I'm currently working on a project, for which I need ti use BLE GAP, I have found a tutorial in the ios documentation and adapted the code for my needs.
The code does not throw any errors nor warnings, it runs smoothly but for some reason the discovery does not happen and it seems like the two devices would be miles apart
I tried everything but really cannot find the problem or even imagine what it could be since the code is almost identical to the original(which works.) It has to be something obvious I'm overlooking....
Peripheral log:
name[587:75475] Peripheral CBManager is powered on
Central log:
name[4803:2263279] Central CBManager is powered on
name[4803:2263279] Found connected Peripherals with transfer service: (
)
Peripheral Code:
https://pastebin.com/WuKymHAS
Central Code:
https://pastebin.com/ijjHk4cG
I've changed the UUID, but I've also tried it with the ones from the tutorial. The classes are initiated with the loadBLE methods.
I would be very thankful I someone could give me a hint, why they don't "see" each other
greets!
Related
I am developing a beacon detection application and at the moment works very well for kontakt brand beacons.
The client has sent me some new beacons that i have never seen and I have searched with google but i can't find what brand they can be.
The following information related to this beacon they gave me:
uuid: fda50693-a4e2-4fb1-afcf-c6eb07647825
pass: 000000
name: ion_beacon00021
major: 16789
minor: 24532
I have transformed my code to monitor both uuid without making it work
for (index, beaconID) in beaconsIds.enumerated() {
let beaconUUID = UUID(uuidString: beaconID)!
let identifier = "BLERegionBeacon \(index)"
let beaconRegion = CLBeaconRegion(proximityUUID: beaconUUID, identifier: identifier)
self.locationManager?.startMonitoring(for: beaconRegion)
self.locationManager?.startRangingBeacons(in: beaconRegion)
}
func configureLocationManager() {
self.locationManager = CLLocationManager()
self.locationManager!.delegate = self
self.locationManager!.desiredAccuracy = kCLLocationAccuracyBest
self.locationManager!.distanceFilter = kCLDistanceFilterNone;
self.locationManager!.activityType = CLActivityType.automotiveNavigation;
for region in self.locationManager!.monitoredRegions {
self.locationManager?.stopMonitoring(for: region)
}
if CLLocationManager.authorizationStatus() != CLAuthorizationStatus.authorizedAlways {
self.locationManager?.requestAlwaysAuthorization()
}
self.locationManager!.startUpdatingLocation()
}
When not finding how to make this new ibeacon work I have resorted to third party applications (like MyBeacon, Detector, Beacon Demonstrator, Locate) to get validate if the information I have of this beacon is correct, but in no application I have been able to make it detect this ibeacon.
I bought a new battery to make sure it was not as simple as that, but neither. :'(
I had the idea to use any application that detects bluetooth devices and I found BLE Scanner. With this application i was lucky and could realize that at least the name that i have of the beacon is correct, but not found any related to major or minor or pass. I also thought that the long id seen there could be correct and that the I had was not... But I discarded it because when I connected the brand kontakt also gave me a different uuid.
ISCONNECTABLE Jumps between YES and NO.
When i use BLE Scanner to detect beacons Kontakt show me addional info called SERVICEDATA and ISCONNECTABLE still in YES.
- Is there anything else that needs to be done to detect these beacons?
- Anyone have any idea what may be going on?
Thank you very much
EDIT
Following the help of davidgyoung, I could realize that the Locate application if it works but only in its version for android. And in fact correctly returns the information I had been given from that beacon at first.
I found that these beacons with configurable using an application called BeaconFlyer and there I realized the reason for being that password that had sent me. I was able to change the uuid although strangely I just put numbers and no letters. I changed it by 32 zeros following the same pattern of 8-4-4-4-12. I still get no results in IOS but works on android, even after changing the uuid.
It is possible that some brands need to be certified to be detected by iOS devices and that the android do not have these restrictions.
EDIT 2
Considering all these details, it seems that the problem is IOS and not android, so it occurred to me that maybe if I created a simple android project just to test the functionality of the beacons, I should be able to detect it.
