Electronic device for providing information of access point in wireless communication system and method thereof

1 . An electronic device comprising:

communication circuitry;

memory storing instructions; and

at least one processor functionally connected to the communication circuitry and the memory,

wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor individually or collectively, cause the electronic device to:

provide a tethering service to an external electronic device through the communication circuitry in a mobile hotspot mode,

search for at least one access point (AP) capable of replacing the tethering service for the external electronic device through the communication circuitry while providing the tethering service, and

based on at least one of a received signal strength of the at least one AP being equal to or greater than a specified threshold or a quality of service (QOS) information about the at least one AP being suitable for servicing the external electronic device, transmit, through the communication circuitry to the external electronic device, configuration information about the at least one AP for connecting the external electronic device to the at least one AP.

2 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor individually or collectively, cause the electronic device to connect the electronic device to the at least one AP and receive the QoS information about the at least one AP from the at least one AP through the communication circuitry based on the received signal strength of the at least one AP being equal to or greater than the specified threshold.

3 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor individually or collectively, cause the electronic device to determine to provide the configuration information about the at least one AP to the external electronic device based on the at least one AP being capable of accessing Internet or the external electronic device being connectable to the at least one AP without an additional authentication procedure.

4 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor individually or collectively, cause the electronic device to deactivate the mobile hotspot mode based on a battery level of the electronic device being less than a first threshold, a radio channel quality of the electronic device being less than a second threshold, or a remaining amount of data available for the electronic device to provide the tethering service being less than a third threshold.

5 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the configuration information is transmitted to the external electronic device through a device provisioning protocol (DPP) configuration response frame of a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) DPP.

6 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor individually or collectively, cause the electronic device to deactivate the mobile hotspot mode based on there being no connection for the tethering service for a specified time or a status field indicating successful connection to the at least one AP being received from the external electronic device after transmitting the configuration information.

7 . The electronic device of claim 6 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor individually or collectively, cause the electronic device to:

monitor connectivity of the at least one AP after deactivating the mobile hotspot mode, and

activate the mobile hotspot mode based on the received signal strength of the at least one AP being less than a first threshold, QoS information about the at least one AP not being suitable for servicing the external electronic device, or a hotspot request for requesting the tethering service is received from the external electronic device.

8 . The electronic device of claim 7 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor individually or collectively, cause the electronic device to deactivate the mobile hotspot mode based on the external electronic device not being connected to the tethering service of the mobile hotspot mode for the specified time after activating the mobile hotspot mode.

9 . The electronic device of claim 7 , wherein the hotspot request is received from the external electronic device through a DPP presence announcement frame of a Wi-Fi DPP.

10 . A method of providing information about an access point (AP) by an electronic device in a wireless communication system, the method comprising:

providing a tethering service to an external electronic device in a mobile hotspot mode;

searching for at least one access point (AP) capable of replacing the tethering service for the external electronic device while providing the tethering service; and

based on at least one of a received signal strength of the at least one AP being equal to or greater than a specified threshold or a quality of service (QoS) information about the at least one AP being suitable for servicing the external electronic device, transmitting, to the external electronic device, configuration information about the at least one AP for connecting the external electronic device to the at least one AP.

11 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising at least one of:

connecting the electronic device to the at least one AP and receiving the QoS information about the at least one AP from the at least one AP based on the received signal strength of the AP being equal to or greater than the specified threshold, or

determining to provide the configuration information about the at least one AP to the external electronic device based on the at least one AP being capable of accessing Internet or the external electronic device being connectable to the at least one AP without an additional authentication procedure,

wherein the configuration information is transmitted to the external electronic device through a device provisioning protocol (DPP) configuration response frame of a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) DPP.

12 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising, determining to provide the configuration information about the at least one AP to the external electronic device based on a battery level of the electronic device being less than a first threshold, a radio channel quality of the electronic device being less than a second threshold, or a remaining amount of data available for the electronic device to provide the tethering service being less than a third threshold.

13 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising, deactivating the mobile hotspot mode based on there being no connection for the tethering service for a specified time or a status field indicating successful connection to the at least one AP being received from the external electronic device after transmitting the configuration information.

14 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising:

monitoring connectivity of the at least one AP after deactivating the mobile hotspot mode,

activating the mobile hotspot mode based on the received signal strength of the at least one AP being less than a first threshold, QoS information about the at least one AP not being suitable for servicing the external electronic device, or a hotspot request for requesting the tethering service being received from the external electronic device, and

deactivating the mobile hotspot mode based on the external electronic device not being connected to the tethering service of the mobile hotspot mode for the specified time after activating the mobile hotspot mode,

wherein the hotspot request is received from the external electronic device through a DPP presence announcement frame of a Wi-Fi DPP.

15 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium having recorded thereon a program for implementing an operating method of an electronic device to provide information about an access point (AP), the operating method comprising:

providing a tethering service to an external electronic device in a mobile hotspot mode;

searching for at least one access point (AP) capable of replacing the tethering service for the external electronic device while providing the tethering service; and

based on at least one of a received signal strength of the at least one AP being equal to or greater than a specified threshold or a quality of service (QoS) information about the at least one AP being suitable for servicing the external electronic device, transmitting, to the external electronic device, configuration information about the at least one AP for connecting the external electronic device to the at least one AP.

16 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the operating method further comprises:

connecting the electronic device to the at least one AP and receiving the QoS information about the at least one AP from the at least one AP based on the received signal strength of the AP being equal to or greater than the specified threshold, or

determining to provide the configuration information about the at least one AP to the external electronic device based on the at least one AP being capable of accessing Internet or the external electronic device being connectable to the at least one AP without an additional authentication procedure,

wherein the configuration information is transmitted to the external electronic device through a device provisioning protocol (DPP) configuration response frame of a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) DPP.

17 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the operating method further comprises determining to provide the configuration information about the at least one AP to the external electronic device based on a battery level of the electronic device being less than a first threshold, a radio channel quality of the electronic device being less than a second threshold, or a remaining amount of data available for the electronic device to provide the tethering service being less than a third threshold.

18 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the operating method further comprises deactivating the mobile hotspot mode based on there being no connection for the tethering service for a specified time or a status field indicating successful connection to the at least one AP being received from the external electronic device after transmitting the configuration information.

19 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18 , wherein the operating method further comprises:

monitoring connectivity of the at least one AP after deactivating the mobile hotspot mode,

activating the mobile hotspot mode based on the received signal strength of the at least one AP being less than a first threshold, QoS information about the at least one AP not being suitable for servicing the external electronic device, or a hotspot request for requesting the tethering service being received from the external electronic device, and

deactivating the mobile hotspot mode based on the external electronic device not being connected to the tethering service of the mobile hotspot mode for the specified time after activating the mobile hotspot mode.