1. MisterShark's Avatar
    Sometimes I just can't win when it comes to technology.

    My previous Pioneer Bluetooth car stereo streamed audio from both my Z10 and Z30 beautifully until it didn't. Hands Free profile continued to work but it eventually stopped connecting the A2DP Bluetooth profile which is necessary for the redirection of stereo audio streaming. No biggie: the stereo was 5 years old and I felt I'd gotten my money's worth.

    I recently purchased and installed a new Sony MEX-N5000BT unit and it connected perfectly and sounds great.
    Oddly enough the first time I was connected my virtual keyboard failed to pop up when I attempted to BBM someone. I figured it was a weird one-of and restarted. As soon as it restarted and automatically reconnected to the Sony my keyboard once again failed to be available: this time I couldn't even unlock the lock screen because of it. I experimented further and found that as soon as it connects to the new stereo the keyboard literally hides and nothing short of a restart will restore it.

    This sucks. I love this new stereo but restarting my Z30 to restore the keyboard functionality is unacceptable.
    I plan to leverage our corporate premium BlackBerry Expert Support services, our BlackBerry rep + his architect associate to pursue a fix if any may be found.

    Posted via CB10
    04-20-14 07:31 AM
  2. crack___head's Avatar
    Might be a safety feature so no texting while driving. I noticed my notification sounds are disabled when phone connected to my Ford Sync

    Posted via CB10
    04-20-14 07:36 AM
  3. MisterShark's Avatar
    Thanks for your input.
    I'm betting against this being a feature though.

    My previous car stereo caused no such disruption.
    Plus: why wouldn't the keyboard functionality be restored after the stereo is powered-down and the connection closes?
    I have to restart my Z30 to restore my keyboard.

    I'm thinking it may be a bug that is somehow triggered by this particular Bluetooth version (3.1) connecting. I'm guessing (and I'd have to do some information digging to confirm this) that my old Pioneer system used a different version of Bluetooth, which (if my theory is correct) didn't cause the unintended keyboard disruption.

    Posted via CB10
    Last edited by MisterShark; 04-20-14 at 08:01 AM.
    04-20-14 07:49 AM
  4. stevobbm's Avatar
    Looks like you've got three choices,
    Get rid of the stereo,
    Get rid of the Z30
    Or DONT TEXT WHILE YOU ARE DRIVING.

    Your choice.

    Posted on CB10 with the Q10
    04-20-14 08:28 AM
  5. MisterShark's Avatar
    Looks like you've got three choices,
    Get rid of the stereo,
    Get rid of the Z30
    Or DONT TEXT WHILE YOU ARE DRIVING.

    Your choice.

    Posted on CB10 with the Q10
    I'm going to guess you're kidding about keyboard input of any kind while rolling: I don't.
    And even if I did and decided to stop: you read the part about restarting every time right?

    It may come down to returning the stereo and getting another model but that will = $50 flushed (price paid for the install) and $50 more to install the new one. All because of a software bug that needs to be addressed by BlackBerry.
    I'll be updating this thread with my further developments as BlackBerry either helps me out or otherwise.

    Posted via CB10
    Last edited by MisterShark; 04-20-14 at 09:00 AM.
    04-20-14 08:48 AM
  6. herbersh's Avatar
    This sounds like a frustrating problem.

    I have a Sony 601BT in my truck and connect with my Z30. It works and sounds great. My connection has been fine with all the different OS's I've had on my phone. It sounds like the Sony might be trying to control your phone with one of the features meant for android but messes up the Z30. Would be interesting trying to connect another BlackBerry 10 phone to see if the problem persists. Also, see if there is a firmware update for the Sony.

    Posted via CB10 on the great Z30
    04-20-14 10:08 AM
  7. MisterShark's Avatar
    This sounds like a frustrating problem.

    I have a Sony 601BT in my truck and connect with my Z30. It works and sounds great. My connection has been fine with all the different OS's I've had on my phone. It sounds like the Sony might be trying to control your phone with one of the features meant for android but messes up the Z30. Would be interesting trying to connect another BlackBerry 10 phone to see if the problem persists. Also, see if there is a firmware update for the Sony.

