Disclosed is a method for establishing a wireless link key between a remote device and a group device. In the method, the remote device obtains a group identifier from the group device, and determines whether the group device is associated with a group having a trust association with the remote device. When the group device is determined to be associated with a group having an established trust association with the remote device, the remote device forwards a link setup request to the group device for virtually pairing with the group device using the trust association to establish the wireless link key. When the group device is determined not to be associated with a group having an established trust association with the remote device, the remote device forwards a pairing request to the group device for pairing with the group device to establish the wireless link key.