the electronic device, an operation of transmitting to the first AP a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device does not support the BSS transition.

[0013] According to one embodiment, an electronic device and a method of operation of the electronic device may transmit information indicating that BSS switching is not supported when attempting to reconnect with the AP when the AP that transmitted the BSS switching request management frame transmits an authentication de-frame and / or a unconnection frame. The AP may recognize that the electronic device does not support BSS switching and, therefore, may not transmit the BSS switching management request frame to the electronic device, thereby reducing (or preventing) the degradation of the quality of service using the short-range wireless communication due to the disconnection of the short-range wireless communication.

[0014] An electronic device and a method of operation of the electronic device according to one embodiment may store information of an AP that has a problem related to BSS switching in memory. The electronic device checks whether information related to an AP attempting to connect is included in the information of the AP that has a problem related to BSS switching, and if it is included, it may transmit information indicating that BSS switching is not supported. The AP may recognize that the electronic device does not support BSS switching and, therefore, may not transmit a BSS switching management request frame to the electronic device, thereby reducing (or preventing) the degradation of the quality of service using short-range wireless communication due to the disconnection of short-range wireless communication.

[0015] The effects obtainable from the present invention are not limited to those mentioned above, and other unmentioned effects will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure belongs from the description below.

[0016] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an electronic device according to one embodiment.

[0017] FIG. 2 shows an example of a wireless LAN system according to one embodiment.

[0018] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a link setup operation according to one embodiment.

[0019] FIG. 4a is a diagram illustrating an example in which an electronic device according to one embodiment performs roaming from a first AP to a second AP when it supports BSS switching.

[0020] FIG. 4b is a diagram illustrating an example in which an electronic device according to one embodiment is disconnected from a first AP prior to performing a BSS switch.

[0021] FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an electronic device according to one embodiment.

[0022] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example in which an electronic device according to one embodiment identifies an AP in which a problem related to BSS switching has occurred.

[0023] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example in which an electronic device according to one embodiment identifies an AP in which a problem related to BSS switching has occurred.

[0024] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example in which an electronic device according to one embodiment identifies an AP in which a problem related to BSS switching has occurred.

[0025] FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example in which an electronic device according to one embodiment identifies an AP in which a problem related to BSS switching has occurred.

[0026] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example in which an electronic device according to one embodiment identifies an AP in which a problem related to BSS switching has occurred.

[0027] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example in which an electronic device according to one embodiment identifies an AP in which a problem related to BSS switching has occurred.

[0028] FIGS. 12a, FIGS. 12b, and FIGS. 12c illustrate an example in which an electronic device according to one embodiment provides a list including APs in which a problem related to BSS switching has occurred.

[0029] FIG. 13 is an operation flowchart illustrating the operation method of an electronic device according to one embodiment.

[0030] FIG. 14 is an operation flowchart illustrating the operation method of an electronic device according to one embodiment.

[0031] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary electronic device (100) capable of performing the operations described in this document.

[0032] Referring to FIG. 1, the electronic device (100) may be one of various forms of electronic devices, such as a notebook (190), smartphones (191) having various form factors (e.g., a bar-type smartphone (191-1), a foldable-type smartphone (191-2), or a sliderable (or rollable)-type smartphone (191-3)), a tablet (192), a cellular phone (not shown), and other similar computing devices (not shown). The components, their relationships, and their functions illustrated in FIG. 1 are illustrative only and are not intended to limit the implementations described or claimed herein. The electronic device (100) may be referred to as a mobile device, a user device, a multifunction device, a portable device, or a server.

[0033] The electronic device (100) may include components comprising at least one processor (110) (hereinafter referred to as processor (110)), at least one memory (120) (hereinafter referred to as memory (120)), at least one display (140) (hereinafter referred to as display (140)), at least one image sensor (150) (hereinafter referred to as image sensor (150)), at least one communication circuit (160) (hereinafter referred to as communication circuit (160)), and / or at least one sensor (170) (hereinafter referred to as sensor (170)). The components are merely exemplary. For example, the electronic device (100) may include other components (e.g., power management integrated circuitry (PMIC), audio processing circuit, antenna, rechargeable battery, or input / output interface). For example, some components may be omitted from the electronic device (100). For example, some components may be integrated into a single component.

[0034] The processor (110) may be implemented as one or more IC (integrated circuit (or circuitry)) chips and may perform various data processing operations. The processor (110) may include at least one electrical circuit and may process instructions (or programs, data, etc.) stored in memory (120) individually or collectively in a distributed manner. The processor (110) may include a processor assembly comprising one or more processing circuits. The processor (110) may include any processing circuit that is operative to control the performance and operations of one or more components of the electronic device (100) (e.g., memory (120), display (140), image sensor (150), communication circuit (160), and / or sensor (170)). For example, the processor (110) (e.g., application processor (AP)) may be implemented as a system on chip (SoC) (e.g., a single chip or chipset). For example, the processor (110) may be implemented with a plurality of cores (or at least one core circuit), a plurality of chips, or a plurality of chipsets. For example, the processor (110) may include one or more processing circuits. For example, the processor (110) may include one or more processing circuits configured to perform the various functions of the present disclosure individually and / or collectively. As an example without limitation, at least a portion of the processor (110) may be included in a first chip of the electronic device (100), and at least another portion of the processor (110) may be included in a second chip of the electronic device (100) different from the first chip of the electronic device (100).

[0035] For example, the processor (110) may include a central processing unit (111), a graphics processing unit (112), a neural processing unit (113), an image signal processor (114), a display controller (115), a memory controller (116), a storage controller (117), a communication processor (118), and / or a sensor interface (119). These components of the processor (110) are merely exemplary. For example, the processor (110) may include other components. For example, some components of the processor (110) may be omitted from the processor (110). For example, some components of the processor (110) may be included as separate components of the electronic device (100) outside of the processor (110). For example, some components of the processor (110) (e.g., memory controller (116)) may be included in other components (e.g., at least part of memory (120), an interface (e.g. available for connection to at least one component of the electronic device (100)), a display (140) and / or an image sensor (150)).

[0036] The processor (110) may cause other components of the electronic device (100) to perform various operations by executing instructions stored in memory (120). The CPU (111) (or central processing circuit) may be configured to control the components of the processor (110) based on the execution of instructions stored in memory (120) (e.g., volatile memory (121) and / or non-volatile memory (122)). The GPU (112) (or graphics processing circuit) may be configured to execute parallel operations (e.g., rendering). The NPU (113) (or neural processing circuit, or AI (artificial intelligence) chip) may be configured to execute operations for an artificial intelligence model (e.g., convolution computation). An ISP (114) (or image signal processing circuit) may be configured to process a raw image acquired through an image sensor (150) into a format suitable for a component within the electronic device (100) or a component of the processor (110). A display controller (115) (or display control circuit, or DPU (display processing unit)) may be configured to process an image acquired from a CPU (111), GPU (112), ISP (114), or memory (120) (e.g., volatile memory (121)) into a format suitable for a display (140). A memory controller (116) (or memory control circuit) may be configured to control reading data from the volatile memory (121) and writing data to the volatile memory (121). A storage controller (117) (or storage control circuit) may be configured to control reading data from the non-volatile memory (122) and writing data to the non-volatile memory (122).The CP (118) (communication processing circuit) may be configured to process data obtained from a component of the processor (110) into a format suitable for transmitting to another electronic device via the communication circuit (160), or to process data obtained from another electronic device via the communication circuit (160) into a format suitable for processing by the component of the processor (110). For example, the communication circuit (160) may include one or more communication circuits. The sensor interface (119) (or sensing data processing circuit, sensor hub) may be configured to process data regarding the state of the electronic device (100) and / or the state around the electronic device (100), obtained through the sensor (170), into a format suitable for the component of the processor (110).

[0037] Memory (120) may include one or more storage media (or one or more storage devices). For example, memory (120) may include a memory assembly comprising one or more storage media. For example, the one or more storage media may include a hard drive, a permanent memory such as flash memory, read-only memory (ROM) (e.g., non-volatile memory (122)), a semi-permanent memory such as random access memory (RAM) (e.g., volatile memory (121)), any other suitable type of storage (or storage assembly), or any combination thereof. Memory (120) may include a cache memory, which is one or more different types of memory used to temporarily store data for a function or feature of the electronic device (100). As an example not limited to, the cache memory may be included within the processor (110). The memory (120) may be fixedly embedded within the electronic device (100) or incorporated into one or more suitable types of components (e.g., a SIM (subscriber identity module) card and / or an SD (secure digital) card) that can be repeatedly inserted into and removed from the electronic device (100).

[0038] For example, memory (120) may store one or more software applications, such as operating system (or system) software applications, firmware software applications, driver software applications, plugin (e.g., add-in, add-on, and / or applet) software applications, and / or any other suitable software applications. For example, the one or more software applications may include instructions executable by the processor (110). For example, memory (120) may store instructions that can be called by an application programming interface (API). For example, memory (120) may store instructions within a library.

[0039] FIG. 2 shows an example of a wireless LAN system according to one embodiment.

[0040] Referring to FIG. 2, according to one embodiment, a wireless LAN system (20) may represent an infrastructure mode in which at least one access point (AP) and a station (STA) communicating through the AP exist in the structure of a wireless LAN (WLAN (wireless local area network)) of the IEEE (institute of electrical and electronic engineers) 802.11 standard. The wireless LAN system (20) may include one or more basic service sets (BSS) (e.g., BSS1 (210) and / or BSS2 (220)). A BSS (e.g., BSS1 (210) and / or BSS2 (220)) may mean a set of APs and STAs (e.g., electronic device (#00) of FIG. #) that can communicate with each other by successfully synchronizing. For example, BSS1 (210) includes AP1 (251) and STA1 (231), and BSS2 (220) may include two or more STAs (e.g., STA2 (233) and STA3 (235)) that can be combined to one AP2 (253).

[0041] According to one embodiment, a wireless LAN system (20) may include at least one STA (e.g., STA1 (231), STA2 (233), and / or STA3 (235)), at least one AP (e.g., AP1 (251) and / or AP2 (253)) providing access to a distribution system service, and / or a distribution system (200) connecting multiple APs (e.g., AP1 (251) and AP2 (253)). The distribution system (200) may refer to a network to which the APs (e.g., AP1 (251), AP2 (253)) are connected, generally a wired infrastructure. The distribution system (200) may implement an extended service set (ESS) by connecting at least one BSS (e.g., BSS1 (210) and / or BSS2 (220)). ESS may be used as a term to refer to a network formed by connecting one or more APs (e.g., AP1 (251) and / or AP2 (253)) through a distributed system (200). Multiple APs included in one ESS (e.g., AP1 (251) and AP2 (253)) may have the same service set identification (SSID).

[0042] According to one embodiment, a STA (e.g., STA1 (231), STA2 (233), and / or STA3 (235)) may be a logical entity comprising a medium access control (MAC) and a physical layer interface to the wireless medium that conforms to the provisions of the IEEE 802.11 standard. The term STA may be used to include both AP-STA and non-AP STA (non-AP station). However, for convenience of explanation in this specification, STA may refer to a non-AP STA and AP may refer to an AP-STA. STA (e.g., STA1 (231), STA2 (233), and / or STA3 (235)) may also be referred to by various names such as electronic device, mobile terminal, wireless device, wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU), user equipment (UE), mobile station (MS), mobile subscriber unit, or simply user, and may be included in these devices.

[0043] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a link setup operation according to one embodiment.

[0044] Referring to FIG. 3, according to one embodiment, a link setup operation may be performed between devices (e.g., STA (301), AP (4305)) to communicate with each other. For the link setup, network discovery, authentication, establishment of association, and security setup operations may be performed. The link setup operation may be referred to as a session initiation operation or a session setup operation. Additionally, the discovery, authentication, association, and security setup operations of the link setup operation may be collectively referred to as an association operation.

[0045] According to one embodiment, the network discovery operation may include operation 310 and operation 320. In operation 310, the STA (301) (e.g., the electronic device (100) of FIG. 1) may transmit a probe request frame to search for which AP exists and wait for a response to the probe request frame. The STA (301) may perform a scanning operation to access the network and find a network that can participate. For example, the probe request frame may include information of the STA (301) (e.g., the device name and / or address of the STA (301)). The scanning operation in operation 310 may mean an active scanning operation. In operation 320, the AP (305) may transmit a probe response frame to the STA (301) that transmitted the probe request frame as a response to the probe request frame. For example, the probe response frame may include information of the AP (305) (e.g., the device name and / or network information of the AP (305)). Although the network discovery operation in FIG. 3 is illustrated as being performed through active scanning, it is not necessarily limited thereto. For example, the network discovery operation may be performed through passive scanning. If the STA (301) performs passive scanning, the transmission operation of the probe request frame may be omitted. The STA (301) performing passive scanning may receive a beacon frame transmitted by the AP (305) and perform the following subsequent procedures. The beacon frame may be a frame that is periodically broadcast to announce the presence of the BSS managed by the AP (305). For example, the beacon frame may include information on at least one of a timestamp for the synchronization of at least one STA including the STA (301), a beacon interval and period, capability information, and an SSID.

[0046] According to one embodiment, after the STA (301) discovers a network, an authentication operation including operations 330 and 340 may be performed. In operation 330, the STA (301) may transmit an authentication request frame to the AP (301). In operation 340, the AP (305) may determine whether to allow authentication for the STA (301) based on the information contained in the authentication request frame. The AP (305) may provide the result of the authentication process to the STA (301) via an authentication response frame. The authentication frames used for the authentication request / response (e.g., authentication request frames and / or authentication response frames) may correspond to management frames.

[0047] According to one embodiment, the authentication frame may include information about an authentication algorithm number, an authentication transaction sequence number, a status code, a challenge text, a robust security network (RSN), and / or a finite cyclic group.

[0048] According to one embodiment, after the STA (301) is successfully authenticated, an association operation including operations 350 and 360 may be performed. In operation 350, the STA (301) may send an association request frame to the AP (305). In operation 360, the AP (305) may send an association response frame to the STA (301) in response to the association request frame.

[0049] According to one embodiment, the association request frame and / or association response frame may include information related to various capabilities. For example, the association request frame may include information related to various capabilities, a beacon listen interval, a service set identifier (SSID), supported rates, supported channels, an RSN, a mobility domain, supported operating classes, a traffic indication map broadcast request, and / or information regarding interworking service capabilities. For example, the association response frame may include information related to various capabilities, such as a status code, an association ID (AID), supported rates, an enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) parameter set, a received channel power indicator (RCPI), a received signal to noise indicator (RSNI), a mobility domain, a timeout interval (association comeback time), overlapping BSS scan parameters, a TIM broadcast response, and / or a QoS map.

