EAAccessoryManager accessory picker bug

Question

I'm trying to build an app that communicates with an external accessory (over bluetooth). To ensure the app is user-friendly I'd like him not to go to the settings to connect with the accessory but to show the Accessory picker that iOS 6.0 includes.

To achieve that, a simple call to :

[[EAAccessoryManager sharedAccessoryManager] showBluetoothAccessoryPickerWithNameFilter:nil completion:nil];

For now, I'm not using the filter and the completion (both can be nil according to the iOS Class Reference) - even if I tried using them too.

Now the problem is that my accessory appears for 2 to 10 seconds and then disappears from the list until I cancel the popup and show it again. Another problem is that sometimes it doesn't appear at all. I also made sure the device was already paired but not connected.

I tried using another accessory (one that I didn't make myself) and with different devices (iPhone 4, 4S, 5 - iPad - iPod Touch) with no success.

Does anyone has a similar issue? If yes how did you solve it? Is it an iOS bug? Is it an accessory bug?

Thanks for any reply.

Answer 1

I can confirm that iOS 7 BETA 4 has fixed this issue. If you are using the RN 42 APL bluetooth chip (which you must be as its the only one available on the MFI program)

The only thing you need to be aware of is that the firmware on the RN 42 module needs to be 5.36 and above (as it fully supports the iAP protocol)

I have updated my App (that talks to a custom build accessory) and the accessory picker dialog works a charm.... just thought I'd let you guys know!