US Patent 9445032 Auto-pairing control device

A host device, such as a television, automatically pairs with target devices, such as remote controls. There may be multiple host devices, and the host devices may exchange information that specifies valid, trusted, or authorized target devices, the signal level or range of signal levels at which the host device communicated with the target device, and other information. The host devices detect when a specific target device meets a transition criterion. Responsive to the transition criterion, a new host device automatically connects to the target device, and a prior host device that previously connected to the target device no longer responds to the target device.