[0050] According to one embodiment, after the STA (301) is successfully joined to the network, a security setup operation including operations 370 and 380 may be performed. The security setup operation may be performed via a robust security network association (RSNA) request / response. For example, the security setup operation may include a private key setup operation via a 4-way handshake through an extensible authentication protocol over LAN (EAPOL) frame. The security setup operation may also be performed according to a security method not defined in the IEEE 802.11 standard.

[0051] According to one embodiment, a secure session is established between the STA (301) and the AP (305) according to a security setup operation, and the STA (301) and the AP (305) can conduct secure data communication.

[0052] FIG. 4a is a diagram illustrating an example in which an electronic device according to one embodiment performs roaming from a first AP to a second AP when it supports BSS switching.

[0053] An electronic device (100) (e.g., electronic device (100) of FIG. 1, STA1 (231) of FIG. 2, STA (301) of FIG. 3)) can transmit a BSS switching management inquiry frame to a first AP (401) (e.g., AP1 (251) of FIG. 2, AP (305) of FIG. 3) in operation 410.

[0054] The electronic device (100) may be included in a BSS (e.g., BSS1 (210) of FIG. 2) that includes a first AP (401), and the electronic device (100) may perform the role of a STA as defined in IEEE 802.11. The electronic device (100) may transmit data to the outside and / or receive data from the outside via short-range wireless communication (e.g., Wi-Fi) provided by the first AP (401).

[0055] The electronic device (100) can discover the first AP (401) to perform short-range wireless communication provided by the first AP (401), perform authentication with the first AP (401), and perform coupling with the first AP (401).

[0056] After the electronic device (100) is combined with the first AP (401), it can transmit a BSS switching management inquiry frame to the first AP (401).

[0057] A basic service set transition (BSS transition) may refer to an electronic device (100) roaming (or moving) from a currently included BSS (e.g., BSS1 (210)) to another BSS (e.g., BSS2 (220) of FIG. 2). After performing the BSS transition, the electronic device (100) may disconnect from the first AP (401) and establish a connection with the second AP (402).

[0058] The BSS transition management inquiry frame may refer to a frame inquiring whether the first AP (401) supports BSS transition, and may be transmitted to the first AP (401) when the electronic device (100) attempts BSS transition. Transmission of the BSS transition management inquiry frame is not an essential configuration and may be omitted in this operation.

[0059] The first AP (401) can transmit a BSS transition management request frame to the electronic device (100) in operation 420. The first AP (401) can transmit the BSS transition management request frame to the electronic device (100) via short-range wireless communication, and the BSS transition management request frame may refer to a frame requesting a BSS transition of the electronic device (100).

[0060] The BSS transition management request frame may include at least one of the following: information related to another BSS obtained by the first AP (401), information indicating whether to disassociate the electronic device (100) through short-range wireless communication, and information indicating the time at which the disassociation is performed when the electronic device (100) is disassociated through short-range wireless communication.

[0061] According to one example, an electronic device (100) that receives a BSS transition management request frame can search for an AP to perform roaming (e.g., a second AP (402)) based on information related to another BSS included in the BSS transition management request frame, and can determine whether to perform a BSS transition.

[0062] According to another example, an electronic device (100) that has received a BSS transition management request frame can search for APs existing around the electronic device (100) regardless of the reception of information related to other BSSs, and can decide whether to perform a BSS transition based on the search results.

[0063] The electronic device (100) can transmit a BSS switching management response frame to the first AP (401) in operation 430.

[0064] A BSS transition management response frame may be transmitted upon receipt of a BSS transition request frame and may include information indicating whether to perform a BSS transition.

[0065] According to one example, if the electronic device (100) determines a BSS transition, it may transmit a BSS transition management response frame to the first AP (401) containing information indicating the BSS transition and / or information related to the BSS to be connected (or information of the second AP (402) constituting the BSS).

[0066] According to one example, if the electronic device (100) decides not to perform a BSS transition, it may transmit a BSS transition management response frame containing information instructing not to perform a BSS transition to the first AP (401).

[0067] Transmission of the BSS transition management response frame is not mandatory, and if the electronic device (100) decides to perform a BSS transition, it may transmit the BSS transition management response frame to the first AP (401). If the electronic device (100) decides not to perform a BSS transition, it may not transmit the BSS transition management response frame to the first AP (401).

[0068] The electronic device (100) can establish a connection with the second AP (402) in operation 440. The electronic device (100) can perform authentication with the second AP (402) and perform coupling with the second AP (402) in order to perform short-range wireless communication provided by the second AP (402).

[0069] The first AP (401) that supports BSS switching through the method described above can distribute traffic concentrated on the first AP (401) to other APs (e.g., the second AP (402)), thereby improving the speed (or performance, quality) of the short-range wireless communication provided by the first AP (401).

[0070] FIG. 4b is a diagram illustrating an example in which an electronic device according to one embodiment is disconnected from a first AP prior to performing a BSS switch.

[0071] The first AP (401) (e.g., AP1 (251) of FIG. 2, AP (305) of FIG. 3) can transmit a BSS switching management request frame to an electronic device (100) (e.g., electronic device (100) of FIG. 1, STA1 (231) of FIG. 2, STA (301) of FIG. 3) in operation 450. The first AP (401) can transmit the BSS switching management request frame to the electronic device (100) via short-range wireless communication, and the BSS switching management request frame may refer to a frame requesting a BSS switching of the electronic device (100).

[0072] The BSS transition management request frame may include at least one of the following: information related to another BSS obtained by the first AP (401), information indicating whether to disassociate the electronic device (100) through short-range wireless communication, and information indicating the time at which the disassociation is performed when the electronic device (100) is disassociated through short-range wireless communication.

[0073] According to one example, an electronic device (100) that receives a BSS transition management request frame can search for an AP to perform roaming (e.g., a second AP (402)) based on information related to another BSS included in the BSS transition management request frame, and can determine whether to perform a BSS transition.

[0074] According to another example, an electronic device (100) that has received a BSS transition management request frame can search for APs existing around the electronic device (100) regardless of the reception of information related to other BSSs, and can decide whether to perform a BSS transition based on the search results.

[0075] The electronic device (100) can transmit a BSS switching management response frame to the first AP (401) in operation 460.

[0076] A BSS transition management response frame may be transmitted upon receipt of a BSS transition request frame and may include information indicating whether to perform a BSS transition.

[0077] According to one example, if the electronic device (100) determines a BSS transition, it may transmit a BSS transition management response frame to the first AP (401) containing information indicating the BSS transition and / or information related to the BSS to be connected (or information of the second AP (402) constituting the BSS).

[0078] According to one example, if the electronic device (100) decides not to perform a BSS transition, it may transmit a BSS transition management response frame containing information instructing not to perform a BSS transition to the first AP (401).

[0079] Transmission of the BSS transition management response frame is not mandatory, and if the electronic device (100) decides not to perform a BSS transition, it may not transmit the BSS transition management response frame to the first AP (401) (operation 460 may be omitted).

[0080] The first AP (401) can transmit a disassociation frame to the electronic device (100) in operation, 470.

[0081] The first AP (401) may disconnect the connection via short-range wireless communication between the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100) due to various causes. According to one example, the first AP (401) may disconnect the connection via short-range wireless communication between the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100) in a situation where the load of the first AP (401) (e.g., data that the first AP (401) must transmit to STAs included in the BSS containing the first AP (401) or data received from STAs included in the BSS containing the first AP (401)) is too great or the channel utilization of at least one link established by the first AP (401) is too great.

[0082] According to one example, the first AP (401) may disconnect the connection via short-range wireless communication between the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100) if it does not receive a BSS switching management response frame. According to another example, the first AP (401) may disconnect the connection via short-range wireless communication between the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100) even if it receives a BSS switching management response frame.

[0083] The first AP (401) transmitting a disengagement frame to the electronic device (100) may be for disengaging the connection via short-range wireless communication between the first AP (4010) and the electronic device (100). The first AP (401) may also disengage the connection via short-range wireless communication between the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100) by transmitting an authentication disengagement frame to the electronic device (100) instead of a disengagement frame.

[0084] The first AP (401) may transmit the uncombined frame or unauthenticated frame only to STAs that support BSS switching (e.g., electronic device (100)) when transmitting the uncombined frame or unauthenticated frame. The first AP (401) may not transmit the uncombined frame or unauthenticated frame to STAs that do not support BSS switching.

[0085] The electronic device (100) can disconnect the connection with the first AP (401) via short-range wireless communication upon receiving a disconnection frame in operation 480.

[0086] Referring to the example described above, the electronic device (100) has decided not to perform BSS switching, but the connection via short-range wireless communication between the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100) may be disconnected by a disconnection frame or an authentication release frame transmitted by the first AP (401). The situation in which the electronic device (100) decides not to perform BSS switching may refer to a situation in which there is no AP capable of connecting to the electronic device (100) other than the first AP (401), or a situation in which it is difficult to perform appropriate short-range wireless communication with other APs. Since the electronic device (100) can support BSS switching, the connection with the first AP (401) may be disconnected, and the quality of the service using short-range wireless communication performed by the electronic device (100) may be degraded.

[0087] Below, examples of preventing the phenomenon described above are described by transmitting a signal to the first AP (401) indicating that the electronic device (100) does not support BSS switching as the specified condition is satisfied.

[0088] FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an electronic device according to one embodiment.

[0089] According to one embodiment, an electronic device (e.g., the electronic device (100) of FIG. 1) may include a communication circuit (510) (e.g., the communication circuit (160) of FIG. 1), a processor (520) (e.g., the processor (110) of FIG. 1) and / or a memory (530) (e.g., the memory (120) of FIG. 1).

[0090] The communication circuit (510) may be a communication circuit that supports short-range wireless communication. The short-range wireless communication may include various short-range wireless communications that the electronic device (100) can support. For example, the short-range wireless communication may be Wi-Fi.

[0091] The communication circuit (510) may include various circuit structures used for modulating and / or demodulating a signal within the electronic device (100). For example, the communication circuit (510) may modulate a baseband signal into a radio frequency (RF) band signal to output it through an antenna (not shown), or demodulate an RF band signal received through the antenna into a baseband signal and transmit it to a processor (520).

[0092] A processor (520) may be electrically or operationally connected to a communication circuit (510) to control the communication circuit (510). The processor (520) may include at least one processor, and at least one processor may perform the following operations individually or collectively. The processor (520) may be the processor (110) shown in FIG. 1. Alternatively, the processor (520) may be a processor implemented inside the communication circuit (510), and if the processor (520) is implemented inside the communication circuit (510), it may be referred to as a core.

[0093] The memory (530) can store instructions that can be executed by the processor (520). The operation of the processor (520) described below can be performed according to the execution of the instructions stored in the memory (530).

[0094] The processor (520) can control the communication circuit (510) to search for an AP capable of providing short-range wireless communication in order to perform short-range wireless communication. The processor (520) can control the communication circuit (510) to broadcast a probe request message in order to search for an AP. The probe request message may include information about the electronic device (100). According to one example, the probe request message may include various identification information (e.g., MAC address) that can distinguish the electronic device (100) from other electronic devices, and performance information related to the short-range wireless communication of the electronic device (100). When the first AP (e.g., the first AP (401) of FIG. 4a) receives the probe request message, it may transmit a probe response message corresponding to the probe request message to the electronic device (100). When the processor (520) receives the probe response message, it may successfully search for the first AP (401).

[0095] According to another example, the processor (520) can successfully locate the first AP (401) by receiving a beacon signal broadcast by the first AP (401).

[0096] The processor (520) can perform a connection procedure with the discovered first AP (401) via short-range wireless communication. As described in FIG. 3, the processor (520) can perform an authentication procedure with the discovered first AP (401), a coupling procedure with the first AP (401), and / or a security setup procedure with the first AP (401).

[0097] The processor (520) may transmit information indicating whether the electronic device (100) supports BSS switching to the first AP (401) via short-range wireless communication during a coupling procedure with the first AP (401) (or a procedure for connecting the electronic device (100) and the first AP (401). The electronic device (100) may support BSS switching and may transmit information indicating that it supports BSS switching to the first AP (401).

[0098] A basic service set transition (BSS transition) may refer to an electronic device (100) roaming (or moving) from a currently included BSS (e.g., BSS1 (210)) to another BSS (e.g., BSS2 (220) of FIG. 2). After performing the BSS transition, the electronic device (100) may disconnect from the first AP (401) and establish a connection with the second AP (402).

[0099] The processor (520) can transmit a frame containing information indicating support for BSS switching to the first AP (401), and the processor (520) can transmit an association request frame containing information indicating support for BSS switching to the first AP (401).

[0100] The first AP (401) receives a frame containing information indicating that it supports BSS switching in a procedure (or, combination procedure) connecting the electronic device (100) and the first AP (401), and can confirm that the electronic device (100) supports BSS switching.

[0101] The processor (520) can control the communication circuit (510) to transmit and / or receive data via short-range wireless communication provided by the first AP (401) as the connection between the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100) is completed.

[0102] The processor (520) can receive a BSS switching management request frame from the first AP (401) while the electronic device (100) is connected to the first AP (401).

[0103] The BSS transition management request frame may refer to a frame requesting a BSS transition of the electronic device (100).

[0104] The BSS transition management request frame may include at least one of the following: information related to another BSS obtained by the first AP (401), information indicating whether to disassociate the electronic device (100) through short-range wireless communication, and information indicating the time at which the disassociation is performed when the electronic device (100) is disassociated through short-range wireless communication.

[0105] The first AP (401) may transmit a BSS switching management request frame to the electronic device (100) for various reasons. According to one example, the first AP (401) may transmit a BSS switching management request frame to the electronic device (100) to disconnect the connection via short-range wireless communication between the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100) in a situation where the load of the first AP (401) (e.g., data that the first AP (401) needs to transmit to STAs included in the BSS that includes the first AP (401) or data received from STAs included in the BSS that includes the first AP (401)) is too large or the channel utilization of at least one link established by the first AP (401) is too large. The first AP (401) may send a BSS transition management request frame to at least one STA that supports BSS transition (e.g., electronic device (100)), and may not send a BSS transition management request frame to STAs that do not support BSS transition.

