Develop Reference

Bluetooth connection problems

I have a client on a PC and a server on a tablet. I know the MAC addresses for both which means I do not do discoveries.
1. On the client if I use
connectString = "btspp://" + MACaddress + ":4;authenticate=false;encrypt=false;master=false";
It connects fine.
If I change the CN number (4) to anything else, it does not work. How is this number determined?
2. Everything works fine if the tablet is a Samsung with Android 5.0.2 When I use a Qunyico tablet with Android 10, it does not work. I get an error: Failed to connect; [10051] A socket operation was attempted to an unreachable network. What is the problem?
Client on PC – code taken from “Bluetooth-java-client-master”
public class IrcBluetoothClient {
private static void openConnection(String MACaddress) throws IOException {
// Tries to open the connection.
String connectString = "btspp://" + MACaddress + ":4;authenticate=false;encrypt=false;master=false";
StreamConnection connection = (StreamConnection) Connector.open(connectString);
if (connection == null) {
System.err.println("Could not open connection to address: " + MACaddress);
System.exit(1);
}
// Initializes the streams.
OutputStream output = connection.openOutputStream();
InputStreamReader isr = new InputStreamReader(System.in);
BufferedReader reader = new BufferedReader(isr);
// Starts the listening service for incoming messages.
ExecutorService service = Executors.newSingleThreadExecutor();
service.submit(new IncomingMessagesLoggingRunnable(connection));
// Main loop of the program which is not complete yet
LocalDevice localDevice = LocalDevice.getLocalDevice();
while (true) {
String toSend = reader.readLine();
byte[] toSendBytes = toSend.getBytes(StandardCharsets.US_ASCII);
output.write(toSendBytes);
System.out.println("[" + localDevice.getFriendlyName() + " - " +
localDevice.getBluetoothAddress() + "]: " + toSend);
System.exit(1);
}
Server on tablet – code taken from https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/connectivity/bluetooth
private static final UUID A_UUID = UUID.fromString("00001101-0000-1000-8000-00805F9B34FB");
public BTacceptConnections( BluetoothAdapter mBluetoothAdapter) {
// Use a temporary object that is later assigned to mmServerSocket
// because mmServerSocket is final.
BluetoothServerSocket tmp = null;
try {
// A_UUID is the app's UUID string, also used by the client code.
tmp = mBluetoothAdapter.listenUsingRfcommWithServiceRecord(NAME, A_UUID);
} catch (IOException e) {
Log.e(TAG, "Socket's listen() method failed", e);
}
mmServerSocket = tmp;
// Closes the connect socket and causes the thread to finish.
public void cancel(){
try {
mmServerSocket.close();
}catch (IOException e){
}
runFlag = 1;
}
//***********************************************************************************************
//
// This thread runs all the time listening for incoming connections.
//
public void run() {
BluetoothSocket socket = null;
// Keep listening until exception occurs or a socket is returned.
while (runFlag == 0) {
try {
socket = mmServerSocket.accept();
} catch (IOException e) {
Log.e(TAG, "Socket's accept() method failed", e);
break;
}
if (socket != null) { // If a connection was accepted
// A connection was accepted. Perform work associated with
// the connection in a separate thread.
// manageMyConnectedSocket(socket);
}else{
try {
mmServerSocket.close();
} catch (IOException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
break;
}
}

I know the MAC addresses for both which means I do not do discoveries.
Official Linux Bluetooth protocol stack BlueZ uses D-BUS API to establish bluetooth communication. If you check adapter-api, scanning will create device objects that you need to establish a communication which means discovering is not only done to retrieve MAC addresses only.
Your case might be the same, I would suggest doing discovery first.

