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Programs

Since 2000, the Wi-Fi Alliance has worked with our members to complete more than 15,000 product certifications. Through comprehensive testing, the Wi-Fi Alliance certification program ensures that wireless local area networking (WLAN) products from multiple manufacturers work together.

Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ leads to improved user-experience, higher customer satisfaction rates, fewer support calls and product returns, and reduced costs. As a result, the Wi-Fi Alliance certification programs have been a catalyst for the rapid adoption of Wi-Fi products in homes, offices and public access locations around the world.

Our certification programs cover the following categories:

Core programs

  • Wi-Fi products based on IEEE radio standards - 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g in single, dual mode (802.11b and 802.11g) or multi-band (2.4GHz and 5GHz) products. Now also required by CTIA for Wi-Fi enabled handsets seeking CTIA certification.

  • WPA2™ (Wi-Fi Protected Access 2): Wi-Fi wireless network security -  offer government-grade security mechanisms for personal and enterprise.

  • EAP (Extensible Authentication Protocol) - An authentication mechanism used to validate the identity of network devices (for enterprise devices). 

  • Protected Management Frames: Wi-Fi CERTIFIED WPA2 with Protected Management Frames provides a WPA2-level of protection for unicast and multicast management action frames.

  • Wi-Fi CERTIFIED n: The latest-generation of Wi-Fi operation - supports the IEEE 802.11n ratified standard. This test program also includes Wi-Fi Multimedia (WMM) testing.

 

Optional programs

  • Miracast™: Provides seamless display of content between devices, regardless of brand, without cables or a network connection. Miracast certifies products which implement technology defined in the Wi-Fi Display Technical Specification.
     
  • TDLS (Tunneled Direct Link Setup): Allows devices to create a secure, direct link when connected to the traditional Wi-Fi network, to transfer data directly.
     
  • Passpoint™: Enables mobile devices to automatically discover and connect to Wi-Fi networks. Passpoint also automatically configures industry-standard WPA2™ security protections without user intervention. Passpoint certifies products which implement technology defined in the Wi-Fi Alliance Hotspot 2.0 Technical Specification.
     
  • Wi-Fi Direct™: A certification mark for Wi-Fi client devices that connect directly without use of an access point, to enable applications such as printing, content sharing, and display. Wi-Fi Direct certifies products which implement technology defined in the Wi-Fi Alliance Peer-to-Peer Technical Specification.
     
  • Wi-Fi Protected Setup™: Facilitates easy set-up of security features using a Personal Identification Number (PIN) or other defined methods within the Wi-Fi device. Wi-Fi Protected Setup certifies products which implement technology defined in the Wi-Fi Simple Configuration Technical Specification.
     
  • WMM® (Wi-Fi Multimedia™): Support for multimedia content over Wi-Fi networks enabling Wi-Fi networks to prioritize traffic generated by different applications using Quality of Service (QoS) mechanisms. WMM certifies products which implement technology defined in the WMM Technical Specification.
     
  • WMM-Power Save: Power savings for multimedia content over Wi-Fi networks - helps conserve battery life while using voice and multimedia applications by managing the time the device spends in sleep mode. (In recent testing, showed 37 - 73% power savings versus legacy power save mechanisms.) 
     
  • Voice-Personal: Voice over Wi-Fi - extends beyond interoperability testing to test the performance of products and help ensure that they deliver good voice quality over the Wi-Fi link.
     
  • CWG-RF: For converged devices with both Wi-Fi and cellular technology - provides detailed information about the performance of the Wi-Fi radio in a converged handset, as well as how the cellular and Wi-Fi radios interact with one another. Now mandatory for Wi-Fi enabled handsets seeking CTIA certification.
     
  • Voice-Enterprise: Certifies that products are able to meet requirements supporting good voice call quality and advanced WPA2™-Enterprise security mechanisms.  The program supports fast transitions between access points and provides management for voice applications.  Voice Enterprise builds on the Voice-Personal certification features.
     
  • WMM-Admission Control: Enhanced bandwidth management tools to optimize the delivery of voice and other traffic in Wi-Fi® networks.  WMM-Admission Control certifies products which implement technology defined in WMM Technical Specification.  
     
  • IBSS with Wi-Fi Protected Setup: Enables direct Ad-hoc connections between devices to complete tasks such as file printing or sharing.  Designed to ease setup of connection for devices with limited user interface. IBSS with Wi-Fi Protected Setup certifies products which implement technology defined in the IBSS with Wi-Fi Protected Setup Specification.

 

Wi-Fi CERTIFIED tests are conducted by 16 independent laboratories in eight countries. Learn more about our Authorized Test Laboratories.

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