Bug 330536 - Bluetooth device link
Summary: Bluetooth device link
Status: RESOLVED FIXED
Alias: None
Product: kdeconnect
Classification: Applications
Component: common (show other bugs)
Version: unspecified
Platform: unspecified Linux
: NOR wishlist
Target Milestone: ---
Assignee: Albert Vaca Cintora
URL:
Keywords:
: 349196 389865 453019 (view as bug list)
Depends on:
Blocks:
 
Reported: 2014-01-29 12:23 UTC by Philippe ROUBACH
Modified: 2022-10-05 07:38 UTC (History)
29 users (show)

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Latest Commit:
Version Fixed In:


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Description Philippe ROUBACH 2014-01-29 12:23:22 UTC
opensuse 13.1 x86_64 , kde 4.12.1
kdeconnect 0.4.2-2.3

i have not a wifi network i use only ethernet cable

if i understand well
to use kdeconnect i must add a wifi adapter in my pc and create with this wifi adapter a wifi ap
then internaly connect my pc to this ap and connect my smartphone to this ap

to avoid this please add a bluetooth compliancy to kdeconnect

with bluedevil 1.x (bt 2) and 2.x (bt 4)
we can create a bluetooth local network if i understand well bluetooth technology
you have just to use this lan with kdeconnect

it is also useful for those using cpl network

an advantage of bt 4 : saving energy technology , usefull for smartphone battery


thanks

Reproducible: Always
Comment 1 info 2015-02-12 07:52:52 UTC
Initial support for bluetooth added to reviewboard.kde.org by "Saikrishna Arcot"

https://git.reviewboard.kde.org/r/122174/
https://git.reviewboard.kde.org/r/122020/
Comment 2 Philippe ROUBACH 2015-02-12 08:49:22 UTC
great , thanks to all .
Comment 3 Emily Hathaway 2015-02-21 15:59:37 UTC
KDE Connect works by sending packets over the LAN- it doesn't matter if the PC is not using a wifi connection. I can see how bluetooth support could be helpful as it would allow a machine to interact with a phone even if the phone isn't permitted on the LAN, such as at some workplaces and schools
Comment 4 Aleix Pol 2015-11-12 01:37:47 UTC
*** Bug 349196 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
Comment 5 Philippe ROUBACH 2015-11-12 07:11:17 UTC
hello

what is the status of the bluetooth backend ,

thanks
Comment 6 Aleix Pol 2015-11-12 10:17:46 UTC
Nobody is working on it and it's not even clear that we want it.
Comment 7 Denis Kurz 2016-01-15 13:11:40 UTC
(In reply to Aleix Pol from comment #6)
> Nobody is working on it and it's not even clear that we want it.

Why would we not want it? With currently 81 votes, it is the most wanted new feature according to this bug tracker. Only bug 339367 has more votes. Or are you only refering to the developers not wanting this?

The lack of this feature is a deal breaker for many potential users, including me. Is there any workaround to establish a connection between desktop computers in restricted LANs and a smartphone? Will there be one?
Comment 8 Albert Vaca Cintora 2016-01-15 15:53:16 UTC
Hi Denis, 

We know this is important, but in the short term we are prioritizing other features. The reality is that neither Aleix nor me (currently, the two main developers) are Bluetooth users, but that doesn't mean that we think this is not a useful feature for some users. That's why the bug is not closed :)

Albert
Comment 9 Garland_Key 2016-10-01 17:35:47 UTC
Albert,

Would it help if I put a small bounty on bluetooth support?  I don't have a lot of money, but I'd be willing to pay 15 USD if this were implemented - maybe there are others willing to donate as well.  Let me know.