Android sending info via Bluetooth, fast logging

I am trying to write an app that passes the coordinates of a ball to Arduino via BT. The coordinates are being sent every 4 ms. For this test I send "123" instead of full coordinates. What am I getting now (on Arduino serial monitor) is "123123123123123..." and it refreshes only after I close the application.
What I want to achieve is "123" in every line, that shows immediately after the message is sent.
Android code BT:
private class ConnectThread extends Thread {
private final BluetoothSocket mmSocket;
private final BluetoothDevice mmDevice;
private OutputStream outStream ;
UUID uuid = UUID.fromString("00001101-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb");
public ConnectThread(BluetoothDevice device) {
// Use a temporary object that is later assigned to mmSocket
// because mmSocket is final.
BluetoothSocket tmp = null;
mmDevice = device;
try {
// Get a BluetoothSocket to connect with the given BluetoothDevice.
// MY_UUID is the app's UUID string, also used in the server code.
tmp = device.createInsecureRfcommSocketToServiceRecord(uuid);
} catch (IOException e) {
Log.e(TAG, "Socket's create() method failed", e);
}
mmSocket = tmp;
}
public void run() {
// Cancel discovery because it otherwise slows down the connection.
mBluetoothAdapter.cancelDiscovery();
try {
// Connect to the remote device through the socket. This call blocks
// until it succeeds or throws an exception.
mmSocket.connect();
Log.i(TAG, "run: CONNECTED");
} catch (IOException connectException) {
Log.i(TAG, "run: NOT CONNECTED");
}
}
// Closes the client socket and causes the thread to finish.
public void cancel() {
try {
mmSocket.close();
if(outStream != null)
outStream.close();
finish();
} catch (IOException e) {
Log.e(TAG, "Could not close the client socket", e);
}
}
//Sending Message
public void writeData(String data){
String info = data;
try {
outStream = mmSocket.getOutputStream();
outStream.write(info.getBytes());
Log.i(TAG, "writeData: MSG SENT");
} catch (IOException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
Log.i(TAG, "run: CANT SEND MSG");
}
}
public boolean isConnected(){
return mmSocket.isConnected();
}
}
In my main function I call:
if(connectThread.isConnected())
connectThread.writeData("123");
Arduino code:
String incomingByte;
void setup() {
//pinMode(53, OUTPUT);
Serial.begin(9600);
}
void loop() {
// see if there's incoming serial data:
if (Serial.available() > 0) {
// read the oldest byte in the serial buffer:
incomingByte = Serial.readString();
Serial.println(incomingByte);
delay(10);
}
}

There is no concept of messages in serial communication, unless you make it yourself.
Serial.readString() delimits your "messages" with time (1 second by default) and you are sending "messages" 4 ms apart. This obviously concatenates your "messages".
To actually send messages you need to delimit them. You can do that by sending lines.
On Android, you need to end the message with a new line character:
outStream.write(info.getBytes());
outStream.write(10); // send a new line character (ASCII code 10)
And on Arduino, you need to read, until you find a new line character:
incomingByte = Serial.readStringUntil('\n');
Serial.read(); // remove the leftover new line character from the buffer

You need to put at least \n (or maybe \r\n) after the coordinates, or the Bluetooth module just keeps buffering.

Connecting to a bluetooth device programmatically

I am writing a program for a new vehicle security app. the app allows the user to control lock/unlock operations via his phone app. Lets say the user's phone Bluetooth is switched off at first. If that's the case, when he opens the app, the phone bluetooth adapter should be automatically switched on and should connect with the bluetooth module fixed in to the vehicle.
according to the code I have done, the programatic enabling of the BT adapter of phone works fine. But the connection to the vehicle BT module does NOT happen.
But if the user opens the app while the phone BT adapter is already switched on, then the connection establishing between the vehicle and phone happens automatically.
I need to know why the connection does NOT happen when the BT adapter is turned on programmatically.
Note - the phone and the vehicle BT module is paired. The bluetooth modules mac address is hard coded in the coding.
The coding is as follows. I only pasted the necessary parts. I hope every needed to understand and solve my problem is here. The way I posted the code is pretty messed up. Sorry about that. Hope it's clear. I'm new to this.
private static final UUID MY_UUID =
UUID.fromString("00001101-0000-1000-8000-00805F9B34FB");
// Insert bluetooth devices MAC address
private static String address = "00:19:5D:EF:03:79";
/** Called when the activity is first created. */
#Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.main);
btAdapter = BluetoothAdapter.getDefaultAdapter();
btAdapter.enable();
#Override
public void onResume() {
super.onResume();
btAdapter.enable();
// Set up a pointer to the remote node using it's address.
BluetoothDevice device = btAdapter.getRemoteDevice(address);
// Two things are needed to make a connection:
// A MAC address, which we got above.
// A Service ID or UUID. In this case we are using the
// UUID for SPP.
try {
btSocket = device.createRfcommSocketToServiceRecord(MY_UUID);
} catch (IOException e) {
errorExit("Fatal Error", "In onResume() and socket create failed: " + e.getMessage() + ".");
}
// Make sure Discovery isn't going on when you attempt to connect and pass your message.
btAdapter.cancelDiscovery();
// Establish the connection. This will block until it connects.
try {
btSocket.connect();
} catch (IOException e) {
try {
btSocket.close();
} catch (IOException e2) {
errorExit("Fatal Error", "In onResume() and unable to close socket during connection failure" + e2.getMessage() + ".");
}
}
// Create a data stream so we can talk to server.
try {
outStream = btSocket.getOutputStream();
} catch (IOException e) {
errorExit("Fatal Error", "In onResume() and output stream creation failed:" + e.getMessage() + ".");
}
}

