Wifi direct does not transmit. Wi-Fi Direct what is it? Access point. Connection to a public network

You know what Wi-Fi technology is and use it every day. You know what Bluetooth is and use it quite often. The strengths of these two technologies can be reduced and this is called Wi-Fi Direct.

You can use Wi-Fi Direct on a TV only if it is a smart TV and it even has Wi-Fi, this does not mean that you can enable Wi-Fi Direct - this function may simply be missing. So the Samsung ue55ju6600uxua TV has it, but the Philips 40PFS5709 does not, although both have Wifi.

You can connect on a Samsung, Sony, HP computer or laptop with Microsoft windows 10, windows 7 or windows 8.1 installed if they support Intel WiDi, via Windows Media or a virtual WI-Fi Direct adapter from Microsoft.

Android devices, iphone (iPhone), for example, 5s and smartphones or tablets with Miracast support were not left out.

In general, this does not depend on the manufacturer, be it lg, samsung galaxy, philips, and chinese meizu, zte blade, huawei honor 5a - even a printer can support Wi-Fi direct.

What does Wi-Fi Direct mean and what is it for?

IWfi, a wireless communication technology with many applications, is the most common Internet connection.

The most common way to meet WiFi for the typical user is to access the Internet using a router.

A router is a physical device that creates an access point (AP) that you see on your smartphone, phone, or computer when searching for networks to connect to.

To connect, select a network, enter a password (if necessary), and voila - you have access to the Internet.

There are only cases when you don’t need the Internet, you want to connect only two devices and exchange data between them: send a file, for example, to a printer to print anything.

There is a technology designed to help even in these cases, and it's called Wi-Fi Direct.

Wi-Fi Direct - a little history

To send data to another device without wires and third equipment, one of the most popular types of communication is Bluetooth, which appeared in 1998.

It is ideal for connecting peripherals to your computer, such as a mouse and keyboard, or using wireless headphones, since they do not require fast data transfer.

WiFi is fast. Therefore, WiFi Direct technology was adopted to quickly transfer data between two devices, and it is even much easier to enable, configure and use and can be used for a wireless connection.

The first company to introduce support for WiFi Direct was Intel: they introduced the first standard, the Centrino 2 platform, in 2008.

Then, two years later, several major players in the networking industry followed suit, such as Marvell, Atheros, Broadcom, Realtek Ralind. It is possible that your laptop's Wi-Fi is from one of these manufacturers.

Google also added support for WiFi Direct on Android 4.0. Blackberry OS received an update to version 10.2, and the first to support WiFi Direct Xbox was the Xbox One, launched in 2013.

Note: Some people make the mistake of WiFi Direct wireless connections by confusing it with Ad-Hoc.

This connection connects two computers using WiFi, but its speed is limited to 11 Mbps.

How Wi-Fi Direct works

The most important principles behind the WiFi Direct standard are very simple. The operating mode is as follows: the device detects another, as if opening a wireless network. Then enter the password or press the button and you're done, the equipment is connected.

There is no need to set visibility, just enter a numeric key, just like Bluetooth technology.

Additionally, only one of the two connected devices must support Wi-Fi Direct.

To connect two devices via Wi-Fi Direct, one must create an access point, like a router, and the other device connects to that access point. This process happens automatically, there is no need to do anything manually.

You can print wirelessly and send photos from your phone to your computer, or play music on your TV from your tablet or smartphone.

In this case, you can forget about passwords. WiFi Direct technology uses Protected Setup (WPS), which is an easy way to connect two devices using secure wifi.

As with modern routers, simply enter the number displayed on the screen or press the connect button.

With its simplified configuration and faster speeds, WiFi Direct is a much better option than Bluetooth when it comes to transferring files between two or more devices.

Benefiting from ease of installation and scope of application, SEA is a useful standard for connecting peripheral devices.

Some analysts are even predicting the end of the Bluetooth era, although the technology is new enough that it could still be years away. If you have any questions, please use the comments section below. Good luck.

