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Thread: [RESOLVED] VB6 Bluetooth to dumb cellphone

  1. #1

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    Resolved [RESOLVED] VB6 Bluetooth to dumb cellphone

    VB6 on WIN10

    I just recently learned how to send files via Bluetooth from one dumb cellphone to another dumb cell phone. I also just learned how to send a file via bluetooth from me computer to the cell phone.

    So can I with VB6 code, on a trigger, send a file (just a word or two) from the computer to the cell phone? I have been able, via some 2018 code by Ttn (?) to identify the device, the cell phone. The data is not important. What is important is that I am alerted as to an event on the computer.

    Please, don't get me started on why a dumb cell phone vs. a smart cell phone.

    Thanks

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    Re: VB6 Bluetooth to dumb cellphone

    Even if you found an API to do this you'd have to keep the phone paired to the PC. I haven't seen anything in Windows for Bluetooth file transfers anyway. The oldest support seems to be for virtual serial (COMn:) communication via Bluetooth.

    Sure, there are Metro ("UWP") applets to do file transfer over BT. I'm not sure they use APIs callable easily from VB though.

    Sending notifications can be done via services like PushBullet or texting if you have a texting gateway you can use for free or afford. I assume those have been rejected already due to the need for a "smart" phone, phone Internet connection, and texting costs and barriers to spam.


    In Windows 8 and later there is BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) support for somewhat longer range and less need for pairing. The Windows API is complex though, little explored by VBers, probably not supported on your simple phone, and not really designed for file transfers or even short text messages. It is more for things like beacon devices (sending a brief state-change like a button press, sounding an alarm), simple sensors, switching something on or off, etc.

    I played with a BLE Gateway device for a while. Your VB program would use TCP/IP to talk to it (plugged into your router) and the Gateway would talk to the BLE devices. Lots of work though even with documentation and hours of study. The PC doesn't need Bluietooth itself at all though, and any PC in your network could use it. Most cheap Gateways I've seen can support several simultaneous hosts on the TCP/IP side, typically 3 to 5.

  3. #3

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    Re: VB6 Bluetooth to dumb cellphone

    Dilettante, thank you for a very enlightening post. I now understand why my cell phone battery is depleted faster when I drive. The phone is connected, via Bluetooth, to the car. The same thing would happen here.

    What I was trying to do is simulate a smart phone response when an email comes in. I already have to determine that event. Your post very clearly states that I should not bother.

    Thanks

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    Re: [RESOLVED] VB6 Bluetooth to dumb cellphone

    I haven't did much on a PC with bluetooth nothing at all in several years now but the few times I was tasked with talking to a bluetooth device it just looked like a serial port and worked with MScomm or other comm controls.

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    Re: VB6 Bluetooth to dumb cellphone

    Quote Originally Posted by AccessShell View Post
    I now understand why my cell phone battery is depleted faster when I drive. The phone is connected, via Bluetooth, to the car. The same thing would happen here.
    Yeah, I have a smart phone but I'm still a bit of a miser.

    I don't pay for data but only use WiFi for that. I like long battery life so normally I have both BT and WiFi turned off.

    In the car I always plug the phone in even though the navigation uses BT for whatever reason. So at least I'm charging during the process. With no data plan that means using Google Maps and Android Auto, via maps "saved for offline use" on the phone. The maps come up on the car's infotainment system screen and I get voice prompts through the car's speakers. Just plugging in the phone in the car turns on BT automatically.

    Saved maps can get pretty big. You need lots of phone storage and/or stops to store new maps on a long trip (more than 100 miles). Lots of places offer free WiFi to customers though, and you'll need fuel, food, etc. anyway.

    Most driving I don't need navigation assistance, but I make an effort to use it. If only to stay on top of the process, which changes over time due to software updates... in case I do need it for a long trip to somewhere unfamiliar.

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