The test was done by registering this UUID f7826da6-4fa2-4e98-8024-bc5b71e0893e which is the one that has always works for me and with which I detect without any problem the beacons markkontakt.
To my surprise I detect it without problem even without registering the UUID that I have for this brand. It is very strange considering that only register 1 UUID that was the mark kontakt
If you are detecting another beacon with the same code, then the simplest explanation is that the ProxmityUUID you were given is wrong.
You won't be able to determine the correct ProximityUUID from BLE Scanner on iOS, as iOS blocks access to iBeacon advertisements unless you know the ProximityUUID up front. If you can get your hands on an Android device you can use the Locate app to see any beacon regardless of its identifiers. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.radiusnetworks.locate&hl=en You can use this to find out what it is actually sending. There are similar apps for MacOS as well if you have access to a Mac.
It is quite clear that your client sent you "beacons" and not necessarily "iBeacons". As davidyoung pointed out, what constitutes an iBeacon is specified (quite strictly) by Apple. Download the specs from there and have a look, if you are so inclined.
I have used several BLE scanners to check what uuid, major, and minor numbers various brand iBeacons I worked with have, among them the mentioned BLE scanner. I think the specification does not prevent somehow putting additional services into an iBeacon, which results in different brand iBeacons potentially showing slightly different info in different scanners.
However, what you show in the screenshot and the fact that the isconnectable field switches values make me think that these beacons are not correctly working.
There will be no way to make them work on iOS that way then. You can write your own Bluetooth protocol code to do stuff with them, but that then won't rely on Apple's iBeacon mechanics. This will mean the nice stuff like region monitoring even while the app is suspended and so on won't work. It's also probably more battery draining and in general more work.
I am as said not a Bluetooth expert, but learned this much: UUIDs are all over the specs. The UUID you (and Apple) refer to is a part of the data packet the iBeacon is supposed to send, but I have also seen BLE services in general being identified by UUIDs in (non-Apple) reference documents. This can get confusing when you scan such a beacon and see UUIDs (or at least strings that look like ones) in several places. So even if the beacons you have follow the spec (or can be configured to do so somehow) my guess is that someone screwed up. For example, they could have edited (maybe even with a hardwired connection and tool) the wrong UUID, not setting the one you need to use, but accidentally overwriting the part that specifies the device as an iBeacon (byte 5 and 6 of the data packet come to mind), making it impossible for you to use them.
As an advice I would suggest the following: If your client is interested in actual iBeacon functionality, tell them they should buy correct beacons. the kontakt ones are actually quite good. I've tested cheap china knockoffs and would advise against those, as they quickly become unreliable. It might be tempting to save a few bucks at first, but if you need to constantly replace beacons in the long run that becomes more expensive in the end.
One other theory about what might be happening:
A beacon advertisement packet implementing iBeacon must have Apple's manufacturer code 004c in order to be detected by iOS. Android has no such restriction. If this beacon is sending a different manufacturer code it would explain why only Android can detect it.
How do you find out if this is true? You need to see the raw bytes of the advertisement somehow.
The beacon brand is Iotton and it's looks like the one we sell:
https://www.beaconzone.co.uk/ibeacon/ton9108
It's unlikely the Kontakt app is showing the Iotton beacon because the local name is incorrect. It's more likely your Kontakt beacon - turn it off for now. With this or any beacon, the best app for getting the UUID and seeing if the beacon is working is Nordic nRF Connect.
Are you sure you have set the delegate on CLLocationManager? The code doesn't show it, so unless this is somewhere above or below, you'll need to add:
self.locationManager?.delegate = self
Then make sure your class implements CLLocationManagerDelegate the didRange(beacons: region:) method to get callbacks.
If you think you already have this set up, showing that code might reveal something else that is missing preventing it from working.
I want my users to be able to track their heart-rate with my app. So I use CBCentralManager for that. Everything works fine if no other app is connected to the heart-rate sensor yet. The problem I have is if I start f.e. Strava or Endomondo first. Then I just can't find any devices any more. The other way round everything works fine, so I guess I am missing an options somewhere?
