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Bluetooth Auto-on/off

T

tuffluck

Member
I just downloaded Tasker and somehow or another got caught up in a seemingly complicated first task. Is there anyway to turn the Bluetooth on automatically when in range of a typical BT device that you use, i.e. your car? Then turn it off when you go out of range? I know there is the auto-off BT on the wiki, but wondering if there is an auto-on. I can see how there may not be one, since BT needs to be on to detect surrounding BT connections (in other words, with it off how would it know you're within range of a BT connection it can't read without being on).

The other one is the silent when a calendar event is occurring. How can I sync this to my exchange or touchdown calendar for work instead of my Google calendar?
 
With regards to the Bluetooth profile... I'm not sure if it's possible to have an auto-on, as it would involve periodically turning on Bluetooth, to check to see if anything is in range. I know some people have got an NFC sticker in their car, which they scan to enter car mode (which would turn on Bluetooth)... you could then set it up to auto-off Bluetooth when not connected for a set amount of time :)

As for the calender one... I've not done this myself, but am pretty sure it's possible. Will have a bit of a look in to it and come back to you, unless someone else gets in there first! ;)
 
new to tasker, couple of questions for help on simple tasks:

1. any way to automate bluetooth, both on and off? so when i get in my car, it knows to turn on. when i get out, it knows to turn off.

2. muting the volume when a calendar appointment starts--how can i do this with my exchange/touchdown calendar for work? i don't use google calendar so it's really not helpful unless it can work with my work appointments.

3. i use a golf gps app when i play golf. i used to leave it on the entire round, but got burn in on my old phone. now i have to shut the screen off, but when i turn it back on, have to go through the screen lock procedure which is timely. wondering if there is a way to bypass screen lock and maybe even just have the screen dim when i'm not using it but not turn completely off. that way when i touch the screen it lights up, i can see my yardage, then 10 seconds later it dims and stays that way until i touch it again?
 
As above, I think that, as your car is not always in the same place, I think you'd be able to turn on "car mode" by scanning an NFC sticker located in your car.

Not had chance to look for the calender issue yet, but will see if I can find anything :)

The only way to turn the screen lock of (afaik) is to root and install secure settings. You could set the screen timeout to something really long (not sure if this is only possible using secure settings though (quite new to Tasker myself ;))
 
Oh cool, thanks! Sorry for the multiple threads, I didn't know where they went!

I wonder if there is a way to set screen timeout to off or really long while that golf gps app is running? And if it's not running then the screen timeout would go back to normal.
 
tuffluck said:
Sorry for the multiple threads, I didn't know where they went!
Click to expand...

No worries ;)

Just looking at the calender question for you at the moment... was sure that it was possible to use a non-Google calender, but can't seem to find the info anywhere :(
 
Well... not sure if this will work (don't use Exchange myself) - found this, which you could possibly use as a template on how to sync your Exchange calender with your Google calender and then you'd be able to follow this tutorial on how to set up a calender based profile :)
 
I had the auto bluetooth on/connect many years ago on an old Sony P910i , in those days you had blue tooth headset only (not many in car head units with blue tooth) On getting in the car I would switch on the headset with out touching the phone and within seconds the phones B/T would switch on and connect, but only to already paired devices. How it did it I have no idea at all. Nowdays with have the most up date tech available in our hands and they don't seem able to do this!!
 
D-U-R-X said:
As above, I think that, as your car is not always in the same place, I think you'd be able to turn on "car mode" by scanning an NFC sticker located in your car.
Click to expand...

So how does the NFC thing work? I see there are tags you can buy for about $10 on Amazon. You have to scan them, or does your phone auto detect them? I usually have NFC off, so it seems like turning it on just to write a task that turns off your BT when not in use would use about the same amount of battery as just leaving the BT on all the time. No?

AfroSheen said:
There are a couple of sites that have good tutorials. I've used some of them my self. One is for the Calendar mute and some others.
Tasker 101 Tutorials: Lesson One - The Basics & First Task (on Android) - YouTube

and

Beginners Guide to Android Tasker | Part 1 of 3 - YouTube
The second one will give you the calendar mute.

The auto bluetooth can be done. I've done it when I'm off wifi bluetooth will turn on.

Good luck in your quest. There is a big learning curve to it, but it can be fun.
Click to expand...

