BLE Extension Build Issue

Not sure how many people have had the chance around to mess with the BluetoothLE extension. I just got on ai2 today and noticed the release (looks like im 10 days late). The good news is I successfully got my phone connected and communicating to a HM10 module with very little effort. I was able to adapt my old app using BLE 3.0 to the new 4.0 in less than an hour. Thank you to the University Program Office at Intel Corporation and those who helped make this extension for us to use.

The issue I am having is that it all works fine and great when using the companion app however, when I build the app and run it on my phone its as if the app looses the BLE extension. By this I mean when I scan for devices it generates an empty list and I am unable to select a device to connect to. Again, this is not an issue when I'm testing my app with the companion app. Only after I build the app and install it on my phone is when I experience issues. The phone I am trying to install it on is a Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge running Android 6.0.1. I understand this extension is new and it will take time to work out all the issues, or I could be making a mistake.

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At this moment there is a bug in the BLE extension that prevents it from functioning when the app is built. So for the time being you can only use it in the Companion.

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Any estimate when we'll be able to build apps with BLE?  I'm working on an Arduino 101 robot controller project for the local high school, and I need to know if I can have things ready by the end of summer.  If not, I'll have regroup.

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I will ask.

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Any word?

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I will ask again, but Andrew should see this. Keep asking!

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We understand the problem. Btw. There is a likely work around. If you drag a Bluetooth component into the designer (you don't have to actually use it) things should work.

The problem is that we left out a comma in the permissions string. So instead of giving location permission and bluetooth permission to the BLE component, we give it one permission which is the concatenation of the strings representing the two permissions!

Needless to say, this doesn't work. By dragging in the Bluetooth component, you get the correct permissions when you build.

The reason it works in the Companion is that the Companion has the permissions of all components! So it works.

We have the fix. What we are waiting on is for me to write the document explaining the process for upgrading an extension you have already loaded into your project. It is a non-trivial process now (which we are going to improve).

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Excellent -  I just added a Bluetooth Server component and the built app works like a champ.  Thanks!

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That is very useful to know!

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