[0106] The processor (520) receives a BSS transition management request frame and can determine whether to perform a BSS transition.

[0107] According to one example, the processor (520) can discover an AP to perform roaming (e.g., a second AP (402)) based on information related to another BSS included in a BSS transition management request frame, and can determine whether to perform a BSS transition.

[0108] According to another example, the processor (520) can search for APs present around the electronic device (100) regardless of receiving information related to other BSSs, and can determine whether to perform a BSS transition based on the search results.

[0109] The processor (520) may decide to perform a BSS switch if it succeeds in searching for another AP other than the first AP and the performance of the short-range wireless communication provided by the other AP satisfies specified conditions.

[0110] The processor (520) may decide not to perform a BSS transition if it fails to search for other APs other than the first AP.

[0111] The processor (520) may decide not to perform BSS switching if it succeeds in searching for other APs other than the first AP, but the performance of the short-range wireless communication provided by the other AP does not satisfy the specified conditions.

[0112] If the processor (520) decides not to perform a BSS transition, it may transmit a BSS transition management response frame containing information instructing not to perform a BSS transition to the first AP (401). Alternatively, if the processor (520) decides not to perform a BSS transition, it may refrain from transmitting a BSS transition management response frame to the first AP (401).

[0113] However, the first AP (401) may disconnect the connection via short-range wireless communication between the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100) due to various causes. According to one example, the first AP (401) may disconnect the connection via short-range wireless communication between the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100) when the load of the first AP (401) (e.g., data that the first AP (401) must transmit to STAs included in the BSS containing the first AP (401) or data received from STAs included in the BSS containing the first AP (401)) is too large or when the channel utilization of at least one link established by the first AP (401) is too large.

[0114] According to one example, the first AP (401) may disconnect the connection via near-field wireless communication between the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100) if it does not receive a BSS transition management response frame. According to another example, the first AP (401) may disconnect the connection via near-field wireless communication between the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100) even if it receives a BSS transition management response frame. To disconnect the connection via near-field wireless communication, the first AP (401) may transmit a disassociation frame and / or a deauthentication frame to the electronic device (100).

[0115] After receiving the BSS transition management request frame, the processor (520) may receive a disassociation frame and / or a deauthentication frame from the first AP (401).

[0116] After receiving a BSS transition management request frame and transmitting a BSS transition management response frame, the processor (520) may receive a disassociation frame and / or a deauthentication frame from the first AP (401).

[0117] The processor (520) can receive a disassociation frame and / or a deauthentication frame from the first AP (401) even if it does not transmit a BSS transition management response frame after receiving a BSS transition management request frame.

[0118] When the processor (520) receives a disassociation frame and / or a deauthentication frame from the first AP (401), the connection via short-range wireless communication between the electronic device (100) and the first AP (401) may be disconnected.

[0119] The processor (520) may perform a procedure to reconnect the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100) after the connection via near-field wireless communication between the electronic device (100) and the first AP (401) is disconnected. While performing the procedure to reconnect the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100), the processor (520) may control the communication circuit (510) to transmit a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device (100) does not support BSS switching to the first AP (401) via near-field wireless communication. The processor (520) may control the communication circuit (510) to transmit a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device (100) does not support BSS switching to the first AP (401) via near-field wireless communication, based on confirming that it previously received a disengagement frame and / or de-authentication frame associated with a BSS switching management request frame from the first AP (401).

[0120] The first AP (401) is a STA that does not support BSS switching and may not transmit a BSS switching management request frame, and the electronic device (100) may not receive a BSS switching management request frame from the first AP (401). Even if the electronic device (100) supports BSS switching, it may prevent the phenomenon caused by the first AP (401) transmitting a BSS switching management request frame by transmitting a frame containing information indicating that it does not support BSS switching to the first AP (401).

[0121] The processor (520) may transmit a frame containing information indicating that BSS switching is not supported to the first AP (401) in other examples besides the example described above (an example in which the first AP (401) transmits a unlink frame or an authentication unlink frame).

[0122] The processor (520) may determine whether to perform a BSS transition upon receiving a BSS transition management request frame, and may decide to perform a BSS transition. According to one example, the processor (520) may decide to transition from a BSS containing a first AP (401) (e.g., BSS1 (210) of FIG. 2) to a BSS containing a second AP (402) (e.g., BSS2 (220) of FIG. 2).

[0123] The processor (520) can, upon deciding to switch from the BSS (210) containing the first AP (401) to the BSS (220) containing the second AP (402), disconnect the connection via short-range wireless communication between the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100), and establish a connection via short-range wireless communication between the second AP (402) and the electronic device (100).

[0124] The processor (520) can perform a connection procedure with the second AP (402) via short-range wireless communication. As described in FIG. 3, the processor (520) can perform an authentication procedure with the second AP (402), a coupling procedure with the second AP (402), and / or a security setup procedure with the second AP (402). The processor (520) can complete the procedures described above and request an IP address assignment from the second AP (402). However, the second AP (402) may not be able to assign an IP address to the electronic device (100) due to various causes, and the electronic device (100) that has not received an IP address assignment may not be able to perform a connection via short-range wireless communication provided by the second AP (402).

[0125] The processor (520) may fail to connect with the second AP (402) if it does not receive an IP address assignment. The processor (520) may perform a procedure to reconnect the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100) if it does not receive an IP address assignment. While performing the procedure to reconnect the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100), the processor (520) may control the communication circuit (510) to transmit a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device (100) does not support BSS switching to the first AP (401) via short-range wireless communication. The first AP (401) may not transmit a BSS switching management request frame as it is a STA that does not support BSS switching, and the electronic device (100) may not receive a BSS switching management request frame from the first AP (401). The electronic device (100) can prevent the phenomenon that occurs when the first AP (401) transmits a BSS transition management request frame by transmitting a frame containing information indicating that it does not support BSS transition, even if it supports BSS transition.

[0126] The processor (520) may determine whether to perform a BSS transition upon receiving a BSS transition management request frame, and may decide to perform a BSS transition. According to one example, the processor (520) may decide to transition from a BSS containing a first AP (401) (e.g., BSS1 (210) of FIG. 2) to a BSS containing a second AP (402) (e.g., BSS2 (220) of FIG. 2).

[0127] The processor (520) can, upon deciding to switch from the BSS (210) containing the first AP (401) to the BSS (220) containing the second AP (402), disconnect the connection via short-range wireless communication between the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100), and establish a connection via short-range wireless communication between the second AP (402) and the electronic device (100).

[0128] The processor (520) completes the connection procedure with the second AP (402) via short-range wireless communication and can transmit and / or receive data via the short-range wireless communication provided by the second AP (402). However, the processor (520) may disconnect the connection with the second AP (402) if the quality of the signal transmitted by the second AP (402) (e.g., RSSI, RSRP) is below (or less than) a specified value, if the channel utilization of the channel established by the second AP (402) is above (or greater than) a specified value, or if the throughput of the data using the second AP (402) cannot satisfy the quality required by the service performed by the electronic device (100).

[0129] The processor (520) can perform a reconnection procedure with the first AP (401) as it disconnects from the second AP (402). The processor (520) can receive a BSS transition management request frame again from the first AP (401) in a situation where it can transmit and / or receive data via the short-range wireless communication provided by the first AP (401). The processor (520) can perform a BSS transition again as it receives the BSS transition management request frame from the first AP (401). The above-described situation may be performed repeatedly, and the processor (520) can control the communication circuit (510) to transmit a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device (100) does not support a BSS transition to the first AP (401) via short-range wireless communication while performing the procedure to reconnect the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100). The first AP (401) is a STA that does not support BSS switching and may not transmit a BSS switching management request frame, and the electronic device (100) may not receive a BSS switching management request frame from the first AP (401). Even if the electronic device (100) supports BSS switching, it may prevent the phenomenon caused by the first AP (401) transmitting a BSS switching management request frame by transmitting a frame containing information indicating that it does not support BSS switching to the first AP (401).

[0130] The processor (520) may determine whether to perform a BSS transition upon receiving a BSS transition management request frame, and may decide to perform a BSS transition. According to one example, the processor (520) may decide to transition from a BSS containing a first AP (401) (e.g., BSS1 (210) of FIG. 2) to a BSS containing a second AP (402) (e.g., BSS2 (220) of FIG. 2).

[0131] The processor (520) can, upon deciding to switch from the BSS (210) containing the first AP (401) to the BSS (220) containing the second AP (402), disconnect the connection via short-range wireless communication between the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100), and establish a connection via short-range wireless communication between the second AP (402) and the electronic device (100).

[0132] The processor (520) completes the connection procedure with the second AP (402) via short-range wireless communication and can transmit and / or receive data via the short-range wireless communication provided by the second AP (402). However, the processor (520) can disconnect the connection with the second AP (402) as the second AP (402) transmits a signal (e.g., an authentication de-frame and / or a de-coupled frame) to disconnect the connection between the electronic device (100) and the second AP (402).

[0133] The processor (520) can perform a reconnection procedure with the first AP (401) as it disconnects from the second AP (402). The processor (520) can receive a BSS transition management request frame again from the first AP (401) in a situation where it can transmit and / or receive data via the short-range wireless communication provided by the first AP (401). The processor (520) can perform a BSS transition again as it receives the BSS transition management request frame from the first AP (401). The above-described situation may be performed repeatedly, and the processor (520) can control the communication circuit (510) to transmit a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device (100) does not support a BSS transition to the first AP (401) via short-range wireless communication while performing the procedure to reconnect the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100). The first AP (401) is a STA that does not support BSS switching and may not transmit a BSS switching management request frame, and the electronic device (100) may not receive a BSS switching management request frame from the first AP (401). Even if the electronic device (100) supports BSS switching, it may prevent the phenomenon caused by the first AP (401) transmitting a BSS switching management request frame by transmitting a frame containing information indicating that it does not support BSS switching to the first AP (401).

[0134] The processor (520) may store information related to an AP that has a problem with the BSS switching management described above in memory (530). The processor (520) may store information related to at least one AP among the APs that transmitted the BSS switching management request frame that caused a situation in which the short-range wireless communication of the electronic device (100) is released or the quality of the short-range wireless communication is degraded in memory (530).

[0135] The processor (520) may store information related to an AP that has a problem with BSS transition management in the form of a list in memory (530). According to one example, the information related to an AP that has a problem with BSS transition management may include at least one of the AP identification information received during the connection procedure with the AP (e.g., SSID (service set identification), BSSID (basic service set identification), OUI (Organizationally Unique Identifier))) and an information element (IE) (e.g., VSIE (vendor specific information element)) included in a frame transmitted by the AP.

[0136] The processor (520) receives information related to the AP to be connected and can check whether the received information is included in the information related to the AP that has a problem in relation to the BSS switching management stored in memory (530).

[0137] The processor (520) can control the communication circuit (510) to transmit a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device (100) does not support BSS switching to the AP to be connected via short-range wireless communication, as the processor confirms that the received information is included in the information related to the AP that has a problem with BSS switching management stored in memory (530).

[0138] According to one example, the processor (520) can control the communication circuit (510) to transmit a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device (100) does not support BSS switching to the AP to be connected via short-range wireless communication, based on confirming that the SSID received from the AP to be connected is included in the information related to the AP that has a problem with BSS switching management stored in memory (530).

[0139] According to one example, the processor (520) can control the communication circuit (510) to transmit a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device (100) does not support BSS switching to the AP to be connected via short-range wireless communication, based on confirming that the BSSID received from the AP to be connected is included in the information related to the AP that has a problem with BSS switching management stored in memory (530).

[0140] According to one example, the processor (520) can control the communication circuit (510) to transmit a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device (100) does not support BSS switching to the AP to be connected via short-range wireless communication, based on confirming that the OUI received from the AP to be connected contains information related to the AP that has a problem with BSS switching management stored in memory (530).

[0141] According to one example, the processor (520) can control the communication circuit (510) to transmit a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device (100) does not support BSS switching to the AP to be connected via short-range wireless communication, based on confirming that the VSIE received from the AP to be connected contains information related to the AP that has a problem with BSS switching management stored in memory (530).

[0142] The AP to be connected is a STA that does not support BSS switching and may not transmit a BSS switching management request frame, and the electronic device (100) may not receive a BSS switching management request frame from the AP to be connected. Even if the electronic device (100) supports BSS switching, it may prevent the phenomenon caused by the AP to be connected transmitting a BSS switching management request frame by transmitting a frame containing information indicating that the AP does not support BSS switching to the AP to be connected.

[0143] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example in which an electronic device according to one embodiment identifies an AP in which a problem related to BSS switching has occurred.

[0144] The first AP (e.g., the first AP (401) of FIG. 4a) can transmit a BSS switching management request frame to an electronic device (e.g., the electronic device (100) of FIG. 5) in operation 610.

[0145] The electronic device (100) can perform a connection procedure with the discovered first AP (401) via short-range wireless communication. As described in FIG. 3, the electronic device (100) can perform an authentication procedure with the discovered first AP (401), a coupling procedure with the first AP (401), and / or a security setup procedure with the first AP (401).

[0146] The electronic device (100) may transmit information indicating whether the electronic device (100) supports BSS switching to the first AP (401) via short-range wireless communication during a coupling procedure with the first AP (401) (or a procedure for connecting the electronic device (100) and the first AP (401). The electronic device (100) may support BSS switching and may transmit information indicating that it supports BSS switching to the first AP (401).

[0147] A basic service set transition (BSS transition) may refer to an electronic device (100) roaming (or moving) from a currently included BSS (e.g., BSS1 (210)) to another BSS (e.g., BSS2 (220) of FIG. 2). After performing the BSS transition, the electronic device (100) may disconnect from the first AP (401) and establish a connection with the second AP (402).

[0148] The electronic device (100) can transmit a frame containing information indicating support for BSS switching to the first AP (401), and the electronic device (100) can transmit an association request frame containing information indicating support for BSS switching to the first AP (401).

[0149] The first AP (401) receives a frame containing information indicating that it supports BSS switching in a procedure (or, combination procedure) connecting the electronic device (100) and the first AP (401), and can confirm that the electronic device (100) supports BSS switching.

[0150] The electronic device (100) can control the communication circuit (510) to transmit and / or receive data through short-range wireless communication provided by the first AP (401) as the connection between the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100) is completed.

[0151] The electronic device (100) can receive a BSS switching management request frame from the first AP (401) while the electronic device (100) is connected to the first AP (401).

[0152] The BSS transition management request frame may refer to a frame requesting a BSS transition of the electronic device (100).