Wandering through the settings of your smartphone or tablet, you have probably seen various menu items more than once that raised questions for you. One of these items may well be Wi-Fi Direct. What it is?

Wi-Fi Direct, formerly known as Wi-Fi Peer-to-Peer, is a standard that allows multiple devices to connect to each other without using a router. Simply put, several devices connect to each other without using an access point, while the technology itself uses the same wireless communication standards as the Wi-Fi we are used to. This is very convenient if you do not have a router, but you want to connect several devices, for example, a couple of smartphones.

The question arises. If, say, you need to transfer a file from one smartphone to another, why not use Bluetooth technology? There are several reasons. For Wi-Fi Direct:

  • High data transfer speed.
  • Ability to connect multiple devices.
  • Wide range.

However, if you believe other data, the Wi-Fi Direct protocol is less secure than Bluetooth.

Connection is very simple. Take the main device, go to settings and select the Wi-Fi section.

Turn on Wi-Fi. In our case, the Wi-Fi Direct item will appear at the bottom of the screen. Click on it.

After searching and connecting, you can start exchanging files.

In the near future, Wi-Fi Direct, first known as Wi-Fi Peer-to-Peer, will become one of the main methods of wireless data transfer between devices. You can learn about what Wi-Fi Direct is and how this technology works from this material.

Wi-Fi Direct is a new standard for wireless data transfer that allows devices to connect directly to each other without an additional intermediate link in the form of a router.

Now, when connecting a printer to a computer or a phone to a laptop wirelessly, it is usually impossible to do this directly. This requires another connecting element in the form of a router.

Wi-Fi Direct is designed to remove this limitation and make it possible to connect devices directly.

Wi-Fi Direct: Au revoir Bluetooth

Whether Wi-Fi Direct will be able to completely displace Bluetooth is difficult to say with 100% certainty now, but all the prerequisites for this exist. The new Wi-Fi derivative is doing much better than Bluetooth in terms of transmission speed and coverage range, as well as data security and ease of connection.

Getting rid of the unnecessary wireless interface in mobile devices will benefit both manufacturers and users: devices will become a little more compact, lighter, cheaper, and easier to manufacture, and instead of two interfaces, users will only have to worry about switching one.

The new technology can be built into almost any device, including those that traditionally work via Bluetooth (wireless keyboards, mice, headsets). To increase autonomy, new energy saving modes were developed specifically for Wi-Fi Direct.

Specifications remain unchanged

At the hardware level, Wi-Fi Direct chips will differ little from conventional Wi-Fi modules. It follows that the technical characteristics of Wi-Fi Direct will be almost the same as those of modern Wi-Fi networks. The new devices will even be backwards compatible with most existing Wi-Fi devices (regardless of the specific 802.11 a/b/g/n version).

Most Wi-Fi Direct chips should operate at 2.4 GHz and therefore will work seamlessly with earlier versions of the 802.11 standard (up to version n, with the exception of 802.11a), and in some cases will be compatible with 802.11n.

Some Wi-Fi Direct modules will operate at a frequency of 5 GHz and, therefore, will be able to connect to 802.11a and n networks. As can be assumed from the information currently available, most chips will support both frequency ranges (2.4 and 5 GHz).

Certified Wi-Fi Direct devices will be able to support the same data transfer speed as conventional Wi-Fi chips, that is, about 250 Mb/s. Apparently, we are talking about chips created on the basis of 802.11n, and as soon as the first Wi-Fi Direct devices based on 802.11ac appear, the speed will increase several times.

The maximum speed will depend on the transmission medium, the number of connected devices and their specific characteristics.

Under ideal conditions, as with regular Wi-Fi, the new devices will be able to connect to each other over a distance of up to 200 meters.

