Electronic device for providing tethering service and method thereof
An electronic device for providing a tethering service in a wireless communication system and a method thereof are provided. The electronic device includes a wireless communication module, and at least one processor operatively coupled to the wireless communication module. The at least one processor may be configured to establish a tethering connection between the electronic device and an external electronic device through the wireless communication module, obtain at least one piece of information related to an Internet connection of at least one application executable in the external electronic device, select a backbone network for a specified application among the at least one application executable in the external electronic device based on the at least one piece of information, map a tethering connection for the specified application to the selected backbone network, and transmit data received from the specified application of the external electronic device to the mapped backbone network.
1. An electronic device comprising:
a wireless communication module;
memory storing one or more computer programs; and
one or more processors communicatively coupled to the wireless communication module and the memory,
wherein the one or more computer programs include computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors individually or collectively, cause the electronic device to:
establish a tethering connection between the electronic device and an external electronic device through the wireless communication module,
obtain at least one piece of information related to at least one application executable in the external electronic device,
select one of a cellular network or a WiFi network as a backbone network for providing the tethering connection with respect to a specified application among the at least one application executable in the external electronic device based on the at least one piece of information,
provide the tethering connection for the specified application executed in the external electronic device using the selected backbone network, and
transmit data received from the specified application of the external electronic device to the selected backbone network,
wherein the at least one piece of information includes network switching permission information indicating, for each of the at least one application executable in the external electronic device, that the WiFi network is preferred for the application and when the WiFi network is not available, whether switching to the cellular network is allowed for the application.
2. The electronic device of claim 1 ,
wherein the at least one piece of information includes the preferred network information indicating a specified network type for each of the at least one application executable in the external electronic device, and
wherein the network type includes at least one of cellular network only, minimum round trip time (RTT)-network first, WiFi network only, or any of the cellular network or the WiFi network.
3. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one piece of information includes network connection permission information indicating whether the specified application is blocked or all applications are allowed, for each of at least one access point (AP).
4. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the one or more computer programs further include computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors individually or collectively, cause the electronic device to obtain the at least one piece of information from at least one of a user, a server, or an external electronic device.
5. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the one or more computer programs further include computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors individually or collectively, cause the electronic device to:
determine whether configuration information related to an Internet connection of the specified application is stored,
in an absence of the configuration information, determine whether the external electronic device uses a same user account as the electronic device, and
when the external electronic device uses the same user account as the electronic device, obtain configuration information related to the Internet connection of the specified application, configured for the user account.
6. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the one or more computer programs further include computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors individually or collectively, cause the electronic device to determine whether the backbone network supports a quality of service (QOS) indicated by QoS information related to the specified application, referring to the QoS information.
7. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the one or more computer programs further include computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors individually or collectively, cause the electronic device to:
determine whether the specified application is for the cellular network only, based on the at least one piece of information,
when the specified application is not for the cellular network only, and a connection between the electronic device and a WiFi network is available, detect the WiFi network suitable for quality of service (QOS) information related to the specified application, referring to the QoS information, and select the detected WiFi network as the backbone network,
when the specified application is not for the cellular network only, and a connection between the electronic device and the WiFi network is not available, determine whether switching to the cellular network is allowed for the specified application based on the at least one piece of information,
when switching to the cellular network is allowed for the specified application, select the cellular network as the backbone network, and
when switching to the cellular network is not allowed for the specified application, terminate a tethering service to the external electronic device.
8. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the one or more computer programs further include computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors individually or collectively, cause the electronic device to:
determine whether a tethering service is available for the specified application through a first backbone network currently connected to the electronic device, based on the at least one piece of information,
when the tethering service is not available for the specified application through the first backbone network, detect a second backbone network for the specified application, and
connect to the second backbone network for the tethering service of the specified application, while maintaining a connection to the first backbone network for data communication of the electronic device.
9. A method performed by an electronic device, the method comprising:
establishing a tethering connection between the electronic device and an external electronic device through a wireless communication module;
obtaining at least one piece of information related to at least one application executable in the external electronic device;
selecting one of a cellular network or a WiFi network as a backbone network for providing the tethering connection with respect to a specified application among the at least one application executable in the external electronic device, based on the at least one piece of information;
providing the tethering connection for the specified application executed in the external electronic device using the selected backbone network; and
transmitting data received from the specified application of the external electronic device to the mapped selected backbone network,
wherein the at least one piece of information includes network switching permission information indicating, for each of the at least one application executable in the external electronic device, that the WiFi network is preferred for the application and when the WiFi network is not available, whether switching to the cellular network is allowed for the application.
10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the at least one piece of information includes:
the preferred network information indicating a specified network type for each of the at least one application executable in the external electronic device, wherein the network type includes at least one of cellular network only, minimum round trip time (RTT)-network first, WiFi network only, or any of the cellular network or the WiFi network.
11. The method of claim 9 , wherein the at least one piece of information includes:
network connection permission information indicating whether the specified application is blocked or all applications are allowed, for each of at least one access point (AP).
12. The method of claim 9 ,
wherein the at least one piece of information is obtained from at least one of a user, a server, or an external electronic device.
13. The method of claim 9 , wherein the obtaining of at the at least one piece of information comprises:
determining whether configuration information related to an Internet connection of the specified application is stored;
in an absence of the configuration information, determining whether the external electronic device uses a same user account as the electronic device; and
when the external electronic device uses the same user account as the electronic device, obtaining configuration information related to the Internet connection of the specified application, configured for the user account.
14. The method of claim 9 , wherein the selecting comprises:
determining whether the backbone network supports a quality of service (QOS) indicated by QoS information related to the specified application, referring to the QoS information.
15. The method of claim 9 , wherein the selection of the backbone network comprises:
determining whether the specified application is for a cellular network only based on the at least one piece of information;
when the specified application is not for the cellular network only, and a connection between the electronic device and a WiFi network is available, detecting the WiFi network suitable for quality of service (QOS) information related to the specified application, referring to the QoS information, and selecting the detected WiFi network as the backbone network;
when the specified application is not for the cellular network only, and a connection between the electronic device and the WiFi network is not available, determining whether switching to the cellular network is allowed for the specified application;
when switching to the cellular network is allowed for the specified application, selecting the cellular network as the backbone network; and
when switching to the cellular network is not allowed for the specified application, terminating a tethering service.
16. The method of claim 9 , wherein the selection of the backbone network comprises:
determining whether a tethering service is available for the specified application through a first backbone network currently connected to the electronic device based on the at least one piece of information,
when the tethering service is not available for the specified application through the first backbone network, detecting a second backbone network for the specified application, and
connecting to the second backbone network for the tethering service of the specified application, while maintaining a connection to the first backbone network for data communication of the electronic device.