Bluetooth for HTC Magic

[KyleB]

Hi all,
While, it appears I've run into another glitch related to my dream to magic update. I have a speaker Motorola Rokr Bluetooth device that I can pair but not connect to with my Magic phone. After googling the issue, it appears that Bluetooth is compatible with headsets but not speaker devices (I think). It also appears that while there is a fix (which is Bluex file download), it only applies to rooted phones and will not work if your phone is not rooted.

Just wondering if anyone has any suggestions or if I'm screwed for using my Bluetooth? This really sucks since it worked well with my dream phone. Will I be stuck using the wired headset it came with and donating my speaker Bluetooth to my wife. My wife keeps telling me I should have just bought a Blackberry!

 

[mjschmidt]

Hi all,
While, it appears I've run into another glitch related to my dream to magic update. I have a speaker Motorola Rokr Bluetooth device that I can pair but not connect to with my Magic phone. After googling the issue, it appears that Bluetooth is compatible with headsets but not speaker devices (I think). It also appears that while there is a fix (which is Bluex file download), it only applies to rooted phones and will not work if your phone is not rooted.

Just wondering if anyone has any suggestions or if I'm screwed for using my Bluetooth? This really sucks since it worked well with my dream phone. Will I be stuck using the wired headset it came with and donating my speaker Bluetooth to my wife. My wife keeps telling me I should have just bought a Blackberry!

The problem may be with the new bluetooth stack post-911update. I have a Magic on which i have NOT updated with the 911 bugfix, mostly because I can currently use my phone with my Motorola BT headset completely handsfree. The 911bug fix removed most of this functionality from the bluetooth stack.

I have been in contact with both HTC and Rogers and I am still waiting for a reply about this issue.

So it is possible they might fix it in 2.1, in which case you might then be able to use it with your BT device. I have not had an opportunity to try my Magic with a device similar to yours, only with my BT headset.

See this:
Rogers 911BugFix Bluetooth Test

 

[KyleB]

Thanks for the info. I also have an email into HTC on this issue. If you get a reply to your inquiry, please post or send me a PM. Once I hear from HTC, I'll update this post as to the response I get.

 

[KyleB]

This is the response I got on this issue from HTC, sounds like they don't know anything about it:

Hello Kyle,

I understand how frustrating it is when your HTC Magic from Rogers is not able to connect to your Motorola Rokr Speaker system. As for your inquiry concerning an update, HTC Technical Support does not have any advanced knowledge about when or if updates are going to be released for HTC devices. I recommend checking the Rogers Magic support page at HTC - Mobile Phones, Smartphones, Cell Phones, PDAs for when updates become available. Here is a direct link to the Rogers Magic support page, HTC Mobile Phone Support - HTC Magic? (Rogers) - Downloads.

Please feel free to contact us again if you have any further questions. In order to help improve our service I’d like to invite you to take a survey at HTC Online Survey. Thank you for contacting HTC America Technical Support via e-mail.

 

[mjschmidt]

They gave you the copy & paste version of their PR crap. I know, I've seen it before.

I have been corresponding with a women from their actual PR agency, the same woman we dealt with when asking for our phones to be updated. I will email her again to see what's going on.

 

[vikingisson]

BT is pretty hit or miss everywhere but is indeed more limited after the update. If the speakers were working before the update and now don't it might be similar to what I'm seeing. Stereo headphone and mono headset are the only two profiles so your speakers would need the Stereo headphone profile. I use a Moto S9 headphone/headset which does both. Before the update this worked well but now it takes several attempts and then might get one profile or both, seems random. It helps to remove the profile and re-pair it but even that is tricky since the phone usually attempts to connect which prevents you from modifying it. When it (often) gets into this connect loop you have to turn off BT and back on, it might just go right back to a connect loop. The phone will rarely notice that I've turned off a BT device and can falsely report a pairing.

I don't blame HTC/Rogers totally for the BT woes since BT is IMHO generally flaky beyond basic headset usage. Right now BT is almost useless to me after the update. It looks like they trimmed back on functionality since it was half broken anyway but it isn't any better now.

