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We need the capability to communicate with and scan for devices on a whim, without any pairing. I am using c# in visual studio and working on a windows 8.1 phone project. Is this possible at all? I am new to bluetooth development, so I'm very confused. Any help is appreciated.

Ntikki
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Yes it is possible to use Bluetooth without pairing. However, it is still going to always be a point-to-point link. There are also potential issues with not using pairing (mainly the lack of security and the lack of good support for this mode of operation).

You can go through this links :

Bluetooth send/receive text without pairing using C#,

Pair bluetooth devices to a computer with 32feet .NET Bluetooth library.

You could also read about BlueJacking.

Community
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Utsav Dawn
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    Thank you for the links, however I am using Bluetooth Low Energy, which I think doesnt use RFCOMM. Also i think we're supposed to circumvent the need to pair entirely. – Ntikki Feb 23 '15 at 12:43
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Pairing is necessary only if you need any kind of authentication, e.g. you want to allow connections only with peers that know your secret password (pairing with PIN).

If you build a device with 100% public information, or you want to connect with such devices, you don't need pairing.

Bogdan Alexandru
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  • how do I scan for unpaired devices and send packages to them then? Do you know this? All material on the issue that I've found online, always mentions the need to pair. – Ntikki Feb 23 '15 at 12:48
  • pairing happens only after you connect to devices; simply skip the pairing steps and do EVERYTHING else – Bogdan Alexandru Feb 23 '15 at 12:54
  • That's what I can't figure out how to do. all the examples I've seen, require pairing, then a call to enumerate all paired devices. How do I simply connect to them first? – Ntikki Feb 23 '15 at 14:14
  • Look at what those examples do when they connect... do the same. – Bogdan Alexandru Feb 23 '15 at 15:02
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I know the thread is a little old now but I will post my answer anyway to whosoever it may Help.Also its not a direct answer to your question but what you are asking might be possible in Windows10 :- In upcoming Windows 10 Creator update there are three main features regarding Bluetooth API :- GATT Server Bluetooth LE Peripheral Unpaired Bluetooth LE device connectivity

In the new APIs, take a look at BluetoothLEDevice.GetGattServicesAsync(), GattDeviceService.GetCharacteristicsAsync() as well as GattCharacteristic.GetDescriptorsAsync() to get an idea for how to query a remote device without pairing.

It’s all in the release preview Build and SDK.

user2981965
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