[0153] The BSS transition management request frame may include at least one of the following: information related to another BSS obtained by the first AP (401), information indicating whether to disassociate the electronic device (100) through short-range wireless communication, and information indicating the time at which the disassociation is performed when the electronic device (100) is disassociated through short-range wireless communication.

[0154] The first AP (401) may transmit a BSS switching management request frame to the electronic device (100) for various reasons. According to one example, the first AP (401) may transmit a BSS switching management request frame to the electronic device (100) to disconnect the connection via short-range wireless communication between the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100) in a situation where the load of the first AP (401) (e.g., data that the first AP (401) needs to transmit to STAs included in the BSS that includes the first AP (401) or data received from STAs included in the BSS that includes the first AP (401)) is too large or the channel utilization of at least one link established by the first AP (401) is too large. The first AP (401) may send a BSS transition management request frame to at least one STA that supports BSS transition (e.g., electronic device (100)), and may not send a BSS transition management request frame to STAs that do not support BSS transition.

[0155] The electronic device (100) can receive a BSS transition management request frame and determine whether to perform a BSS transition.

[0156] The electronic device (100) may decide to perform a BSS switch if it succeeds in finding a second AP (402) excluding the first AP and the performance of the short-range wireless communication provided by the other AP satisfies specified conditions.

[0157] The electronic device (e.g., the electronic device (100) of FIG. 5) and the second AP (e.g., the second AP (402) of FIG. 4a) can perform authentication and coupling procedures in operation 620.

[0158] The electronic device (100) can disconnect the connection via short-range wireless communication between the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100) and establish a connection via short-range wireless communication between the second AP (402) and the electronic device (100) as it decides to switch from the BSS (210) containing the first AP (401) to the BSS (220) containing the second AP (402).

[0159] The electronic device (100) can perform a connection procedure with the second AP (402) via short-range wireless communication. As described in FIG. 3, the electronic device (100) can perform an authentication procedure with the second AP (402), a coupling procedure with the second AP (402), and / or a security setup procedure with the second AP (402).

[0160] The electronic device (100) can request an IP address assignment from the second AP (402) in operation 630.

[0161] The electronic device (100) may complete the procedure described above and request an IP address allocation from the second AP (402). However, the second AP (402) may not be able to allocate an IP address to the electronic device (100) due to various reasons, and the electronic device (100) that has not received an IP address allocation may not be able to perform a connection through the short-range wireless communication provided by the second AP (402).

[0162] The electronic device (100) may fail to connect with the second AP (402) if it does not receive an IP address assignment.

[0163] The electronic device (100) may store information related to the first AP (401) in memory (530). The electronic device (100) may store information related to at least one AP in memory (530) that caused a situation in which the short-range wireless communication of the electronic device (100) was released or the quality of the short-range wireless communication was degraded among the APs that transmitted the BSS transition management request frame. The electronic device (100) may store information related to the AP that has a problem with BSS transition management in the form of a list in memory (530). According to one example, information related to the AP that has a problem with BSS transition management may include at least one of the AP identification information (e.g., SSID (service set identification), BSSID (basic service set identification), OUI (Organizationally Unique Identifier)) received in the connection procedure with the AP) and an information element (IE) (e.g., VSIE (vendor specific information element)) included in the frame transmitted by the AP.

[0164] If the electronic device (100) has not received an IP address allocation, it may perform a procedure to reconnect the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100). The electronic device (100) may receive information related to the first AP (401) from the first AP (401), and based on confirming that the information related to the first AP (401) is included in the information related to the AP that has a problem with BSS switching management, while performing the procedure to reconnect the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100), control the communication circuit (510) to transmit a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device (100) does not support BSS switching to the first AP (401) via short-range wireless communication. The first AP (401) is a STA that does not support BSS switching and may not transmit a BSS switching management request frame, and the electronic device (100) may not receive a BSS switching management request frame from the first AP (401). Even if the electronic device (100) supports BSS switching, it may prevent the phenomenon caused by the first AP (401) transmitting a BSS switching management request frame by transmitting a frame containing information indicating that it does not support BSS switching to the first AP (401).

[0165] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example in which an electronic device according to one embodiment identifies an AP in which a problem related to BSS switching has occurred.

[0166] The first AP (e.g., the first AP (401) of FIG. 4a) can transmit a BSS switching management request frame to an electronic device (e.g., the electronic device (100) of FIG. 5) in operation 710.

[0167] The electronic device (100) can perform a connection procedure with the discovered first AP (401) via short-range wireless communication. As described in FIG. 3, the electronic device (100) can perform an authentication procedure with the discovered first AP (401), a coupling procedure with the first AP (401), and / or a security setup procedure with the first AP (401).

[0168] The electronic device (100) may transmit information indicating whether the electronic device (100) supports BSS switching to the first AP (401) via short-range wireless communication during a coupling procedure with the first AP (401) (or a procedure for connecting the electronic device (100) and the first AP (401). The electronic device (100) may support BSS switching and may transmit information indicating that it supports BSS switching to the first AP (401).

[0169] A basic service set transition (BSS transition) may refer to an electronic device (100) roaming (or moving) from a currently included BSS (e.g., BSS1 (210)) to another BSS (e.g., BSS2 (220) of FIG. 2). After performing the BSS transition, the electronic device (100) may disconnect from the first AP (401) and establish a connection with the second AP (402).

[0170] The electronic device (100) can transmit a frame containing information indicating support for BSS switching to the first AP (401), and the electronic device (100) can transmit an association request frame containing information indicating support for BSS switching to the first AP (401).

[0171] The first AP (401) receives a frame containing information indicating that it supports BSS switching in a procedure (or, combination procedure) connecting the electronic device (100) and the first AP (401), and can confirm that the electronic device (100) supports BSS switching.

[0172] The electronic device (100) can control the communication circuit (510) to transmit and / or receive data through short-range wireless communication provided by the first AP (401) as the connection between the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100) is completed.

[0173] The electronic device (100) can receive a BSS switching management request frame from the first AP (401) while the electronic device (100) is connected to the first AP (401).

[0174] The BSS transition management request frame may refer to a frame requesting a BSS transition of the electronic device (100).

[0175] The BSS transition management request frame may include at least one of the following: information related to another BSS obtained by the first AP (401), information indicating whether to disassociate the electronic device (100) through short-range wireless communication, and information indicating the time at which the disassociation is performed when the electronic device (100) is disassociated through short-range wireless communication.

[0176] The first AP (401) may transmit a BSS switching management request frame to the electronic device (100) for various reasons. According to one example, the first AP (401) may transmit a BSS switching management request frame to the electronic device (100) to disconnect the connection via short-range wireless communication between the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100) in a situation where the load of the first AP (401) (e.g., data that the first AP (401) needs to transmit to STAs included in the BSS that includes the first AP (401) or data received from STAs included in the BSS that includes the first AP (401)) is too large or the channel utilization of at least one link established by the first AP (401) is too large. The first AP (401) may send a BSS transition management request frame to at least one STA that supports BSS transition (e.g., electronic device (100)), and may not send a BSS transition management request frame to STAs that do not support BSS transition.

[0177] The electronic device (100) may decide not to perform a BSS transition if it fails to search for other APs other than the first AP.

[0178] The electronic device (100) may decide not to perform BSS switching if it succeeds in searching for another AP other than the first AP, but the performance of the short-range wireless communication provided by the other AP does not satisfy the specified conditions.

[0179] The electronic device (100) can transmit a BSS switching management response frame in operation 720.

[0180] If the electronic device (100) decides not to perform a BSS transition, it may transmit a BSS transition management response frame containing information instructing not to perform a BSS transition to the first AP (401). Alternatively, if the electronic device (100) decides not to perform a BSS transition, it may refrain from transmitting a BSS transition management response frame to the first AP (401).

[0181] The first AP (401) can transmit an authentication de-frame or a de-combination frame to the electronic device (100) in operation 730.

[0182] However, the first AP (401) may disconnect the connection via short-range wireless communication between the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100) due to various causes. According to one example, the first AP (401) may disconnect the connection via short-range wireless communication between the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100) when the load of the first AP (401) (e.g., data that the first AP (401) must transmit to STAs included in the BSS containing the first AP (401) or data received from STAs included in the BSS containing the first AP (401)) is too large or when the channel utilization of at least one link established by the first AP (401) is too large.

[0183] According to one example, the first AP (401) may disconnect the connection via near-field wireless communication between the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100) even after receiving a BSS transition management response frame. To disconnect the connection via near-field wireless communication, the first AP (401) may transmit a disassociation frame and / or a deauthentication frame to the electronic device (100).

[0184] The electronic device (100) can receive a disassociation frame and / or a deauthentication frame from the first AP (401) after receiving a BSS transition management request frame and transmitting a BSS transition management response frame.

[0185] The electronic device (100) may store information related to the first AP (401) in memory (530). The electronic device (100) may store information related to at least one AP in memory (530) that caused a situation in which the short-range wireless communication of the electronic device (100) was released or the quality of the short-range wireless communication was degraded among the APs that transmitted the BSS transition management request frame. The electronic device (100) may store information related to the AP that has a problem with BSS transition management in the form of a list in memory (530). According to one example, information related to the AP that has a problem with BSS transition management may include at least one of the AP identification information (e.g., SSID (service set identification), BSSID (basic service set identification), OUI (Organizationally Unique Identifier)) received in the connection procedure with the AP) and an information element (IE) (e.g., VSIE (vendor specific information element)) included in the frame transmitted by the AP.

[0186] The electronic device (100) may perform a procedure to reconnect the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100) after receiving an authentication de-frame or a de-connection frame. The electronic device (100) may receive information related to the first AP (401) from the first AP (401), and based on confirming that the information related to the first AP (401) is included in the information related to the AP that has a problem with BSS transition management, control the communication circuit (510) to transmit a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device (100) does not support BSS transition to the first AP (401) via short-range wireless communication while performing the procedure to reconnect the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100). The first AP (401) is a STA that does not support BSS switching and may not transmit a BSS switching management request frame, and the electronic device (100) may not receive a BSS switching management request frame from the first AP (401). Even if the electronic device (100) supports BSS switching, it may prevent the phenomenon caused by the first AP (401) transmitting a BSS switching management request frame by transmitting a frame containing information indicating that it does not support BSS switching to the first AP (401).

[0187] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example in which an electronic device according to one embodiment identifies an AP in which a problem related to BSS switching has occurred.

[0188] The first AP (e.g., the first AP (401) of FIG. 4a) can transmit a BSS switching management request frame to an electronic device (e.g., the electronic device (100) of FIG. 5) in operation 810.

[0189] The electronic device (100) can perform a connection procedure with the discovered first AP (401) via short-range wireless communication. As described in FIG. 3, the electronic device (100) can perform an authentication procedure with the discovered first AP (401), a coupling procedure with the first AP (401), and / or a security setup procedure with the first AP (401).

[0190] The electronic device (100) may transmit information indicating whether the electronic device (100) supports BSS switching to the first AP (401) via short-range wireless communication during a coupling procedure with the first AP (401) (or a procedure for connecting the electronic device (100) and the first AP (401). The electronic device (100) may support BSS switching and may transmit information indicating that it supports BSS switching to the first AP (401).

[0191] A basic service set transition (BSS transition) may refer to an electronic device (100) roaming (or moving) from a currently included BSS (e.g., BSS1 (210)) to another BSS (e.g., BSS2 (220) of FIG. 2). After performing the BSS transition, the electronic device (100) may disconnect from the first AP (401) and establish a connection with the second AP (402).

[0192] The electronic device (100) can transmit a frame containing information indicating support for BSS switching to the first AP (401), and the electronic device (100) can transmit an association request frame containing information indicating support for BSS switching to the first AP (401).

[0193] The first AP (401) receives a frame containing information indicating that it supports BSS switching in a procedure (or, combination procedure) connecting the electronic device (100) and the first AP (401), and can confirm that the electronic device (100) supports BSS switching.

[0194] The electronic device (100) can control the communication circuit (510) to transmit and / or receive data through short-range wireless communication provided by the first AP (401) as the connection between the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100) is completed.

[0195] The electronic device (100) can receive a BSS switching management request frame from the first AP (401) while the electronic device (100) is connected to the first AP (401).

[0196] The BSS transition management request frame may refer to a frame requesting a BSS transition of the electronic device (100).

[0197] The BSS transition management request frame may include at least one of the following: information related to another BSS obtained by the first AP (401), information indicating whether to disassociate the electronic device (100) through short-range wireless communication, and information indicating the time at which the disassociation is performed when the electronic device (100) is disassociated through short-range wireless communication.

[0198] The first AP (401) may transmit a BSS switching management request frame to the electronic device (100) for various reasons. According to one example, the first AP (401) may transmit a BSS switching management request frame to the electronic device (100) to disconnect the connection via short-range wireless communication between the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100) in a situation where the load of the first AP (401) (e.g., data that the first AP (401) needs to transmit to STAs included in the BSS that includes the first AP (401) or data received from STAs included in the BSS that includes the first AP (401)) is too large or the channel utilization of at least one link established by the first AP (401) is too large. The first AP (401) may send a BSS transition management request frame to at least one STA that supports BSS transition (e.g., electronic device (100)), and may not send a BSS transition management request frame to STAs that do not support BSS transition.

[0199] The electronic device (100) may decide not to perform a BSS transition if it fails to search for other APs other than the first AP.

[0200] The electronic device (100) may decide not to perform BSS switching if it succeeds in searching for another AP other than the first AP, but the performance of the short-range wireless communication provided by the other AP does not satisfy the specified conditions.

[0201] If the electronic device (100) decides not to perform a BSS transition, it may refrain from sending a BSS transition management response frame to the first AP (401).

[0202] The first AP (401) can transmit an authentication de-frame or a de-combination frame to the electronic device (100) in operation 820.

[0203] However, the first AP (401) may disconnect the connection via short-range wireless communication between the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100) due to various causes. According to one example, the first AP (401) may disconnect the connection via short-range wireless communication between the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100) when the load of the first AP (401) (e.g., data that the first AP (401) must transmit to STAs included in the BSS containing the first AP (401) or data received from STAs included in the BSS containing the first AP (401)) is too large or when the channel utilization of at least one link established by the first AP (401) is too large.

[0204] According to one example, the first AP (401) may disconnect the connection via near-field wireless communication between the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100) if it does not receive a BSS transition management response frame. To disconnect the connection via near-field wireless communication, the first AP (401) may transmit a disassociation frame and / or a deauthentication frame to the electronic device (100).

