Develop Reference

Android bluetooth connection to ELM327/OBD2 device

I tried to create a simple android application to connect to my ELM327 device to get some car diagnostic data. But I wasn't able to set up the bluetooth connection b/t my android phone and my ELM327 device.
My code is very simple as below:
public class Bluetooth {
protected BluetoothAdapter mBluetoothAdapter= BluetoothAdapter.getDefaultAdapter();
private ConnectThread mConnectThread = null;
private AcceptThread mAcceptThread = null;
private WorkerThread mWorkerThread = null;
private BluetoothDevice mOBDDevice = null;
private BluetoothSocket mSocket = null;
private String uuid;
Bluetooth() {
mBluetoothAdapter= BluetoothAdapter.getDefaultAdapter();
Set<BluetoothDevice> pairedDevices;
if (mBluetoothAdapter == null || !mBluetoothAdapter.isEnabled())
return;
pairedDevices = mBluetoothAdapter.getBondedDevices();
if (pairedDevices.size() > 0) {
// There are paired devices. Get the name and address of each paired device.
for (BluetoothDevice device : pairedDevices) {
String deviceName = device.getName();
String deviceHardwareAddress = device.getAddress(); // MAC address
//TODO: check whether this is OBD and whether it is connected
//by sending a command and check response
if (deviceName.contains("OBD")) {
mOBDDevice = device;
uuid = device.getUuids()[0].toString();
break;
}
}
}
mBluetoothAdapter.cancelDiscovery();
}
/**
* Start the chat service. Specifically start AcceptThread to begin a session
* in listening (server) mode. Called by the Activity onResume()
*/
public synchronized void connect()
{
try {
// Get a BluetoothSocket to connect with the given BluetoothDevice.
// MY_UUID is the app's UUID string, also used in the server code.
mSocket = mOBDDevice.createRfcommSocketToServiceRecord(UUID.fromString(uuid));
} catch (IOException e) {
Log.e(TAG, "Socket's create() method failed", e);
}
try {
// Connect to the remote device through the socket. This call blocks
// until it succeeds or throws an exception.
mSocket.connect();
} catch (IOException connectException) {
// Unable to connect; close the socket and return.
try {
mSocket.close();
} catch (IOException closeException) {
Log.e(TAG, "Could not close the client socket", closeException);
}
return;
}
}
}
In the mainactivity, I will first new a Bluetooth class then call bluetooth.connect():
mBluetooth = new Bluetooth();
mBluetooth.connect();
When I debug the program, I was able to get my ELM327 bluetooth device by querying all the bonded devices with a name of "OBD". I also was able to get the device's uuid and create a socket using createRfcommSocketToServiceRecord. But in the connect function, mSocket.connect() always fail with a return value of -1 and get a IOexception.
My questions are:
When my android application connect to the ELM327 device, my android phone is the bluetooth client and my ELM327 device is the bluetooth server, is this understanding correct?
Is there a server program running on my ELM327 device listening and accept incoming connection? Is this defined behavior of ELM327 protocol?
Any idea why mSocket.connect()has failed? Any idea on how to look into this issue? Or any obvious error in my program? Thanks.

problem solved. see source codes below:
public synchronized void connect() throws IOException {
try {
// Get a BluetoothSocket to connect with the given BluetoothDevice.
// MY_UUID is the app's UUID string, also used in the server code.
mSocket = mOBDDevice.createRfcommSocketToServiceRecord(UUID.fromString(uuid));
} catch (IOException e) {
Log.e(TAG, "Socket's create() method failed", e);
}
try {
// Connect to the remote device through the socket. This call blocks
// until it succeeds or throws an exception.
mSocket.connect();
} catch (IOException e1) {
Log.e(TAG, "There was an error while establishing Bluetooth connection. Falling back..", e1);
Class<?> clazz = mSocket.getRemoteDevice().getClass();
Class<?>[] paramTypes = new Class<?>[]{Integer.TYPE};
try {
Method m = clazz.getMethod("createRfcommSocket", paramTypes);
Object[] params = new Object[]{Integer.valueOf(1)};
mFallbackSocket = (BluetoothSocket) m.invoke(mSocket.getRemoteDevice(), params);
mFallbackSocket.connect();
mSocket.close();
mSocket = mFallbackSocket;
} catch (Exception e2) {
Log.e(TAG, "Couldn't fallback while establishing Bluetooth connection.", e2);
mSocket.close();
//throw new IOException();
}
}
inputStream = mSocket.getInputStream();
outputStream = mSocket.getOutputStream();
}

I don't know much about Android, although I know about OBD2 and the lot.
It depends on the type of your adapter. If you have a WiFi adapter, you can consider the adapter being the server and you the client. You connect to a socket and then read from it. In the case of a Bluetooth adapter, it's different. If you connect via rfcomm, it's a serial protocol and neither is the server nor the client. If you connect via BTLE, the OBD2 dongle is the Peripheral and you are the Central.
On WiFi adapters, yes. This behavior is not part of ELM327 though. ELM327 only specifies the serial commands. How you transfer these is not part of the spec, since it happens on the layer above (WiFi, rfcomm, BTLE, USB, etc.).
Are you sure that rfcomm works via the socket interface? It's a serial interface, so I would have expected file-like operations.

