Patent attributes
Embodiments of a system and method for Access Point Location Discovery in Unmanaged Networks are generally described herein. When a device attempts to discern its location indoors, it must be aware of the exact location of the network infrastructure that participates in the measurement. Indoors, it is the location of the Access Points (APs), which must be known to the device in order to triangulate its position. A system and method are disclosed for correctly discovering the exact location of network APs. An AP populates a neighbor list with location information by performing Wi-Fi scanning to receive a Media Access Control address and radio channel of a neighboring AP. The interested AP then acquires the position of this AP neighbor by querying its location and receiving its position information. Lastly, the received neighbor location is validated for correctness and reliability using Time of Flight measurements.