Wi-Fi Direct is not necessarily a one-to-one connection

The fact that Wi-Fi Direct will most often be used to connect two devices does not mean that the capabilities of the standard will be limited to this. As part of the new technology, it will be possible to create entire groups of interconnected devices (Wi-Fi Direct Group).

Most often, such group configurations will apparently be used for multiplayer games. Players in this case will not need Internet access, mobile or any other coverage. Literally in the desert, they will be able to create a small wireless network if their devices are within range of each other.

However, not all network participants must support Wi-Fi Direct. One Wi-Fi Direct chip is enough, which will take on the role of traffic coordinator between devices with regular Wi-Fi modules on board.

It should be noted that in some cases, creating groups will not be possible, since some devices are initially created only for one-to-one connections. This does not contradict the specifications of the standard, in which the ability to connect to multiple devices at once is optional.

Exactly how many devices can be grouped or connected to one device depends on the specific conditions. Typically, this number will be slightly lower than with a regular access point

It is worth adding that despite the relationship between Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi Direct, these are still slightly different technologies, which is once again confirmed by the following fact. Certified devices (from the context it seems like most) will be able to connect to either Wi-Fi Direct groups or regular Wi-Fi access points, and only a few will be able to do both at the same time. For example, a laptop can be connected to the Internet via a router and at the same time be part of a Wi-Fi Direct group to distribute this Internet to other group members.

Connecting is as easy as saying yes

The procedure for connecting Wi-Fi Direct devices will be based on Wi-Fi Protected Setup and, as a rule, will involve pressing a single button.

If two users want to connect their devices to transfer files, then one of them will only need to send an invitation by selecting another device from the list of detected ones, and the second will need to confirm the connection.

How detection occurs

Wi-Fi Direct includes two useful features: Wi-Fi Direct Device Discovery and Service Discovery. Thus, devices will be able not only to find each other without additional actions on the part of the user, but also to immediately learn about the capabilities (services) provided.

For example, if a user has discovered several available devices and wants to send a photo, then Service Discovery will weed out all unnecessary devices (for example, audio systems) and leave only compatible peripherals (photo frames, TVs, other smartphones, etc.).

All this happens before connection, so the user does not have to go through several devices in turn in search of suitable capabilities.

Protocols such as UPnP and Bonjour also provided similar mechanisms for discovering other devices, but were incompatible with each other and remained little widespread. At the same time, Wi-Fi Direct should become a new unified standard for searching, connecting and transmitting information.

Who is the boss in the group?

If there will be several devices in a Wi-Fi Direct group, then the decision about who to assign the role of coordinator depends on several factors. For example, on the autonomy of the devices (preference will be given to a laptop running on the network rather than a smartphone), on the number of connections that the device can process, on the number of services provided, on computing power.

In principle, any certified device can become the main one in the group, however, more powerful and advanced ones (laptops, smartphones, handheld consoles) will always take priority over peripherals such as printers, digital cameras, etc.

Access level

The amount of information available for viewing on another Wi-Fi Direct device will directly depend on its purpose.

If we consider the connection of two phones, then, in principle, a situation is possible when a specific program will provide access to all or most of the information, but as a rule, it will take on only a certain, small range of tasks. For example, multiplayer games will only be able to connect several players together; programs for transferring videos or photos will only provide access to these multimedia files, but will hide the file system on the device.

Wi-Fi Direct in business

Wi-Fi Direct is primarily aimed at everyday users, but given the fact that devices that can benefit from the new technology are widely used in offices, the standard will eventually gain popularity in the workplace. For example, to transfer videos, images, presentations from your phone to a projector or to print files on a printer.

Safety

To ensure security, all data sent via Wi-Fi Direct will be encrypted using WPA2 - a reliable method that has proven itself in classic Wi-Fi.

At the same time, all devices that support dual connections (to regular Wi-Fi devices and Wi-Fi Direct groups) will work with data separately, providing additional security.

