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.
Related
I'm trying to implement Bluetooth for my project. I was able to implement BLE but I have to go with Bluetooth classic because of some hardware issue. So for Bluetooth classic implementation I have gone through this post and I used source code from this post. But in that they are trying to connect to already paired device. But my requirement is to scan and connect to available Bluetooth classic device not BLE device. And also there should not be any pairing dialogue appearing while connecting. I even tried to check if there is any Bluetooth classic scanner application in app store for reference but I didn't find any. There are only BLE scanner application in app store. I have no clue how to proceed forward any suggestions?
iOS apps can only connect to MFi enabled Bluetooth classic devices. This is why you can't find any classic BL scanner apps. Unless your hardware contains an MFi chip from Apple you will not be able to use classic Bluetooth profiles, such as SPP, to communicate with it.
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'd really like to start testing my iOS apps Bluetooth capabilities, but have run into a few problems:
I have a device made with a RN-42 module, but it's not the Apple version and I don't have the Apple authentication module at the moment (I ordered it, but shipping from China can take a while). I know what the messages will look like, but can't send them to my iPhone!
I can use the module with my Macbook, but not in the iOS simulator! Apple has taken down all of the documentation related to getting the iOS < 7.0 to use a separate bluetooth dongle, and my efforts have left my 6.1 simulator endlessly spinning on the bluetooth screen.
I'm new to using Bluetooth, so this may be a dumb question...
Is there a way of getting a bluetooth client device (I have a Mac, another iPhone, and an Android tab) to act as a server module that can send (and receive) Bluetooth data to my iPhone?
Client/Server as per developer.bluetooth.org
Thanks!
Not 100% sure your meaning of "server module". But in CoreBluetooth, you can use CBPeripheralManager to broadcast data to other iOS or Mac apps.
https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/CoreBluetooth/Reference/CBPeripheralManager_Class/Reference/CBPeripheralManager.html
If you're using standard Bluetooth (i.e. not Bluetooth LE or Bluetooth Smart or whatever you want to call it), you'll need to enroll in the MFI program or work with an MFI certified device (such as a Redpark cable) and use the External Accessories library provided by Apple. If you're using Bluetooth LE, you can use the Core Bluetooth library provided by Apple. If you fall into neither of those cases, sorry, you can't use Bluetooth on iOS.
I'm trying to create some application that connects to blue tooth devices. A simple thing like a bluetooth barcode scanner that scans and sends a number to my app. I want to know which framework or something to be used in my app that can integrate the barcode scanner with my app. Is there any API or examples or tutorials etc that can help me implement such things?
Apple provides an API called the External Accessory framework, which can be used to interact with paired Bluetooth devices or devices connected through wired, Apple Connector at the base of the device.
However, to be able to use a paired device from within your application as you desire, you will have to a device that is designed to be compatible with iOS devices (meaning, the manufacturer must be a member of the Apple MFi program) and the device manufacturer must provide a protocol that you must add to your applications info.plist file.
If you have bought an off-the-shelf, Bluetooth barcode reader, there is a fair chance that you can not do what you are trying to do. If the device states that it can be integrated into custom iOS applications, consult the device manufacturer for further support regarding setting up your application to interact with their hardware.
Would the following be possible?
Let's say I have a scale with Bluetooth capabilities, when I turn it on, it sends the weight via BT.
Is it technically possible to develop an iOS app which pairs with the scale and receives the data from it?
According to Apple:
Technical Q&A QA1657: Using External
Accessory framework with Bluetooth
devices.
Q: I understand that the External Accessory framework in iOS 3.0 and later will allow my application to communicate with Bluetooth devices. So why doesn't my application see the Bluetooth accessory sitting next to my iPhone?
A: The External Accessory framework is designed to allow iOS applications to communicate only with hardware accessories that are developed under Apple's MFi licensee program. MFi compliant accessories can be implemented as wired devices, meaning they plug in to the Apple device's 30-pin or Lightning connector, or as wireless devices, whereby they use Bluetooth as the communication channel. Either way, an application that uses the External Accessory framework will not be notified of an accessory's presence unless the accessory identifies itself as being MFi compliant, i.e., it was specifically designed to interface with an iOS application.
Yes, we can connect Bluetooth devices with iOS application through Core bluetooth framework. This framework is supported on the iPhone 4s, iPhone5,iPhone 5S ,iPad3. We can use BLE 4.0 for the communication between scale and iOS application. Here, iOS application become the client and scale become the peripheral. You Can set as well as get data from the weighing scale.
While the External Accessory Framework with Bluetooth is one of the possible solutions, it has additional requirements to be built as per Apple MFi, here Bluetooth reference is to the Classic Bluetooth (Version 3.x and below)
The best solution for the use case you have defined is to use the Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) (aka Bluetooth Smart) technology (Bluetooth 4.0) and it is available to applications as part of the Core Bluetooth Frameworks
Here are the APIs for Core Bluetooth that applications can use.
While currently Bluetooth Low Energy is supported on the latest iPhone 4S, New Mac Mini & Macbook Air - its expected most new Apple & Others hardware will have this standard.