If you’re an Android user, you may have noticed that your smartphone doesn’t have a WPS button like many other smartphones on the market. This can be frustrating if you already have devices that use the WPS connection method, and you want to connect them to your new Android phone.
Why would Google leave such an important feature out of one of its phones? And why does it matter? This guide will help clear up these questions and more, allowing you to get the most out of your new Android phone by understanding how it works with other devices in your home and office.
What is Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS)?
WPS is a security standard that was built into Wi-Fi routers as of 2007. It makes it super easy to add new devices to your network, because all you must do is put in your router’s unique password for about two minutes, then select whether you want to connect via WPA2 or AES encryption.
How does it work?
Well, essentially there are two ways that devices can connect to your Wi-Fi: either automatically (with no key exchange) or manually (with each device asking for credentials from one another). These are called Push and Pull connections.
There are three versions of WPS. The first version was built into Wi-Fi routers and allowed for Push connections. The second allowed for Pull connections and could be used with Wi-Fi-enabled printers and other networking equipment. The third is known as Wi-Fi Protected Setup 2 (WPS2), allowing all devices to connect using Push or Pull, regardless of manufacturer or device type.
The Push connection is what makes WPS so simple. All you must do is press a button on your router and push one button on your device, and they’ll connect in no time. The Pull connection is slightly more complicated, requiring each device to enter their credentials into another machine before being allowed access.
Why WPS Is Not Used in Android Phones
Sadly, there are two things standing in your way of making your Wi-Fi password as strong as possible. First, not all routers allow for easy change of their pre-programmed SSIDs or passwords. Most consumer Wi-Fi routers will probably never let you manually enter your own SSID (for security reasons).
But even if you can change it, leaving Linksys or D-link just makes it easier for hackers to guess what kind of router they’re dealing with and take advantage of any weaknesses that may exist. There are also many Wi-Fi routers out there that don’t support WPA2 Personal encryption, instead opting for unencrypted methods like WEP, which are vulnerable to being hacked by moderately skilled users.
What are the alternatives to WPS?
People have always tried to simplify home networking but trying to take any one of them and claim it as an alternative to WPS is probably not a good idea.
Different technologies are better suited for different situations. For example, if you’re wanting to network two devices at once, then Bluetooth may be worth looking into.
But if you just want something that works quickly and easily with your existing router then using a network cable will work best.
And while they’re not quite ready for prime time yet, Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) was supposed to give us all simple connectivity without forcing us to do anything special beyond enabling our networks in our routers’ settings menus.
Some Caveats
While creating wireless access points (APs) for businesses and homes, engineers have tended to overlook including support for something called Wi-Fi Protected Setup, or WPS.
Why? Because it’s not only rarely used but actually—by design—easy to exploit to hack into someone’s network.
How does that work? A WPS attack uses brute force to guess passwords; it tries every possible combination until one works.
With many consumer routers using just eight digits as their default password, there are fewer than 10 million possible combinations; with six letters and numbers, there are fewer than 1 billion combinations.
The average computer can try 1 million passwords per second; that means that with a six-digit number, you could try all possible combinations in about two hours if you had no other tasks running on your computer.
How can you protect your network without using WPS?
If you have your wireless network encrypted, then it doesn’t matter if someone is able to crack into it. That’s what modern encryption is all about—it’s designed to prevent unauthorized people from getting access, even if they do manage to break in.
Encryption keys are just long strings of random numbers and letters that are impossible for humans to remember or guess. Even if a hacker could figure out how to decrypt your data, it would be useless without that key.
This means that if you use strong encryption protocols and keep those keys secret, there’s no reason why you should ever need a button like WPS to protect yourself from intruders.
What other wireless security protocols are there besides AES and TKIP/MIC?
A new wireless security protocol is always right around the corner, ready to replace your old favorite. But what are these protocols and how do they work? Here’s a quick guide to other wireless security protocols you might see your wireless router support: -CCMP (Counter Mode with Cipher Block Chaining Message Authentication Code Protocol):
A protocol developed by Cisco that’s used in conjunction with AES-based encryption. CCMP uses AES in counter mode, which flips bits in plaintext to ciphertext using information taken from previous messages and turns it into unreadable data. –WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy):
The first Wi-Fi encryption protocol was used to protect data during transfer over Wi-Fi networks before it was broken. It’s no longer recommended as a primary option because of its flaws.
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