[0205] The electronic device (100) can receive a disassociation frame and / or a deauthentication frame from the first AP (401) after receiving a BSS transition management request frame and transmitting a BSS transition management response frame.

[0206] The electronic device (100) may store information related to the first AP (401) in memory (530). The electronic device (100) may store information related to at least one AP in memory (530) that caused a situation in which the short-range wireless communication of the electronic device (100) was released or the quality of the short-range wireless communication was degraded among the APs that transmitted the BSS transition management request frame. The electronic device (100) may store information related to the AP that has a problem with BSS transition management in the form of a list in memory (530). According to one example, information related to the AP that has a problem with BSS transition management may include at least one of the AP identification information (e.g., SSID (service set identification), BSSID (basic service set identification), OUI (Organizationally Unique Identifier)) received in the connection procedure with the AP) and an information element (IE) (e.g., VSIE (vendor specific information element)) included in the frame transmitted by the AP.

[0207] The electronic device (100) may perform a procedure to reconnect the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100) after receiving an authentication de-frame or a de-connection frame. The electronic device (100) may receive information related to the first AP (401) from the first AP (401), and based on confirming that the information related to the first AP (401) is included in the information related to the AP that has a problem with BSS transition management, control the communication circuit (510) to transmit a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device (100) does not support BSS transition to the first AP (401) via short-range wireless communication while performing the procedure to reconnect the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100). The first AP (401) is a STA that does not support BSS switching and may not transmit a BSS switching management request frame, and the electronic device (100) may not receive a BSS switching management request frame from the first AP (401). Even if the electronic device (100) supports BSS switching, it may prevent the phenomenon caused by the first AP (401) transmitting a BSS switching management request frame by transmitting a frame containing information indicating that it does not support BSS switching to the first AP (401).

[0208] FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example in which an electronic device according to one embodiment identifies an AP in which a problem related to BSS switching has occurred.

[0209] The first AP (e.g., the first AP (401) of FIG. 4a) can transmit a BSS switching management request frame to an electronic device (e.g., the electronic device (100) of FIG. 5) in operation 910.

[0210] The electronic device (100) can perform a connection procedure with the discovered first AP (401) via short-range wireless communication. As described in FIG. 3, the electronic device (100) can perform an authentication procedure with the discovered first AP (401), a coupling procedure with the first AP (401), and / or a security setup procedure with the first AP (401).

[0211] The electronic device (100) may transmit information indicating whether the electronic device (100) supports BSS switching to the first AP (401) via short-range wireless communication during a coupling procedure with the first AP (401) (or a procedure for connecting the electronic device (100) and the first AP (401). The electronic device (100) may support BSS switching and may transmit information indicating that it supports BSS switching to the first AP (401).

[0212] A basic service set transition (BSS transition) may refer to an electronic device (100) roaming (or moving) from a currently included BSS (e.g., BSS1 (210)) to another BSS (e.g., BSS2 (220) of FIG. 2). After performing the BSS transition, the electronic device (100) may disconnect from the first AP (401) and establish a connection with the second AP (402).

[0213] The electronic device (100) can transmit a frame containing information indicating support for BSS switching to the first AP (401), and the electronic device (100) can transmit an association request frame containing information indicating support for BSS switching to the first AP (401).

[0214] The first AP (401) receives a frame containing information indicating that it supports BSS switching in a procedure (or, combination procedure) connecting the electronic device (100) and the first AP (401), and can confirm that the electronic device (100) supports BSS switching.

[0215] The electronic device (100) can control the communication circuit (510) to transmit and / or receive data through short-range wireless communication provided by the first AP (401) as the connection between the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100) is completed.

[0216] The electronic device (100) can receive a BSS switching management request frame from the first AP (401) while the electronic device (100) is connected to the first AP (401).

[0217] The BSS transition management request frame may refer to a frame requesting a BSS transition of the electronic device (100).

[0218] The BSS transition management request frame may include at least one of the following: information related to another BSS obtained by the first AP (401), information indicating whether to disassociate the electronic device (100) through short-range wireless communication, and information indicating the time at which the disassociation is performed when the electronic device (100) is disassociated through short-range wireless communication.

[0219] The first AP (401) may transmit a BSS switching management request frame to the electronic device (100) for various reasons. According to one example, the first AP (401) may transmit a BSS switching management request frame to the electronic device (100) to disconnect the connection via short-range wireless communication between the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100) in a situation where the load of the first AP (401) (e.g., data that the first AP (401) needs to transmit to STAs included in the BSS that includes the first AP (401) or data received from STAs included in the BSS that includes the first AP (401)) is too large or the channel utilization of at least one link established by the first AP (401) is too large. The first AP (401) may send a BSS transition management request frame to at least one STA that supports BSS transition (e.g., electronic device (100)), and may not send a BSS transition management request frame to STAs that do not support BSS transition.

[0220] The electronic device (100) can receive a BSS transition management request frame and determine whether to perform a BSS transition.

[0221] The electronic device (100) may decide to perform a BSS switch if it succeeds in finding a second AP (402) excluding the first AP and the performance of the short-range wireless communication provided by the other AP satisfies specified conditions.

[0222] The electronic device (100) and the second AP (e.g., the second AP (402) of FIG. 4a) can perform a connection procedure between the electronic device (100) and the second AP (402) in operation 920.

[0223] The electronic device (100) can disconnect the connection via short-range wireless communication between the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100) and establish a connection via short-range wireless communication between the second AP (402) and the electronic device (100) as it decides to switch from the BSS (210) containing the first AP (401) to the BSS (220) containing the second AP (402).

[0224] The electronic device (100) can perform a connection procedure with the second AP (402) via short-range wireless communication. As described in FIG. 3, the electronic device (100) can perform an authentication procedure with the second AP (402), a coupling procedure with the second AP (402), and / or a security setup procedure with the second AP (402). The electronic device (10) can complete the above procedures and be assigned an IP address from the second AP (402), and can perform short-range wireless communication using the IP address.

[0225] The electronic device (100) can determine that, in operation 930, the quality of the signal is less than or equal to a specified value.

[0226] The electronic device (100) completes the connection procedure with the second AP (402) via short-range wireless communication and can transmit and / or receive data via the short-range wireless communication provided by the second AP (402). However, the electronic device (100) may disconnect from the second AP (402) if the quality of the signal transmitted by the second AP (402) (e.g., RSSI, RSRP) is less than or equal to a specified value.

[0227] The electronic device (100) can perform a connection procedure between the electronic device (100) and the first AP (401) in operation 940.

[0228] The electronic device (100) can perform a reconnection procedure with the first AP (401) as it disconnects from the second AP (402). The electronic device (100) can receive a BSS transition management request frame again from the first AP (401) in a situation where it can transmit and / or receive data via short-range wireless communication provided by the first AP (401). The electronic device (100) can perform a BSS transition again as it receives the BSS transition management request frame from the first AP (401). The situation described above can be performed repeatedly.

[0229] The electronic device (100) may store information related to the first AP (401) in memory (530). The electronic device (100) may store information related to at least one AP in memory (530) that caused a situation in which the short-range wireless communication of the electronic device (100) was released or the quality of the short-range wireless communication was degraded among the APs that transmitted the BSS transition management request frame. The electronic device (100) may store information related to the AP that has a problem with BSS transition management in the form of a list in memory (530). According to one example, information related to the AP that has a problem with BSS transition management may include at least one of the AP identification information (e.g., SSID (service set identification), BSSID (basic service set identification), OUI (Organizationally Unique Identifier)) received in the connection procedure with the AP) and an information element (IE) (e.g., VSIE (vendor specific information element)) included in the frame transmitted by the AP.

[0230] The electronic device (100) may perform a procedure to reconnect the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100) after receiving an authentication de-frame or a de-connection frame. The electronic device (100) may receive information related to the first AP (401) from the first AP (401), and based on confirming that the information related to the first AP (401) is included in the information related to the AP that has a problem with BSS transition management, control the communication circuit (510) to transmit a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device (100) does not support BSS transition to the first AP (401) via short-range wireless communication while performing the procedure to reconnect the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100). The first AP (401) is a STA that does not support BSS switching and may not transmit a BSS switching management request frame, and the electronic device (100) may not receive a BSS switching management request frame from the first AP (401). Even if the electronic device (100) supports BSS switching, it may prevent the phenomenon caused by the first AP (401) transmitting a BSS switching management request frame by transmitting a frame containing information indicating that it does not support BSS switching to the first AP (401).

[0231] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example in which an electronic device according to one embodiment identifies an AP in which a problem related to BSS switching has occurred.

[0232] The first AP (e.g., the first AP (401) of FIG. 4a) can transmit a BSS switching management request frame to an electronic device (e.g., the electronic device (100) of FIG. 5) in operation 1010.

[0233] The electronic device (100) can perform a connection procedure with the discovered first AP (401) via short-range wireless communication. As described in FIG. 3, the electronic device (100) can perform an authentication procedure with the discovered first AP (401), a coupling procedure with the first AP (401), and / or a security setup procedure with the first AP (401).

[0234] The electronic device (100) may transmit information indicating whether the electronic device (100) supports BSS switching to the first AP (401) via short-range wireless communication during a coupling procedure with the first AP (401) (or a procedure for connecting the electronic device (100) and the first AP (401). The electronic device (100) may support BSS switching and may transmit information indicating that it supports BSS switching to the first AP (401).

[0235] A basic service set transition (BSS transition) may refer to an electronic device (100) roaming (or moving) from a currently included BSS (e.g., BSS1 (210)) to another BSS (e.g., BSS2 (220) of FIG. 2). After performing the BSS transition, the electronic device (100) may disconnect from the first AP (401) and establish a connection with the second AP (402).

[0236] The electronic device (100) can transmit a frame containing information indicating support for BSS switching to the first AP (401), and the electronic device (100) can transmit an association request frame containing information indicating support for BSS switching to the first AP (401).

[0237] The first AP (401) receives a frame containing information indicating that it supports BSS switching in a procedure (or, combination procedure) connecting the electronic device (100) and the first AP (401), and can confirm that the electronic device (100) supports BSS switching.

[0238] The electronic device (100) can control the communication circuit (510) to transmit and / or receive data through short-range wireless communication provided by the first AP (401) as the connection between the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100) is completed.

[0239] The electronic device (100) can receive a BSS switching management request frame from the first AP (401) while the electronic device (100) is connected to the first AP (401).

[0240] The BSS transition management request frame may refer to a frame requesting a BSS transition of the electronic device (100).

[0241] The BSS transition management request frame may include at least one of the following: information related to another BSS obtained by the first AP (401), information indicating whether to disassociate the electronic device (100) through short-range wireless communication, and information indicating the time at which the disassociation is performed when the electronic device (100) is disassociated through short-range wireless communication.

[0242] The first AP (401) may transmit a BSS switching management request frame to the electronic device (100) for various reasons. According to one example, the first AP (401) may transmit a BSS switching management request frame to the electronic device (100) to disconnect the connection via short-range wireless communication between the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100) in a situation where the load of the first AP (401) (e.g., data that the first AP (401) needs to transmit to STAs included in the BSS that includes the first AP (401) or data received from STAs included in the BSS that includes the first AP (401)) is too large or the channel utilization of at least one link established by the first AP (401) is too large. The first AP (401) may send a BSS transition management request frame to at least one STA that supports BSS transition (e.g., electronic device (100)), and may not send a BSS transition management request frame to STAs that do not support BSS transition.

[0243] The electronic device (100) can receive a BSS transition management request frame and determine whether to perform a BSS transition.

[0244] The electronic device (100) may decide to perform a BSS switch if it succeeds in finding a second AP (402) excluding the first AP and the performance of the short-range wireless communication provided by the other AP satisfies specified conditions.

[0245] The electronic device (100) and the second AP (e.g., the second AP (402) of FIG. 4a) can perform a connection procedure between the electronic device (100) and the second AP (402) in operation 1120.

[0246] The electronic device (100) can disconnect the connection via short-range wireless communication between the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100) and establish a connection via short-range wireless communication between the second AP (402) and the electronic device (100) as it decides to switch from the BSS (210) containing the first AP (401) to the BSS (220) containing the second AP (402).

[0247] The electronic device (100) can perform a connection procedure with the second AP (402) via short-range wireless communication. As described in FIG. 3, the electronic device (100) can perform an authentication procedure with the second AP (402), a coupling procedure with the second AP (402), and / or a security setup procedure with the second AP (402). The electronic device (10) can complete the above procedures and be assigned an IP address from the second AP (402), and can perform short-range wireless communication using the IP address.

[0248] The electronic device (100) can determine that, in operation 1030, the channel congestion level is greater than (or exceeds) a specified value.

[0249] The electronic device (100) completes the connection procedure with the second AP (402) via short-range wireless communication and can transmit and / or receive data via the short-range wireless communication provided by the second AP (402). However, the electronic device (100) may disconnect from the second AP (402) if the channel utilization established by the second AP (402) is greater than (or exceeds) a specified value.

[0250] The electronic device (100) can perform a connection procedure between the electronic device (100) and the first AP (401) in operation 1040.

[0251] The electronic device (100) can perform a reconnection procedure with the first AP (401) as it disconnects from the second AP (402). The electronic device (100) can receive a BSS transition management request frame again from the first AP (401) in a situation where it can transmit and / or receive data via short-range wireless communication provided by the first AP (401). The electronic device (100) can perform a BSS transition again as it receives the BSS transition management request frame from the first AP (401). The situation described above can be performed repeatedly.

[0252] The electronic device (100) may store information related to the first AP (401) in memory (530). The electronic device (100) may store information related to at least one AP in memory (530) that caused a situation in which the short-range wireless communication of the electronic device (100) was released or the quality of the short-range wireless communication was degraded among the APs that transmitted the BSS transition management request frame. The electronic device (100) may store information related to the AP that has a problem with BSS transition management in the form of a list in memory (530). According to one example, information related to the AP that has a problem with BSS transition management may include at least one of the AP identification information (e.g., SSID (service set identification), BSSID (basic service set identification), OUI (Organizationally Unique Identifier)) received in the connection procedure with the AP) and an information element (IE) (e.g., VSIE (vendor specific information element)) included in the frame transmitted by the AP.

