We're developing a mobile app that will need to communicate over Bluetooth with one of our devices.
We can use BLE for the communication (propriety protocol) but at some point we also need to transfer a file from the iOS app to the device. The file is too big to be transferred over BLE and we will need to do so via classical Bluetooth.
The supported BT profiles don't support any kind of file transfer.
Some places mention that we can join the MFI program; would that
mean that we will be able to have our own profile/protocol over
classical BLE?
Any chance that Bonjour can help us?
Thanks!
Related
Is there a way to establish a connection from a bluetooth classic device (not LE), to an iPhone, for data exchange?
The device we are using has a bluetooth classic chip, therefore it is not possible for us to use the Core Bluetooth Framework to make the connection since Core Bluetooth supports only Bluetooth LE.
I would like to connect our device using the Hands Free Profile or the HID Profile. How would we do this in the iOS Code? What frameworks or APIs are to be used?
The external accessory framework supports only MFi compliant devices. Do we have to be a part of the MFi Program? Or is it possible to establish the connection in some other way, something that I may be missing out?
Also, jailbreaking is not an option since we wish to release the app to a larger user base while selling our hardware device. We want to enable the users to make a connection through the app to their device.
I'm currently digging my through the nest of using Bluetooth in my iOS application and I find it quite hard to find the information I'm looking for.
Can I turn on Bluetooth from within my app or does the user have to do it manually?
Can I use the basic Bluetooth fetaures (such as Discovery, connecting and Sending Data) with other devices running Bluetooth < 4.0 (classic)
AFAIK CoreBluetooth Framework can only be used to communicate with devices running Bluetooth 4.0+. Which framework is used to communicate with Bluetooth < 4.0 devices?
Is it possible to use Bluetooth in such a way that Apple will reject my App on App Store? And which ways would that be?
Is there a difference between paired and unparied communication? Can one communicate with another device without being paried? Can pairing be initated from an app?
To give some Context to my question: I'm currently developing a part of a Home Automation Application where the App needs to communicate with an embedded device which does not yet have Wifi. It has not been decided which Bluetooth version will run on the embedded device. The same functionality will be implemented in an Android application.
Thankful for some input from some with Bluetooth experience for iOS.
you cannot turn on Bluetooth from your app. The user must do it using settings or the control center.
unless you device is MFi certified you can only communicate with Bluetooth Low Energy devices
the external accessory framework is used to communicate with MFi devices that use "classic" Bluetooth
I am not aware of any use of Core Bluetooth that will lead to app rejection. If your app supports an MFi accessory that isn't associated with your company then your app will be rejected.
you can initiate bonding (commonly known as pairing but it is actually different) by requiring encryption for an attribute. Once the bonding is complete there is no difference in how you transfer data, but the data will be encrypted over the air.
I have a specific requirement to communicate an iOS device with a wifi/bluetooth enabled device. At this moment, I'm confused with some points and requires an expert advice.
Can I use adhoc wifi method for communicating? but in this case, can I connect to another network? On my research, I found no so I'm opting for Bluetooth.
If I go in bluetooth communication,
Do the device need MFI licensing or can we use classic bluetooth?
From few blogs I found out that Bluetooth low enrgy devices with 4.0 can be used to communicate with ios without licensing. Will this work?
PS: My requirement is to send strings of data to and fro from the ios and other wifi/bluettoth enabled devices.
An iOS device can only be connected to a single Wi Fi network at a time, so an Ad-hoc network connection probably won't work for you.
If you join the MFi program you can use the Wireless Accessory Configuration (WAC) feature to simply the process of connecting your device to the user's existing network.
If you use Bluetooth Low Energy/Bluetooth Smart/Bluetooth 4.0 then you don't need to go through the MFi program, but you are limited to iPhone 4S and later and iPad 3 and later. If you use "classic Bluetooth" (Say Bluetooth 2.1 Serial Port Protocol) then it will work with all devices but you need to go through MFi.
Bluetooth Low Energy isn't great for high data volumes (say video streaming) but is fine for smaller amounts of data (you talk about "strings" so it will probably be suitable for you).
The other advantage of BLE is that it is independent of the iOS device's Internet connection so the user can cary the BLE device around and maintain communication regardless of their WiFi connection.
I have created universal device application to transfer any kind of files via bluetooth using GameKit Framework.
My question is how to create on Desktop Application with same process or there any Framework? That can communicate also on the device. Can i have any sample please or tips how to do it.
There is Core Bluetooth that used low energy protocol. But i don't know how?
Anyone please give some idea or anything that i can use it.
Thank you
The Bluetooth functionality of the GameKit framework is iOS-only (see GKSession), so you won’t be able to use that on a Mac.
The CoreBluetooth framework on the other hand is available on both Mac and iOS devices supporting Bluetooth LE, with the one difference that the CBPeripheralManager is not available on Mac, so you can’t advertise a service on Mac. However you can have your iOS device act as a peripheral and connect from the Mac acting as a central. Data transfer should still work both ways.
The BTLE Central Peripheral Transfer sample code should be a good starting point.
I am planning to develop an iPhone application to transfer files/data to/from my Windows Desktop using Bluetooth.
Please let me know whether the programming interface(SDK)is available in iPhone SDK for this purpose.
In Windows Mobile, I can transfer the file either using a FTP profile or writing application on top of Serial Port Profile(RFComm).
Can anybody tell me, whether this can be possible with an iPhone by writing appropriate application. If not, please let me know alternative way to transfer files/data over bluetooth from iPhone to a Windows Desktop PC.
No, FTP or SPP bluetooth profile are not open in iPhone...
If you get into the made for ipod program, you might develop a bluetooth dongle for a computer (it can't use the normal one built into the computer as it needs a custom apple chip for encoding). This is the only method that could do something like what you want over bluetooth and get your app into the app store. You can implement a similar functionality more readily over wifi.
Yes you can. Use the Human Interface Device profile, and have your USB device pretend to be a keyboard. You can then have your app receive text input from the "keyboard". simply encode your data as ASCII encoded hex or base 64 and transmit. Whether or not your app would be allowed in the app store is a different matter.
There are 2 requirements to use iOS BT Classic for data transmission over RFCOMM.
1) You need to be enrolled in Apple MFi program.
2) The BT accessory which will be connected to iPhone needs to have a special HW chip called "MFi Coprocessor".
Both requirements need to be satisfied if you are developing FW for the BT accessory.
The latter one is required when you are coding iOS app.
BTW, you will not be able to communicate with Windows machine unless you have a BT dongle with MFi chip inside - see the second requirement.