Daly Smart BMS App stalls on bluetooth locating service - Android 7 tablet

[legg]

A mobile battery installation offers Bluetooth monitoring
by android devices, through a free app by Daly (BMS mfr)
called Smart BMS - available directly or through GooglePlay.

The BMS bluetooth locating identification doesn't even seem
to show up on devices without the app installed, and the app
won't negotiate bluetooth hardware using emulators or by
booting an android OS on a thumb drive in a PC or laptop.

A budget Lenovo tablet - TB-8304F (TAB 8) with Android 7
sees the BMS bluetooth ident but refuses to pair with it.
The app itself stalls in the locating window - insists the the
locating service be turned on - opens window on that service
with the 'slider' already active 'ON' .

Is there no way forward?

RL

[Theo]

I've no experience with the Daly BMS, but I tried a JK BMS using the
Xiaoxiang BMS app, on an old phone (Android 6 I think it was). For that one
you have to enable Bluetooth, data and location services to pair with the
BMS. If I did things like turned on location but turned off data it
wouldn't pair. It seemed to pair even though I actually had no wifi signal
available - it seemed to be checking data was turned on, rather than the
ability to talk to anyone. Pairing was never super reliable.

Not the same app, but I wonder if it's something like that?

Theo

[legg]

On 30 Jan 2022 23:21:53 +0000 (GMT), Theo

The JK and Daly BMS are much the same outside of physical
appearance. I may try the Xiaoxiang app at some time,
but the Daly BT dongles are proprietary and may not cooperate.

While BT and locating services are both turned on in the
TAB 8 tablet, there's no 'data' service to be enabled, or
feature in the tablet's services menu.

Internet com is through a WiFi router and an internet connection
is maintained during the bluetooth exercise. This tablet is not
used as a phone.

RL

[legg]

On 30 Jan 2022 23:21:53 +0000 (GMT), Theo
<theom...@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote:

The trick turned out to be setting the locating service to 'high
definition' - allowing all location collection methods. Was set to
'device' only previously.

It then located only one BT address - that of the BMS bluetooth
dongle, and then,only after the battery system was reset by the
dongle itself (has a mechanical switch that shorts a UART connector
pin to ground).

Can read the settings, but it's all very elementary, compared to
the UART/USB communication used to set up the battery protection
parameters. There are some nasty looking BT com options like
'factory reset', which I hope that no idiot will actually ever
press.

I guess I'm going to have to be the first idiot, if only to see
what kind of havoc it plays with the properly programmed and
working system.

It doesn't look like theres any way to restore a properly saved
configuration file, when using the Smart BMS bluetooth app,
in the field. You'd have to drag your laptop out there.

RL

[Theo]

legg <le...@nospam.magma.ca> wrote:
> The trick turned out to be setting the locating service to 'high
> definition' - allowing all location collection methods. Was set to
> 'device' only previously.

Ah, I did do that along the way too, I think.

> It then located only one BT address - that of the BMS bluetooth
> dongle, and then,only after the battery system was reset by the
> dongle itself (has a mechanical switch that shorts a UART connector
> pin to ground).
>
> Can read the settings, but it's all very elementary, compared to
> the UART/USB communication used to set up the battery protection
> parameters. There are some nasty looking BT com options like
> 'factory reset', which I hope that no idiot will actually ever
> press.

It's worth looking to see if anyone has done an alternative app - I see
threads about people decoding the protocol but not sure if there's any other
apps.
https://diysolarforum.com/threads/decoding-the-daly-smartbms-protocol.21898/

For the JK/JBD BMSes the protocol is better supported and there are some
alternative apps:
https://diysolarforum.com/threads/jbd-xiaoxiang-bms-apps-list.29890/#post-410837

(that forum is my go-to place for BMS info, also this guy:
https://www.youtube.com/c/OffGridGarageAustralia
although sometimes he misses things - worth reading the comments as there's
often fixes to problems he has)

Theo

[legg]

I found from experience that Daly Bluetooth and Daly Bluetooth
apps may use bluetooth comms, but they are not standard.

The Daly BMS Bluetooth port doesn't register as a Bluetooth
device for mating with anything else but an android OS
running the specific smart BMS app - and then only after
manual manipulation of BMS hardware to 'wake' the bluetooth
port.

Call it Bluetooth, but it isn't.

This isn't a security feature - any android device with the
app will function.

RL