[0253] The electronic device (100) may perform a procedure to reconnect the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100) after receiving an authentication de-frame or a de-connection frame. The electronic device (100) may receive information related to the first AP (401) from the first AP (401), and based on confirming that the information related to the first AP (401) is included in the information related to the AP that has a problem with BSS transition management, control the communication circuit (510) to transmit a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device (100) does not support BSS transition to the first AP (401) via short-range wireless communication while performing the procedure to reconnect the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100). The first AP (401) is a STA that does not support BSS switching and may not transmit a BSS switching management request frame, and the electronic device (100) may not receive a BSS switching management request frame from the first AP (401). Even if the electronic device (100) supports BSS switching, it may prevent the phenomenon caused by the first AP (401) transmitting a BSS switching management request frame by transmitting a frame containing information indicating that it does not support BSS switching to the first AP (401).

[0254] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example in which an electronic device according to one embodiment identifies an AP in which a problem related to BSS switching has occurred.

[0255] The first AP (e.g., the first AP (401) of FIG. 4a) can transmit a BSS switching management request frame to an electronic device (e.g., the electronic device (100) of FIG. 5) in operation 1110.

[0256] The electronic device (100) can perform a connection procedure with the discovered first AP (401) via short-range wireless communication. As described in FIG. 3, the electronic device (100) can perform an authentication procedure with the discovered first AP (401), a coupling procedure with the first AP (401), and / or a security setup procedure with the first AP (401).

[0257] The electronic device (100) may transmit information indicating whether the electronic device (100) supports BSS switching to the first AP (401) via short-range wireless communication during a coupling procedure with the first AP (401) (or a procedure for connecting the electronic device (100) and the first AP (401). The electronic device (100) may support BSS switching and may transmit information indicating that it supports BSS switching to the first AP (401).

[0258] A basic service set transition (BSS transition) may refer to an electronic device (100) roaming (or moving) from a currently included BSS (e.g., BSS1 (210)) to another BSS (e.g., BSS2 (220) of FIG. 2). After performing the BSS transition, the electronic device (100) may disconnect from the first AP (401) and establish a connection with the second AP (402).

[0259] The electronic device (100) can transmit a frame containing information indicating support for BSS switching to the first AP (401), and the electronic device (100) can transmit an association request frame containing information indicating support for BSS switching to the first AP (401).

[0260] The first AP (401) receives a frame containing information indicating that it supports BSS switching in a procedure (or, combination procedure) connecting the electronic device (100) and the first AP (401), and can confirm that the electronic device (100) supports BSS switching.

[0261] The electronic device (100) can control the communication circuit (510) to transmit and / or receive data through short-range wireless communication provided by the first AP (401) as the connection between the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100) is completed.

[0262] The electronic device (100) can receive a BSS switching management request frame from the first AP (401) while the electronic device (100) is connected to the first AP (401).

[0263] The BSS transition management request frame may refer to a frame requesting a BSS transition of the electronic device (100).

[0264] The BSS transition management request frame may include at least one of the following: information related to another BSS obtained by the first AP (401), information indicating whether to disassociate the electronic device (100) through short-range wireless communication, and information indicating the time at which the disassociation is performed when the electronic device (100) is disassociated through short-range wireless communication.

[0265] The first AP (401) may transmit a BSS switching management request frame to the electronic device (100) for various reasons. According to one example, the first AP (401) may transmit a BSS switching management request frame to the electronic device (100) to disconnect the connection via short-range wireless communication between the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100) in a situation where the load of the first AP (401) (e.g., data that the first AP (401) needs to transmit to STAs included in the BSS that includes the first AP (401) or data received from STAs included in the BSS that includes the first AP (401)) is too large or the channel utilization of at least one link established by the first AP (401) is too large. The first AP (401) may send a BSS transition management request frame to at least one STA that supports BSS transition (e.g., electronic device (100)), and may not send a BSS transition management request frame to STAs that do not support BSS transition.

[0266] The electronic device (100) can receive a BSS transition management request frame and determine whether to perform a BSS transition.

[0267] The electronic device (100) may decide to perform a BSS switch if it succeeds in finding a second AP (402) excluding the first AP and the performance of the short-range wireless communication provided by the other AP satisfies specified conditions.

[0268] The electronic device (100) and the second AP (e.g., the second AP (402) of FIG. 4a) can perform a connection procedure between the electronic device (100) and the second AP (402) in operation 1020.

[0269] The electronic device (100) can disconnect the connection via short-range wireless communication between the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100) and establish a connection via short-range wireless communication between the second AP (402) and the electronic device (100) as it decides to switch from the BSS (210) containing the first AP (401) to the BSS (220) containing the second AP (402).

[0270] The electronic device (100) can perform a connection procedure with the second AP (402) via short-range wireless communication. As described in FIG. 3, the electronic device (100) can perform an authentication procedure with the second AP (402), a coupling procedure with the second AP (402), and / or a security setup procedure with the second AP (402). The electronic device (10) can complete the above procedures and be assigned an IP address from the second AP (402), and can perform short-range wireless communication using the IP address.

[0271] The second AP (402) can transmit an authentication de-frame or a de-combination frame to the electronic device (100) in operation 1130.

[0272] The electronic device (100) can complete the connection procedure with the second AP (402) via short-range wireless communication and transmit and / or receive data via the short-range wireless communication provided by the second AP (402). However, the electronic device (100) can disconnect from the second AP (402) as the second AP (402) transmits a signal (e.g., an authentication deactivation frame and / or a de-connection frame) to disconnect the connection between the electronic device (100) and the second AP (402).

[0273] The electronic device (100) can perform a connection procedure between the electronic device (100) and the first AP (401) in operation 1140.

[0274] The electronic device (100) can perform a reconnection procedure with the first AP (401) as it disconnects from the second AP (402). The electronic device (100) can receive a BSS transition management request frame again from the first AP (401) in a situation where it can transmit and / or receive data via short-range wireless communication provided by the first AP (401). The electronic device (100) can perform a BSS transition again as it receives the BSS transition management request frame from the first AP (401). The situation described above can be performed repeatedly.

[0275] The electronic device (100) may store information related to the first AP (401) in memory (530). The electronic device (100) may store information related to at least one AP in memory (530) that caused a situation in which the short-range wireless communication of the electronic device (100) was released or the quality of the short-range wireless communication was degraded among the APs that transmitted the BSS transition management request frame. The electronic device (100) may store information related to the AP that has a problem with BSS transition management in the form of a list in memory (530). According to one example, information related to the AP that has a problem with BSS transition management may include at least one of the AP identification information (e.g., SSID (service set identification), BSSID (basic service set identification), OUI (Organizationally Unique Identifier)) received in the connection procedure with the AP) and an information element (IE) (e.g., VSIE (vendor specific information element)) included in the frame transmitted by the AP.

[0276] The electronic device (100) may perform a procedure to reconnect the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100) after receiving an authentication de-frame or a de-connection frame. The electronic device (100) may receive information related to the first AP (401) from the first AP (401), and based on confirming that the information related to the first AP (401) is included in the information related to the AP that has a problem with BSS transition management, control the communication circuit (510) to transmit a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device (100) does not support BSS transition to the first AP (401) via short-range wireless communication while performing the procedure to reconnect the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100). The first AP (401) is a STA that does not support BSS switching and may not transmit a BSS switching management request frame, and the electronic device (100) may not receive a BSS switching management request frame from the first AP (401). Even if the electronic device (100) supports BSS switching, it may prevent the phenomenon caused by the first AP (401) transmitting a BSS switching management request frame by transmitting a frame containing information indicating that it does not support BSS switching to the first AP (401).

[0277] FIGS. 12a, FIGS. 12b, and FIGS. 12c illustrate an example in which an electronic device according to one embodiment provides a list including APs in which a problem related to BSS switching has occurred.

[0278] Figure 12a illustrates an example of a list containing APs that experienced problems related to BSS transition.

[0279] An electronic device (e.g., the electronic device (100) of FIG. 5) may store information related to an AP that has a problem with BSS transition management in the form of a list in memory (e.g., the memory (530) of FIG. 5). According to one example, the information related to an AP that has a problem with BSS transition management may include at least one of the following: identification information of the AP received during the connection procedure with the AP (e.g., SSID (service set identification), BSSID (basic service set identification), OUI (Organizationally Unique Identifier))) and an information element (IE) (e.g., VSIE (vendor specific information element)) included in a frame transmitted by the AP.

[0280] The electronic device (100) can transmit a frame containing information indicating that BSS switching is not supported to the AP performing the connection procedure when performing the connection procedure with the AP included in the list.

[0281] Referring to FIG. 12a, the electronic device (100) may display a list (1210) on a display (e.g., the display (140) of FIG. 1). The list (1210) may include identification information (e.g., SSID) of at least one AP (1211, 1212) that has a problem with BSS switching management and information related to the AP (1211, 1212) (e.g., the frequency band of the AP (1211, 1212)).

[0282] The electronic device (100) can set differently for each AP (1211, 1211) whether to enable a function that transmits a frame containing information indicating that BSS switching is not supported in a procedure to connect with at least one AP (1211, 1222) included in the list (1210).

[0283] According to one example, the electronic device (100) may display on a display (140) a screen (e.g., FIG. 12c) containing information of at least one AP (1211, 1222) included in a list (1210), and details are described later in FIG. 12c.

[0284] FIG. 12b is a drawing showing a list including an AP connected to an electronic device (100) via short-range wireless communication and / or an AP that can be connected via short-range wireless communication.

[0285] Referring to FIG. 12b, an electronic device (100) may display a list (1220) containing an AP (1211) connected via short-range wireless communication and an AP (1222) connectable via short-range wireless communication on a display (e.g., the display (140) of FIG. 1). Upon receiving user input selecting an AP (1222) connectable via short-range wireless communication on the list (1220), the electronic device (100) may establish a connection with the selected AP via short-range wireless communication. The electronic device (100) may display an icon (1221) on the display (140) for entering a screen containing information about the connected AP (1211) or the connectable AP (1222). The electronic device (100) can display a screen (e.g., FIG. 12c) containing information of at least one AP (1211) on a display (140) upon receiving user input selecting an icon (1221).

[0286] FIG. 12c illustrates a screen (1230) containing information of an AP connected to an electronic device (100) or an AP that can be connected via short-range wireless communication.

[0287] An electronic device (100) may display a screen (1230) containing information of a connected AP or an AP connectable via short-range wireless communication on a display (e.g., a display (140) of FIG. 1). The screen (1230) containing information of a connected AP or an AP connectable via short-range wireless communication may include an area (1231) for selecting whether to enable a function that transmits a frame containing information indicating that BSS switching is not supported. The electronic device (100) may receive user input for the area (1231) for selecting whether to enable a function that transmits a frame containing information indicating that BSS switching is not supported, and may determine whether to enable a function that transmits a frame containing information indicating that BSS switching is not supported.

[0288] According to one example, the electronic device (100) may enable a function to transmit a frame containing information indicating that BSS switching is not supported, based on confirming that the connected AP (1211) is included in information related to the AP that has a problem with BSS switching management stored in memory (530). The electronic device (100) may disable a function to transmit a frame containing information indicating that BSS switching is not supported if it receives user input in area (1231) to disable the function to transmit a frame containing information indicating that BSS switching is not supported.

[0289] FIG. 13 is an operation flowchart illustrating a method of operation (1300) of an electronic device according to one embodiment.

[0290] An electronic device (e.g., the electronic device (100) of FIG. 5) can receive information related to the first AP (401) in the connection procedure with the first AP (e.g., the first AP (401) of FIG. 4a) in operation 1310.

[0291] The electronic device (100) can receive information related to the first AP (401) included in various signals exchanged during the connection procedure with the first AP (401).

[0292] Information related to the first AP (401) may include at least one of the identification information of the first AP (401) received in the connection procedure with the first AP (401) (e.g., SSID (service set identification), BSSID (basic service set identification), OUI (Organizationally Unique Identifier))) and an information element (IE) (e.g., VSIE (vendor specific information element)) included in a frame transmitted by the first AP (401).

[0293] The electronic device (100) can check, in operation 1320, whether information related to the first AP (401) exists in a list containing the AP that has a problem related to BSS switching.

[0294] The electronic device (100) can store information related to an AP that has a problem with BSS transition management in the form of a list in memory (530). According to one example, the information related to an AP that has a problem with BSS transition management may include at least one of the following: identification information of the AP received during the connection procedure with the AP (e.g., SSID (service set identification), BSSID (basic service set identification), OUI (Organizationally Unique Identifier))) and information element (IE) (e.g., VSIE (vendor specific information element)) included in a frame transmitted by the AP.

[0295] The electronic device (100) can transmit information indicating that BSS switching is not supported to the first AP (401) based on the fact that, in operation 1330, information related to the first AP (401) exists in a list containing APs that have a problem related to BSS switching (operation 1320-Y).

[0296] The electronic device (100) can control the communication circuit (510) to transmit a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device (100) does not support BSS switching to the AP connected via short-range wireless communication, as it confirms that the received information is included in the information related to the AP that has a problem with BSS switching management stored in the memory (530).

[0297] According to one example, the electronic device (100) can control the communication circuit (510) to transmit a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device (100) does not support BSS switching to the AP to be connected via short-range wireless communication, based on confirming that the SSID received from the AP to be connected is included in the information related to the AP that has a problem with BSS switching management stored in memory (530).

[0298] According to one example, the electronic device (100) can control the communication circuit (510) to transmit a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device (100) does not support BSS switching to the AP to be connected via short-range wireless communication, based on confirming that the BSSID received from the AP to be connected is included in the information related to the AP that has a problem with BSS switching management stored in memory (530).

[0299] According to one example, the electronic device (100) can control the communication circuit (510) to transmit a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device (100) does not support BSS switching to the AP to be connected via short-range wireless communication, based on confirming that the OUI received from the AP to be connected is included in information related to the AP that has a problem with BSS switching management stored in memory (530).

[0300] According to one example, the electronic device (100) can control the communication circuit (510) to transmit a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device (100) does not support BSS switching to the first AP (401) via short-range wireless communication, based on confirming that the VSIE received from the first AP (401) is included in information related to the AP that has a problem with BSS switching management stored in memory (530).

[0301] The first AP (401) is a STA that does not support BSS switching and may not transmit a BSS switching management request frame, and the electronic device (100) may not receive a BSS switching management request frame from the first AP (401). Even if the electronic device (100) supports BSS switching, it may prevent the phenomenon caused by the first AP (401) transmitting a BSS switching management request frame by transmitting a frame containing information indicating that it does not support BSS switching to the first AP (401).

