Will it ever be possible for Android to be able to interface to a Bluetooth GPS Receiver for use in programs like Google Maps?
What sounds like such a simple thing which would give me some respite on my Samsung Galaxy S.
Cheers
Simon
I am curious also.
i need that too
I know that most of the Bluetooth GPS receivers use a simulated Comm port. As long as Android can use the Comm port and receive position data through ASCII sentences, then it should be fine.
i'm gonna try BlueNMEA (it's on the market)
i'll report back
edit: the app seems to be broken :\
If there is an app for NMEA data, that is a good sign. NMEA uses ASCII text strings to send data. To be honest, I know that Garmin's Bluetooth receivers will send NMEA data to the phone.
Sent from my Garminfone using XDA App
Any news on this topic?
Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk
Look for "Bluetooth GPS Provider" or "Bluetooth GPS mouse" in the market...
I didn't want to pay for something like that and I did not understand why I should give phone call or network access for such an application...
So I've have developed mine:
it' free,
it's open-source (you can verify what it's really doing and you can improve it!),
it just asks for needed permissions.
The application allows to use an external bluetooth GPS on Android devices:
The application starts a service, then connects to a Bluetooth device (NMEA GPS) and creates a mock GPS provider which can be used to replace the internal GPS.
It's also possible to log the external GPS NMEA data in a file on the device.
The app need the following permissions:
bluetooth and bluetooth admin (connection to the GPS device),
location and mock location (replace the GPS location provider by a new one using the bluetooth GPS device),
write external storage (if you want to log the NMEA data into a file on the sdcard).
It should run on all android devices (2.0 and above) and NMEA bluetooth devices.
I have tested it with a GlobalSat BT-338 bluetooth GPS (SiRF III), a Galaxy S (I9000) and a HTC Sapphire (Froyo CM-6).
It works with Google Maps, Wikitude, GoPenS and my own personal navigation app. It should work with all applications that use Android official location API.
Note: in order to install the app:
enable Settings/Applications/Unknown sources,
enable Settings/Applications/Development/Allow mock locations,
download and install the apk.
Project page:
Bluetooth GPS for Android on SourceForge
BlueGPS4Droid apk: BlueGps4Droid_1.0.apk
herbert1 said:
I didn't want to pay for something like that and I did not understand why I should give phone call or network access for such an application...
So I've have developed mine:
it' free,
it's open-source (you can verify what it's really doing and you can improve it!),
it just asks for needed permissions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, went from zero of these to three or more.. More is good I guess! Does yours reconnect to the GPS when the connection is lost (walk away from the GPS, GPS accidentally gets turned off in pocket, etc)? What happens if you turn off the phone (hit power button.. standby), does it disconnect? Reconnect? What happens to apps while running, do they pick back up, or reconnect to the internal GPS?
EDIT: It disconnects. You should have it reconnect, especially if the signal was just lost watch for the device to become available again, and it'd also be really nice if it could do it automatically even if not just used; ie I get in the car, fire up the Holux 236 and a few seconds later your program connects to it.
Very very nice start, worked as well as the Bluetooth GPS Mouse program I've been using for a few weeks.. No sat or fix info, but that's a limitation of the Mock interface of course. Not much to be done there.
And it will be great if supports usb gps too. I have an android device with usb host and a usb gps, so will be great if we can attach a serial port to the mock gps in your app.
Thanks.
Corvus.
I actually have stopped using this, as about 50% of the time my phone is freezing when entering Waze with it enabled, 0% of the time without it or using Bluetooth GPS Mouse.
But it is a new program, it has room to grow.
khaytsus said:
Wow, went from zero of these to three or more.. More is good I guess! Does yours reconnect to the GPS when the connection is lost (walk away from the GPS, GPS accidentally gets turned off in pocket, etc)? What happens if you turn off the phone (hit power button.. standby), does it disconnect? Reconnect? What happens to apps while running, do they pick back up, or reconnect to the internal GPS?
