[android] Transfer data between iOS and Android via Bluetooth?

This question has been asked many times on this site and the definitive answer is: NO, you can't connect an Android phone to an iPhone over Bluetooth, and YES Apple has restrictions that prevent this.

Some possible alternatives:

  1. Bonjour over WiFi, as you mentioned. However, I couldn't find a comprehensive tutorial for it.
  2. Some internet based sync service, like Dropbox, Google Drive, Amazon S3. These usually have libraries for several platforms.
  3. Direct TCP/IP communication over sockets. (How to write a small (socket) server in iOS)
  4. Bluetooth Low Energy will be possible once the issues on the Android side are solved (Communicating between iOS and Android with Bluetooth LE)

Coolest alternative: use the Bump API. It has iOS and Android support and really easy to integrate. For small payloads this can be the most convenient solution.

Details on why you can't connect an arbitrary device to the iPhone. iOS allows only some bluetooth profiles to be used without the Made For iPhone (MFi) certification (HPF, A2DP, MAP...). The Serial Port Profile that you would require to implement the communication is bound to MFi membership. Membership to this program provides you to the MFi authentication module that has to be added to your hardware and takes care of authenticating the device towards the iPhone. Android phones don't have this module, so even though the physical connection may be possible to build up, the authentication step will fail. iPhone to iPhone communication is possible as both ends are able to authenticate themselves.

Examples related to android

Under what circumstances can I call findViewById with an Options Menu / Action Bar item? How to implement a simple scenario the OO way My eclipse won't open, i download the bundle pack it keeps saying error log getting " (1) no such column: _id10 " error java doesn't run if structure inside of onclick listener Cannot retrieve string(s) from preferences (settings) strange error in my Animation Drawable how to put image in a bundle and pass it to another activity FragmentActivity to Fragment A failure occurred while executing com.android.build.gradle.internal.tasks

Examples related to ios

Adding a UISegmentedControl to UITableView Crop image to specified size and picture location Undefined Symbols error when integrating Apptentive iOS SDK via Cocoapods Keep placeholder text in UITextField on input in IOS Accessing AppDelegate from framework? Autoresize View When SubViews are Added Warp \ bend effect on a UIView? Speech input for visually impaired users without the need to tap the screen make UITableViewCell selectable only while editing Xcode 12, building for iOS Simulator, but linking in object file built for iOS, for architecture arm64

Examples related to bluetooth

Sniffing/logging your own Android Bluetooth traffic Android sample bluetooth code to send a simple string via bluetooth Understanding ibeacon distancing Connect multiple devices to one device via Bluetooth What is the iBeacon Bluetooth Profile Transfer data between iOS and Android via Bluetooth? IOException: read failed, socket might closed - Bluetooth on Android 4.3 Android + Pair devices via bluetooth programmatically Android: How do bluetooth UUIDs work? How to receive serial data using android bluetooth

Examples related to gamekit

Transfer data between iOS and Android via Bluetooth?

Examples related to bonjour

Transfer data between iOS and Android via Bluetooth?