Those were very helpful, thanks. Plus I rooted my phone with the simple XDA instructions, so now I was able to turn off GPS unless an app requires it. I'm sure there are other things I can do with Tasker+root that I haven't quite figured out just yet :)

D-U-R-X said:
Well... not sure if this will work (don't use Exchange myself) - found this, which you could possibly use as a template on how to sync your Exchange calender with your Google calender and then you'd be able to follow this tutorial on how to set up a calender based profile :)
Click to expand...

The issue for me is that my Exchange requires a password on the phone that times out rather quickly. That's in fact why I went with Touchdown instead of the Android built-in Exchange Client, so I only have to enter the code when I go into Outlook and not when I want to use my phone on anything else (Touchdown basically runs independent of your phone). There is no way currently to integrate the TD calendar to your Google Calendar, and it doesn't appear there is any way to write a profile/task that recognizes just the Calendar portion of Touchdown. Please let me know if you have any thoughts.
 
NFC tags would only work if you had the NFC functionality turned on. I actually have it turned on all the time and have never really noticed it killing my battery.

All you would do is touch the phone on the sticker (as you get in the car) and it would turn on your profile... for example, you could have it set Bluetooth to on and, for example, a music app start up. You would then also set it so that if Bluetooth is not connected for a set time (say one min), it would auto-turn off.

I can't really help with regards to Exchange, as I don't use it. I do have it set up on my work iPhone (didn't set it up myself though, came pre-set up) and it doesn't have any issues with passwords timing out :confused:

Hope you manage to get it sorted :)
 
D-U-R-X said:
NFC tags would only work if you had the NFC functionality turned on. I actually have it turned on all the time and have never really noticed it killing my battery.

All you would do is touch the phone on the sticker (as you get in the car) and it would turn on your profile... for example, you could have it set Bluetooth to on and, for example, a music app start up. You would then also set it so that if Bluetooth is not connected for a set time (say one min), it would auto-turn off.

I can't really help with regards to Exchange, as I don't use it. I do have it set up on my work iPhone (didn't set it up myself though, came pre-set up) and it doesn't have any issues with passwords timing out :confused:

Hope you manage to get it sorted :)
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's just my company's IT department has set a password that times out every 30 minutes. It's also got to be 7 digits long. If you have Exchange through the Android email app, the entire phone requires the password in order to be used at all (it is instead of your PIN lock). I'm sure you can understand how that could become a huge PITA.

Touchdown app allows the Exchange to be filtered through the app, so only if you open the app is the password required. You can use your phone otherwise without the PIN. I have WidgetLocker that allows emails/calendar appointments to show up without the password though, hence I assumed I could somehow program Tasker to recognize the calendar events as well. Doesn't seem like it's possible though.

There are a lot of companies that do this type of password setup or a derivative of it to protect confidentiality.

Thanks for the help.
 
tuffluck said:
Yeah, it's just my company's IT department has set a password that times out every 30 minutes. It's also got to be 7 digits long. If you have Exchange through the Android email app, the entire phone requires the password in order to be used at all (it is instead of your PIN lock). I'm sure you can understand how that could become a huge PITA.

Touchdown app allows the Exchange to be filtered through the app, so only if you open the app is the password required. You can use your phone otherwise without the PIN. I have WidgetLocker that allows emails/calendar appointments to show up without the password though, hence I assumed I could somehow program Tasker to recognize the calendar events as well. Doesn't seem like it's possible though.

There are a lot of companies that do this type of password setup or a derivative of it to protect confidentiality.

Thanks for the help.
Click to expand...

That does sound like a PITA... as I said, I'm quite new to Tasker, so am maybe not the best person to try and help you... perhaps someone else will be able to chime in though?
 
@AfroSheen

Could you pretty please send me a link or the typed out instructions on the turning Bluetooth and WiFi off if not connected to anything after 5 min? I used to be able to do it but can't figure it out now to save my life!

Thanks
Craig
 
sr3tlaw said:
@AfroSheen

Could you pretty please send me a link or the typed out instructions on the turning Bluetooth and WiFi off if not connected to anything after 5 min? I used to be able to do it but can't figure it out now to save my life!

Thanks
Craig
Click to expand...
I'm sorry, but you'll have to refresh my memory. Senior moment. The profile I have is based on the tasker location with two tasks Enter. That will connect to your home wifi and turn off data, bluetooth and tell you Welcome Home. The Exit turns on the data, wifi off, and turns BT on through auto connect.
Is this what your looking for?
 
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