09-01-2004, 05:30 PM
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Magi
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 2,186
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Talking Free, Wirelessly: Hacking the Registry to Use a Bluetooth Headset
Pocket PCs and Bluetooth headsets do not have a symbiotic relationship. Most Pocket PCs are not intended to work with a headset, so most people assume that it can't be done. Fortunately for us, most people are wrong.
A company called Widcomm provides the Bluetooth radio stack for the majority of Pocket PCs, and rather than making separate stacks available for each different device on their client list, Widcomm allows functionality to be flipped on and off via registry settings. This means that most Pocket PCs using the Widcomm stack can be made to work with a Bluetooth headset, provided that the headset supports the correct profile. It�s not exactly easy, but it�s not brain surgery either.
The first article in this series was a review of a Bluetooth headset, the Tekram-312. In this article, I�ll show you how to get your headset working with your Bluetooth-enabled Pocket PC. This has a variety of applications, not least of which is usage with PocketSkype � the subject of the next article in this series.
Read on for the juicy details!
Good News and Bad News
Bad News: 41xx and 43xx users, I�m sorry to say that you�re out of luck here � there�s no way to get the Bluetooth stack in these devices to recognize the headset. Pretty much every other unit with a recent Bluetooth stack should work, as long as the headset supports the Audio Gateway profile.
Good News: There are two ways to get your device to recognize a BT headset. One is via a manual registry hack, and the other is a commercial application that will do it for you. In the following paragraphs, I'll show you how to hack the registry yourself.
Before I begin, a warning. I am in no way responsible for anything that might happen if you mess with your registry. If you somehow manage to send a signal to the Evil Fluffy Space Hamsters, who consequently descend upon your house in their furry glory and start nibbling you to death, do NOT come crying to me. Not only will I not help you, I may also guffaw condescendingly. Or perhaps chortle. You have been warned.
Hack that Registry!
The first thing you�ll need is a registry editor. I used the one that comes packaged with Resco Explorer 2004, but there are others out there. You should also know that the settings below have only been tested on an iPAQ 2215. I�ve heard tales of people getting the the correct profile working with certain 5xxx machines, but I have no first-hand knowledge of this. To begin, find �HKLM\SOFTWARE\Widcomm\BtConfig\Services\0005� in your registry. Find �Enabled", and change the value from �0� to �1�. This turns on the Audio Gateway Profile.
Figure 1: Turn on the Audio Gateway Profile.
Now find �HKLM\Drivers\BuiltIn\WaveDev\�. Find �DLL� and change the value to �BtCeIf.dll�. This routes the audio from the speaker/headphone jack to the Bluetooth stack�s audio driver.
Figure 2: Route the audio through the BT driver.
Now soft-reset the device and run Bluetooth Manager. Make sure your headset is discoverable, and then let your device find the headset. Partner up, connect, and you should hear a tone/beep from your headset. Answer it, and you�re good to go. All sound will now be routed directly to your BT headset. Don�t expect CD or even FM quality sound � it�s more like decent AM radio clarity, but that�s good enough for audio books and voice applications like Pocket Skype or some of the other Pocket PC VoIP clients.
The Pre-Packaged Solution
Figure 3: Kai's Bluetooth Headset Hack: Friend to the Cautious.
The second way to enable the Audio Gateway profile is to use Kai�s Hack. As far as I know, this program will ONLY work with 194x, 221x and 5450 devices, and nothing else. I�ve conversed with Kai via e-mail and can report that he�s both knowledgable and quick to respond. His little app is wrapped in a snug cocoon of eVB runtime, which WILL take up some space on your device. On the other hand, it only costs $3, so if you�ve got the space, a supported device, and no desire to screw up your registry, I�d recommend this route. Just follow Kai�s instructions and you�ll be fine. [Affiliate]
Final Words
I did not encounter any performance issues with the 2215 I used as my test mule, but this hack is somewhat resource-intensive, so if you encounter any slowness or system instability, you may want to close some applications and/or free up some additional Program Memory. If your device has different registry settings and you�ve successfully enabled the Audio Gateway, please post your settings here so that others can benefit. If you�re having trouble getting your device working, post the details here, and maybe someone can help you.
Next up: The PocketSkype review!
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09-01-2004, 05:55 PM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 77
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Bluetooth Headset
Anybody knows if it'll work on an iPaq 3970?
Thank you
Spenser
__________________
Regards from Germany
Jochen aka Spenser
iPAQ 4700, BT GPS-Receiver GNS 5843
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09-01-2004, 05:55 PM
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Pupil
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 34
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Already tried this...
I�ve posted this little hack at HP ITRC on Aug3, 2004. Unfortunately it doesn�t work on my 4150 with my B-Speech Headset.
My hope to get this problem solved with an WM2003SE Update was destroyed by HP�s update policy. Maybe they will provide a new Widcomm BT Stack with the truly necessary update for the 41xx series.
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09-01-2004, 06:30 PM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 53
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After I got the hack to work, I ended up having problems turning my ipaq 2215 back on without a soft reset every time.
http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/foru...ighlight=reset
The sound quality wasn't worth the hassle of soft resetting every time I needed to turn my ipaq on  .
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09-01-2004, 06:34 PM
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Thinker
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 439
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I agree, I have had HORRIBLE audio quality from the BT headset using my h2215. And it bogs down my PPC to the point the audio is going about 1/2 speed and sounds choppy.
NOT WORTH THE EFFORT!
Robb
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09-01-2004, 06:59 PM
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Pupil
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 29
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Probably that wave device driver: BtCeIf.dll is responsible for voice quality, maybe it can be replaced or pached to use different audio encoding and provide better quality?
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09-01-2004, 07:08 PM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 104
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by emmfan
After I got the hack to work, I ended up having problems turning my ipaq 2215 back on without a soft reset every time.
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I had this same problem. After changing the two registry keys, I was able to get the BT headset to work all be it very poor quality. It was totally unacceptable for listening to MP3s. Then, I found that after a few seconds of the PDA being off, I couldn�t turn it back on without a soft reset.
--Jim
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09-01-2004, 08:13 PM
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Oracle
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 980
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Well, as you can see, many h2215 users complain about this hack reason why I disabled it from Tweaks2K2 if you are running it in a h2200.
The 2200 serie does not respond to this hack properly in fact as far as I remember from my betatesters reports the only device where this trick worked a little bit better was the serie 5400 I believe.
IMMO this trick should not be applied in any h2215 if you want to be in the safe side.
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09-01-2004, 08:26 PM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 76
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my iPaq 5555 has a profile in the 'Bluetooth Manager' for a bluetooth headset. Does this mean that I would not need the hack? I have never tried to use a headset before but I am purchasing one for cell phone/PC and wondering if it would just work with iPaq.
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09-01-2004, 08:35 PM
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Oracle
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 980
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The 5555 does not need this trick.
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Linear Mode
