Roland Midi - Bluetooth and USB - Piano app on Chromebook

[Lee T. Davy]

I just started using a Roland RP-102 (being replaced with RP-107).
It is able to connect on my Google Pixel 3a but not ASUS Chromebook.

Roland is stating Chromebook not supported.

I'll ask here if I need a patch to enable USB MIDI for Roland SysEX ?

The  Synthesia app works as General Note on / off so it must be something in 
the Roland apps or Midi permissions for both Bluetooth and USB Midi connections.

Roland Product Support (Roland Corporation)

Nov 6, 2023, 11:53 AM PST

Hello Lee,

I notice you are using the Roland Piano Partner 2 app. That particular app was discontinued some time ago and is no longer supported. It has been replaced by the Roland Piano App. https://www.roland.com/global/products/roland_piano_app/.

Please uninstall Piano Partner 2 and instead install the Roland Piano App onto your mobile device. You can download the Roland Piano App from the Apple App Store for iOS or the Google Play Store for Android.

Thank you for contacting us.

________________________________________________________________________

Then the next message I asked what is different about Android on Chromebook
 and instead of answering they closed the request.

Roland Product Support (Roland Corporation)

Nov 6, 2023, 2:19 PM PST

The Roland Piano App is not compatible with Chromebook. The version of Android on a Chromebook is different than Android on a mobile device. You would need to use an Apple iOS mobile device or an Android mobile device.

Lee T. Davy

Nov 6, 2023, 2:11 PM PST

I have downloaded the Roland Piano App and tried on the preferred Asus Chromebook CX17 Android 11
 and see the request to connect that I accept and it still throws the [E001] Error.
I also saw and forgot the Bluetooth pairing.

I left both the laptop and RP102 powered off for hours and still getting [E001]

Can I find and send any local data or files using the ADB tool that comes with Chromebook ?

[Emilie Roberts]

Hi, I did some tests on a number of my MIDI devices on ChromeOS and they seem to be working for me. I am assuming this is something in either the Roland app or the Roland device.

Do the midi signals work well with other apps? Only on/off or do other things like faders work? What's missing MIDI-wise when using other apps with the Roland piano?

Do you know if the app requires a Roland device or could I test with another midi keyboard? In general there is nothing special about the ChromeOS MIDI implementation from generic Android so we expect it to work if it works with Android phones. I wonder if Roland decided to require both the Bluetooth and MIDI connection at the same time? Can you use it on Android phones with just the USB MIDI connection and not Bluetooth? (In which case, the Bluetooth issue might be place to investigate).

The only other thing I can think of is that the Roland app is not using the device as a MIDI device but as a USB gadget device. That won't work with your Chromebook due to the USB port hardware wiring and firmware.

Unfortunately it's tricky for me to test without that actual Roland device but I'd love to know if we are missing something to support MIDI devices like these.

[Lee T. Davy]

The ROLAND PIANO app requires a DIGITAL PIANO from a definitive list.
I bought the RP-102 as it was in the list and my ROLAND GO:KEYS was not.

Supported DevicesiOS:
Requires iOS 10.0 or later
Requires iPad iOS 10.0 or later

Android:
Requires Android 7.1 or later  <<<<< ------------- CHROMEBOOK ANDROID 12


Note: We cannot guarantee full compatibility with all devices that meet the specification requirements.

 Keep your mobile device updated with the latest system software for optimum performance.

I have found that Chromebooks have a whitelist of allowed USB (and by any other means) devices.

Something in the ROLAND PIANO app is not class compliant so it may fail to pass the proprietary  SYSEX commands.

These commands are the advantage in the ROLAND PIANO app.

I have linked to the support manuals for the RP-102 so as to make it more clear what is happening.
There is no Chromebook support mentioned so it is assumed to be not supported.
Chromebook MIDI is also not a friendly topic even though WebMIDI is being actively explored but sound comes from the Chromebook VST not the external keyboard.

Enabling the Linux Development fails to allow access to the USB MIDI device so I can't snoop on the connection.
I was able to acquire the attached the btssnoop_hci.log to see the Roland Piano app in action over Bluetooth on an Amazon Fire HD.

[Lee T. Davy]

Just noticed it was run on Google Pixel 3a for the log.
Roland Piano App also runs on my Amazon Fire HD 10 (9th gen - reg June 2020) which is 

Fire OS 7.3.2.9 installed Dec 14, 2023

[ro.build.mktg.fireos]: [Fire OS 7.3.2.9]

Android 9 compliant

[ro.build.version.release]: [9]
[ro.build.version.sdk]: [28]

but is enough Android to pass all the barriers that oppose the Chromebook Android.

[Lee T. Davy]

I just ran Roland Piano app on the Amazon Fire HD 10 to get more HCI Snoop logs which I print from Wire Shark.
I use the app to play an internal song and ran again to play a round of flash cards.

I am assuming the play internal songs is not in the MIDI implementation PDF

 and the flash cards is simple class compliant note on / off.

I have included a zip with all the files.