Readme file for RestartBT
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RestartBT is a small utility program which works around a current (as of Feb 2017) bug when using some Android phone/smartwatch combinations.  The bug results in the phone switching off the Bluetooth connection, thereby meaning that the phone and smartwatch can no longer communicate. The bug seems to happen when the phone and smartwatch move out of range from each other.  Not all the time, but enough times to be very frustrating.

This program runs on your Android phone and checks the Bluetooth connection at user-specified intervals (by default, every 10 mins). If the program finds the Bluetooth is turned off, it turns it on again. Note that the program respects 'Doze' mode on phones running Android 6 and later - meaning that if the phone is sleeping then the program won't wake it up. This means that the user-specified interval for checking the Bluetooth connection can be extended if the phone is sleeping.

To install the program, firstly change the Android security setting to allow Unknown Sources (you can turn it off again afterwards). Then use any Android file manager to install the file RestartBT.apk.

Run the RestartBT program, choose your interval in minutes and press Start. To stop the program, press Stop. Note that each time the program finds Bluetooth turned off and turns it on again, it will write a record to the file 'restartbt.txt' in the root folder of internal storage.  

If/when a proper bug fix is available, you can uninstall the program and delete the file restartbt.txt.


Malcolm Bryant
February 2017
