sanderbontje

Great news: there is new firmware coming that should solve the BlueTooth problems on Android! I just got a call from Lego Consumer Service in the UK. This morning, I emailed them back to let them know how my issue with the BlueTooth connection problems on Android had developed to a stand still, with none of the second tier support teams willing to accept the case or follow up (I'll leave out the details). The Consumer Service rep said they were aware of these connection problems, they had had reports of several other people experiencing the same thing. He confirmed that it was an issue that only occurs with the retail version of the brick. The educational version is built on exactly the same hardware, but has a slightly different firmware and does not have any problems connecting with Android apps over BlueTooth. So my problem is identified, confirmed, and they are working on a solution now. No time table for release yet. The new firmware might be released as soon as the end of this week, but it could also take a couple of weeks. I can wait for that! The whole experience so far was becoming very "un-Lego"-like for me. I know I should not let minor things like this creep up on you, but to be honest, I was somewhat disappointed and it took part of the fun out. So I am very glad they called me. The whole thing has switched back to the positive side again!

Regarding my BlueTooth connection problems from two weeks ago, LEGO consumer support replied that I had followed all the right steps. So now they asked if I could contact their dedicated Mindstorms technical support team to sort out what could be going on. "They can troubleshoot the problem and either resolve the issue or help to get a replacement part." But they are only open on weekdays during office hours. I did not have the time, yet. But tomorrow I have a day off work.

Thanks, I will try that tonight! I updated my EV3 brick to firmware v1.03 almost right away when I connected it for the first time to the Mindstorms software. I've got a new BT 2.1 adapter underway in the mail, just to exclude it from possible causes. Hopefully I can get things working now.

It is indeed. As you said, it must be a driver issue and I'm sure that will be addressed soon by the community. I can understand Lego officially supporting only one specific adapter, but why on earth did they pick that monstrous one? Perhaps the smaller adapter consumes more power for the antenna or something.

Whoops, I almost pressed the 'Place order' button! Thanks for the warning. The gigantic WNA1100 it is then...

I contacted consumer support and am giving the BT problems a rest now, I can't get it sorted out at the moment. So now it's WiFi time! I see in the FAQ that Lego recommends the Netgear N150 Wireless Adapter (WNA1100). Which is a rather crude and large stick. That would hinder movement and consume a lot of construction space around the brick. Not to mention physical damage to the USB port when it is accidentally pushed too far (I've got three kids running after it). So I am ordering one of the tiny USB plugs that you see more and more nowadays, the Netgear WNA1000M.

Lucky you! What default program did you start, just one of the included Ev3rstorms? I restarted everything twice, rebooted brick and tablets, no dancing robots yet... The select device screen on the Commander app stays empty. I'll google some more tomorrow. :-)

Tested the BT connection again. It turns out I have done something wrong. I opened the BT menu and under 'connections' there was already a device called NEXUS 7 listed. Probably I connected before, but with a wrong pincode, and after that the brick refused to add the same device twice. I removed that device and started the whole process over again and now they are happily paired. According to BT that is. Redid the same thing on a Nokia 3720C mobile phone (not a smart phone, just for testing the BT sake) and that paired okay too. Tested on a Transformer Prime and pairing went well. I had an old BT USB stick around and plugged that into my Win7 pc. Those two paired okay too. A BT device EV3 with function 'Standard Serial over Bluetooth link (COM3)' was created. The EV3 does not list in the LabView software, however. And on the tablets the Commander app does not list the EV3 brick as a device in the 'Select device' menu. On both tablets and the brick BT is switched on and the devices have been paired before, the app refuses to see that. Waited for a couple of minutes - nothing. Restarted the app, nope. Tested on two different Android tablets: the Asus TF201 Transformer Prime and the new Asus Nexus 7 HD from 2013.

Thanks! The apps were released yesterday. The links to the apps (Android and iOS) are on these pages: http://www.lego.com/en-us/mindstorms/funzone/mobile-apps/robot-commander/. The Controller app I mentioned before is actually called Robot Commander. Yeah, it seems something is not right with the order of the BT pairing and authentication sequences in the brick. That takes place on the BT level, outside the app. I'll test on some more devices later tonight.

Hi all! First post for me here. I received our EV3 retail edition last Saturday. Great fun for me and the kids so far! I'm having one serious problem: I cannot get the Bluetooth connection to work with the Controller app. I activated the Bluetooth option on the brick. I selected 'visible' and 'bluetooth', not 'iPad/iPhone' (as per instructions on the Lego support site). When I search from my Android tablet for Bluetooth devices (I'm using an Asus Google Nexus 7 2013) it sees the EV3. I tap on it and a pairing device window pops up prompting me for the pincode. According to the instructions, at this moment the brick should prompt me to accept the connection and set a pincode. But it does not. Not until I enter the default pincode 1234 on the connection dialog on the tablet and hit 'OK', then the brick prompts me to accept a connection from Nexus 7 and set a pincode. But after a few seconds the tablet drops the connection with a error message about using the wrong pincode. I've tried it with other pincodes, but not yet with other devices (will try with a Transformer Prime this evening). Has anyone else succeeded in controlling a EV3 with an Android device?