Overview

Cloud4Wi WiFi SDK empowers mobile apps with instant, automatic, and fully encrypted WiFi connection upon arrival to enabled locations, allowing app users to get a stable and fast connection for a smooth on-site experience.

Thanks to the secure WiFi authentication, the Cloud4Wi platform detects deterministically users’ arrival on site enabling apps with reliable location-awareness regardless of the OS location permissions.

Quickstart

Want to get started quickly? Follow these four steps:

1. Retrieve App project API keys. Create an App project in your Cloud4Wi dashboard and retrieve the client key and client secret on your dashboard. These are the credentials you need to authenticate the SDK and connect it to your Cloud4Wi account.

2. Set up WiFi network. Set up the WiFi locations and access points in your Cloud4Wi account and configure your WiFi hardware with WPA2-Enterprise and/or Passpoint configuration.

3. Integrate the Cloud4Wi SDK into your app. Integrate the SDK. Or, before integrating, test WiFi connectivity with our toolkit apps for iOS and Android.

4. Enable integrations. Create a webhook or enable server-side connectors to send Cloud4Wi events and user context to other systems. Or, you can create a triggered message in Campaigns.

WiFi connectivity

Cloud4Wi WiFi SDK empowers mobile apps with instant, automatic, and fully-encrypted WiFi connection upon arrival to enabled locations, empowering your app with a stable and fast connection to deliver a smooth on-site experience.

All your mobile users will be automatically connected and authenticated to the WiFi network as soon as they are in the range of the network.

Cloud4Wi SDK supports multiple WiFi authentication protocols to address different scenarios with the best solution: WPA2 Enterprise and Passpoint.

WPA2 Enterprise

WPA2 Enterprise is a standard protocol that allows devices to connect securely to a certain network identified by an SSID. These profiles are specific to the name of the SSID, which must be known before initializing and installing the profile. If the SSID on the network changes, the WiFi profile won't work anymore and a new profile needs to be installed.

This standard is supported by all mobile devices and WiFi hardware, making it a solid choice in case universal support is required - both on the end-user devices and network side. However, the dependency on the SSID name may pose some constraints in certain scenarios.

At this time, Cloud4Wi suggests using the WPA2-Enterprise technology for Android devices, whenever it is important to provide support to the majority of mobile devices, for example in regions with a high penetration of Android versus iOS.

You can choose any SSID name for your WiFi network. You need to communicate to Cloud4Wi the bundle id (for iOS) and the package name (for Android) of your apps and the SSID name you intend to use.

Passpoint

Passpoint is the next-generation hotspot technology based on the Hotspot 2.0 standard. the connection to a WiFi network using Passpoint does not depend on the name of the SSID. In fact, the same SSID can virtually broadcast multiple virtual operator networks. Passpoint also offers greater support for roaming across enterprise networks, as well as public and federated networks.

Passpoint is at the foundation of the OpenRaoming federation, which allows users to connect and authenticate to a vast number of networks managed by different service providers.

Passpoint profiles issued by Cloud4Wi are by default compatible with the OpenRoaming federation. Learn more about OpenRoaming.

At this time, Cloud4Wi suggests using the Passpoint technology for iOS devices to provide a better onboarding experience to mobile users. In fact, when using the WPA2 Enterprise method, iOS attempts to connect immediately the user to the Wifi network, and if not in range it gives an error to the user in a dialog.

Location Moments

With Cloud4Wi WiFi SDK your app becomes aware when end users enter and visit any of your locations, and every on-site Moment becomes an opportunity to deliver powerful location-based experiences or drive monetization.

The automatic connection to WiFi allows Cloud4Wi to detect precisely all the customer visits and interactions and push the relevant Moments to your application systems via Webhooks or Connectors. The WiFi SDK cannot provide client-side events to the app since the detection and processing of location moments are actually performed server-side.

Location Events are deterministic, overcoming the accuracy limitations of geofencing in indoor and high-dense urban environments.

No smartphone location permissions are required! User opt-in is collected with the consent experience you design in the app. The location is detected by the network, it doesn't require OS location services.

Privacy and Compliance

The WiFi SDK does not require Location permissions from the operative system to work. However, the SDK processes personal data for certain purposes so privacy regulations might require that you collect the proper consent from the customer.

You can design your own enrollment experience within your mobile app that includes the collection of consents.

For example, you can promote the new service to your mobile users (with a notification, banner, or button) and collect their acknowledgment and consent when they enroll.

For new users, you can rely on your existing Privacy Policy to collect the consent, and make sure it covers the personal data categories and purposes involved with this new service.

Network compatibility and requirements

You need to use a WiFi vendor and device models that are compatible with the service and certified by Cloud4Wi. Certified tested vendors for the WPA2 Enterprise mode so far:

• Cisco Meraki

• Cisco WLC, Cisco Catalyst 9800

• Ruckus

• Aruba

• Extreme - Extremecloud IQ

• Fortinet (FortiGate)

• Juniper (Mist)

• Mikrotik

WPA2 Enterprise is a standard protocol, if the vendor is not listed among the tested ones, it is still very likely that is compatible with Cloud4Wi WiFi SDK. Please contact our team, we'll investigate the tech feasibility and develop the necessary integration if necessary.

Certified vendors for the Passpoint mode are:

• Cisco Meraki

• Cisco WLC

• Extreme - Extremecloud IQ

• Aruba - Wireless Controller

• Ruckus (Commscope) - Smart Zone

• Ubiquiti

• Juniper (Mist)

You need to add a dedicated SSID on your WiFi network (different from the one used for standard guest WiFi), configured with WPA2-Enterprise settings and (optionally) Hotspot 2.0. The additional SSID will be used only by mobile app users and Passpoint-enabled users. At this time the SSID cannot be hidden.

Mobile devices compatibility

The SDK is currently available for iOS and Android, however, it can be easily integrated into any app developed with non-native dev languages such as Flutter or React Native (our team will provide guidance on the process). The SDK is compatible with an Android OS starting for version 4.3 and iOS devices starting from iOS 11.0

The WPA2 Enterprise mode is compatible with all Android and iOS devices mentioned above.

The Passpoint mode is compatible with all iOS devices and with a subset of Android devices:

• starting from Android 12, Passpoint support is mandatory in all OEM vendors

• almost all devices with Android 10 and 11 support Passpoint

• for the oldest version of Android, the support of Passpoint is fragmented and depends on the device manufacturer. For example, Samsung phones support Passpoint starting from Android 8.