Passpoint, also known as Hotspot 2.0, is a Wi-Fi Alliance protocol that discovers and authenticates Wi-Fi hotspots for accessing the internet. It streamlines network access in Wi-Fi hotspots and eliminates finding and authenticating a network each time a user connects. It’s based on the IEEE 802.11u standard for interworking with external networks.
Passpoint provides the ability for your device to connect to available Passpoint-certified Wi-Fi hotspots automatically. This provides better bandwidth to users and relieves carrier infrastructure of traffic.
Passpoint features
Passpoint provides features for security, flexibility, and simple deployment such as:
- Automatic discovery and selection
- Roaming between hotspots
- Single SSID online sign-up
- Operator-specific policies
- Enterprise-level security for SIM and non-SIM devices alike
Passpoint benefits
There are multiple benefits to using Passpoint:
- Public hotspots are easier to identify and more secure. For example, your device will automatically connect to the real public airport Wi-Fi without having to manually test multiple networks
- Network providers can become partners with other providers, meaning hotspot locations are more prevalent.
- Passpoint networks require enterprise-grade WPA2 encryption, meaning security is more than that of open Wi-Fi networks.
How to use Passpoint networks
Passpoint is supported in the latest version of Windows 10, macOS 10.9 or newer, Android 6.0 or newer, and iOS 7 or newer.
To connect, simply open the list of nearby Wi-Fi networks on your device and connect to the Passpoint-certified option. Once done, your device will automatically connect to affiliated Passpoint networks in the future.