There might be a timing problem, onCreate and onResume are called in very short order. In the case that the BT is not enabled the code in onResume might be called before the BT service is online.
My advice: Try to delay the initiation a few seconds by putting the code in a Runnable.
private Handler mHandler = new Handler();
public void onCreate() {
[...]
mHandler.postDelayed(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
btAdapter.enable();
// Set up a pointer to the remote node using it's address.
BluetoothDevice device = btAdapter.getRemoteDevice(address);
// Two things are needed to make a connection:
// A MAC address, which we got above.
// A Service ID or UUID. In this case we are using the
// UUID for SPP.
try {
btSocket = device.createRfcommSocketToServiceRecord(MY_UUID);
} catch (IOException e) {
errorExit("Fatal Error", "In onResume() and socket create failed: " + e.getMessage() + ".");
}
// Make sure Discovery isn't going on when you attempt to connect and pass your message.
btAdapter.cancelDiscovery();
// Establish the connection. This will block until it connects.
try {
btSocket.connect();
} catch (IOException e) {
try {
btSocket.close();
} catch (IOException e2) {
errorExit("Fatal Error", "In onResume() and unable to close socket during connection failure" + e2.getMessage() + ".");
}
}
// Create a data stream so we can talk to server.
try {
outStream = btSocket.getOutputStream();
} catch (IOException e) {
errorExit("Fatal Error", "In onResume() and output stream creation failed:" + e.getMessage() + ".");
}
}, 5000); // 5 second delay
[...]
Caveats: This works really bad if you exit the app promptly after startup. Put the runnable in a member variable and call mHandler.removeCallback(Runnable) in onDestroy().

Android Bluetooth Printing

I am writing an application which sends data to bluetooth printer. Can anyone help me ? how can I use android Bluetooth Stack for printing? or is there any external api or sdk to use?
Here is my code for searching bluetooth...
bluetoothAdapter = BluetoothAdapter.getDefaultAdapter();
registerReceiver(ActionFoundReceiver,
new IntentFilter(BluetoothDevice.ACTION_FOUND));
private final BroadcastReceiver ActionFoundReceiver = new BroadcastReceiver() {
#Override
public void onReceive(Context context, Intent intent) {
String action = intent.getAction();
if (BluetoothDevice.ACTION_FOUND.equals(action)) {
BluetoothDevice device = intent
.getParcelableExtra(BluetoothDevice.EXTRA_DEVICE);
btArrayAdapter.add(device.getName() + "\n"
+ device.getAddress());
btArrayAdapter.notifyDataSetChanged();
}
}
};
and here is my code for sending data to printer..
BluetoothDevice mDevice = bluetoothAdapter.getRemoteDevice("00:15:FF:F2:56:A4");
Method m = mDevice.getClass().getMethod("createRfcommSocket",
new Class[] { int.class });
mBTsocket = (BluetoothSocket) m.invoke(mDevice, 1);
System.out.println("Connecting.....");
mBTsocket.connect();
System.out.println("Connected");
OutputStream os = mBTsocket.getOutputStream();
os.flush();
os.write(Receipt.getBytes());
// mBTsocket.close();
When I write socket.close() , data is not getting print to printer as socket connection getting closed before printing data..and if I didn't write socket.close() then data is getting printed only once.. I would not be able to print data second time until I restart bluetooth of my phone.
can any one have solution for it??? or is there any other way to get rid of this printing??

I got the solution of my problem...
if i want to print data more than one time then you dont need to create new Socket Connection with the device... instead call outputstream.write(bytes) method.
and in the end if you want to disconnect device then call mBTScoket.close() method to disconnect device.