    Posted via CB10 on the great Z30
    Good suggestions and I'll have a look for firmware updates.

    I've yet to try connecting my wife's Z10 but will try that too, to see how it reacts.

    Posted via CB10
    04-20-14 11:30 AM
  8. peter0328's Avatar
    On 10.2.1 I can no longer view lock screen notifications while my Z30 is connected to my Honda Pilot.

    There is definitely something in 10.2.1 to prevent features when connected to a car.

    Posted via CB10
    04-20-14 02:48 PM
  9. MisterShark's Avatar
    If there are indeed 'safeguard' features that are intentional then they're incredibly short sighted.
    What if I'm driving and my wife's Z10 is connected (she's the passenger in this example) : should her phone's functionality be limited in any way?
    I'm not an advocate of the nanny state that seems to be closing in at every turn these days. I'm a responsible adult who can make decisions for myself and am fully prepared to deal with any adverse consequences that may arise from my actions.

    But I digress.
    In my situation I don't think it's an intentionally designed safeguard. If the disabled keyboard was intended while connected then I would imagine that it would also be setup so that the keyboard would once again be restored once the stereo is powered-down and the Bluetooth connection is no longer active.

    Posted via CB10
    04-20-14 06:30 PM
  10. mscooley's Avatar
    Doubt this is a no texting feature as the Z30 works great on factory radios and many aftermarket. You might also want to contact Sony. Especially since your device worked with your Pioneer. BB10 bluetooth connectivity is configured to allow everything to be done via the phone RATHER than forcing the car or stereo manufacturer to accommodate the OS like other fruit we know of (cough, cough.) I'd start with Sony first since nothing has changed on your handset...has it?

    @kmcooley | Channel: C00219967
    04-20-14 06:39 PM
  11. HabsSuck's Avatar
    Don't know if there's a connection but my keyboard on my Z30 also disappeared when my BlackBerry was bluetooth connected to my Lenovo thinkpad

    Posted via BlackBerry Z30
    04-20-14 06:40 PM
  12. mscooley's Avatar
    Yours might be different. When connected to any BT keyboard device, the de like input is deactivated. Maybe it's because of this in your case.

    @kmcooley | Channel: C00219967
    04-20-14 06:44 PM
  13. MisterShark's Avatar
    I'm going to chase this down on both fronts: BlackBerry and Sony.
    On the BlackBerry side though I'm our company?s BES admin and have paid premium support at my fingertips, so I'm more likely to get better answers.
    Even though nothing has changed on my Z30 I still primarily blame BlackBerry on this: the Bluetooth controller should not be able to disable the keyboard. Just as an operating system's kernel is protected from rogue software's unintended (or sometimes intentional) effects that sometimes come with poor software design so too should the virtual keyboard be shielded from something that should be completely unrelated such as a Bluetooth connection.
    I cringe at the thought of wading through multiple layers of support at Sony before getting to a higher level support individual that may have a clue about something like this. I suppose it's just the path I'm going to have to endure if I want to make this work.

    Regarding the post about the Lenovo notebook: for what it's worth I also connect to my Lenovo X230 but experience no effects on my keyboard.

    Posted via CB10
    04-20-14 06:54 PM
  14. mscooley's Avatar
    What OS versions are you guys running?

    @kmcooley | Channel: C00219967
    04-20-14 10:27 PM
  15. MisterShark's Avatar
    Software release 10.2.1.2126

    Posted via CB10
    04-21-14 07:42 AM
  16. peter0328's Avatar
    Z30STA100-3/10.2.1.2180

    Posted via CB10
    04-21-14 07:55 AM
  17. mscooley's Avatar
    Hmmm so the OS version isn't the problem. Android apps loaded?

    @kmcooley | Channel: C00219967
    04-21-14 11:15 AM
  18. tomcat23's Avatar
    Have you tried forcing the keyboard to show up?
    Drag two fingers from the bottom till the center of the screen. See if it comes up.