What I currently do:
I instantiate my CBCentralManager like so
centralManager = CBCentralManager(delegate: self, queue: DispatchQueue.main)
which will cause the delegate method for connection to be triggered
func centralManagerDidUpdateState(_ central: CBCentralManager) {
let heartRateServiceUUID = CBUUID(string: "180D")
let services = [heartRateServiceUUID]
switch central.state {
case .poweredOn:
centralManager.scanForPeripherals(withServices: services, options: nil)
and from there on no peripheral are found.
But again, when I force quit other apps like Endomondo or Strava and then start my app, everything works fine.
Ok, I just found the solution to my main problem myself. So anybody who might have the same issue:
Once you are connected to a device remember it's UUID
When you want to reconnect to it you don't need to scan, just use centralManager.retrievePeripherals(withIdentifiers: [the id's of the devices you know])
This will give you back a list of CBPeripherals and you simple connect to them like you would have after searching for them.
The only thing that I still don't know:
Even when i uninstall Endomondo, start my app first, they still can discover my heartrate monitor... And I suppose even if they remember the UUID it will be in UserDefaults i suppose, so they can't reconnect using centralManager.retrievePeripherals(...). So I still like to know what I'd need to change in order for that to work...
See Best Practices For Interacting With A Remote Peripheral Device for full details on how to connect to devices you already know about.
The main issue you're encountering is that most BLE devices stop advertising once they have a connection. Since they aren't advertising, you can't see them in a scan. In this particular case, the BLE device is connected to the iPhone you're running on, but that doesn't change anything. It's still not advertising.
To deal with this, you want to ask the iPhone for connected devices that have the service you want, using retrieveConnectedPeripherals(withServices:). This is a very fast, synchronous call, and you generally should do it before calling scanForPeripherals(withServices:options:).
There are several other steps that you generally should do. The precise order and logic depends a little on your situation, but the linked flowchart above walks you through one approach. Basically it will look something like this:
Call retrievePeripherals(withIdentifiers:) to find a peripheral you already know the identifier for. Note that this just tells you the system knows about the peripheral; it doesn't mean it's currently nearby. Calling connect on it may never succeed.
Call retrieveConnectedPeripherals(withServices:) to find a peripheral that is already connected to this iPhone and advertises your service. You still need to call connect on it for your process, but it should succeed.
If all the rest fails, then call scanForPeripherals(withServices:options:).
Update:
It appears that BLE4.0 chipset did only support one connection so when a centralmanager connected to a BLE4.0 device it stopped advertising and established a connected layer.
With BLE4.1 chipset it added support for multi-role connection. It is possible that the heart-rate sensor use newer BLE technique that support more than one connection.
https://e2e.ti.com/blogs_/b/connecting_wirelessly/archive/2016/11/30/bluetooth-low-energy-multi-role-demystified
It is still unclear why your app wont connect if the other apps are connected. Can you post all your code?
My old answer:
"Core bluetooth and Bluetooth Low Energy can only handle one connection for each peripheral which means that if your app(CBCentralManager) establish a connection with a peripheral(UUID) it establish a message layer between the central and peripheral so other apps cant interfere the connection to that peripheral unless you disconnect the first app. This is how Bluetooth Low Energy works."
Apple Guides and Samples:
https://developer.apple.com/library/content/documentation/NetworkingInternetWeb/Conceptual/CoreBluetooth_concepts/AboutCoreBluetooth/Introduction.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40013257-CH1-SW1
Apple Core Bluetooth API:
https://developer.apple.com/reference/corebluetooth
I've looked everywhere and tried everything, but nothing seems to work :(
On iOS, I'm making an app (for iOS 6 and above) in which iOS devices need to exchange data. Therefore, both devices need to be peripheral and central at the same time. I've done exactly as specified in the WWDC video, but the devices can't connect successfully with each other.
When I make one device only central and the other only peripheral, the central connects seamlessly to the peripheral.