In the event that several devices from a Wi-Fi Direct group access the Internet through an intermediary connected to an unsecured or weaker-encrypted access point, data exchange between Wi-Fi Direct devices will still occur using WPA2, despite the fact that this information reached the transfer station in a less secure way.

Will Wi-Fi Direct replace regular Wi-Fi?

Although Wi-Fi Direct will be able to replace access points in some cases, it will not completely replace regular Wi-Fi, since these technologies were created for two different tasks.

Classic Wi-Fi is primarily intended for Internet access and communication between stationary devices, while Wi-Fi Direct will be used primarily for connecting two or more devices in any random location where there are no external connection points.

In many cases, access points are also needed for the reason that, as a rule, they support additional capabilities: connecting to the Network via an Ethernet port, the presence of hardware firewalls, advanced network management capabilities, etc.

Prevalence

The first Wi-Fi Direct devices appeared back in 2010, but we can really talk about the expansion of the new technology only after the release of Android 4.0.

Basically, the OS alone is not enough. Android 4.0 can even be installed on some older devices, but Wi-Fi Direct support will not magically appear on them. On the other hand, there are also opposite examples.

With the help of special modifications by the phone developer, Wi-Fi Direct can be implemented on Android 2.3. However, this situation does not occur often, and given the age of the OS, you should not expect a large number of Gingerbread smartphones with Wi-Fi Direct.

Since specialized Wi-Fi Direct peripherals do not yet exist, this technology is now mainly used to transfer files between Android smartphones. To do this, you need to activate Wi-Fi Direct in your phone settings, select a file or any other data and use the Share or Send function, where in addition to the usual transfer methods, Wi-Fi Direct will also be present.

There are still very few programs for working with Wi-Fi Direct on Google Play, or rather, only one, and it appeared literally the day before this material was written. The utility is called WiFi Shoot! and is designed to transfer photos and videos between devices. It is not yet possible to send other types of files using it.

A peculiar version of Wi-Fi Direct has been used in Apple devices for some time. AirDrop technology, although not compatible with Wi-Fi Direct, was introduced by Apple as its analogue simultaneously with the release of OS X Lion on July 1, 2011.

AirDrop is designed for direct file transfer over Wi-Fi, without prior setup and connection to a classic wireless Wi-Fi network. The technology is supported on most of the company's computers and laptops released since 2008.

One of the first non-IT companies wanting to use Wi-Fi Direct in the near future is General Motors. Developing the idea of ​​smart cars, the company plans to integrate Wi-Fi Direct device detectors into cars, and in case of dangerous approach, send a warning signal (for example, to a cyclist in the next lane) or automatically reduce speed. However, the specific ways the program behaves still remain open.

In-Stat estimates that Wi-Fi Direct expansion will end in 2014, when virtually all computers and portable devices will support the new technology.

The Internet has firmly entered our lives, and now you can configure it not only on a smartphone or personal computer, but also on related devices. Installing Wi-Fi Direct on your printer makes sense in many cases. You can create an access point when there is no router or access to the corporate Internet. This solves the problem of unnecessary wires and allows you to send documents directly for printing without wasting extra time.

Let's look at several ways.

Creating an access point

When using this method, the printer itself forms an Internet point. You can connect to it from a PC or phone. The method is possible when the device has a display.

You need to turn on the panel, open the Wi-Fi Setup settings, select Direct and “connect”. When the installation is complete, the password for the new access point that the program created will appear on the window.

Installation without display

To connect to the Internet on devices that only have control buttons, you need to make changes to the router. Modern routers have a WPS function - on the back of the case there is a button of the same name that you need to press.

Let's move on to setting up the printer. You need to hold down the Wi-Fi button for a few seconds and wait until the status indicators start flashing. When they turn green, it means the device has connected successfully. Further settings are made on the PC.

Connection to a public network

If you do not need to install Direct, we recommend connecting to an existing network. This will also allow you to print from any devices connected to the same access point, eliminating the need to run wires.

