What does Wi-Fi Direct provide? SONY BRAVIA: setting up Wi-Fi Direct and mirroring the screen. Wi-Fi Direct Apps on Android
How to properly use Wi-Fi Direct on an Android system is a common question that can be found on various forums. The fact is that in the world of software, new types of technologies appear every day that make people's lives much easier. Wi-Fi Direct can be considered one of these technologies. Since this is a fairly recent option, few people know how to work with it and for what purposes it is needed.
What is Wi-Fi Direct
This is a type of wireless communication that allows you to exchange information between several smartphones that can also support this technology. It must be said that to synchronize and transfer information, you do not need to look for a common access point. In other words, you can connect several smartphones directly. Simply put, you can connect several Android smartphones via a Wi-Fi network, if they have this technology.It must be said that this option is available in almost any modern device with Android OS. It is clear that if we are talking about a cheap device, then such an option may not be available. Moreover, you don’t have to make complex settings. The devices find each other automatically. In addition to ordinary gadgets, devices such as tablets, laptops, using this connection you can connect via Wi-Fi Direct.
It is important that the smartphone can work with such technology. Well, now you can move on to the question - How does this function work?
How the technology works
It must be said right away that the information transfer speed when connecting through such a network can reach a threshold of 200-250 Mbits. In this case, the capture radius with line of sight reaches two hundred meters and about seventy meters indoors. The level of security of the communication channel is also a good indicator.For Wi-Fi Direct to work, the device must come with a special chip. They come in several varieties:
- Operates at a frequency of 2.4 GHz.
- Operation at 5 GHz frequency.
- Work in two ranges.
The developers say that this standard provides a well-protected communication channel. However, in reality this is not entirely true. As long as the conversation is about personal home use of the system, there is no threat of data hacking. But the problem is much more serious if you work with such a function in a large office. Here a huge number of users can connect to such a network. Any Wi-Fi Direct for the Windows operating system can act as a proxy server, and thus the PC will receive all the data about any smartphone on the network.
Setting up Wi-Fi Direct on Android devices
To set up Wi-Fi Direct on your smartphone, go to the Wi-Fi wireless network settings and activate the adapter.
You will be redirected to a search page for gadgets that can also work with this technology. It must be said that on other devices it must also be activated.
Once your device has searched, simply select the device you want and confirm that they will sync with each other. Next, the smartphones will be connected to the same network. Now you can effortlessly transfer documents or broadcast sound and pictures to other devices. No additional settings are required.
How to Transfer Files from an Android Tablet Using Wi-Fi Direct
Before transferring, enable the option on the connected devices and synchronize them as shown earlier. After that, open any file manager on the sending device and find the file to transfer.
Hold this file until a menu appears on the screen. Find the "Send via" option. Next, you should find the desired option (for us it is Wi-Fi Direct).
As you can see, everything is very easy. Absolutely any user can cope with this. With all that said, absolutely any modern Android tablet supports Wi-Fi Direct. Separate utilities have also been written for Wi-Fi Direct - installing such an application will make working with the technology more convenient and faster.
Disadvantages of Wi-Fi Direct
Like any new technology, this type of communication has its negative features:- Clogging of the general ether. The trouble is that when creating a standard network, all devices are connected to one access point. But in the case of Wi-Fi Direct technology, many independent connections are created. Moreover, users of mobile devices and laptops, as well as printers, TVs, set-top boxes, etc. can connect. Ultimately, there may be dozens or even hundreds of individual networks in one large building. Because of this, real chaos is happening on the Internet. At the same time, the network cannot be kept under control. This proportionally affects the speed of information transfer.
- As we wrote earlier, the level of protection is poor if we are talking about connections in large buildings.
- Energy consumption. Although the option is very useful and helps transfer large data packets at high speeds, the use of this technology increases energy consumption, thereby reducing the operating time of the smartphone. It must be said that Bluetooth requires much less electricity.
- Impressive coverage radius. It would seem that this fact can be safely considered an advantage. That's how it is. But this advantage can be taken advantage of by attackers. In addition, if we take into account the large number of connected smartphones, the cluttering of the airwaves occurs much faster.
- Well, at the very end, it must be said that to enable this technology, you will need a special chip. Of course, new phones are now equipped with both Wi-Fi and Wi-Di adapters. But there are still some smartphones that do not work with the above technology.
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, or 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.
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 WiFi Direct support 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.
Wi-Fi Direct technology - what is it? This is a cutting-edge set of software protocols that allows you to transfer files without an Internet connection. Devices that support this certificate can connect to each other and send data over a distance of up to 200 meters. The transmission speed reaches high levels - up to 250 megabits per second. It is also worth noting that this network has high channel security. Wi-Fi Direct technology is very similar to the well-known Bluetooth standard, only it surpasses it in many ways.
This data transfer method greatly simplifies the work of users
Progress does not stand still, and today you have the opportunity to perform unimaginable operations that you could only dream of before: print files directly from your phone, watch videos from your tablet on the TV screen, send photos from your smartphone to your laptop, openly use data on your computer via TV. And all this without wires, waiting time and multi-step setup.
Features of wireless technology
- This set of protocols is developed, certified and supported by the Wi-Fi Alliance.
- After enabling this function on devices, they automatically detect each other.
- To create a Direct network, you do not need a router. A router can be useful if you want to access the World Wide Web.
- You can create a connection of gadgets “1 - 1” or “1 - many”. Paired devices include smartphones, laptops, computers, printers, keyboards, VCRs, routers, scanners, cameras, digital frames and other equipment.
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 must 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 regular 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 probably 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 combining 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 the 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.
If you recently purchased a smartphone or tablet with the latest versions of Android, you have probably seen a new item in the wireless network settings - Wi Fi Direct. What is it and what is it for? We answer your questions.