[0302] The electronic device (100) can transmit information indicating that it supports BSS switching to the first AP (401) based on the fact that, in operation 1340, information related to the first AP (401) does not exist in a list containing APs that have a problem related to BSS switching (operation 1320-N).

[0303] The fact that information related to the first AP (401) does not exist in a list containing APs that have had problems related to BSS switching may indicate that the first AP (401) has no history of causing problems related to BSS switching. Accordingly, the electronic device (100) can improve the speed (or performance, quality) of the short-range wireless communication provided by the first AP (401) by transmitting information indicating that it supports BSS switching to the first AP (401), thereby inducing the first AP (401) that supports BSS switching to distribute traffic concentrated on the first AP (401) to other APs (e.g., the second AP (402)).

[0304] FIG. 14 is an operation flowchart illustrating a method of operation (1400) of an electronic device according to one embodiment.

[0305] An electronic device (e.g., the electronic device (100) of FIG. 5) can transmit information to the first AP (401) indicating that it supports BSS switching in the connection procedure with the first AP (e.g., the first AP (401) of FIG. 4a) in operation 1410.

[0306] An electronic device (100) can control a communication circuit (510) to search for an AP capable of providing short-range wireless communication in order to perform short-range wireless communication. An electronic device (100) can control a communication circuit (510) to broadcast a probe request message in order to search for an AP. The probe request message may include information about the electronic device (100). According to one example, the probe request message may include various identification information (e.g., MAC address) that can distinguish the electronic device (100) from other electronic devices, and performance information related to the short-range wireless communication of the electronic device (100). When a first AP (e.g., the first AP (401) of FIG. 4a) receives a probe request message, it may transmit a probe response message corresponding to the probe request message to the electronic device (100). When the electronic device (100) receives a probe response message, it may successfully search for the first AP (401).

[0307] According to another example, the electronic device (100) can successfully locate the first AP (401) by receiving a beacon signal broadcast by the first AP (401).

[0308] The electronic device (100) can perform a connection procedure with the discovered first AP (401) via short-range wireless communication. As described in FIG. 3, the electronic device (100) can perform an authentication procedure with the discovered first AP (401), a coupling procedure with the first AP (401), and / or a security setup procedure with the first AP (401).

[0309] The electronic device (100) may transmit information indicating whether the electronic device (100) supports BSS switching to the first AP (401) via short-range wireless communication during a coupling procedure with the first AP (401) (or a procedure for connecting the electronic device (100) and the first AP (401). The electronic device (100) may support BSS switching and may transmit information indicating that it supports BSS switching to the first AP (401).

[0310] A basic service set transition (BSS transition) may refer to an electronic device (100) roaming (or moving) from a currently included BSS (e.g., BSS1 (210)) to another BSS (e.g., BSS2 (220) of FIG. 2). After performing the BSS transition, the electronic device (100) may disconnect from the first AP (401) and establish a connection with the second AP (402).

[0311] The electronic device (100) can transmit a frame containing information indicating support for BSS switching to the first AP (401), and the electronic device (100) can transmit an association request frame containing information indicating support for BSS switching to the first AP (401).

[0312] The first AP (401) receives a frame containing information indicating that it supports BSS switching in a procedure (or, combination procedure) connecting the electronic device (100) and the first AP (401), and can confirm that the electronic device (100) supports BSS switching.

[0313] The electronic device (100) can control the communication circuit (510) to transmit and / or receive data through short-range wireless communication provided by the first AP (401) as the connection between the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100) is completed.

[0314] The electronic device (100) can receive a BSS switching management request frame from the first AP (401) in operation 1420.

[0315] The electronic device (100) can receive a BSS switching management request frame from the first AP (401) while the electronic device (100) is connected to the first AP (401).

[0316] The BSS transition management request frame may refer to a frame requesting a BSS transition of the electronic device (100).

[0317] The BSS transition management request frame may include at least one of the following: information related to another BSS obtained by the first AP (401), information indicating whether to disassociate the electronic device (100) through short-range wireless communication, and information indicating the time at which the disassociation is performed when the electronic device (100) is disassociated through short-range wireless communication.

[0318] The first AP (401) may transmit a BSS switching management request frame to the electronic device (100) for various reasons. According to one example, the first AP (401) may transmit a BSS switching management request frame to the electronic device (100) to disconnect the connection via short-range wireless communication between the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100) in a situation where the load of the first AP (401) (e.g., data that the first AP (401) needs to transmit to STAs included in the BSS that includes the first AP (401) or data received from STAs included in the BSS that includes the first AP (401)) is too large or the channel utilization of at least one link established by the first AP (401) is too large. The first AP (401) may send a BSS transition management request frame to at least one STA that supports BSS transition (e.g., electronic device (100)), and may not send a BSS transition management request frame to STAs that do not support BSS transition.

[0319] The electronic device (100) can receive a BSS transition management request frame and determine whether to perform a BSS transition.

[0320] According to one example, the electronic device (100) can discover an AP to perform roaming (e.g., a second AP (402)) based on information related to another BSS included in a BSS transition management request frame, and can determine whether to perform a BSS transition.

[0321] According to another example, the electronic device (100) can search for APs present around the electronic device (100) regardless of receiving information related to other BSSs, and can determine whether to perform a BSS switch based on the search result.

[0322] The electronic device (100) may decide to perform a BSS switch if it succeeds in finding another AP other than the first AP and the performance of the short-range wireless communication provided by the other AP satisfies specified conditions.

[0323] The electronic device (100) may decide not to perform a BSS transition if it fails to search for other APs other than the first AP.

[0324] The electronic device (100) may decide not to perform BSS switching if it succeeds in searching for another AP other than the first AP, but the performance of the short-range wireless communication provided by the other AP does not satisfy the specified conditions.

[0325] If the electronic device (100) decides not to perform a BSS transition, it may transmit a BSS transition management response frame containing information instructing not to perform a BSS transition to the first AP (401). Alternatively, if the electronic device (100) decides not to perform a BSS transition, it may refrain from transmitting a BSS transition management response frame to the first AP (401).

[0326] The electronic device (100) can receive a unbinding frame or an authentication unbinding frame from the first AP (401) in operation 1430.

[0327] The first AP (401) may disconnect the connection via short-range wireless communication between the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100) due to various causes. According to one example, the first AP (401) may disconnect the connection via short-range wireless communication between the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100) when the load of the first AP (401) (e.g., data that the first AP (401) must transmit to STAs included in the BSS containing the first AP (401) or data received from STAs included in the BSS containing the first AP (401)) is too great or when the channel utilization of at least one link established by the first AP (401) is too great.

[0328] According to one example, the first AP (401) may disconnect the connection via near-field wireless communication between the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100) if it does not receive a BSS transition management response frame. According to another example, the first AP (401) may disconnect the connection via near-field wireless communication between the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100) even if it receives a BSS transition management response frame. To disconnect the connection via near-field wireless communication, the first AP (401) may transmit a disassociation frame and / or a deauthentication frame to the electronic device (100).

[0329] After receiving a BSS transition management request frame, the electronic device (100) may receive a disassociation frame and / or a deauthentication frame from the first AP (401).

[0330] The electronic device (100) can receive a disassociation frame and / or a deauthentication frame from the first AP (401) after receiving a BSS transition management request frame and transmitting a BSS transition management response frame.

[0331] The electronic device (100) can receive a disassociation frame and / or a deauthentication frame from the first AP (401) even if it does not transmit a BSS transition management response frame after receiving a BSS transition management request frame.

[0332] When the electronic device (100) receives a disassociation frame and / or a deauthentication frame from the first AP (401), the connection via short-range wireless communication between the electronic device (100) and the first AP (401) may be disconnected.

[0333] The electronic device (100) can transmit information to the first AP (4010) indicating that it does not support BSS switching in the reconnection procedure with the first AP (401) in operation 1440.

[0334] The electronic device (100) may perform a procedure to reconnect the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100) after the connection via near-field wireless communication between the electronic device (100) and the first AP (401) is disconnected. While performing the procedure to reconnect the first AP (401) and the electronic device (100), the electronic device (100) may control the communication circuit (510) to transmit a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device (100) does not support BSS switching to the first AP (401) via near-field wireless communication. The electronic device (100) may control the communication circuit (510) to transmit a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device (100) does not support BSS switching to the first AP (401) via near-field wireless communication based on confirming that it previously received a disengagement frame and / or de-authentication frame associated with a BSS switching management request frame from the first AP (401).

[0335] The first AP (401) is a STA that does not support BSS switching and may not transmit a BSS switching management request frame, and the electronic device (100) may not receive a BSS switching management request frame from the first AP (401). Even if the electronic device (100) supports BSS switching, it may prevent the phenomenon caused by the first AP (401) transmitting a BSS switching management request frame by transmitting a frame containing information indicating that it does not support BSS switching to the first AP (401).

[0336] An electronic device according to one example may include a communication circuit (510) that supports short-range wireless communication. The electronic device may include a memory (530) that stores at least one computer program. The electronic device may include at least one processor (520). The at least one computer program may include instructions that, when executed individually or collectively by the at least one processor (520), transmit a frame to the first AP (401) containing information indicating that the electronic device supports a basic service set transition while performing a procedure to connect the electronic device with the first AP (401). The instructions may, when executed individually or collectively by the at least one processor (520), cause the electronic device to receive a basic service set transition management request frame from the first AP (401) while the first AP (401) and the electronic device are connected. When the above instructions are executed individually or collectively by the at least one processor (520), the electronic device may receive a disassociation frame or a deauthentication frame from the first AP (401) after receiving the BSS transition management request frame. When the above instructions are executed individually or collectively by the at least one processor (520), the electronic device may transmit to the first AP (401) a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device does not support the BSS transition while performing a procedure to reconnect the electronic device with the first AP (401).

[0337] In an electronic device according to one example, when the instructions are executed individually or collectively by the at least one processor (520), the electronic device may transmit a response frame indicating that it does not perform the BTM transition upon receiving the BTM transition management request frame from the first AP (401). When the instructions are executed individually or collectively by the at least one processor (520), if the electronic device receives a disassociation frame or a deauthentication frame from the first AP (401) after transmitting the response frame, the electronic device may transmit a frame containing information indicating that it does not support the BSS transition to the first AP (401) in a procedure to reconnect the electronic device with the first AP (401).

[0338] In an electronic device according to one example, when the instructions are executed individually or collectively by at least one processor (520), the electronic device, upon receiving the BTM transition management request frame from the first AP (401), may not transmit a response frame indicating that the BTM transition is not performed, but upon receiving a disassociation frame or a deauthentication frame from the first AP (401), in a procedure to reconnect the first AP (401) and the electronic device, transmit a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device does not support the BSS transition to the first AP (401).

[0339] In an electronic device according to one example, when the instructions are executed individually or collectively by the at least one processor (520), the electronic device may cause the connection between the first AP (401) and the electronic device to be disconnected after receiving the BSS transition management request frame. When the instructions are executed individually or collectively by the at least one processor (520), the electronic device may cause the electronic device to establish a connection with the second AP (402). When the above instructions are executed individually or collectively by at least one processor (520), the electronic device may be caused to transmit to the first AP (401) a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device does not support the BSS transition in a procedure to reconnect the first AP (401) and the electronic device after the association between the second AP (402) and the electronic device is completed and the electronic device has not been assigned an IP address from the second AP (402).

[0340] In an electronic device according to one example, when the instructions are executed individually or collectively by the at least one processor (520), the electronic device may cause the connection between the first AP (401) and the electronic device to be disconnected after receiving the BSS switching management request frame. When the instructions are executed individually or collectively by the at least one processor (520), the electronic device may cause the electronic device to establish a connection with the second AP (402). When the instructions are executed individually or collectively by the at least one processor (520), the electronic device may cause the connection with the second AP (402) to be disconnected based on whether the quality of the signal transmitted by the second AP (402) is below a specified value or the congestion of the channel established between the second AP (402) and the electronic device is above a specified size. When the above instructions are executed individually or collectively by the at least one processor (520), the electronic device may transmit to the first AP (401) a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device does not support the BSS switching in the procedure of reconnecting the electronic device with the first AP (401).

[0341] In an electronic device according to one example, the instructions, when executed individually or collectively by the at least one processor (520), may cause the electronic device to disconnect the connection between the first AP (401) and the electronic device after receiving the BSS transition management request frame. The instructions, when executed individually or collectively by the at least one processor (520), may cause the electronic device to establish a connection with the second AP (402). The instructions, when executed individually or collectively by the at least one processor (520), may cause the electronic device to disconnect the connection with the second AP (402) based on receiving the unconnection frame or the unauthentication frame from the second AP (402). When the above instructions are executed individually or collectively by the at least one processor (520), the electronic device may transmit to the first AP (401) a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device does not support the BSS switching in the procedure of reconnecting the electronic device with the first AP (401).

[0342] In an electronic device according to one example, when the instructions are executed individually or collectively by at least one processor (520), the electronic device may, after receiving the BSS transition management request frame from the first AP (401), if it receives the unlink frame or the authentication unlink frame from the first AP (401) within a specified time, add the information of the first AP (401) to a list including the AP that has a problem related to the BSS transition management.

[0343] In an electronic device according to one example, when the instructions are executed individually or collectively by the at least one processor (520), the electronic device may receive information related to the third AP from the third AP while performing a procedure to connect the third AP and the electronic device. When the instructions are executed individually or collectively by the at least one processor (520), the electronic device may transmit to the third AP a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device does not support the BSS transition if information related to the third AP exists in the list.

[0344] In an electronic device according to one example, when the instructions are executed individually or collectively by the at least one processor (520), the electronic device may transmit to the first AP (401) a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device does not support the BSS transition while performing a procedure to reconnect the first AP (401) and the electronic device based on confirming that the electronic device previously received a disconnection frame or a deauthentication frame related to the BSS transition from the first AP (401).

[0345] In a recording medium storing at least one program comprising instructions that cause the electronic device to perform operations when executed individually or collectively by at least one processor (520) of the electronic device, the instructions may cause the electronic device to transmit to the first AP (401) a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device supports a basic service set transition in a procedure connecting the first AP (401) and the electronic device when executed. The instructions may cause the electronic device to receive a basic service set transition management request frame from the first AP (401) when the first AP (401) and the electronic device are connected when executed. The instructions may cause the electronic device to receive a disassociation frame or a deauthentication frame from the first AP (401) after receiving the basic service set transition management request frame when executed. The above instructions may cause the electronic device to transmit a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device does not support the BSS switching in the procedure of reconnecting the electronic device with the first AP (401) at execution.

