iPhone bluetooth and "Made for iPod"

Question

Does iPhone display non-iOS bluetooth devices nearby? Or, does it show iOS + devices that are in the "Made for iPod" program? Or even, does it show all devices just that you can't connect to devices that are not in the "Made for iPod" program? So can a phone actually see non-iOS, non-Made-for-iPod bluetooth devices?

Thanks

At least it doesn't show my Sony headset, but I'm not sure. – Jun 29 '11 at 17:01 — , Jun 29 '11 at 17:01
More hardware than programming related IMO. – Abizern Jun 29 '11 at 17:33 — Abizern, Jun 29 '11 at 17:33

score 4 · Accepted Answer · answered Jun 29 '11 at 17:29

Yes iOS (iPhone) devices can discover and will show all (iOS and non iOS) devices near by that are discoverable. iOS devices will also pair and connect / interwork with all devices (non iOS also) that supports the corresponding profiles that iOS supports - example Headsets for Voice , stereo music, Bluetooth wireless key boards, mice etc. Here is the list of supported profiles by iOS devices - http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3647

MFi (Made for iPhone / iPad / iPod) is specific only for accessories connecting to iOS devices via bluetooth but not using standard profiles. (Either because the standard profiles does not allow the use case or because it uses a generic profile like SPP to communicate to the accessory specific application on the iOS device)

By "discoverable" here I think you mean devices that support a protocol that iOS supports. It appears that iOS filters out those devices without supported protocols. — ThomasW, Jan 21 '15 at 07:47

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Jun 29 '11 at 17:05

2

I can confirm that a iOS device sees all Bluetooth devices and can even pair with most of them, but that's about it. No other communication can be done between iOS and non-iOS devices.

answered Jun 29 '11 at 17:05

Pripyat

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iPhone bluetooth and "Made for iPod"

2 Answers2