CODEWITHSUNDEEP
androidbluetoothbluetooth-lowenergy
deb
deb

Reputation: 7441

Detection of BLE devices while not in Settings

First of all, I'm not an Android dev. I'm actually just developing a program for Raspberry Pi that detects people with their phone's Bluetooth. I've just learned that an Android device is only discoverable when the user is in staring at the Bluetooth settings...

On the other hand, "TousAntiCovid" is a contact tracing app made by the french gov that basically detects every other device with the app installed... without the need to keep the user in their phone's settings. How does this work, then?

Upvotes: 1

Views: 158

Answers (1)

Michael Kotzjan
Michael Kotzjan

Reputation: 2663

There is the Exposure Notifications API Emil posted in the comments, which helps the official Covid Tracing apps to better use the smartphones possibilities e.g. without as many energy saving restrictions we are usually facing when developing a mobile app.

On the other hand:

The restriction you talk about (discoverable only in OS settings) only apply while using Bluetooth Classic. When using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) you have to set up a GATT server on your mobile device and start advertising your services. Your device is now discoverable through the advertisements. Have a look at the many BLE guides on the web, such as the one from PunchTrough, to get more informations about the technology.

Upvotes: 1

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