BLE bGeigie issues on Android: please upgrade your BLEBee firmware

[Edouard Lafargue]

  As some of you have experienced, new BLEBee modules connected to the bGeigie Nano can have issues with connection reliability, especially on the Android App. The IOS app is more forgiving and will try to reconstruct corrupted packets, whereas the Android app will just reject them. The symptom is that the BLEBee is either not detected at all on Android, or it is detected but no data seems to come in.

   We have traced the issue to a wrong firmware revision installed on the BLEBee modules. Some modules shipped with 'v2.0.1' on the package were actually version 2.0.0 which doesn't work properly for the bGeigie. Fortunately, those modules can be upgraded 'over the air' and I have just implemented this capability in Safecast:Drive. The newest version (0.4.3) on the Play store and the Amazon store will let you upgrade your BLEBee very easily.

   - If you already have a bGeigie configured in your Safecast:Drive app, please delete it (intruments/details/delete).

   - Then configure your bGeigie on the app as usual (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUkqfWOGyzo if necessary)

   - Last, upgrade the firmware by following this tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orRLYr7lf2Y

    Initial reports by several test users (thanks!!!) were all positive, so we have released the update of the app for everyone to use.

    Apologies for this firmware mishap, the upside is that we now have a solution!

Ed

[Dan Thaler]

....and it works! Thanks so much for the hard work on this.

Dan

[Edouard Lafargue]

  Thanks for the report, Dan!

   Looking forward to seeing more drive submissions from the Android app soon,

Ed

[James Petts]

Ed

I'm having trouble doing this on my Kindle Fire. It detects the presence of the Bluetooth module, but will not connect to it, so I can't upgrade the firmware on the device.

The device works fine (capturing and uploading fine) on my iPhone, but the Kindle Fire just won't connect to the device via Bluetooth.

Is there any more information I can get you to help troubleshoot?

James

[James Petts]

Forgot to add - I deleted the app, and downloaded the latest version last week.

James

[Albert Holk]

I am actually running into a similar situation.

My Android (Nexus 6p running 6.0.1) can see the BLEBee through the normal BlueTooth interface, but the SafeCast Drive application spins forever during discover and never resolves. I cannot get far enough in the connect to initiate a firmware upgrade via the app.

What's weirder, however, is that my iPhone can see the BLEBee and the iPhone Safecast app can communicate with the device, but even during communication, there is no connection light on the BLEBee.

I would add that I purchased the kit in early June, and it shipped from Sweden (I think).

Any ideas on if firmware is the issue, and how I might be able to work around the issue?

Best regards,

-Albert

[Edouard Lafargue]

  Hi Albert,

    Regarding the blue LED: this is normal, by default the BLEBee does not turn on the blue LED with the stock firmware, this is something that has to be explicitly enabled by software...

     My main development device is a Nexus 6P too, and I just tested on my own bGeigie, for what it's worth. As an alternative, if the initial dialog doesn't work for you, can you go to the menu, "Instruments" and add an instrument manually ? As long as the bGeigie is turned on, after a second the bluetooth dropdown should turn to "Select here..." and you should be able to pick your bGeigie. Can you confirm whether this is working that way?

Ed

[Albert Holk]

Hi Edouard,

I attempted to add the device through both methods, but in neither case does the drop-down ever populate.

In most attempts, the scanning icon will just keep spinning. In a few instances, it has stopped after 5 minutes (best guesstimate), but still nothing in the drop-down.

If I exit the app and scan for devices in the normal Android BlueTooth interface, it appears in the list.

Best regards,

-Albert

[James Petts]

This is my experience too. I've been using the latest version of the app on a Kindle Fire HDX (2014) model.

I've discussed this with Ed, and I was going to update him this weekend that I'm seeing the same problem on my wife's Fire.

Albert - do you see the Update Firmware button? I don't, and this was perplexing Ed a little.

[James Petts]

Ed, I'm still having no luck. I've tried on a Nexus 5, a Fire Phone and three Fire tablets. I'm beginning to suspect the modules now. No Android device can connect to my modules, but my iPhones can.

Any idea what my options are?

[Edouard Lafargue]

    Hi James,

   Sorry about this! Albert got back to me a couple of days ago - thank you, by the way! - with an interesting tip: he finally managed to connect to the BLE modules after making sure "high accuracy mode" was enabled on his device. By any chance, is high accuracy disabled on your phone ?

    If the iphone can use the module, there is nothing wrong with it, no worries there.

    Just to confirm: can you share (direct email is fine) a screenshot of the "Settings" menu on Safecast:Drive on any of your devices? If I remember well, the "upgrade firmware" button does not show up there, and I can't reproduce it on my own test phones/tablets...

Ed

[Albert Holk]

Just to add, I found the setting in Android (v.6.0.1) under Settings > Location. If you hit the "Mode" setting, you have the option of choosing between High Accuracy, Battery Saving, and Devices Only.

When I switched from Battery Saving to High Accuracy, SafeCast Drive suddenly listed my BLEBee in the dropdown.

Since then, it has been solid.

I did attempt to upgrade my firmware after the fact, but there was no need. It appears to have shipped with the 2.0.1 firmware. 

[Edouard Lafargue]

   Thanks Albert! I will check if I can at least automatically warn users in case high accuracy is not enabled.

   I understand Google's stance on BLE and location - Apple promotes iBeacon, so it's not their interest to draw attention to the fact iphones are trackable very precisely through Bluetooth - but it doesn't make life easier as a developer :)

Ed