Controlling S.U.R.F.E.R. Reader Without iOS App

[ciro09pro]

Dear S.U.R.F.E.R. Support Team,

First of all, thank you for making this project available — I find it very interesting and promising. I have a question about controlling the reader.

From what I understand, the S.U.R.F.E.R. is typically operated through the iOS app, which connects via Bluetooth to the nRF51822 MCU. Since I don’t have access to an Apple computer or a compatible iOS device, I’m looking for alternative ways to operate the reader from my PC or Android smartphone, while keeping the provided firmware unchanged.

During my research, I came across Nordic’s nRF Connect (for Desktop or Mobile). From what I gather, it should be possible to use this tool to establish a Bluetooth Low Energy connection to the MCU, send commands, and receive data — essentially bypassing the iOS app without modifying the firmware.

Do you think this approach is viable? Or would you recommend another method for operating the reader without relying on iOS?

Thank you very much for your time and support.

[keehr]

Hi,

We did respond to this inquiry over email directly, so please check your spam inbox for our message.
In summary, we have never tried this but it sounds like the approach we would try first if we were in your situation.
In order to determine if this approach works without spending lots of money, we would first buy an nRF51-DK dev kit and try to load our firmware onto the device and modify the firmware to spoof the remainder of the complete reader.
Good luck, and please let us know if this works!

Thanks,
S.U.R.F.E.R. team.

[ciro09pro]

Hi,
Thank you for your response. Unfortunately, I have not received the email you mentioned — I have checked my inbox, spam/junk folders, and other tabs, but it does not appear to have reached me.
Could you please resend your original reply to this address : peloso.emanuele@gmail.com ?
Thank you for your time and assistance.

[keehr]

Hi,

We did send an email to that address, but our email doesn't say anything beyond what we wrote above.
We sent the email again just now, but if you ultimately can't find the email, you won't be missing out on any insights.

Thanks,
S.U.R.F.E.R Team