Difficulties pairing external bluetooth keyboard to n900
 

Help me before I jump off the cliff. Ok maybe just throw the bluetooth keyboard or n900.


I have this external keyboard: http://www.dealextreme.com/p/49-key-...e-mobile-55401 model is an ITON PA-BK03. And it drives me crazy.

I don't have bluetooth turned on all the time. That would just kill the battery. I turn bluetooth on whenever I want to use the keyboard. I have extkb installed. I turn bluetooth on, and then pressing a key on the device wont register on the n900. If I then remove the device, reconnect the device, it will work again, for a while, until I turn bluetooth off.

In frustration, I decided to remove the extkb app, and also removed the keyboard from the n900. Then, I reinstalled extkb and re-paired it with the n900. It comes up saying "pairing complete" at the top, followed by "connection failed to Bluetooth mini keyboard". Going into the device properties in the bluetooth menu shows it is not connected, despite me putting in the correct passphrase. I then uninstalled extkb, unpaired the device, and tried just pairing without installing extkb. No luck.

How can I get a permanent solution working?

edit: found an app in extras-devel called bt hid scripts. this allowed me to pair it and get it working. but if i turn bluetooth off, then on again, it stops working.

Re: Difficulties pairing external bluetooth keyboard to n900
 

Have you removed the saved connection and rediscover the device?

Re: Difficulties pairing external bluetooth keyboard to n900
 

almost the same issue with my Think Outside BT keyboard. it is flaky. out of 10 times of repairing and reconnecting, i probably get one time where it works great. because i use RDP to remote into my windows desktop over a 3g connection, a keyboard made for a PC (with windows key, alt-tab support, etc) is great.

unfortunately, this experience has really put a damper on it all. i'm now trying to see if there is a way to keep the connection on permanently. when i use bluemaemo, the keyboard is permanently connected to the N900 (although i can't do anything with it). when it's connected via bluemaemo, the phone doesn't recognize it as an input device so it's useless.

under normal circumstances, the device connects, and then disconnects within a few seconds. hitting a few keys changes the colour of the BT icon in the status area indicating a connection but no keys are registered. this is what happens most of the time. yesterday, by chance, i managed to get it to work once beautifully. once i disconnect, it's connection-hell all over again.

there must be some command line utilities that can force a keep alive connection and make it register itself as an input device..

i really need a BT keyboard solution to this to fully utilize the RDP connection (and it's done over ssh! aaah!).

Re: Difficulties pairing external bluetooth keyboard to n900
 

im using an igo stowaway (think outside) also..but with no problem. for it or the mouse (same brand). several times i have even loaded a backup after flash and i would still be able to connect with no tinkering. im using extkbd and extmou. just wanted to confirm it does work. tell me the steps you followed and i will compare them to mine and lets use a little deductive reasoning...

Re: Difficulties pairing external bluetooth keyboard to n900
 

finally, someone who has answered from the void!! thanks!

ok, this is what i do.

0. open x-term and login as root. edit main.conf so that the disable plugins line says "DisablePlugins = " (i.e. i enable everything). then stop and start the bluetooth daemon with stop / start bluetoothd.
1. on stowaway - hit ctrl left-fn + right-fn to get the keyboard into pairing mode
2. on the N900, turn on BT and choose to add a new device. i also leave the N900 discoverable (though this isn't really necessary).
3. N900 searches and successfully discovers the keyboard.
4. selecting the keyboard, N900 displays a 4 digit pairing code.
5. i enter this on the stowaway using Fn + the digit keys. then i press ENTER
6. on N900 it shows device is paired.
7. i quit the bluetooth dialogs on the N900. i don't disable BT btw. it remains on all this while.

all this while, the n900's physical keyboard is opened.

back on the N900 desktop, the bluetooth icon shows the keyboard isn't connected. i hit a few keys on the n900 and then a few keys on the stowaway - no luck.

then i use bluemaemo to re-establish connection to the keyboard. the BT icon in the system area changes colour to indicate an active connection.

then i exit bluemaemo. after a few seconds, the BT icon in the system area changes colour to indicate the connection with the keyboard was lost.

i open x-term and type a few keys on the stowaway, the BT icon changes colour to indicate the keyboard is connected. but no keys register in x-term. i leave everything idle and after 2-3 seconds, the BT icon changes colour again to indicate no active connection.

i have the sixaxis package so my phone is configured to use the sixaxis controller. i am aware stops working when i change DisablePlugins = line to remove "input". but this is a small issue for me.

i am also running the CSSU updates but i don't believe they have changed anything in the bluetooth stack.

Re: Difficulties pairing external bluetooth keyboard to n900
 

ok. try the steps using extkbd. delete bluemaemo. install extkbd. delete the former pairing. make sure the conf is right with input deleted from the disable plugins line. start stop bt. pair keyboard. open extkbd and make sure you see the keyboard name in gui. select. i see you did most of these steps but try this again. oh..and sometimes using ext kbd ive experience the keypress not registering you discribe after idle. after i switch my keyboard to generic 105 no problem. and disable the onscreen keyboard in settings and close hardwar keyboard. try this and let me know.i just deleted my pairing and reconnected and it works fine again. im also using cssu.