EDIT: It disconnects. You should have it reconnect, especially if the signal was just lost watch for the device to become available again,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have this kind of problems in my car, so I haven't planned anything for that. For now, I have preferred that, in case of problems, everything stops properly. However I will verify what I can do (if I can find a simple way to do this).
and it'd also be really nice if it could do it automatically even if not just used; ie I get in the car, fire up the Holux 236 and a few seconds later your program connects to it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A priori, no good way for doing this with the sdk. If we have a background task, which runs looking for the GPS mouse to often it won't be good for the battery.
Generally you have to switch on the GPS, so It should not really be a problem to start the service at the same time, especially if, as I do, you plug the android device in a car dock...
Very very nice start, worked as well as the Bluetooth GPS Mouse program I've been using for a few weeks.. No sat or fix info, but that's a limitation of the Mock interface of course. Not much to be done there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can use the extra info in the location to have the number of sat used.
However, if Google has made a better Mock API, we should be able to use GPS Test directly...
Thanks for your comments,
Herbert
Hello,
I downloaded the file but that is not apk but zip and does not include any apy files.
Where can i download the bluegps4droid.apk file from? or How can I use the zip file in the android unit?
Thanks for the help
Sandor
Any Hope for Android 1.6?
I just tried Bluetooth GPS for Android but sadly found out it won't work with Android 1.6 such as used by my Archos 5 Internet Tablet.
Any hope for 1.6 support? Is it even possible?
I imagine the other two solutions suggested here were not found in my Market because they are 2.x only as well. Boo. I was so looking forward to this solving all my problems of the craptastic GPS in that device.
herbert1 said:
I didn't want to pay for something like that and I did not understand why I should give phone call or network access for such an application...
So I've have developed mine:
it' free,
it's open-source (you can verify what it's really doing and you can improve it!),
it just asks for needed permissions.
The application allows to use an external bluetooth GPS on Android devices:
The application starts a service, then connects to a Bluetooth device (NMEA GPS) and creates a mock GPS provider which can be used to replace the internal GPS.
It's also possible to log the external GPS NMEA data in a file on the device.
The app need the following permissions:
bluetooth and bluetooth admin (connection to the GPS device),
location and mock location (replace the GPS location provider by a new one using the bluetooth GPS device),
write external storage (if you want to log the NMEA data into a file on the sdcard).
It should run on all android devices (2.0 and above) and NMEA bluetooth devices.
I have tested it with a GlobalSat BT-338 bluetooth GPS (SiRF III), a Galaxy S (I9000) and a HTC Sapphire (Froyo CM-6).
It works with Google Maps, Wikitude, GoPenS and my own personal navigation app. It should work with all applications that use Android official location API.
Note: in order to install the app:
enable Settings/Applications/Unknown sources,
enable Settings/Applications/Development/Allow mock locations,
download and install the apk.
Project page:
Bluetooth GPS for Android on SourceForge
BlueGPS4Droid apk: BlueGps4Droid_1.0.apk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any way you could port this to android 1.6 ? everyone with an archos needs this app cause the gps that is in it is terrible . Please please please port it to android 1.6 .
I've been in touch with a developer of one of these programs and unfortunately it is not possible to port these apps to 1.6 since 1.6 lacks some of the Bluetooth APIs/libraries needed for the functionality. Without a whole lot of messy programming it isn't possible for these apps to work on 1.6.
Can I use an USB GPS receivier instead of a Bluetooth one?
Stefem said:
Can I use an USB GPS receivier instead of a Bluetooth one?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am not sure that such app exists...
Some devices (some tablets for example) have usb host capabilities, but not all of them.
If you can read the NMEA sentences from the USB GPS, it should be feasible (At least to adapt one of the app used with bluetooth GPS).
Thanks for this great App!
Wow!
