Trusted Bluetooth Devices

[kckadow]

Liking this feature. As I understand it, If you use a PIN to unlock your phone, which I do, the Active Display and Always Listening features will be limited or won't work at all until you unlock your phone. Phil mentioned in his podcast that his Pebble Watch allows him to always be in a Trusted Device "Zone" with his Moto X because his watch in on his wrist. He also mentioned in his Editors Desk post today that this feature will be in the Droids. I hadn't heard anything about it until now, but hope it's true. I know the "Skip" will come with the Moto X, but that is an NFC tag as I understand it. Tapping a tag is one way to do it, but I think the Trusted Device method is easier. I would definitely buy a "Bluetooth Chip" to keep in my pocket so I am always in a Trusted Bluetooth "Zone" and still have PIN protection if my phone is separated from me. Other than in the car and portable speakers, I don't use any other Bluetooth devices. If no "Bluetooth Chip" then what's the least expensive, most portable Bluetooth Device to buy and keep on me?

 

[Zorro1]

My thought exactly. Something for my keyring perhaps...

 

[duner53]

I was thinking the exact same thing. Kind of like the Motorola Skip accessory thing they're selling for the Moto X, but much easier since it only has to be in proximity, no physical contact required. While not terribly cheap, there are a few good options already out there for this. I just did a Google search for "bluetooth LE tag" and found ones like StickNFind, Tile, and Proximo. With this, I can finally put a passcode on my phone and not have to actually bother with all the time (or, ideally, ever), but still be protected in case it gets lost or stolen. In my opinion, it's the perfect solution.

EDIT: Just a word of caution, don't know how accurate this is, but in doing a bit more looking I found a forum post that says the StickNFind may have some issues. That was in May, so maybe it's been fixed by now, but I wanted to put it out there as fair warning.

 

[Beech_55]

Maybe I'm just hesitant due to the Bluetooth battery drain on my Gnex, but would having Bluetooth on all of the time take a big chunk of the claimed 48 hour juice?

 

[kckadow]

I was thinking the exact same thing. Kind of like the Motorola Skip accessory thing they're selling for the Moto X, but much easier since it only has to be in proximity, no physical contact required. While not terribly cheap, there are a few good options already out there for this. I just did a Google search for "bluetooth LE tag" and found ones like StickNFind, Tile, and Proximo. With this, I can finally put a passcode on my phone and not have to actually bother with all the time (or, ideally, ever), but still be protected in case it gets lost or stolen. In my opinion, it's the perfect solution.

EDIT: Just a word of caution, don't know how accurate this is, but in doing a bit more looking I found a forum post that says the StickNFind may have some issues. That was in May, so maybe it's been fixed by now, but I wanted to put it out there as fair warning.

Thanks for the research. Looks like the StickNFind is the only one that will currently work with Android. I'll be looking for some more reviews and post what I find. Fairly costly, but worth it in my opinion.

 

[kckadow]

Maybe I'm just hesitant due to the Bluetooth battery drain on my Gnex, but would having Bluetooth on all of the time take a big chunk of the claimed 48 hour juice?

Could be, but that's why I got the Maxx. I plan to leave Bluetooth, Wifi and GPS on all the time, set my screen brightness to 50% and see what happens. I'm coming from the Gnex, so I know what you mean. I got it this morning, so tomorrow will be the first full day of battery testing. Hopefully, I'll only have to charge it at night. Compared to the Gnex, it's night and day.

 

[Beech_55]

Yeah, night and day with a backup battery in my briefcase. And no Wifi, Bluetooth or GPS unless (and only so long as) needed. And what's this "4G" of which you speak? Can't wait to hear how folks fair today, as I may not be able to refrain from getting it.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 4

 

[kckadow]

Thanks for the research. Looks like the StickNFind is the only one that will currently work with Android. I'll be looking for some more reviews and post what I find. Fairly costly, but worth it in my opinion.

So I emailed customer service on the StickNFind website. I think I may have more questions now than before I sent the email:

AUG 21, 2013 | 10:20AM EDT
John replied:
Hello,

Thank you for contacting us. We still working on android. The sticknfind when paired with your device enable you to set up the leash that will alert you when its out of range but unfortunately does not have the capability lock or unlocked your phone when its out of range. The sticknfind stickers use Bluetooth signal to communicate with each other.
Best regards,


John T.
________________________________________
AUG 21, 2013 | 12:41AM EDT
Original message
KC wrote:

The new Motorola Droid Line of phones and the Moto X now have a feature called Trusted Device. If I pair my PIN-locked phone to a Bluetooth device and tell my phone it's a trusted device, it will keep my phone unlocked until it is out of range of the device. This allows for the convenience of not having to unlock it every time I want to use it and allows the active display features to work.

I'm looking for something to keep in my pocket that I can stay paired with so my phone will stay unlocked. If my phone gets separated/stolen, then it will lock when it gets out of range of the Bluetooth device in my pocket.

The Droid Maxx phone I have has "Bluetooth? 4.0 LE +EDR, Bluetooth Class 2"

Do you see any reason the StickNFind would not work for this purpose?

Thanks!!

 

[Zorro1]

And I think Tumi works the same way. Can't tell from some of the descriptions. The Proximo looks best, but apparently they weren't aware of Android until recently. Ahem.