Re: Difficulties pairing external bluetooth keyboard to n900
 

thanks, this is very encouraging news. i will give this a try shortly once i get back home where i left the stowaway keyboard, and i'll report the results here.

Re: Difficulties pairing external bluetooth keyboard to n900
 

kewl no prob. No guarantee it will work but it did for me. I know how some folks on here are...but I cant have knowledge and not share just based on "look it up yourself" .one other thing. My pairing is kind of "grand fathered" in because it came from a back up so some steps may be different with extkbd..but i think the very first time i installed i created the pairing and disconnected. Then connected using the extkbd gui.i dont see that option now and dont know if it is because i used the back up..or because i installed an update to the app after i first used it and they remnoved that feature. Also the first time you open extkbd..an error message will pop up. Disregard and tap your screen and the gui will open. That should only happen at first use. Look in settings for extkbd if you didnt know.

Re: Difficulties pairing external bluetooth keyboard to n900
 

i am now at home. i don't get any errors with extkbd package. it works flawlessly :) thank you thank you! i also did not uninstall bluemaemo. this is what i did: i installed extkbd package, unpaired my keyboard, repaired it. it then stayed connected and i could type. i switched to the generic 101 pc keyboard layout.

after i disconnect, this is what i do to reconnect - i simply turn on the BT keyboard, then go into the BT app and look for the profile of my BT keyboard, click it, and voila - the Connect button now works!!!

Re: Difficulties pairing external bluetooth keyboard to n900
 

now to test a BT mouse. i don't have one with me. any suggestions on what to buy? (words cannot express my happiness. thank you again!!!)

Re: Difficulties pairing external bluetooth keyboard to n900
 

quick question - i can't get the / key on the Stowaway keyboard to register on the N900. any ideas on how to get this working?

Re: Difficulties pairing external bluetooth keyboard to n900
 

good for you!! i have a think out side mouse and it works flawlessly..very small...any mouse should work though..
use extmou to get the mouse working.

as for the keyboard if you click trusted in bt setting you shouldnt have to do anything except pop open the keyboard and it connects automatically.

Re: Difficulties pairing external bluetooth keyboard to n900
 

i dont know what the issue may be. perhaps change keyboard in extkbd to generic 105. also change the language to usa..and leave bothe variants at none.that works for me. i can use everything on my keyboard with the exception of function keys and pounds , francs an yen symbol.

Re: Difficulties pairing external bluetooth keyboard to n900
 

i notice the bunch of keys on the lower right don't work well (right arrow, del, /). the real crippler is / because it is used to key in / and \.

i've tried those settings (i've tried all the generic profiles), the language has always been USA and variants always none. still doesn't work.

Re: Difficulties pairing external bluetooth keyboard to n900
 

i'm going to try and hook it up to a laptop via BT and see if it works. it could be physical damage to the keyb.

Re: Difficulties pairing external bluetooth keyboard to n900
 

sigh. the keyboard is damaged. the 4 keys at the lower right (shift, right arrow, /, and del are not working. sighhhhhh

anybody selling a unit??

Re: Difficulties pairing external bluetooth keyboard to n900
 

I could not get my Think Outside BT keyboard to work on the N900 so I recently purchased a Motorolla external keyboard for my wife's Xoom. I tried it on the n900 and discovered that it connects flawlessly and reliably, but it only seems to recognize the text keys.
Just thought I would report this consoling discovery.
J2u.

Re: Difficulties pairing external bluetooth keyboard to n900
 

Hi. I just bought one BT keyb similar to this (http://www.dealextreme.com/p/49-key-...e-mobile-55401) but from BeeWi.
I have the same issues ont the FN keys. I believe thet this is not due to keys not workig cause I've paired it to mu linux desktop and the keys do work...but some of them are doing the wrong things. For instance FN+ ";" is the "EJECT" command and my dvd ejects.
One other thing is that the key layout maps to the same layout that is defined in the OS, for instance in my case, the ";" key translates to "ç" char (has I'm in PT) and have a portugues keyboard layout) and some other keys are misplaced also.
I think it is all in the keyboard layout mapping. I've been diging into this but it is a real pain. I even tough in building a xkbd layout, but (ITS A PAIN)

Re: Difficulties pairing external bluetooth keyboard to n900
 

I'm currently using this KB and experiencing that a connection (=registering keys) is only possible if i delete and repair every time, like the OP. Whereas i just switch my BT mouse on and it connects every time.
Also, in xterm <Enter> isn't recognized, only <CTRL+Enter>. The VKB pops up during this every time.

Layout is currently set to:

Generic 102-key (Intl) PC (as there's no special layout)
1st lang: USA
2nd lang: Germany
Both variants: None

Did i miss something?