Exchange data at high speed and without a router
What is Wi-Fi Direct
Wi Fi Direct is a relatively new wireless communication protocol designed to connect two or more devices without . Simply put, a technology that allows us to connect Android phones and/or tablets into one network without requiring a router.
Technically, this is implemented on Wi-Fi modules, similar to those that provide us with Internet access. Accordingly, the technology will support the same wireless communication standards. The modules operate at a frequency of 2.4 or 5 GHz, but most of them support both modes, so they can work in wireless networks of any standard (802.11 a/b/g/n/).
A reasonable question arises: how does a Wi-Fi connection differ from the Bluetooth technology we are used to? Here are its main differences:
- higher data transfer speed;
- wider range of action;
- and most importantly - the ability to connect several devices together, and not just two; Moreover, for this, only one of them, equipped with a chip that supports Direct, will be sufficient.
In addition, users do not yet have a consensus on the security of such connections. The developers claim that Wi Fi Direct is higher than Bluetooth, but in reality it turns out differently. For a home network there will not be much difference, but when you connect a group of devices to a Wi-Fi network, say, in an office, each of them not only creates a separate connection (which significantly clogs the airwaves), but can also serve as a proxy for anyone connect to it. It turns out that the level of connection security at this moment remains in question.
How is this technology used?
To use this communication method, you will not need anything - all your actions will be no different from the usual turning on Wi-Fi:
- Go to wireless network settings and turn on Wi-Fi.
- On the screen where the list of available connections is displayed, go to the “Wi Fi Direct” tab.
- In the list that appears, select the desired recipient name or several and click “Connect”.
Now you can transfer any data via Wi-Fi - music, images, documents - to other devices. Suppose you need to send photos from your phone to your tablet (provided that both gadgets are running Android):
- We go through where the necessary files are located.
- Select one or more images or other materials.
- In the menu we find the “Send” item, from the options that appear, select “Wi-Fi Direct”.
- Now all that remains is to select the receiving device - and the files will be sent to it “over the air”.
Conclusion
As you can see, Wi Fi Direct can greatly facilitate your task of communication between devices and data transfer. For example, connecting several tablets or phones to a network can be very appealing to fans of online games: they can even play with each other. The main thing is that their devices are within reach of each other.
The computerization of everyday life has introduced the technical terms Wi-Fi and bluetooth into everyday life. Nowadays, even people who are far from computer technology have an idea about devices that support Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. They help connect multiple devices to the Internet and wirelessly exchange data.
Today we will talk about one of these technologies.
What is Wi-Fi Direct?
Wi-Fi Direct combines the benefits of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Wi-Fi wireless technology, mostly used for Internet access, is, unlike Bluetooth, high-speed. Another advantage is easier setup. Wi-Fi Direct, unlike Wi-Fi, specializes not in Internet access, but in wireless data transfer between devices without a router. The number of such devices in most cases is not necessarily limited to two. Please note that you cannot use a Wi-Fi Direct access point to connect to a Wi-Fi network at the same time.
Wi-Fi Direct transfers data an order of magnitude faster than Bluetooth. When connecting via Wi-Fi Direct, unlike Bluetooth, you do not need to think about whether the connected device is in sight. The established connection is encrypted using the Wi-Fi Protected Setup standard and does not require password protection.
Support for Wi-Fi Direct by one device or another is physically realized by the presence of a special chip in it. Since the technology is new, this chip is present only in Smart TVs and the most modern smartphones and tablets. The Windows operating system supports Wi-Fi Direct starting from version 8, and Google Android OS from version 4.0.
Connecting a TV to a mobile device via Wi-Fi Direct
This connection is convenient, for example, for transferring and viewing video files from a smartphone or tablet on a TV. Another option is to remotely control your TV. Obviously, the connected devices must support Wi-Fi Direct. The connection initiator sends a communication invitation to the selected device from the list of detected ones. All that remains is for him to confirm the connection. As a rule, mains-powered or stationary devices are selected as the “master” device.
As an example, let's look at the specific steps to establish a connection between an LG Smart TV and an HTC One V smartphone.
- In the “Wireless Connections and Networks” section of your smartphone settings, click the “More” button.
- In the Wi-Fi Direct tab that appears, click OK. The message “Wi-Fi Direct is enabled” should appear.
- In the TV settings, go to the “Network” tab.
- In the list of networks that appears, select Wi-Fi Direct.
- In the pop-up window, move the switch to the “On” position.
- After detecting your Android device, answer “Yes” to the “Request connection” question. In the same window, check the box next to “Connect automatically without prompting” to speed up subsequent connections.
- Once your phone is connected, it will prompt you to press OK to accept the request from the TV. After this click, a message will appear on the TV indicating that the connection with the Android device has been established.
As you can see, setting up a connection via Wi-Fi Direct is very simple and accessible to any user.
Applications and prospects of Wi-Fi Direct
Using Wi-Fi Direct technology, it is convenient to transfer files from your computer to your smartphone, watch videos and play music on your TV. It is expected that this interface will be equipped not only with laptops, tablets and smartphones, but also with printers, mice, headsets, digital and video cameras, and game consoles.
Fans of Wi-Fi Direct predict the complete displacement of Bluetooth in the near future. Yes, wireless data transmission using this technology is significantly superior to Bluetooth in terms of speed, range and ease of deployment. But Wi-Fi Direct is not without its drawbacks. These include high power consumption, which can quickly drain the smartphone. True, recently there has been development of energy-saving modes for use specifically in Wi-Fi Direct.
Another drawback is the possible mutual interference with intensive use of Wi-Fi Direct in an apartment building. From this point of view, it is much more convenient to use this technology in a country house or country house.