Systems, Methods, Apparatus, and Articles of Manufacture to Provide Automatic Wireless Configuration

Abstract

Systems, methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture to provide automated configuration of local playback devices and networks based on external input are disclosed. An example media playback device includes a control interface to receive and process, at the media playback device, network configuration information for a local network from an external source, the control interface to receive and process the network configuration from the external source without requiring user intervention. The example media playback device includes a wireless interface to communicate with the local network based at least in part on the network configuration information. The example media playback device includes a speaker to output audio based on audio information received via the local network.

1 . A playback device, comprising:
 at least one wireless network interface configured to facilitate communication over at least one data network;   at least one processor;   a non-transitory computer-readable medium;   configuration settings including a factory-set default configuration setting stored on the non-transitory computer-readable medium; and   program instructions stored on the non-transitory computer-readable medium that are executable by the at least one processor such that the playback device is configured to:
 while operating in accordance with the configuration settings including the factory-set default configuration setting, connect to a first wireless network via the at least one wireless network interface; 
 obtain, via the first wireless network, from an external device, information indicative of a geographic region in which the playback device is located from a plurality of geographic regions, wherein each of the plurality of geographic regions comprises at least one country; 
 determine the geographic region in which the playback device is located based on the obtained information indicative of the geographic region in which the playback device is located; 
 based on the determined geographic region in which the playback device is located, update at least one of the configuration settings including an update to the factory-set default configuration setting; and 
 while operating in accordance with the updated configuration settings:
 receive audio content over a second wireless network; and 
 play back audio associated with the received audio content in synchrony with at least one other playback device connected to the second wireless network. 
 
   
     
     
         2 . The playback device of  claim 1 , wherein the program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the playback device is configured to obtain the information indicative of the geographic region in which the playback device is located comprise program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the playback device is configured to:
 obtain, from the external device, an indication of at least one Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with the playback device.   
     
     
         3 . The playback device of  claim 2 , wherein the program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the playback device is configured to determine the geographic region in which the playback device is located comprise program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the playback device is configured to:
 determine the geographic region in which the playback device is located based on the at least one IP address associated with the playback device.   
     
     
         4 . The playback device of  claim 1 , wherein the program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the playback device is configured to update the at least one of the configuration settings comprise program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the playback device is configured to:
 obtain at least one new configuration setting from at least one cloud-based server via the first wireless network.   
     
     
         5 . The playback device of  claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of geographic regions has respective regulatory requirements for wireless devices and wherein the program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the playback device is configured to update the at least one of the configuration settings comprise program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the playback device is configured to:
 update the at least one of the configuration settings to comply with the respective regulatory requirements of the determined geographic region.   
     
     
         6 . The playback device of  claim 1 , further comprising program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the playback device is configured to:
 before playing back the audio associated with the received audio content in synchrony with the at least one other playback device, transmit at least one configuration setting from the updated configuration settings to the at least one other playback device via the second wireless network.   
     
     
         7 . The playback device of  claim 1 , wherein the external device comprises one of a cloud-based server or a computing device connected to the first wireless network. 
     
     
         8 . The playback device of  claim 1 , wherein the configuration settings comprise at least one of: a network configuration setting, a group configuration setting, or a content playback configuration setting. 
     
     
         9 . The playback device of  claim 8 , wherein the configuration settings comprise the network configuration setting and wherein the network configuration setting is one of: a wireless channel setting, a wireless transmit power setting, or a bitrate setting. 
     
     
         10 . The playback device of  claim 1 , wherein the first wireless network is the same as the second wireless network. 
     
     
         11 . A method implemented by a playback device comprising configuration settings including a factory-set default configuration setting stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium, the method comprising:
 while operating in accordance with the configuration settings including the factory-set default configuration setting, connecting to a first wireless network;   obtaining, via the first wireless network, from an external device, information indicative of a geographic region in which the playback device is located from a plurality of geographic regions, wherein each of the plurality of geographic regions comprises at least one country;   determining the geographic region in which the playback device is located based on the obtained information indicative of the geographic region in which the playback device is located;   based on the determined geographic region in which the playback device is located, updating at least one of the configuration settings including an update to the factory-set default configuration setting; and   while operating in accordance with the updated configuration settings:
 receiving audio content over a second wireless network; and 
 playing back audio associated with the received audio content in synchrony with at least one other playback device connected to the second wireless network. 
   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein obtaining the information indicative of the geographic region in which the playback device is located comprises:
 obtaining, from the external device, an indication of at least one Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with the playback device.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein determining the geographic region in which the playback device is located comprises:
 determining the geographic region in which the playback device is located based on the at least one IP address associated with the playback device.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein updating the at least one of the configuration settings comprises:
 obtaining at least one configuration setting associated with the geographic region from at least one cloud-based server via the first wireless network.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein each of the plurality of geographic regions has respective regulatory requirements for wireless devices and wherein updating the at least one of the configuration settings comprises:
 updating the at least one of the configuration settings to comply with the respective regulatory requirements of the determined geographic region.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 before playing back the audio associated with the received audio content in synchrony with at least one other playback device, transmitting at least one configuration setting from the updated configuration settings to the at least one other playback device via the second wireless network.   
     
     
         17 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising configuration settings including a factory-set default configuration setting and program instructions that are executable by at least one processor such that a playback device is configured to:
 while operating in accordance with the configuration settings including the factory-set default configuration setting, connect to a first wireless network;   obtain, via the first wireless network, from an external device, information indicative of a geographic region in which the playback device is located from a plurality of geographic regions, wherein each of the plurality of geographic regions comprises at least one country;   determine the geographic region in which the playback device is located based on the obtained information indicative of the geographic region in which the playback device is located;   based on the determined geographic region in which the playback device is located, update at least one of the configuration settings including an update to the factory-set default configuration setting; and   while operating in accordance with the updated configuration settings:
 receive audio content over a second wireless network; and 
 play back audio associated with the received audio content in synchrony with at least one other playback device connected to the second wireless network. 
   
     
     
         18 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 17 , wherein the program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the playback device is configured to obtain the information indicative of the geographic region in which the playback device is located comprise program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the playback device is configured to:
 obtain, from the external device, an indication of at least one Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with the playback device.   
     
     
         19 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 18 , wherein the program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the playback device is configured to determine the geographic region in which the playback device is located comprise program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the playback device is configured to:
 determine the geographic region in which the playback device is located based on the at least one IP address associated with the playback device.   
     
     
         20 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 17 , wherein the program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the playback device is configured to update the at least one of the configuration settings comprise program instructions that are executable by the at least one processor such that the playback device is configured to:
 obtain at least one configuration setting associated with the geographic region from at least one cloud-based server via the first wireless network.