Thanks Herbert1, this was exactly what I was looking for. I am using you app with a Samsung Galaxy S and a Columbus v900 BT GPS reciever. The reciever does the logging and is WAY faster and more accurate then the internal GPS android gives me.
I am using ARHD ROM (with Bricked Kernel).
My car can access and read out RSS threads and has a lot of interactive media functions, including being able access the internet via my bluetooth enabled phone. But I can't seem to get it to work fully, and really don't know if it is a ROM / Kernel / Phone issue or a car issue. I just don't know enough about the various bluetooth protocols etc, and as much as I research it, I keep going around in circes.
The car will connect to the phone and work fine as a bluetooth headset for telephone calls. It will also display the caller picture without issue and will access and read out my emails (using stock sense Mail client) and SMS messages. It also seems to connect to audio OK (although I never use it as it has a USB port that will accept a pop drive, so all my music is on the dashboard).
But the internet connection doesn't seem to work. I have looked into this and can't work out if it is a PAN or DUN profile issue. Soemtimes I can get the phone to show an internet connection being available to the car, sometimes it doesn't depending on which ROM I use and I can't seem to get any to work regardless.
Looking on the website, it claims the following:
How can I configure my mobile device for internet or BMW TeleServices usage?
In the operating manual of your mobile device you will find instructions on configuring “Access Point Name (APN)”; other names for this may be “Internet Settings”, “Modem Settings” or “Tethering Settings”. The required settings are available from your service provider. Please note that most Sony Ericsson mobile devices only recognise the first entry in the APN list, so it is recommended that all other APN configurations be deleted.
Can somebody please help me with this. I really am baffled as to how to get this to work.
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e using Tapatalk
Bump. Anybody?
Sent from my Motorola DynaTAC using Tapatalk (feels like it at times with this phone)
It has been a year or 2 since I got bluetooth networking going. Today I tried to get my phone to connect to my windows 7 desktop and.... it couldn't even connect sadly enough. Anyways this is from memory so it may or may not be correct. I don't like posting incorrect stuff because you never know who will read/flame.
1. pair your phone to the other device
2. connect via bluetooth your phone to the other device
3. I used the app in the link below to turn on bluetooth tether. Your kernel needs to support this feature. Just a note, there are 2 apps off the link. One is wifi only, the other does bluetooth and wifi. Assuming you get this app, turn on bluetooth tether. I don't know if you should turn tether on then connect bluetooth. Maybe it doesn't matter.
4. This step I don't quite understand. The bluetooth tether should "offer" a network service to the remote device. The remote device in turn must recognize the service and use it. DHCP is the easiest to auto configure everything. If you need a name server, use 8.8.8.8 since that is a public dns server by our google overlords.
http://code.google.com/p/android-wifi-tether/
I'm really liking 4.3 and want a restricted profile to use in my car when I have my tablet mounted to my dash so that I don't need to type a password in to use music/nav/diag software. Problem I'm having is that some of the software that I use with a Bluetooth GPS will not work right because I can't get the Bluetooth working in the restricted profile. When I turn on the BT it looks like it is going to turn on, but turns back off. From the owner account I've looked at the paired devices to see if any of them had a new setting to allow restricted user access, but no luck. I've turned on the BT radio from the owner account, but when I switch to the restricted profile it turns off.
Anyone know of a file that can be tweaked to allow this to work, or if I've overlooked allowing access to some app I didn't connect with BT for the restricted user.
Can anyone test and confirm they also have this problem or not? I only have one device running 4.3 right now so I can not test much on my own. I've not seen much info on all the restrictions and settings to adjust restricted profiles.
I have the same problem with my Nexus 7 (2012) running stock 4.4.
I just switched from a S5 to a S6. One of my favorite things about the S5 was that I had Tasker set up to perform many actions when the phone connected to my car's Bluetooth. Unfortunately, the S6 is not connecting automatically like my S5 did.