Best,
Garland
Comment 10 Cristiano Guadagnino 2016-10-02 09:32:15 UTC
Yes, I would love to add my contribution (I could afford 30 USD) to have this implemented at last. 
It would make my life easier at work, where I cannot have my smartphone and my computer connected to the same wifi.
Comment 11 tnemeth 2016-10-05 06:32:50 UTC
This is, indeed, a must-have for the "No LAN access" policy places and I wanted it for ages (since I've known about kde-connect). However, the status of the bluetooth KDE stack is really in a poor state...
Comment 12 Francesco 2016-10-25 14:25:39 UTC
This feature is really useful at work where there is no way to connect the cellphone to the LAN
Comment 13 Albert Vaca Cintora 2016-11-11 23:14:25 UTC
There is a "bluetooth" branch in git developed by
Comment 14 Albert Vaca Cintora 2016-11-11 23:17:59 UTC
There is a "bluetooth" branch in git developed by Saikrishna Arcot with this kind of link implemented. I had to adapt it to the current kdeconnect API but it should work. I haven't been able to test it myself because I think my computer bluetooth is not properly set up, but you might want to give it a try and provide feedback. It would be nice if you can try it connecting two PCs between them and two phones between them so we can know any platform-specific issues.
Comment 15 Saikrishna 2016-11-17 15:12:10 UTC
For the record, remote filesystem browsing will not work over the bluetooth backend because it uses SSHFS, which uses an IP network. It should be possible to implement FUSE in kdeconnect and transfer file information and payloads through kdeconnect itself.
Comment 16 Michael 2017-03-23 09:26:59 UTC
For now, you can workaround this missing feature, by enabling network sharing on you phone (enable hotspot via bluetooth). This will give you an networkstack on the bluetooth connection.
Comment 17 Saikrishna 2017-05-07 04:32:10 UTC
The bluetooth code on the desktop side and the code on the Android side is using different protocol versions, and therefore syncing is not possible. Can you merge/rebase the code on both sides to include the changes made on the master branches?
Comment 18 Saikrishna 2017-05-25 15:36:25 UTC
In the latest code, connecting via Bluetooth works (albeit there maybe a crash due to a timing issue (fix submitted) and it may take a while for some reason), sending and receiving messages via Bluetooth works, and sending from Android to KDE works, but the KDE side doesn't see the transfer as successful for some reason.
Comment 19 Albert Vaca Cintora 2017-06-04 21:04:59 UTC
We merged the changes that Saikrishna made to add support for Bluetooth to the master branch of both the Android and the desktop apps. It still needs polishing and it's not compiled by default, but if you want to give it a try you can compile your own KDE Connect and enable it.

To enable it in Android: Uncomment the BLUETOOTH permissions in the AndroidManifest.xml and the line 'linkProviders.add(new BluetoothLinkProvider(this));' in BackgroundService.java
 
To enable it on the desktop: Set the CMake flag BLUETOOTH_ENABLED to ON.

Feedback and patches welcome!
Comment 20 markuss 2017-06-12 10:15:46 UTC
(In reply to Saikrishna from comment #15)
> For the record, remote filesystem browsing will not work over the bluetooth
> backend because it uses SSHFS, which uses an IP network. It should be
> possible to implement FUSE in kdeconnect and transfer file information and
> payloads through kdeconnect itself.

I don't know if that's possible under Android but just for reference: Apple’s Continuity negotiates things via Bluetooth LE but for actual file transfers etc. is opens an Ad-hoc WiFi network.
Comment 21 Saikrishna 2017-06-12 15:31:24 UTC
(In reply to kmi from comment #20)
> (In reply to Saikrishna from comment #15)
> > For the record, remote filesystem browsing will not work over the bluetooth
> > backend because it uses SSHFS, which uses an IP network. It should be
> > possible to implement FUSE in kdeconnect and transfer file information and
> > payloads through kdeconnect itself.
> 
> I don't know if that's possible under Android but just for reference:
> Apple’s Continuity negotiates things via Bluetooth LE but for actual file
> transfers etc. is opens an Ad-hoc WiFi network.

I actually was able to implement a read-only FUSE filesystem (writing will take some work), but it's very buggy/rough (in particular, you may need to do manual cleanup after exiting KDE Connect on the desktop side).
Comment 22 Kai Uwe Broulik 2018-02-05 09:36:31 UTC
*** Bug 389865 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
Comment 23 Keith Zubot-Gephart 2018-11-21 23:49:13 UTC
So is there any progress on this becoming stable? Thanks to the reliance on UDP broadcasts I can't use kdeconnect at work, and bluetooth would largely solve that, so I've been anxiously awaiting this!
Comment 24 Cristiano Guadagnino 2018-11-22 00:05:25 UTC
(In reply to Keith Zubot-Gephart from comment #23)
> So is there any progress on this becoming stable? Thanks to the reliance on

Me too!
Comment 26 2wxsy58236r3 2022-10-05 07:38:18 UTC
*** Bug 453019 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***