---
title: NEHotspotAuthenticationProvider
framework: networkextension
role: symbol
role_heading: Protocol
path: networkextension/nehotspotauthenticationprovider
---

# NEHotspotAuthenticationProvider

A protocol that defines methods that your extension adopts to start and stop the extension, and to handle commands to authenticate with the hotspot network.

## Declaration

```swift
protocol NEHotspotAuthenticationProvider : AppExtension
```

## Overview

Overview Conform to this protocol in your hotspot helper app extension to handle the hotspot commands NEHotspotHelperCommandType.authenticate, NEHotspotHelperCommandType.maintain, NEHotspotHelperCommandType.presentUI, and NEHotspotHelperCommandType.logoff.

## Topics

### Managing provider life cycle

- [start()](networkextension/nehotspotauthenticationprovider/start().md)
- [stop(reason:)](networkextension/nehotspotauthenticationprovider/stop(reason:).md)
- [NEProviderStopReason](networkextension/neproviderstopreason.md)

### Sending commands to the provider

- [handleCommand(_:)](networkextension/nehotspotauthenticationprovider/handlecommand(_:).md)
- [NEHotspotHelperCommand](networkextension/nehotspothelpercommand.md)

## Relationships

### Inherits From

- [AppExtension](extensionfoundation/appextension.md)

## See Also

### Hotspot helper extension

- [NEHotspotManager](networkextension/nehotspotmanager.md)
- [NEHotspotEvaluationProvider](networkextension/nehotspotevaluationprovider.md)
- [NEHotspotEvaluationProviderConfiguration](networkextension/nehotspotevaluationproviderconfiguration.md)
- [NEHotspotAuthenticationProviderConfiguration](networkextension/nehotspotauthenticationproviderconfiguration.md)