You can use printooth library for any printer, printooth is simple and well documented,
https://github.com/mazenrashed/Printooth
var printables = ArrayList<Printable>()
var printable = Printable.PrintableBuilder()
.setText("Hello World") //The text you want to print
.setAlignment(DefaultPrinter.ALLIGMENT_CENTER)
.setEmphasizedMode(DefaultPrinter.EMPHASISED_MODE_BOLD) //Bold or normal
.setFontSize(DefaultPrinter.FONT_SIZE_NORMAL)
.setUnderlined(DefaultPrinter.UNDELINED_MODE_ON) // Underline on/off
.setCharacterCode(DefaultPrinter.CHARACTER_CODE_USA_CP437) // Character code to support languages
.setLineSpacing(DefaultPrinter.LINE_SPACING_60)
.setNewLinesAfter(1) // To provide n lines after sentence
.build()
printables.add(printable)
BluetoothPrinter.printer().print(printables)

If you have made connection to the devices and paired it.
So for printing, printer wants the byte. SO I have createed a mothod.
Simply call this method and pass the String inside it to get printed.
String str = new String("This is the text sending to the printer");
private void printData() {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
String newline = "\n";
try {
out.write(str.getBytes(),0,str.getBytes().length);
Log.i("Log", "One line printed");
} catch (IOException e) {
Toast.makeText(BluetoothDemo.this, "catch 1", Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
e.printStackTrace();
Log.i("Log", "unable to write ");
flagCheck = false;
}
try {
out.write(newline.getBytes(),0,newline.getBytes().length);
} catch (IOException e) {
Log.i("Log", "Unable to write the new line::");
e.printStackTrace();
flagCheck = false;
}
flagCheck = true;
}

Android TCP app hanging on inStream.readline()

This is a continuation of this question because it my orginal question was answered, but it did not solve the bug.
Question:
How do I fix the code hanging on this line inStream.readline()
My Intent:
This is in a thread that will loop through checking if there is an outMessage, if there is, it will send the message.
Next it will check it if there is anything in the in-stream, if there is, it will send it to the handler in my main activity.
Lastly, it will sleep for 1 second, then check again.
This should allow me to read/write multiple times without needing to close and open the socket.
Problem:
It is reading and writing better, but still not working properly
What is happening now:
If outMessage is initialized with a value, upon connection with the server, the socket:
writes and flushes the value (server receives & responds)
updates value of outMessage (to null or to "x" depending on how i have it hard-coded)
reads and shows the response message from the server
re-enters for the next loop
IF i set outMessage to null, it skips over that if statements correctly then hangs; otherwise, if i set outMessage to a string (lets say "x"), it goes through the whole if statement, then hangs.
The code it hangs on is either of the inStream.readline() calls (I currently have one commented out).
Additional info:
- once connected, I can type in the "send" box, submit (updates the outMessage value), then disconnect. Upon re-connecting, it will read the value and do the sequence again until it get stuck on that same line.
Changes since the referenced question:
- Made outMessage and connectionStatus both 'volatile'
- added end-of-line delimiters in neccesary places.
Code:
public void run() {
while (connectionStatus != TCP_SOCKET_STATUS_CONNECTED) {
try {
Thread.sleep(500);
} catch (InterruptedException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
while (connectionStatus == TCP_SOCKET_STATUS_CONNECTED) {
try {
if (outMessage != null){
OutStream.writeBytes(outMessage + "\n");
OutStream.flush();
sendMessageToAllUI(0, MAINACTIVITY_SET_TEXT_STATE, "appendText" , "OUT TO SERVER: " + outMessage);
outMessage = "x";
}
Thread.sleep(100);
// if (InStream.readLine().length() > 0) {
String modifiedSentence = InStream.readLine();
sendMessageToAllUI(0, MAINACTIVITY_SET_TEXT_STATE, "appendText" , "IN FROM SERVER: " + modifiedSentence);
// }
Thread.sleep(1000);
} catch (IOException e) {
connectionLost();
break;
} catch (InterruptedException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
}
The thread that makes the socket:
public void run() {
setName("AttemptConnectionThread");
connectionStatus = TCP_SOCKET_STATUS_CONNECTING;
try {
SocketAddress sockaddr = new InetSocketAddress(serverIP, port);
tempSocketClient = new Socket(); // Create an unbound socket
// This method will block no more than timeoutMs. If the timeout occurs, SocketTimeoutException is thrown.
tempSocketClient.connect(sockaddr, timeoutMs);
OutStream = new DataOutputStream(tempSocketClient.getOutputStream());
InStream = new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(tempSocketClient.getInputStream()));
socketClient = tempSocketClient;
socketClient.setTcpNoDelay(true);
connected();
} catch (UnknownHostException e) {
connectionFailed();
} catch (SocketTimeoutException e) {
connectionFailed();
} catch (IOException e) {
// Close the socket
try {
tempSocketClient.close();
} catch (IOException e2) {
}
connectionFailed();
return;
}
}
Server:
public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException {
String clientSentence;
String capitalizedSentence;
try {
ServerSocket welcomeSocket = new ServerSocket(8888);
SERVERIP = getLocalIpAddress();
System.out.println("Connected and waiting for client input!\n Listening on IP: " + SERVERIP +"\n\n");
Socket connectionSocket = welcomeSocket.accept();
BufferedReader inFromClient = new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(connectionSocket.getInputStream()));
DataOutputStream outToClient = new DataOutputStream(connectionSocket.getOutputStream());
while(true)
{
try {
Thread.sleep(1000);
} catch (InterruptedException e) {
// TODO Auto-generated catch block
e.printStackTrace();
}
clientSentence = inFromClient.readLine();
System.out.println("clientSentance == " + clientSentence);
String ip = connectionSocket.getInetAddress().toString().substring(1);
if(clientSentence != null)
{
System.out.println("In from client ("+ip+")("+ System.currentTimeMillis() +"): "+clientSentence);
capitalizedSentence = clientSentence.toUpperCase() + '\n';
outToClient.writeBytes(capitalizedSentence + '\n');
System.out.println("Out to client ("+ip+"): "+capitalizedSentence);
}
}
} catch (IOException e) {
//if server is already running, it will not open new port but instead re-print the open ports information
SERVERIP = getLocalIpAddress();
System.out.println("Connected and waiting for client input!\n");
System.out.println("Listening on IP: " + SERVERIP +"\n\n");
}
}
Thanks in advance!
Edits:
added the server code after updating
I tried messing around with setting the SoTimout for the socket but took that back out