It seems like I have to manually open the Bluetooth settings for the connection and manually turn on both Media and Calls... every time I start the car. While searching the internet for a solution, I found an app called Bluetooth Auto Connect. I installed it and turned a bunch of settings on, and I think it might be helping. It seems that I can turn Bluetooth off and then on again on the S6 and then it will connect to the car (2013 Subaru Crosstrek). However, it really bothers me that this is kind of a downgrade where I have lost functionality.
I just realized that I have so many workarounds:
*Force landscape mode = must have 3rd party app Rotation Locker
*Try to prevent music from auto-playing when connected to Bluetooth = must have 3rd party app Media Button Router (and still works inconsistently)
*Try to force screen always on = must have 3rd party app Secure Settings
that list could go on...
Is it possible to fix this completely, so my S6 will fully-connect to the Crosstrek's Bluetooth automatically?
Edit:
This thread seems to be about the same thing, but I don't a see a solution:
https://community.verizonwireless.com/thread/857847?start=0&tstart=0
The Bluetooth Auto Connect FAQ sounds like it's a Samsung problem.
I started having the same issue with my motox after the 5.1 update. Prior it auto connected every time.
Hey guys,
So basically I drive a 2016 Volvo V70 (car model not so important tbh) and before I got my Galaxy N20U I used to have an iPhone 8+.
At the time when I connected it to my car's bluetooth system, things used to run quite perfectly when playing music. Using the car's buttons I could rewind and fast-forward songs by pressing and holding in apps like Spotify.
Now with the Galaxy N20U, answering calls works sorta well, and I can skip songs forwards and backwards by short-pressing the car buttons, BUT I can't "slide" or "seek" the tracks, as in fast-forward or backwards, like I used to be able to do with the iPhone. I did all sorts of basic troubleshooting like unpairing and repairing the phone, resetting, trying other music players; but the problem still persists.
I messed around with the bluetooth connection type in Developer Mode settings on the Galaxy, but tbh I don't really understand what the settings mean or which one should be right. I'm not really aware what bluetooth version my car has either, but I think it would be an older version since it's 2014-2016 technology.
How can I fix it or tune the settings of the Galaxy in order to solve this? Or are there any apps I could install which fixes this issue?
Another problem with the Galaxy's BT connection is with my Windows 10 laptop. It's a pretty new laptop (HP Spectre 15 x360 2019) running the latest version of Windows 10.
Basically I did what everyone would do and I linked my Samsung to Windows, so I could have a similar continuity experience like Mac/iPhones have, like having a stable and automatic connection, picking up calls and texts from your laptop, and most importantly that your phone shares hotspot automatically through Bluetooth tethering when you're outside of home.
I tried several things like linking and unlinking through Microsoft's "Link Your Phone", and even tried with Samsung's Dex. I tried with both functions on, or one of them being unlinked.
The problem still persists, that it's not an automated and constant connection between the laptop and the phone, and that especially when it comes to automatic bluetooth tethering; then I always have to do it manually through clicking through several menus on Windows and creating an Access Point connecting to Bluetooth like some sort of a LAN connection. Every single time. And even when this connection is established, I'd see a LAN icon on the status bar (instead of signal bars) and when I expand the menu, it doesn't even list the current connection it is on (like "Samsung bla bla bla: Connected"). Instead I just get nearby WiFi networks and that it's searching. I DO get internet though and it works fine for the most part, but once I leave the room and the phone gets out of the range, or I put the laptop to standby, then I have to repeat the process all over again.
Even when I opt to sharing internet from my phone to the laptop through normal WiFi hotspot, I notice that the connection drops frequently.
To summarize, when it comes to both the car and my laptop, my Galaxy N20U does connect to them and offers the basic functionalities of the BT connection, BUT it misses other basic functionalities and it tends to be a half-baked, unstable connection.
Please help me out with this! Running the latest versions of softwares on all the named devices here.
For now turn off Developer options.
Clear the system cache on the boot menu
Reset network connections.
Pretty harmless and it may fix it...
dont have that problem