Bluetooth

Revision 26 as of 2013-05-19 14:52:27

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This is the home of Ubuntu’s Bluetooth team. Join up to help us make Bluetooth ROCK in Ubuntu, working together with upstream to test it and make it work out of the box. There’s also a mailing list of Bluetooth-related bugs. For help using Bluetooth in Ubuntu, see Ubuntu Help.

How you can help out

Partial specification

PC

bluetooth-menu-setting.png

At the bottom of the “Bluetooth” panel in System Settings should be a checkbox, “Show Bluetooth status in the menu bar”. It should be checked by default for a new user account, but should be sensitive only when there is a powered Bluetooth card or dongle.

bluetooth-menu.png

Whenever that checkbox is sensitive and checked, a Bluetooth menu should appear in the menu bar.

bluetooth-menu-title.png

Should we also/instead distinguish whether a Bluetooth device is currently being used? For example, waiting for a headset to pair before making a call.

If Bluetooth is off, the title of the menu should be a skeletal Bluetooth icon with accessible label “Bluetooth (off)”. If it is on, the title should be a lozenge Bluetooth icon (fixing bug 761766) with accessible label “Bluetooth (on)”. (Using an actual color here would be inappropriate, because when Bluetooth is on it is likely to be on for a long time.)

The menu should begin with “Bluetooth” and “Visible” switch items. Whenever “Bluetooth” is off, “Visible” should be both off and insensitive.

After a separator, “Send Files to Device…” should open a “Choose Files to Send” file picker, followed (if you select files) by a dialog for choosing which device to send the files to. And “Show Files on Device…” should open the dialog for choosing which device to browse. Both items should be insensitive when Bluetooth is off.

If any devices have been paired and not forgotten, these should be listed following another separator, with an icon for each.

Finally, after another separator, “Set Up New Device…” should open the setup assistant, and “Bluetooth Settings…” should open the Bluetooth panel of System Settings.

Use cases

  • Connect a Bluetooth USB dongle
  • Verify that Bluetooth is working on the computer
  • Set up a Bluetooth headset
  • Stop using a Bluetooth headset
  • Set up a Bluetooth mouse
    • Variation: No other mouse is connected
  • Stop using a Bluetooth mouse
  • Set up a Bluetooth keyboard
  • Stop using a Bluetooth keyboard
  • Set up a Bluetooth printer
  • Stop using a Bluetooth printer
  • Transfer files between two computers over Bluetooth
  • Set up a Wii Remote as a joystick
  • Stop using a Wii Remote
  • Turn off Bluetooth to save power

See also

Phone

Initially, the phone will allow use of Bluetooth headsets only. It will be extended to allow other device types later.

phone-bluetooth-icon.png phone-bluetooth-switch.png

In the System Settings overview, the “Bluetooth” item should be dull if Bluetooth is off, glowing if Bluetooth is on, and have a headset emblem if any headset is paired.

In addition, whenever any device is paired, or if any device was paired the last time Bluetooth was turned off, the quick access area should contain a “Bluetooth” switch. Its icon should be the same as that of the main Bluetooth item, except that it should be a spinner while Bluetooth is turning on or off.

phone-bluetooth.png phone-bluetooth-pair.png phone-bluetooth-device.png

Whenever a headset is currently paired, the main “Bluetooth” screen should consist of a “Connected headset:” section listing that headset, followed by a “Connect a different headset:” section alphabetically listing any others detected. Whenever a headset is not currently paired, the screen should consist only of the latter section, labelled “Connect a headset:”. Either way, the list should update every five seconds, with a spinner showing opposite the label whenever scanning is in progress. It should show placeholder text “None detected” if necessary.

Each headset label in the “Connect a (different) headset:” section should end in an ellipsis, if the headset does or might require interaction to pair it. While pairing is in progress, the headset’s icon should be replaced by a spinner. If a headset requires legacy pairing or passkey SSP, a ‘PIN for “{headset name}”’ or ‘Passkey for “{headset name}”’ dialog should appear, with an extra-large PIN/passkey field that uses a number-based keyboard. With legacy pairing, the default contents of the field should be “0000” (because this is the most common headset PIN), selected for easy deletion or replacement. If pairing is successful, the “Bluetooth” screen should scroll to the top, so that you can see the headset’s list item slide up to comprise the “Connected headset:” list — replacing any previously paired headset, which should be disconnected automatically and slide down to rejoin the “Connect a different headset:” list.

Choosing a headset in the “Connected headset:” section should navigate to a screen with the device name as its header. It should contain a key-value table showing the “Name:” (full and wrapped to multiple lines if necessary), “Type:” (with icon), and “Signal:” strength of the device (with a one-minute sparkline graph and “Excellent”/“Good”/“Fair”/“Poor” text). If you choose “Disconnect”, that button should become insensitive, the “Signal:” value should be replaced by a spinner and the word “Disconnecting…”, and one second later you should be returned to the main “Bluetooth” screen to see the “Connected headset:” sliding down to join the other “Connect a headset:” items.


CategoryUbuntuTeams

CategoryBluetooth