 

[kckadow]

Found one from "Insite". Looks like it fits the bill. No mention of phone specificity other than the Bluetooth standard which the DM seems to meet. It's $18 plus $11 shipping, so fairly costly, but might be worth it.

Insite LBT505: Product: inSite LBT505 Bluetooth Wireless Separation Alarm

Owners Manual: http://www.voxxintlcorp.com/docs/common/LBT505/LBT505_OM.pdf

 

[YAYTech]

I'm wondering if it would help battery life if the trusted bluetooth device were designed for bluetooth LE? I assume to take advantage of that, both the phone and device need to be made for LE standards?

 

[kckadow]

I'm wondering if it would help battery life if the trusted bluetooth device were designed for bluetooth LE? I assume to take advantage of that, both the phone and device need to be made for LE standards?

I assume it would help if both could use LE, but honestly don't know enough about bluetooth to answer that. The DM has the LE standard and the Class 2 standard, but the Insite says Class 2 standard and no mention of LE on it's specs. So I assume it would connect to the DM using the Class 2 standard only. Don't know how that would impact overall battery drain with my usage, but LE would definitely be preferable. Still confused as to how it all works with handsets being LE compatible, 4.3 is now LE compatible, but the devices also has to have LE compatibility?

 

[YAYTech]

I assume it would help if both could use LE, but honestly don't know enough about bluetooth to answer that. The DM has the LE standard and the Class 2 standard, but the Insite says Class 2 standard and no mention of LE on it's specs. So I assume it would connect to the DM using the Class 2 standard only. Don't know how that would impact overall battery drain with my usage, but LE would definitely be preferable. Still confused as to how it all works with handsets being LE compatible, 4.3 is now LE compatible, but the devices also has to have LE compatibility?

Yes, there is a hardware requirement, at both ends (I had to look it up, though):

Android joined Apple, Microsoft and Blackberry in the Bluetooth Smart Ready revolution. Now smartphones and tablets with a dual-mode Bluetooth v4.0 chip running the latest version of the Android OS are Bluetooth Smart Ready?putting them at the center of consumers? digital lives.

(BTW, Bluetooth LE is the same as Bluetooth Smart)

Bluetooth Smart Devices | Bluetooth Technology Website

 

[VJKotts]

Will the fitbit that I own which has Bluetooth 4.0 work as a trusted bluetooth device?

 

[duner53]

Will the fitbit that I own which has Bluetooth 4.0 work as a trusted bluetooth device?

I believe it should, though I don't have either device (yet, at least in the case of the Maxx) to verify it. But on the AC Podcast they were discussing using a Pebble smartwatch for this purpose with a Moto X, so I see no reason why the Fitbit/Maxx combo would not work either.

 

[glenn9643]

All that's needed is a bluetooth device that is convenient to carry and remain paired with the phone. Unfortunately all the bluetooth LE devices that I've found are pretty expensive.
I've noticed this one that is getting off the ground...
Elite - The world's most comprehensive lost and found system | Indiegogo

 

[kckadow]

All that's needed is a bluetooth device that is convenient to carry and remain paired with the phone. Unfortunately all the bluetooth LE devices that I've found are pretty expensive.
I've noticed this one that is getting off the ground...
Elite - The world's most comprehensive lost and found system | Indiegogo

Good Find! Looks like it would work well. Is it worth a shot for an Oct release that may or may not occur is the question? They keep all the funds whether they reach the goal or not. I'd probably want to spend an extra $10 for the "insite" noted above that is already out? I think we'll see more and more choices in the near future. Personally, I'd love to see something resembling a poker chip.

 

[Chiplg]

Will the fitbit that I own which has Bluetooth 4.0 work as a trusted bluetooth device?

Can you pair it with your phone? I can't seem to pair it with my Maxx. I have a Flex. I don't see any way on the app to pair it, and I am not sure how to pair it in the Bluetooth menu on the phone. I see a device called Quark that I can't identify. I'm guessing that is it. But it won't pair. I can slap the phone on the Flex, and it launches the FitBit app on the phone, but it does not update. So, NFC works on the Flex and Droid Maxx. The day rolled over and I have no steps showing. I pulled the dongle on my PC to keep it from updating there. It shows 0 steps. IDK, maybe the app isn't ready yet for the new Droids. In any event, I would expect to be able to pair in the Bluetooth menu like any other device.

 

[VJKotts]

Tried to pair a fitbit, but it asks for a passkey. How do you get a passkey on the fitbit? I think I need to wait for a watch.

 

[alee]

Tried to pair a fitbit, but it asks for a passkey. How do you get a passkey on the fitbit? I think I need to wait for a watch.

Right now you can't pair a Fitbit.

With Android 4.2.2 (which has no native BT4 support), the Fitbit app needs to support your phone's specific implementation of BT4 which is done by the manufacturer. Samsung is the only device the Fitbit app is certified to work with (using Samsung's custom BT4 implementation).

With Android 4.3 the Fitbit app will need to be modified in order to allow pairing via the OS's native support for BT4 (which hasn't been done yet). Once this is done, any Fitbit device can be paired with any device running Android 4.3. At that point, the One should be able to operate as a trusted device.