Connect bluetooth with getRemoteDevice() from BluetoothAdapter

I would like to manually connect a bluetooth device with its MAC address because it is faster and I know exactly which MAC to connect.
I use this method to get the BluetoothDevice : http://developer.android.com/reference/android/bluetooth/BluetoothAdapter.html#getRemoteDevice%28byte[]%29
But the Android doc does not say if Android ensure that the device is in range before creating the BluetoothDevice object.
Do you have this information ?
My code can automatically connect the device, and I would like to check if the target is in range before trying to connect, but without perform a large scan (which can be long...)

When local device connects to remote device using BluetoothSocket, an exception is required.
If remote device isn't in range, It's not found
private class ConnectThread extends Thread {
public ConnectThread(BluetoothDevice device, boolean isSecure, UUID sharedUUID) throws IncorrectSetupException {
try {
//Secure connections requires to get paired before connect
//Insecure connections allows to connect without pairing
if (isSecure) {
mSocket = device.createRfcommSocketToServiceRecord(sharedUUID);
} else {
mSocket = device.createInsecureRfcommSocketToServiceRecord(sharedUUID);
}
} catch (IOException e) {
//Is there some problem with the setup?
}
}
public void run() {
try {
mSocket.connect();
} catch (IOException e) {
//If device is not found, this exception is throwed
}
}
}

Bluetooth Connection: insecure connections, secure connections, listening securely or insecurely, what to use?

I'm struggling with getting consistent bluetooth connections in a star topology. I have one master phone which is a Samsung Galaxy S4 running API 10. All of the phones that connect to the bluetoothserver socket on the S4 are LG Dynamic Tracfones also running API 10.
Over the past few days, I have seen a LOT of conflicting information on the web about what type of connection to use.
This is my current set up:
MASTER CODE
public void acceptConnection() {
.... (enable bt adapter) ...
// initializes a Bluetooth server socket
bluetoothServerSocket = bc.createBluetoothServerSocket();
//connection made to Master, discovery no longer needed
bluetoothAdapter.cancelDiscovery();
BluetoothSocket bluetoothSocket;
// loops until the thread is interrupted or an exception occurs
while (!isInterrupted()) {
try {
// attempts to accept the slave application's connection
bluetoothSocket = bluetoothServerSocket.accept();
} catch (IOException e) {
// prints out the exception's stack trace
e.printStackTrace();
Log.v("Default Thread", "Connection to slave failed.");
// breaks out of the while loop
return;
}
try {
... (enumerate all input and output streams, and all bt sockets) ...
} catch (IOException e) {
// prints out the exception's stack trace
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
This is the method that is called when creating a blueToothServerSocket, and this is where half of my confusion is. How should I listen on the adapter? Currently, I'm doing it insecurely.
public BluetoothServerSocket createBluetoothServerSocket() {
// gets the name of the application
String name = "PVCED";
// gets a common UUID for both the master and slave applications
UUID uuid = UUID.fromString("23ea856c-49da-11e4-9e35-164230d1df67");
// initializes an empty Bluetooth server socket
serverSocket = null;
try {
// creates a Bluetooth socket using a common UUID
serverSocket = bluetoothAdapter.listenUsingInsecureRfcommWithServiceRecord(name, uuid);
} catch (IOException e) {
// prints out the exception's stack trace
e.printStackTrace();
}
return serverSocket;
}
SLAVE CODE
And this is where the other half of my confusion is, how should I create a socket? Currently I'm doing it insecurely.
private BluetoothSocket createBluetoothSocket(Set<BluetoothDevice> pairedDevices) {
// gets a common UUID for both the master and slave applications
UUID uuid = UUID.fromString("23ea856c-49da-11e4-9e35-164230d1df67");
// initialises an empty Bluetooth socket
BluetoothSocket bluetoothSocket = null;
// checks to see if there are any paired devices
if (pairedDevices.size() > 0) {
// loops through each paired device
for (BluetoothDevice device : pairedDevices) {
// checks to see if the name of the paired device is MASTER
if (device.getName().equals("MASTER")) {
try {
master = device;
// creates a Bluetooth socket using a common UUID
//bluetoothSocket = master.createRfcommSocketToServiceRecord(uuid);
//Method m = master.getClass().getMethod("createRfcommSocketToServiceRecord", new Class[] {int.class});
//bluetoothSocket = (BluetoothSocket) m.invoke(master, 1);
bluetoothSocket = master.createInsecureRfcommSocketToServiceRecord(uuid);
} catch(Exception e){
Log.v("Connect Exception", e.getMessage());
}
}
}
}
//check if we paired succesfully to a master, if not, prompt user to do so.
if (master == null){
... (tell user to pair with master via toast) ...
}
return bluetoothSocket;
}
My logcat is often filled with errors such as "Bad File Descriptor", "Unable to start Service Discovery", or "Service Discovery has failed."
What is the best connection scheme to use for my scenario? If you guys need more details on how I'm enabling/disabling bt adapters, or closing bt connections, I can supply more code.

