I understand the external accessory framework needs to be used to work with Classic Bluetooth on IOS, as a fallback for non BLE phones (i.e Iphone4) , is it possible to scan for devices using the external accessory framework to list Bluetooth addresses that are in range ?
I have Kontakt IBeacons and on android using classic Bluetooth scan i can see all the device addresses, while i cant get UUID's / major and Minor this the Bluetooth device address could still serve to identify some form of proximity to the Beacon...
Is it possible to list devices in range in IOS as well in a similar manner ? i understand the external accessory framework only allows you to pair with complaint devices, but does scanning work for anything in range ?
No, you don't have any access to the visible devices using the External Accessory Framework and classic Bluetooth devices.
The External Accessory Framework handles both cabled and Bluetooth connections and hides the discovery process. Essentially an application provides the supported device information in the info.plist file. When iOS discovers a matching device then the app is advised - the app doesn't play an active role in scanning for or identifying the device.
As an iBeacon won't have the Apple MFi chip in it, it won't be detected by the External Accessory Framework discovery process.
Related
The actual bluetooth pair I am talking about is: let the app shows up in the searching list of Bluetooth of System Settings and other devices can pair to it (like we pair our device to Apple Air Pods).
But all articles I find online are talking about BLE/CoreBluetooth, I don't think these methods could make a device name shows up in the Bluetooth of System Settings.So how to develop an app performing an actual bluetooth pair? Any ideas?
The Bluetooth preferences screen only shows legacy Bluetooth peripherals. Devices advertising BLE services do not appear.
Apps on iOS do not have the ability to create and advertise legacy Bluetooth services.
If you create an app that acts as a BLE peripheral, using Core Bluetooth, and specify that encryption is required for a characteristic then you will trigger a pairing process when an app acting as a Bluetooth central on the other device connects and attempts to read/write that characteristic. Note that this requires cooperating apps on both devices.
I'm trying to set up a hobby project and I'm wondering - if my device uses Bluetooth Low Energy module, will this device show under the list of Bluetooth Devices under Settings for iOS? Or will my app have to search for this device specifically before connecting? If it doesn't show in the Settings, what type of Bluetooth module would I need for that?
No, you will not see your LE devices under Settings for iOS.
See LE best practices - your app should search for the LE device.
You only see the BT classic devices in that settings. However, only few protocols could be used without a required MFi chip, which is out of your scope for your Hobby project.
Use The CoreBluetooth on the iOS side for your app.
UPDATE per #Brejuro request in the comment below:
MFi coprocessor is required to be in your custom HW, which wants to communicate using the majority of profiles/protocols defined for Bluetooth Classic (not LE), e.g the pure RFCOMM. Coprocessor is used for the initial authentication - then, iOS knows that your custom HW is certified and allows to use it.
However, Apple will ask you for big money and your device needs to pass through Apple certification - that's why I told that this is out of the scope for any hobby project. You will also need to sign very restrictive NDA. However, you will get very very good documentation describing many details.
Built-in Bluetooth panel in iOS Settings app is actually a merge of two different things:
a list of known (paired) devices whatever the profile they use (so that you have a central place to unpair them),
a tool for discovering nearby devices to pair to.
Unpaired devices will only show in discovery list if they actually implement at least one profile that is recognized by core bluetooth services of iOS. Other devices are masked (user would not be able to do anything useful with them anyway).
If you hobby project is to do something related to built-in supported devices, like HID (keyboard, mouse, remote control, etc.), you will actually see them during discovery from Settings app.
If you create a device with a custom service, with your own Service Type UUID, it will not show in built-in panel, and your app will have to look for it for pairing. Once paired, device will show in settings.
Out of core services, you can also make compatible devices without being MFi. For instance, MIDI over BLE profile is such thing that gets recognized transparently by garageband and other music apps.
Using BLE and not BR/EDR, Authentication chip is only required for very specific profiles, like HomeKit.
I'm working on a BLE device that part of its requirements is that it'll only use connect mode between the iPhone and the peripheral (no pairing nor bonding).
According to Apple documentation Bluetooth Accessory
Design Guidelines for
Apple Products
section 3.7 Apple is using Random device address. As much as I know, when using Random device address one need to pair (in order to get the IRK).
Is there a way to have a BLE device who works with iOS and only does connect with no pairing or bonding?
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.
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.