Go to the settings on the printer display, select Wi-Fi (recommended) - Setup Wizard. In the panel, find your network, enter the password and connect. If the network is open, you will not need to enter anything. After the installation is successfully completed, a message about this will appear on the window, and you will be asked to print a report.

The setup on the PC is completed. You need to go to Control Panel - Devices and Printers - Add a Printer. The computer itself will find the device connected to the network and begin installing it.

Connecting Wi-Fi directly to the printer greatly simplifies the work and speeds up the process. Files for printing can be sent from any device connected to the Internet, even if you are in the next office.

There are many terms that are not clear to ordinary users, which is why it is worth understanding each of them. You may be wondering what WiFi Direct is. This technology was announced quite a long time ago, it was intended to simplify the establishment of communication between a pair of separate Wi-Fi devices. In a sense, it's Bluetooth powered by Wi-Fi. It differs from the first in greater speed and distances, and from the second in ease of setup and safety. And everything seems fine, but it’s worth really looking into it.

A little history

To understand what WiFi Direct is, we need to take a look at the past. To organize wireless communication of consumer devices, Bluetooth was directly used, which is quite simple, has a short range, low cost and quite reasonable energy requirements. Nowadays, when smartphones have almost caught up with computers in terms of performance, we want something more. And here it is worth noting that there is Wi-Fi, which works faster and has a longer range, but there is an important nuance.

The original idea was that Wi-Fi can operate in two modes: direct, when several devices organize a simple mode, and infrastructure, which involves the use of an access point, which is a kind of traffic arbiter. The second option developed and moved forward over time, but the first was simply stuck in the nineties: now it is not supported by all household devices, it is characterized by low operating speed, and also insecurity. That is, it is dangerous, inconvenient and completely unusable, so modern Wi-Fi simply cannot do without an access point.

How are things now?

Manufacturers of household Wi-Fi want to simplify the life of modern users so much that home access points currently have almost no settings, and many of them work directly out of the box at default. Many users simply do not know how to turn on WiFi. It is this factor that has allowed the emergence of a huge number of free Wi-Fi from the best Internet providers. This became the reason for such a strong popularization of Wi-Fi, but at the same time it gave rise to many myths about the insecurity of such connections. All of the above has led to vendors' priorities changing in favor of a simple and secure wireless network. This is where the question of what WiFi Direct is arises.

Peculiarities

This connection method has numerous advantages:

Secure direct connection between devices, established similarly to Bluetooth, that is, you just need to select the appropriate item from the list, without thinking about PSK and SSID;

The speed of such networks is much faster than traditional Bluetooth;

A significantly greater distance between devices is allowed;

A high degree of reliability and security is guaranteed by constantly running WPA2, which cannot be disabled.

Implementation

So, what WiFi Direct is becomes clear; all that remains is to sort out the issues related to the intricacies of providing such access. Adoption of a new amendment to the 802.11 standard will take several years. It was decided to contrive within the framework of the specifications and standards available at the moment.

WiFi is fast. Therefore, WiFi Direct technology was adopted to quickly transfer data between two devices, and it is even much easier to enable, configure and use and can be used for a wireless connection.

The first company to introduce support for WiFi Direct was Intel: they introduced the first standard, the Centrino 2 platform, in 2008.

Then, two years later, several major players in the networking industry followed suit, such as Marvell, Atheros, Broadcom, Realtek Ralind. It is possible that your laptop's Wi-Fi is from one of these manufacturers.

Google also added support for WiFi Direct on Android 4.0. Blackberry OS received an update to version 10.2, and the first to support WiFi Direct Xbox was the Xbox One, launched in 2013.

Note: Some people make the mistake of WiFi Direct wireless connections by confusing it with Ad-Hoc.

This connection connects two computers using WiFi, but its speed is limited to 11 Mbit.

How Wi-Fi Direct works

The most important principles behind the WiFi Direct standard are very simple. The operating mode is as follows: the device detects another, as if opening a wireless network. Then enter the password or press the button and you're done, the equipment is connected.