How to send AT commands based on BT Hands-Free profile in android?

I am trying to establish Bluetooth connection between an Android device with other mobile phone over Handsfree profile. I am using following code -
private static final UUID MY_UUID = UUID.fromString("0000111F-0000-1000-8000-00805F9B34FB"); // UUID for Hands free profile
// Some code...
// Get Bluetooth Adapter.
m_oBluetoothAdapter = BluetoothAdapter.getDefaultAdapter();
// Some code...
// For paired BT device, getting a connection established.
if(null != m_oBluetoothDevice)
{
if(BluetoothDevice.BOND_BONDED == m_oBluetoothDevice.getBondState())
{
try
{
m_oBluetoothSocket = m_oBluetoothDevice.createRfcommSocketToServiceRecord(MY_UUID);
m_oBluetoothSocket.connect();
Log.i(TAG, "Socket Connected");
}
catch(Exception e)
{
if(null != m_oBluetoothSocket)
{
Log.i(TAG, "Closing socket");
try
{
m_oBluetoothSocket.close();
}
catch (Exception e1)
{
Log.i(TAG, "Error while closing socket : " + e1.getMessage());
}
}
}
}
}
I can create RFCOMMSocket using this code.
Now I want to send AT commands based on Bluetooth Hands-Free profile. e.g. If other mobile phone receives a phone call, my Android device can reject this call by sending AT command- "+CHUP". I am not sure whether this is possible or not.
At this point, I am stuck. I have read Bluetooth APIs where I found -
BluetoothHeadset.ACTION_VENDOR_SPECIFIC_HEADSET_EVENT
Can we use this Intent for sending AT commands? Is this a proper way to send AT command based on Bluetooth Hands-Free profile? Please someone help me out and give me proper direction.
Any input from you all will be great help for me.
Thanks in advance.

You need to create InputStream and OutputStream so you can talk to the phone:
mmInStream = m_oBluetoothSocket.getInputStream();
mmOutStream = m_oBluetoothSocket.getOutputStream();
To setup the HFP connection you start to send:
mmOutStream.write("AT+BRSF=20\r".getBytes());
Where 20 is code for what you support of HFP.
And to read from the phone:
buffer = new byte[200];
mmInStream.read(buffer);
command = new String(buffer).trim();
So now you can talk beetwen the devices and you can read more about the Handsfree profile on https://www.bluetooth.org/docman/handlers/downloaddoc.ashx?doc_id=238193

Adding reference to AT commnads
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1471241
http://www.zeeman.de/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/ubinetics-at-command-set.pdf

Android Bluetooth COM port

I have spent some time researching Android's ability to communicate with bluetooth devices that are designed to communicate over a Bluetooth COM port on a PC. I haven't been able to find a definitive answer, so I thought I'd ask here. I want to make sure that this is possible with Android.
I am new to Bluetooth communications, but the research I've done so far lead me to RFCOMM which somewhat sounded like what I wanted. Unfortunately, I'm still unable to confirm that this is in fact possible.
Any help/resources on this would be greatly appreciated.

Yes, Android can connect to Bluetooth COM ports on PC's. I am currently developing such an application. Here is a code example (Ite requires the bluetooth permissions te be set in the Manifest.xml file):
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.BLUETOOTH" />
Java:
BluetoothAdapter adapter = BluetoothAdapter.getDefaultAdapter();
if (adapter == null) {
// Device does not support Bluetooth
finish(); //exit
}
if (!adapter.isEnabled()) {
//make sure the device's bluetooth is enabled
Intent enableBluetooth = new Intent(BluetoothAdapter.ACTION_REQUEST_ENABLE);
startActivityForResult(enableBluetooth, REQUEST_ENABLE_BT);
}
final UUID SERIAL_UUID = UUID.fromString("00001101-0000-1000-8000-00805F9B34FB"); //UUID for serial connection
mac = "00:15:83:3D:0A:57"; //my laptop's mac adress
device = adapter.getRemoteDevice(mac); //get remote device by mac, we assume these two devices are already paired
// Get a BluetoothSocket to connect with the given BluetoothDevice
BluetoothSocket socket = null;
OutputStream out = null;
try {
socket = device.createRfcommSocketToServiceRecord(SERIAL_UUID);
} catch (IOException e) {}
try {
socket.connect();
out = socket.getOutputStream();
//now you can use out to send output via out.write
} catch (IOException e) {}