What must all WLAN access points and clients have to establish a connection?

To establish a connection between WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) access points and clients, they must have identical SSIDs (Service Set Identifiers) and security settings. The SSID is essentially the network name that allows devices to identify and connect to the correct wireless network. If the SSIDs do not match, the client device will not be able to join the network because it won't recognize it as the desired network.

In addition to the SSID, security settings—including encryption methods and passwords—need to be consistent between the access point and the client. For instance, if the access point is configured to use WPA2 encryption but the client is set for WPA3, a connection cannot be established. This means that both elements (SSID and security settings) play a crucial role in ensuring a successful network connection.

While compatible hardware specifications can be important for performance and functionality, they are not strictly necessary for establishing a connection as long as the basic compatibility in networking standards (e.g., 802.11n, 802.11ac) is met. Matching encryption levels is part of the security settings but does not encompass the entire requirement for establishing the connection. Proximity to other users is not relevant to the connection between a specific access point and a client