There is no need to set visibility, just enter a numeric key, just like Bluetooth technology.

Additionally, only one of the two connected devices must support Wi-Fi Direct.

To connect two devices via Wi-Fi Direct, one must create an access point, like a router, and the other device connects to that access point. This process happens automatically, there is no need to do anything manually.

You can print wirelessly and send photos from your phone to your computer, or play music on your TV from your tablet or smartphone.


In this case, you can forget about passwords. WiFi Direct technology uses Protected Setup (WPS), which is an easy way to connect two devices using secure wifi.

As with modern routers, simply enter the number displayed on the screen or press the connect button.

With its simplified configuration and faster speeds, WiFi Direct is a much better option than Bluetooth when it comes to transferring files between two or more devices.

Benefiting from ease of installation and scope of application, SEA is a useful standard for connecting peripheral devices.

Some analysts are even predicting the end of the Bluetooth era, although the technology is new enough that it could still be years away. If you have any questions, please use the comments section below. Good luck.

The TV can be directly connected to a Wi-Fi Direct/Wi-Fi compatible device (such as a smartphone, computer) that also supports the “DLNA Push Controller” function. Device contents such as photos/music/videos can be played on the TV. No wireless router (or access point) is required to use this feature.

Steps

If the connection fails

When the standby screen for Wi-Fi Direct mode is displayed, press the OPTIONS button, then select [Manual].
If your device supports WPS, select. Otherwise, select [Other Methods] and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the setup.

Connecting to another device

Follow the above steps to connect your devices. You can register up to 20 devices, and connect up to 5 devices at the same time. To connect another device when 5 devices are already connected, disconnect the unnecessary device, then connect the desired device.

Changing the TV name displayed on the connected device

When the standby screen for Wi-Fi Direct mode is displayed, press the OPTIONS button, then select [Edit Renderer Name].

Display a list of connected devices/unregister devices

When the standby screen for Wi-Fi Direct mode is displayed, press the OPTIONS button, then select [Show device list / Erase].

To unregister a device, select the device you want to remove from the list, then click the button. Then select [Yes] on the confirmation screen.

To deregister all devices, press the OPTIONS button in the list, select [Delete All], then [Yes] on the confirmation screen.

A dialog box appears when you try to connect your device to your TV

Activating this function allows you to avoid connecting an unnecessary device.

When the standby screen for Wi-Fi Direct mode is displayed, press the OPTIONS button, then select [Registration Notification].

Please note that after rejecting a device's registration request, the device will not be able to connect until it is removed from the device list.

To connect a rejected device, press the OPTIONS button, select [Show Device List/Erase], then delete the rejected device. Then make a new connection to this device.

Skip connection steps the second time

After you register your device by completing the following settings, you can immediately start playing content on your TV by sending content from your device (except for Wi-Fi Direct mode).

Press the HOME button, and then select [Settings] → [Network] → [Standby Mode for Wi-Fi Direct] → [On].

If the TV is connected to (or to an access point on) the 5 GHz frequency using a USB wireless LAN adapter, set [Wi-Fi Direct Standby Mode] to [Off].

  • Wi-Fi is a mark of the Wi-Fi Alliance.
  • Wi-Fi Direct is a mark of the Wi-Fi Alliance.

Notes

  • If your TV is connected to a 5 GHz wireless LAN router (access point) using a USB wireless LAN adapter:
  • - The 5GHz connection will be disabled in Wi-Fi Direct mode and you will not be able to use functions such as Media Remote, TrackID™, etc.
  • - the connection will be resumed when exiting Wi-Fi Direct mode.
  • When connecting devices, the following must be taken into account:
  • - Wi-Fi Direct enabled devices: 2.4 GHz connection (5 GHz not supported).
  • - Devices that do not support Wi-Fi Direct: IEEE802.11n/g, 2.4 GHz connection (5 GHz not supported).