If you are doing Bluetooth® application development on an iOS platform, or performing embedded firmware development for an iOS app, this article will tell you how to establish a debug system using your iOS device and a Mac computer, capture Bluetooth packets over the air between an iOS device and a peer device, and provide the logs over the HCI (Host Controller Interface) on this iOS device.       

What You Will Need

  • iOS 13 device and cable
  • Mac computer/laptop
  • Apple Developer Program account

Installing Profiles on Target iOS Device

Copy the below link and paste it in the browser of the target iOS device.

https://developer.apple.com/bug-reporting/profiles-and-logs/?name=bluetooth

The webpage below will be displayed. Now, click Profile (red rectangle) under Bluetooth for iOS.

The browser will ask you to Sign in to Apple Developer. After logging in successfully, the webpage below will appear. Now, click the Allow button.

As shown below, select iPhone to install this profile.

The browser will download the profile file. When the screen below appears, the profile has been downloaded. According to the hint, Review the profile in Settings app if you want to install it, open Settings app on your iOS device.

In the Settings app, click the Profile Downloaded tab as shown below.

Now, click the Install (red rectangle) buttons to install the profile (see image on the right). The profile has now been successfully installed.

Installing Xcode 11

Please visit App Store or this link to install Xcode 11 on your Mac.

Installing the packetLogger

Download the Additional Tools for Xcode 11 via this link. When downloaded successfully, open the Additional_Tools_for_Xcode_11.dmg and access the Hardware folder. The packetLogger is inside of the folder, as shown below  

You can drag the packetLogger and drop it into your Application folder for installation.

Starting Bluetooth Packets Analysis

Open the packetLogger. The main user interface should appear as shown below.

Connect the profile-installed iOS device to your Mac by cable and click on File à New iOS Trace, as shown below.

packetLogger will start to trace all the Bluetooth activity on this profile-installed iOS device. At the left-top corner of this iOS device screen, a pulse icon will be displayed (see image below). This means the trace is ongoing.

According to this session of WWDC 2019, the packetLogger can:

  • Work as a Bluetooth packet analysis application
  • Decode all protocols defined by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) and Apple
  • Perform rich filtering options
  • Search by text regex
  • Comment and flag packets
  • Export raw data for analysis

By the way, after real device testing, packetLogger supports Bluetooth BR/EDR and Bluetooth Low Energy.

Summary

Using this method, whether you are an iOS developer or an embedded firmware engineer, can help you debug and trace your application. If you want to debug or trace Bluetooth® mesh packets over the air, you still need to have a professional Bluetooth packet analyzer.

Bluetooth 6: What's New In The Latest Bluetooth Release?

Bluetooth technology is constantly growing, not only enhancing existing applications but also enabling entirely…

Bluetooth PAwR in a Large-Scale Test Network

In the ever-evolving, dynamic landscape of Bluetooth-connected smart devices, efficient interconnection and reliable communication…

Bluetooth Channel Sounding: How It Works and What It Means

Bluetooth® Channel Sounding is a new secure, fine-ranging capability that promises to enhance the…

Receiver Blocking Resilience Test Suite

This Test Suite tests the receiver blocking resilience of a Bluetooth implementation. It is…

Now Available: New Version of the Bluetooth Core SpecificationBluetoothコア仕様の新バージョンがリリース

Thanks to the dedication and hard work of the Bluetooth community, Bluetooth® technology is…

Channel Sounding: Technical Overview (Pt 2)

In Part 1 we introduced the new Bluetooth distance measurement innovation known as Channel…

Unlocking Healthcare Potential: SPP and Bluetooth® LE for Medical Devices

The Serial Port Profile (SPP) has long been a well-known standard for wireless serial…

The Bluetooth Roadmap: Bluetooth Specifications in ProgressBluetoothのロードマップ:策定中のBluetooth仕様

Though not commonly known among many consumers, Bluetooth® technology is constantly and consistently advancing to…

A First Look at Bluetooth® Channel SoundingBluetoothチャネルサウンディングの紹介

Over the last 25 years, we have seen Bluetooth® technology advance from a point-to-point…

Bluetooth® Channel Sounding: A Technical Overview

This paper provides a detailed technical overview of Bluetooth® Channel Sounding, a secure fine ranging…

The Bluetooth® Mesh Primer

An introduction and explanation of important Bluetooth® Mesh concepts.

Enabling the Digital Transformation of Industrial IoT with Bluetooth®

The Industrial IoT is a digital transformation process for enterprises offering them compelling abilities…

Bluetooth Low Energy Fundamentals

The Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) Fundamentals Course is designed to give you the knowledge…

The Latest in HADM with Bluetooth LE

HADM, or high accuracy distance measurement using Bluetooth does exactly what it says –…

Bluetooth® Technology for Linux Developers

Learn how to use the interprocess communication system D-Bus and the BlueZ APIs to create Bluetooth applications for Linux computers.

Designing and Developing Bluetooth® Internet Gateways

Learn about Bluetooth® internet gateways, how to make them secure and scalable, and design and implement your own...

The Bluetooth LE Security Study Guide

Learn about fundamental security concepts, the security features of Bluetooth Low Energy, and gain some hands-on experience using those features in device code.

NOTICE: The Bluetooth SIG updated its Terms of Use on 29 October 2024Learn more
 Get Help