    Posted via CB10
    04-21-14 11:40 AM
  19. MisterShark's Avatar
    Hmmm so the OS version isn't the problem. Android apps loaded?@kmcooley | Channel: C00219967
    Android apps?
    I haven't installed Snap or Amazon App store, and I wasn't interested in side loading stuff back when some were using those methods to install Android stuff. So if you're referring to the Android app remote that Sony created for this unit: no, I haven't installed it and don't plan to.
    My Z30 is my work phone and I depend heavily on it for what I do, so I tend to be very conservative with what I install on it.



    Have you tried forcing the keyboard to show up?
    Drag two fingers from the bottom till the center of the screen. See if it comes up.
    I'll give this a try but if you're (for example) in BBM and do the 2-finger drag-down: the keyboard disappears. The minute you touch the 'Enter a message' field: the keyboard pops back up from the bottom. So if the keyboard is not disabled then both methods should cause the keyboard to pop back up, but I can tell you with absolute certainty that touching the 'Enter a message' (for this BBM example) doesn't get me there after the Z30 connects to the Sony stereo. The keyboard stays absolutely inaccessible until I restart the Z30.
    04-21-14 03:10 PM
  20. MisterShark's Avatar
    tomcat23 wins a cigar!

    Have you tried forcing the keyboard to show up?
    Drag two fingers from the bottom till the center of the screen. See if it comes up.

    Posted via CB10
    I was surprised to find that even though touching into a text - accepting field (which under normal circumstances would work of course) failed to elicit the keyboard pop-up as it should, the two fingers upwards drag worked. I incorrectly assumed that from a programing logic viewpoint both gestures' 'if' input would trigger the same 'then' path response. But apparently the two gestures don't necessarily converge to the same output response.

    Thanks tomcat23 for your input especially but also to all the others (with perhaps the exception of one individual).

    For the record I did submit 2 trouble tickets earlier today: one to Sony and one to BlackBerry.
    Sony almost immediately replied (within the hour) and told me to pursue it with BlackBerry.
    BlackBerry had me reproduce the error condition and submit logs from my Z30.
    I've filled them in on tomcat23's workaround but asked them to pursue what is causing the abnormal behavior all the same. One way or the other the keyboard should not be disappearing in response to a stereo's Bluetooth connection and require an alternate method (beyond the normal way) to get the keyboard back.

    I'm a technician and I accept that sometimes things don't always work as planned and that sometimes feasible workarounds need to be employed, but that's because of my profession and the understanding it brings. Your average nontechnical user (ie: 95% of the executives I support at work) would be much less forgiving and relate their frustration with the BlackBerry brand. Not a good thing when every client counts. So in the end I think it behooves BlackBerry to put some time into solving something even as small as this because who knows how many other devices out there may also cause this annoying bug situation.



    Posted via CB10
    tomcat23 likes this.
    04-21-14 07:39 PM
  21. mscooley's Avatar
    Good job. Thanks for helping us out going forward.

    @kmcooley | Channel: C00219967
    04-21-14 10:17 PM
  22. MisterShark's Avatar
    Crap.
    I'm not sitting as pretty as I thought.
    Once the lock screen activates (balance) I can't pull the keyboard up with the 2 fingers method.
    Have to restart.

    Hopefully BlackBerry has something for me.

    Posted via CB10
    04-22-14 05:13 AM
  23. MisterShark's Avatar
    **update**
    I've received a reply from BlackBerry support and and they're going to review the log file that I sent along.
    The technician did note in the meantime: "There are several bug reported with similar issue you describe. The only deference is the bug is detected when pair BlackBerry 10 device with some Bluetooth Mouse.".

    Ugh.
    I hope they can give me a work-around on this but something tells me I may be exchanging my car stereo for some other unit and sucking it up for another $50 install fee
    04-22-14 02:18 PM
  24. mscooley's Avatar
    If I have time tomorrow I will stop by my local audio shop. I know for a fact they have the same Sony unit on demo display. I will take my PlayBook and Z30 by and see what happens.

    @kmcooley | Channel: C00219967
    04-22-14 03:24 PM
  25. John Clark's Avatar
    That same OS version has some major connect/disconnect issues with Mercedes vehicles too.
    04-22-14 03:40 PM
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