[0346] In a recording medium according to one example, when the instructions are executed individually or collectively by the at least one processor (520), the electronic device may transmit a response frame indicating that it does not perform the BTM transition upon receiving the BTM transition management request frame from the first AP (401). When the instructions are executed individually or collectively by the at least one processor (520), the electronic device may transmit a frame containing information indicating that it does not support the BSS transition to the first AP (401) in a procedure to reconnect the first AP (401) and the electronic device, if it receives a disassociation frame or a deauthentication frame from the first AP (401) after transmitting the response frame.

[0347] In a recording medium according to one example, when the instructions are executed individually or collectively by the at least one processor (520), the electronic device,

[0348] In the case where, upon receiving the above BTM transition management request frame from the first AP (401), a response frame indicating that the BTM transition is not performed is not transmitted, and a disassociation frame or deauthentication frame is received from the first AP (401), in the procedure to reconnect the first AP (401) and the electronic device, a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device does not support the BSS transition is transmitted to the first AP (401).

[0349] In a recording medium according to one example, the instructions, when executed individually or collectively by the at least one processor (520), may cause the electronic device to disconnect the connection between the first AP (401) and the electronic device and perform a connection with the second AP (402) after receiving the BSS transition management request frame. The instructions, when executed individually or collectively by the at least one processor (520), may cause the electronic device to transmit a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device does not support the BSS transition in a procedure to reconnect the first AP (401) and the electronic device after the association between the second AP (402) and the electronic device is completed and the electronic device has not been assigned an IP address from the second AP (402).

[0350] In a recording medium according to one example, the instructions, when executed individually or collectively by the at least one processor (520), may cause the electronic device to disconnect the connection between the first AP (401) and the electronic device and to establish a connection with the second AP (402) after receiving the BSS switching management request frame. The instructions, when executed individually or collectively by the at least one processor (520), may cause the electronic device to disconnect the connection with the second AP (402) based on the quality of the signal transmitted by the second AP (402) being below a specified value, the congestion of the channel established between the second AP (402) and the electronic device being above a specified size, and / or receiving the unconnection frame or the unauthentication frame from the second AP (402). When the above instructions are executed individually or collectively by the at least one processor (520), the electronic device may transmit to the first AP (401) a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device does not support the BSS switching in the procedure of reconnecting the electronic device with the first AP (401).

[0351] A method of operation of an electronic device according to one example may include, in a procedure for connecting the first AP (401) and the electronic device, an operation of transmitting to the first AP (401) a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device supports a basic service set transition. A method of operation of the electronic device may include, while the first AP (401) and the electronic device are connected, an operation of receiving a basic service set transition management request frame from the first AP (401). A method of operation of the electronic device may include, after receiving the basic service set transition management request frame, an operation of receiving a disassociation frame or a deauthentication frame from the first AP (401). A method of operation of the electronic device may include, in a procedure for reconnecting the first AP (401) and the electronic device, an operation of transmitting to the first AP (401) a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device does not support the basic service set transition.

[0352] A method of operation of an electronic device according to one example may further include the operation of transmitting a response frame indicating that the BTM transition is not performed upon receiving the BTM transition management request frame from the first AP (401). After transmitting the response frame, if a disassociation frame or a deauthentication frame is received from the first AP (401), the method of operation of the electronic device may further include the operation of transmitting a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device does not support the BSS transition to the first AP (401) in a procedure to reconnect the first AP (401) and the electronic device.

[0353] A method of operation of an electronic device according to one example may further include, upon receiving the BTM transition management request frame from the first AP (401), not transmitting a response frame indicating that the BTM transition is not performed, and upon receiving a disassociation frame or a deauthentication frame from the first AP (401), in the procedure of reconnecting the first AP (401) and the electronic device, transmitting a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device does not support the BSS transition to the first AP (401).

[0354] A method of operation of an electronic device according to one example may further include, after receiving the BSS switching management request frame, disconnecting the connection between the first AP (401) and the electronic device and performing a connection with the second AP (402). A method of operation of the electronic device may further include, in a procedure to reconnect the first AP (401) and the electronic device after the association between the second AP (402) and the electronic device is completed and the electronic device is not assigned an IP address from the second AP (402), transmitting a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device does not support the BSS switching to the first AP (401).

[0355] A method of operation of an electronic device according to one example may further include, after receiving the BSS switching management request frame, an operation of disconnecting the connection between the first AP (401) and the electronic device and performing a connection with the second AP (402). A method of operation of the electronic device may further include an operation of disconnecting the connection with the second AP (402) based on the quality of the signal transmitted by the second AP (402) being below a specified value, the congestion of the channel established between the second AP (402) and the electronic device being above a specified size, and / or receiving the disconnection frame or the authentication release frame from the second AP (402). A method of operation of the electronic device may further include, in a procedure to reconnect the first AP (401) and the electronic device, an operation of transmitting a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device does not support the BSS switching to the first AP (401).

[0356] A method of operation of an electronic device according to one example may further include, after receiving the BSS transition management request frame from the first AP (401), if the unlinking frame or the authentication unlinking frame is received from the first AP (401) within a specified time, adding the information of the first AP (401) to a list containing APs that have experienced problems related to the BSS transition management, which is stored in memory (530).

[0357] An electronic device according to one example may include a communication circuit (510) that supports short-range wireless communication. The electronic device may include a memory (530) that stores at least one computer program. The electronic device may include at least one processor (520). The at least one computer program may include instructions that, when executed individually or collectively by the at least one processor (520), cause the electronic device to transmit to the first AP (401) a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device supports a basic service set transition in a procedure for connecting the electronic device to the first AP (401). The instructions may, when executed individually or collectively by the at least one processor (520), cause the electronic device to receive a basic service set transition management request frame from the first AP (401) while the electronic device is connected to the first AP (401). When the above instructions are executed individually or collectively by the at least one processor (520), the electronic device may disconnect the connection between the first AP (401) and the electronic device and perform a connection with the second AP (402) after receiving the BSS switching management request frame.When the above instructions are executed individually or collectively by at least one processor (520), if the electronic device has not been assigned an IP address from the second AP (402) after the association between the second AP (402) and the electronic device is completed, the electronic device may be caused to transmit a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device does not support the BSS transition to the first AP (401) in the procedure to reconnect the electronic device with the first AP (401).

[0358] An electronic device according to one example may include a communication circuit (510) that supports short-range wireless communication. The electronic device may include a memory (530) that stores at least one computer program. The electronic device may include at least one processor (520). The at least one computer program may include instructions that, when executed individually or collectively by the at least one processor (520), cause the electronic device to receive information related to the first AP (401) from the first AP (401) in a procedure to connect the first AP (401) and the electronic device. The instructions may, when executed individually or collectively by the at least one processor (520), cause the electronic device to transmit to the first AP (401) a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device does not support the basic service set transition if the information related to the first AP (401) exists in a list containing an AP that has a problem related to the basic service set transition.

Claims

1. In an electronic device, A communication circuit (510) that supports short-range wireless communication; Memory (530) for storing at least one computer program; and It includes at least one processor (520), When the above at least one computer program is executed individually or collectively by the above at least one processor (520), the electronic device, While performing the procedure to connect the first AP (401) and the electronic device, a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device supports a basic service set transition is transmitted to the first AP (401), and With the first AP (401) and the electronic device connected, a basic service set (BSS) switching management request frame is received from the first AP (401), and After receiving the above BSS transition management request frame, receive a disassociation frame or a deauthentication frame from the first AP (401), and An electronic device comprising instructions for transmitting a frame to the first AP (401) containing information indicating that the electronic device does not support the BSS switching while performing a procedure to reconnect the first AP (401) and the electronic device.

2. In Paragraph 1, When the above instructions are executed individually or collectively by the at least one processor (520), the electronic device, Upon receiving the above BTM transition management request frame from the first AP (401), a response frame indicating that the BTM transition is not performed is transmitted, and An electronic device that, after transmitting the above response frame, receives a disassociation frame or a deauthentication frame from the first AP (401), in a procedure to reconnect the first AP (401) and the electronic device, transmits a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device does not support the BSS transition to the first AP (401).

3. In paragraphs 1 and 2, When the above instructions are executed individually or collectively by the at least one processor (520), the electronic device, An electronic device that, upon receiving the above BTM transition management request frame from the first AP (401), does not transmit a response frame indicating that the BTM transition is not performed, and receives a disassociation frame or a deauthentication frame from the first AP (401), in a procedure to reconnect the first AP (401) and the electronic device, transmits a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device does not support the BSS transition to the first AP (401).

4. In paragraphs 1 to 3, When the above instructions are executed individually or collectively by the at least one processor (520), the electronic device, After receiving the above BSS switching management request frame, disconnect the connection between the first AP (401) and the electronic device, and Establish a connection with the 2nd AP (402), and An electronic device that, in a procedure to reconnect the first AP (401) and the electronic device after the association between the second AP (402) and the electronic device is completed and the second AP (402) has not assigned an IP address, transmits a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device does not support the BSS transition to the first AP (401).

5. In paragraphs 1 through 4, When the above instructions are executed individually or collectively by the at least one processor (520), the electronic device, After receiving the above BSS switching management request frame, disconnect the connection between the first AP (401) and the electronic device, and Establish a connection with the above 2 AP (402), and Based on the fact that the quality of the signal transmitted by the second AP (402) is below a specified value or the congestion of the channel established between the second AP (402) and the electronic device is above a specified size, the connection with the second AP (402) is disconnected, and An electronic device that, in a procedure to reconnect the first AP (401) and the electronic device, transmits a frame to the first AP (401) containing information indicating that the electronic device does not support the BSS switching.

6. In paragraphs 1 through 5, When the above instructions are executed individually or collectively by the at least one processor (520), the electronic device, After receiving the above BSS switching management request frame, disconnect the connection between the first AP (401) and the electronic device, and Establish a connection with the above 2 AP (402), and Based on receiving the unlink frame or the unauthentication frame from the second AP (402), disconnect from the second AP (402), and An electronic device that, in a procedure to reconnect the first AP (401) and the electronic device, transmits a frame to the first AP (401) containing information indicating that the electronic device does not support the BSS switching.

7. In paragraphs 1 through 6, When the above instructions are executed individually or collectively by the at least one processor (520), the electronic device, An electronic device that, after receiving the BSS transition management request frame from the first AP (401), if the unlink frame or the authentication unlink frame is received from the first AP (401) within a specified time, adds the information of the first AP (401) to a list including the AP that has a problem related to the BSS transition management.

8. In paragraphs 1 through 7, When the above instructions are executed individually or collectively by the at least one processor (520), the electronic device, While performing a procedure to connect the third AP and the electronic device, information related to the third AP is received from the third AP, and An electronic device that transmits a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device does not support the BSS switching to the third AP when information related to the third AP exists in the list.

9. In paragraphs 1 through 8, When the above instructions are executed individually or collectively by the at least one processor (520), the electronic device, An electronic device that transmits to the first AP (401) a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device does not support the BSS transition while performing a procedure to reconnect the first AP (401) and the electronic device based on confirming that the first AP (401) previously received a disconnection frame or an authentication deactivation frame related to the BSS transition.

10. A recording medium storing at least one program comprising instructions that cause the electronic device to perform operations when executed individually or collectively by at least one processor (520) of the electronic device, When the above instructions are executed, the electronic device, In a procedure for connecting the first AP (401) and the electronic device, a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device supports a basic service set transition is transmitted to the first AP (401), and With the first AP (401) and the electronic device connected, a basic service set (BSS) switching management request frame is received from the first AP (401), and After receiving the above BSS transition management request frame, receive a disassociation frame or a deauthentication frame from the first AP (401), and A recording medium that transmits to the first AP (401) a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device does not support the BSS switching in a procedure to reconnect the first AP (401) and the electronic device.

11. In Paragraph 10, When the above instructions are executed individually or collectively by the at least one processor (520), the electronic device, Upon receiving the above BTM transition management request frame from the first AP (401), a response frame indicating that the BTM transition is not performed is transmitted, and A recording medium that, after transmitting the above response frame, when a disassociation frame or deauthentication frame is received from the first AP (401), transmits to the first AP (401) a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device does not support the BSS switching in a procedure to reconnect the first AP (401) and the electronic device.

12. In paragraphs 10 to 11, When the above instructions are executed individually or collectively by the at least one processor (520), the electronic device, A recording medium that, upon receiving the above BTM transition management request frame from the first AP (401), transmits to the first AP (401) a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device does not support the BSS transition, in a procedure to reconnect the first AP (401) and the electronic device, when a disassociation frame or deauthentication frame is received from the first AP (401) without transmitting a response frame indicating that the BTM transition is not performed.

13. In Articles 10 through 12, When the above instructions are executed individually or collectively by the at least one processor (520), the electronic device, After receiving the above BSS switching management request frame, disconnect the connection between the first AP (401) and the electronic device, and establish a connection with the second AP (402), A recording medium that transmits to the first AP (401) a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device does not support the BSS switching in a procedure to reconnect the first AP (401) and the electronic device after the association between the second AP (402) and the electronic device is completed and an IP address is not assigned from the second AP (402).

14. In Articles 10 through 13, When the above instructions are executed individually or collectively by the at least one processor (520), the electronic device, After receiving the above BSS switching management request frame, disconnect the connection between the first AP (401) and the electronic device, and establish a connection with the second AP (402), Based on the quality of the signal transmitted by the second AP (402) being below a specified value, the congestion of the channel established between the second AP (402) and the electronic device being above a specified size, and / or receiving the unlink frame or the unauthentication frame from the second AP (402), the connection with the second AP (402) is disconnected, and A recording medium that transmits to the first AP (401) a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device does not support the BSS switching in a procedure to reconnect the first AP (401) and the electronic device.

15. In a method of operating an electronic device, In a procedure for connecting the first AP (401) and the electronic device, the operation of transmitting to the first AP (401) a frame containing information indicating that the electronic device supports a basic service set transition (BSS); With the first AP (401) and the electronic device connected, the operation of receiving a basic service set (BSS) switching management request frame from the first AP (401); After receiving the above BSS transition management request frame, the operation of receiving a disassociation frame or a deauthentication frame from the first AP (401); A method of operation of an electronic device comprising, in a procedure to reconnect the first AP (401) and the electronic device, transmitting a frame to the first AP (401) that includes information indicating that the electronic device does not support the BSS switching.

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