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node-bluetooth-hci-socket

Bluetooth HCI socket binding for Node.js

NOTE: Currently only supports Linux, FreeBSD and Windows.

Prerequisites

node-gyp requirements

NOTE: node-gyp is only required if the npm cannot find binary for your OS version otherwise the binaries are prebuilt.

Linux

Bluetooth 4.0 Adapter

Note: the node-usb dependency might fail install, this is ok, because it is an optional optional dependency. Installing libudev-dev via your Linux distribution's package manager will resolve the problem.

Windows

This library needs raw USB access to a Bluetooth 4.0 USB adapter, as it needs to bypass the Windows Bluetooth stack.

A WinUSB driver is required, use Zadig tool to replace the driver for your adapter.

WARNING: This will make the adapter unavailable in Windows Bluetooth settings! To roll back to the original driver go to: Device Manager -> Open Device -> Update Driver

Compatible Bluetooth 4.0 USB Adapter's

Name	USB VID	USB PID
BCM920702 Bluetooth 4.0	0x0a5c	0x21e8
BCM20702A0 Bluetooth 4.0	0x19ff	0x0239
BCM20702A0 Bluetooth 4.0	0x0489	0xe07a
CSR8510 A10	0x0a12	0x0001
Asus BT-400	0x0b05	0x17cb
Intel Wireless Bluetooth 6235	0x8087	0x07da
Intel Wireless Bluetooth 7260	0x8087	0x07dc
Intel Wireless Bluetooth 7265	0x8087	0x0a2a
Intel Wireless Bluetooth 8265	0x8087	0x0a2b
Belkin BCM20702A0	0x050D	0x065A

Compatible Bluetooth 4.1 USB Adapter's

Name	USB VID	USB PID
BCM2045A0 Bluetooth 4.1	0x0a5c	0x6412

Install

npm install bluetooth-hci-socket

Usage

var BluetoothHciSocket = require('bluetooth-hci-socket');

Actions

Create

var bluetoothHciSocket = new BluetoothHciSocket();

Set Filter

var filter = new Buffer(14);

// ...

bluetoothHciSocket.setFilter(filter);

Note: setFilter is not required if bindRaw is used.

Bind

Raw Channel

bluetoothHciSocket.bindRaw([deviceId]); // optional deviceId (integer)

User Channel

bluetoothHciSocket.bindUser([deviceId]); // optional deviceId (integer)

Requires the device to be in the powered down state (sudo hciconfig hciX down).

Control Channel

bluetoothHciSocket.bindControl();

Is Device Up

Query the device state.

var isDevUp = bluetoothHciSocket.isDevUp(); // returns: true or false

Note: must be called after bindRaw.

Start/stop

Start or stop event handling:

bluetoothHciSocket.start();

// ...

bluetoothHciSocket.stop();

Note: must be called after bindRaw or bindControl.

Write

var data = new Buffer(/* ... */);

// ...


bluetoothHciSocket.write(data);

Note: must be called after bindRaw or bindControl.

Events

Data

bluetoothHciSocket.on('data', function(data) {
  // data is a Buffer

  // ...
});

Error

bluetoothHciSocket.on('error', function(error) {
  // error is a Error

  // ...
});

Examples

See examples folder for code examples.

Platform Notes

Linux

Force Raw USB mode

Unload btusb kernel module:

sudo rmmod btusb

Set BLUETOOTH_HCI_SOCKET_FORCE_USB environment variable:

sudo BLUETOOTH_HCI_SOCKET_FORCE_USB=1 node <file>.js

FreeBSD

Disable automatic loading of the default Bluetooth stack by putting no-ubt.conf into /usr/local/etc/devd/no-ubt.conf and restarting devd (sudo service devd restart).

Unload ng_ubt kernel module if already loaded:

sudo kldunload ng_ubt

OS X

Disable CSR USB Driver

sudo kextunload -b com.apple.iokit.CSRBluetoothHostControllerUSBTransport

Disable Broadcom USB Driver

sudo kextunload -b com.apple.iokit.BroadcomBluetoothHostControllerUSBTransport

Windows

Force adapter USB VID and PID

Set BLUETOOTH_HCI_SOCKET_USB_VID and BLUETOOTH_HCI_SOCKET_USB_PID environment variables.

Example for USB device id: 050d:065a:

set BLUETOOTH_HCI_SOCKET_USB_VID=0x050d
set BLUETOOTH_HCI_SOCKET_USB_PID=0x065a

node <file>.js