I want to rename the device name of BLE Device. In iOS 6.1.3, I am able to write the "Device Name" Characteristic of Generic Access Profile Service. But in iOS 7 and later, CBPeripheral is unable to discover the Generic Access Profile Service(1800).
My Question is that Is it possible to read/write Device Name characteristic of BLE Device in iOS 7? If it is possible, then how can I do that? If apple has removed this support in iOS7 and greater, then what is alternate to do this?
iOS prevents that Service from being usable by a developer. Section 3.12 (page 24) documents the fact iOS does not let a developer use that Service (and a couple others) https://developer.apple.com/hardwaredrivers/BluetoothDesignGuidelines.pdf
I ended up making a custom Characteristic that an app could write to. The firmware would handle that write request and then update the device name and advertising packet. It's seems hacky, but I wasn't able to find a better solution. It's unfortunate that iOS blocks this because it makes it impossible to make a device that is compatible with other apps unless someone makes a separate 'custom device name' standard or something...
Related
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 new to Bluetooth, but searching the web, I've found the following description of Bluetooth profiles:
"A Bluetooth profile is a specification regarding an aspect of Bluetooth-based wireless communication between devices. In order to use Bluetooth technology, a device must be compatible with the subset of Bluetooth profiles necessary to use the desired services. A Bluetooth profile resides on top of the Bluetooth Core Specification and (optionally) additional protocols. While the profile may use certain features of the core specification, specific versions of profiles are rarely tied to specific versions of the core specification. For example, there are Hands-Free Profile (HFP) 1.5 implementations using both Bluetooth 2.0 and Bluetooth 1.2 core specifications."
So, I have an MSP430 board with the CC256X Bluetooth module on it, and I want to transfer data between that device and my iOS device. Does that device always have to communicate with my iOS device using a Bluetooth profile? If so, could you please shed some light as to what the simplest profile to make this happen is? As far as my design constraints, all I want to do is press a button on my iOS application, and have that turn an LED on my board. Thus, I just need the board to react to a simple characteristic change.
Please check
profiles/SimpleProfile/simpleGATTProfile.c
and
profiles/SimpleProfile/simpleGATTProfile.h
That's as simple as it ever gets. Once you write a profile with service and characteristics, you just have to include it in your code and use them just like any other service and characteristic.
Coming to your requirement, you need to have a characteristic with write permission in your profile. When you press the button in iOS application, write a value 1 to this characteristic. This will trigger writeCB to your embedded application code. You can use
HalLedSet( HAL_LED_2, HAL_LED_MODE_ON );
to turn on the LED in this callback.
Can I develop a service on iOS to register with ANCS so that when iPhone gets a notification the service go through my device BT LE protocol to notify the band?
And I read at http://blog.punchthrough.com/post/63658238857/the-apple-notification-center-service-or-wtf-is. I see "ANCS is managed automatically by the iOS device, or “Notification Provider” as its known in ANCS parlance. What this means for you as a developer is that you won’t need to write code to manage ANCS on the iOS side." It means i don't need write code in iOS side that have to implement in my device BT LE ? Thanks for any answer.
Correct. As the link mentions, you use "service solicitation" to get the iOS device's attention while it is passively scanning.
You don't need to have an app running on the iOS device, you don't need to submit anything to the App Store--you don't even need to pay to become a developer.
Also, I should mention, your hardware design does not need to be submitted to the Apple MFi program.
The vibe I'm getting from Stackoverflow and the internet at large is that unless I'm using an LE device, any Bluetooth device I make for an iOS app must be MFi certified.
However, on the MFi FAQ page, I found this line:
...developers of accessories that rely solely on standard technology
(e.g., Bluetooth Low Energy or standard Bluetooth profiles) do not
need to join the MFi Program.
My device will be able to use the standard Bluetooth profile File Transfer Protocol (FTP).
Now this sounds like some conflicting advice to me, or perhaps I'm just not understanding correctly. So, having provided the above evidence, I'm just going to ask outright: Can I write and publish an iOS app that connects to a proprietary Bluetooth device using the standard Bluetooth profile FTP without certifying my device as MFi? And if so, what details, caveats, etc do I need to know?
The new Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy (hereafter BLE 4.0) specification which is implemented in Apple's latest iOS devices does allow one to create app-specific profiles and connect to BLE 4.0 devices without jailbreaking, using an approved Bluetooth 2.1 profile, or becoming part of Apple'd MFI program and using the previously required MFI cryptographic chips.
In other words with the proper BLE 4.0 compatible bluetooth radios you can create wireless devices that connect to iOS apps without having the device pre-approved by Apple. However, you must write a custom app for the device, and Apple still holds the ability to reject that app if they want to. So they still control this to a great degree. This is essentially Apple's answer to the Android ADK, while not fully relinquishing the ability to shut down apps and devices they don't like.
Your app must include specific XML schema for your app's bluetooth profile, and use CoreBluetoothFramework APIs, so it's very obvious to Apple during the app approval process that your app connects to a device. If your app does not work without the device present, then it's likely to be rejected if you are not part of the MFI program, as Apple cannot test the app without your device. The apps that appear to be successful in passing this test use the device as an accessory to app functionality, rather than a requirement. For instance an exercise app might connect to a BLE 4.0 heart rate monitor, but the app doesn't depend on it.
Some apps seem to be getting around this by displaying simulated, or online information in place of the device information when no device is present. Thus the app can be tested without the device, and functionally works when the device is present.
You can find out some successful efforts online:
http://blog.makezine.com/2012/03/19/bluetooth-4-0-from-arduino-to-iphone-no-jailbreaking-no-mfi/
BlueGiga in particular has been pushing their devices specifically for this use, so there are probably forums and support for this elsewhere.
Keep in mind that the devices that currently support BLE 4.0 are limited, and currently only include
iPhone 4S and later iPhones
recent MacBook Air, Mac Mini
iPad (3rd generation and later, and iPad mini)
Macbook Pro Retina
There may be other Apple devices that support this standard, it's something Apple is advertising openly on each product's technical specifications page so it's easy to find for current products.
That line is referring to standard profiles supported natively by ios devices, such as HFP or A2DP. If you build a headset device that does HFP, the iphone will be able to connect to it and route your call to the headset without the headset being part of MFi.
If you want to write an app that does other things with bluetooth, inlcuding FTP, you would have to use MFi.
I am working on building or using an existing bluetooth HID device (something like this http://www.icontrolpad.com) and to get my iOS device to read the data coming from it. So i have some questions regarding this:-
Is it possible at all to do this, considering that the Bluetooth stack is not available on non jail broken devices.
Do i need to register with apples Mfi program? If i don't need to, what are the alternatives?
If i do register with Apple's Mfi program will i get access frameworks that will allow me to read data off the Bluetooth stack.
Considering that there will be a custom application sitting on the iOS device that needs to communicate with the HW im building, what are the implications w.r.t the approval of the app from Apple's side?
Thanks in advance, any help is greatly appreciated!
Core Bluetooth framework is available for Bluetooth Low Energy devices on iOS 5, no MFi membership is required.
With Made for iPhone, you basically get a serial pipe to your device using the ExternalAccesory Framework (in fact, it IS using the serial port profile plus some authentication). So you while you cannot use an actual HID device, you could send your data over.