However, when both devices are peripheral and central at the same time, I get random errors: at any stage (discovering services/characteristics or setting notify value to YES) errors sometimes happen, and sometimes discoverServices doesn't even call didDiscoverServices
Is there something different I should be doing? I simply merged the peripheral and central code into one view controller. I've noticed that if device "a" connects to device "b", and then device "b" connects to device "a", it works more often than not. I manage this by using NSThread sleepForTimeInterval: manually for different amounts of time on each device, but how could I get one device to connect first (and then the other) in a reliable (and not manually pre-defined) way?
If I do get errors, usually they're simply Unknown error
Please let me know if you need any code or any other information :)
Yes, it can be in both roles at the same time. You just have to initialize a CBPeripheralManager and a CBCentralManager. As soon as the peripheral manager is initialized and you receive the POWER ON state the device starts acting as a peripheral. You can add your services at this point and receive connections from other devices. At the same time you can use the central manager to scan and initiate connections to other peripherals.
Note that you cannot connect to your own device even if it acts as a peripheral.
For your errors, I suggest:
Turn off scanning before initiating a connection. That is, scan, find peripheral, stop scan, connect. Connection and scanning do not like each other.
Use a dedicated queue for handling bluetooth events, not the main queue. [[CBCentralManager alloc] initWithDelegate:self queue:my_dedicated_bluetooth_q]
Unfortunately, the stack sometimes become unstable. Even restarts are possible. But this usually happens only under heavy loads or several simultaneous connections. Hopefully, this will be improved in iOS7.
The unfamous Unknown error started to appear for several developers recently. Judging from your description there are probably a number of reasons why your setup may fail and it would require much more info that what fits well into a SO question.
For more info I suggest you search the bluetooth-dev mailing list archives https://lists.apple.com/archives/Bluetooth-dev or send a mail Bluetooth-dev#lists.apple.com. The community provides great help if you approach with reasonable questions like this.
As per my understanding one device can work with one mode at a time . That is if the device is working in the peripheral mode then it you cant work it as a central mode .If you see some standard examples like BTLE transfer or lilke Light Blue those are working in one mode at a time .
Firstly, what do you mean "the same time"?
If you mean the device advertising to other devices while it scanning for other devices, it can not.
But you can create two threads which share same lock to advertising and scanning.
Before scanning, stop advertising, before advertising, stop scanning.
I tested on my iPhone 4s and iPad air, worked well.
I'm implementing CBPeripheralManager on my iPhone running iOS6 and I have created and added a custom service and characteristic. An external Bluetooth Device (the BLE112, if it makes a difference) acts as the Central and starts writing data to the characteristic I have implemented. I know it's being written because a test application on the App Store (light blue) sees it as being written, but I'm just not sure how to see it from the CBPeripheralManager. didReceiveWriteRequests is never called, and the "value" property on my characteristic variable is never called either. So, to sum up, my question is: From the CBPeripheralManager, how can I tell when updates to a characteristic have been written from a central?
Through much trial and error, I found that under the Service property for the iOS side, you need to create it with "CBCharacteristicPropertyWrite" instead of "CBCharacteristicPropertyWriteWithoutResponse" in order to get didReceiveWriteRequests. Seems obvious, but kept me scratching my head for a while.
I am attempting to connect two iPhones using Core Bluetooth. One is running a peripheral, the other a central. It seems the two devices are connected. And every method is getting called in the typical control flow up until peripheralManager:central:didSubscribeToCharacteristic: does not get called on the peripheral side and peripheral: didUpdateValueForCharacteristic: error: does not get called on the central side. However, If I call readValueForCharacteristic: it works and grabs the first value, but it does not seem to register for notifications and we get an "unknown error 2" in the updateValueForCharacteristic: method. I have been going through all the sample code I could find (heart monitor, business card, etc.) and my code is the exact same yet I cannot get it to work.
Anyone have any ideas on what the issue could be?
I resolved this a while ago but I thought I would post a solution since it may be useful to people going forward... The solution to this problem had to do with the bluetooth caching. Basically, the issue was that something had cached improperly... I restarted my phone, which clears the BLE cache, and did the same for the phone that I was testing it with and voila it worked. I recommend if people have these sorts of BLE issues (especially if you have been registering your phone as both a peripheral and a central for similar code) that you clear your cache by restarting!