Your server is specifically designed to receive exactly one line from a client and send exactly one line back. Look at the code:
while (true) {
Socket connectionSocket = welcomeSocket.accept();
BufferedReader inFromClient = new BufferedReader(
new InputStreamReader(connectionSocket.getInputStream()));
DataOutputStream outToClient = new DataOutputStream(
connectionSocket.getOutputStream());
clientSentence = inFromClient.readLine();
String ip = connectionSocket.getInetAddress().toString()
.substring(1);
System.out.println("In from client (" + ip + "): "
+ clientSentence);
if (clientSentence != null) {
capitalizedSentence = clientSentence.toUpperCase() + '\n';
System.out.println("Out to client (" + ip + "): "
+ capitalizedSentence);
outToClient.writeBytes(capitalizedSentence + "\n");
}
Notice that inside the loop it accepts a new connection, reads exactly one line, and then writes exactly one line. It doesn't close the connection. It doesn't sanely end the conversation. It just stops reading.
A client that worked with this server would have to connect, send exactly one line, read exactly one line back, and then the client would have to close the connection. Your client doesn't do that. Why? Because you had no idea that's what you had to do. Why? Because you had no design ... no plan.
So that's your specific issue. But please, let me urge you to take a huge step back and totally change your approach. Before you write a single line of code, please actually design and specify a protocol at the byte level. The protocol should say what data is sent, how messages are delimited, who sends when, who closes the connection, and so on.
Otherwise, it's impossible to debug your code. Looking at the server code above, is it correct? Well, who knows. Because it's unclear what it's supposed to do. When you wrote the client, you assumed the server behaved one way. Was that assumption valid? Is the server broken? Who knows, because there's no specification of what the server is supposed to do.

You need to check if there is data available:
if (InStream.available > 0) {
String modifiedSentence = InStream.readLine();
sendMessageToAllUI(0, MAINACTIVITY_SET_TEXT_STATE, "appendText" , "IN FROM SERVER: " + modifiedSentence);
}
But to be honest, even that is not ideal because you have no gurantee that the eond-of-line will have been received. If the server sends a few bytes but never sends the end-of-line then you will still be blocking forever. Production socket code should never rely on readLine but instead read into a buffer and check that buffer for end-of-line (or whatever criteria your protocol needs).
Didn't read closely enough, I thought InStream was an InputStream instance. InputStream has available. InputStreamReader has ready (which in turn calls InputStream.available. As long as you keep a refernce to either of these then you can see if data is available to be read.