 

[mjschmidt]

I don't blame HTC/Rogers totally for the BT woes since BT is IMHO generally flaky beyond basic headset usage. Right now BT is almost useless to me after the update. It looks like they trimmed back on functionality since it was half broken anyway but it isn't any better now.

I think it's more likely they used one of their existing non-Rogers Sense UI ROMs that already had the 911 fix and then show-horned in the Rogers stuff.

I've seen elsewhere that the BT functionality we had pre-update was apparently fairly unique to the Rogers ROM, others didn't have it, so if we are missing it now, it would make sense if they cut corners to get the fix out quickly by using one of those other ROMs as a basis.

 

[vikingisson]

I think it's more likely they used one of their existing non-Rogers Sense UI ROMs that already had the 911 fix and then show-horned in the Rogers stuff.

Sounds reasonable but BT wasn't that great before the update either. It is however much better in 1.6, not more profiles but better functioning. Putting the voice calling aside I would at least expect to flip on BT and the headphone and get sound but it takes a lot of juggling and good luck to get it working the next time you try it. I could do this on 1.6 but not now on 1.5. Suddenly it seems like a long time until the big update and I haven't heard anything about minor updates until then.
If I felt confident that my data won't be turned off again I'd go right back to 1.6 and have BT that works consistently.

 

[KyleB]

They gave you the copy & paste version of their PR crap. I know, I've seen it before.

I have been corresponding with a women from their actual PR agency, the same woman we dealt with when asking for our phones to be updated. I will email her again to see what's going on.

Yep, gotta love the standard PR crap emails that don't even address the issue. Honestly, my feeling is that Bluetooth functionality is standard these days for all phones and should work properly. I blame HTC for not testing and ensuring it works properly. In Ontario, it is the law to not talk and drive. This is why I got the Bluetooth in the first place. Android phones are still so new there are a lot of little glitches. I was initially attracted to the phone because of some of the features, but think I may have been better off getting a Blackberry as at least it is tried and true and works properly.

 

[vikingisson]

Honestly, my feeling is that Bluetooth functionality is standard these days for all phones and should work properly.

It should after all these years but it doesn't. I think BT is flawed from the start. But the basics should work and the update broke that in many cases. BT is a good idea but is crippled by licensing and something that makes it a hit or miss technology. My junk drawer has a number of BT related items that either don't work as intended or only work in particular situations that I don't use.

I blame HTC for not testing and ensuring it works properly. In Ontario, it is the law to not talk and drive. This is why I got the Bluetooth in the first place. Android phones are still so new there are a lot of little glitches.

But the law doesn't say you have to use BT. BT is just one way around it and if you're lucky it actually works. It used to work better than it does now.

I was initially attracted to the phone because of some of the features, but think I may have been better off getting a Blackberry as at least it is tried and true and works properly.

Those features that attracted you weren't bluetooth, that is still far from complete. I'm annoyed that my headphones are only semi functional on the official update but I'd be a lot more annoyed if I changed to a BB. But my needs are different. However one primary function for me is the email notifications which is a BB strong point but is perfectly fine on Android in the way I use it. BT is another story but not enough to switch systems.

 

[KyleB]

I agree, Bluetooth isn't what originally attracted me to the phone. What originally attracted me was the Dream phone with the full qwerty keyboard and the touch screen. It seemed like a good combination of features. I didn't want a full touch screen because I wanted to be able to feel the keys when I punched them in. If I wanted a full touch screen, I would have gone for the Iphone. Swype helps with the typing a lot but after a week of having the new phone, I still prefer the full keyboard. If I wanted a phone for just email, I would have gone for the Blackberry. The HTC Dream seemed like a nice compromise for web browsing, email and phone features, until I found out about the fact that it was going to be unsupported and not eligible for software updates.

My feeling is that when you are paying just short of $100/month for a phone, all the features should work including Bluetooth, no matter what. I loved my Motorola Rocker speaker Bluetooth device because I could also store music on my phone and have it coordinated to play through my car stereo via the Bluetooth. I hate the ear phones or those Bluetooth ear peices personally.

The Magic phone kinda feels more like a toy to me than a phone. I'm not sure I'm going to be happy with this phone for the next 2.5 or 3 years (actual timeframe on my contract seems to depend on which Rogers CSR I'm talking too LOL).