How do I make a GATT server connect to a specific clients(without pairing mechanism)?

[Rifat Mahmud]

How do I make sure, the GATT server running on the BLE peripheral client connects only to a specific app based central/GATT client app, which has been authenticated via web? In other words, how Estimote allows its BLEs to connect only to its specific app.

[Anders Strand]

Hi.

If you are referring to estimote beacons? These are iBeacons, which just broadcasts a set message out in the area around them. The smartphone app does not connect to the beacons, it just scans them and read the information they broadcast.

A BLE peripheral cannot choose which central is allowed to connect. The only exception is with whitelisting, where the peripheral has stored information about a previously bonded device. It will then only allow connections from that device.

If you tell me more about what you want to make, i might be able to provide more specific tips. How are you planning to do authentication over web to a BLE device?

-Anders

[Anders Strand]

I am not sure how Estimote does it. But as i said, there is no way (other than whitelist) that a peripheral can deny a connection. What you can do, is do authentication after the connection, and disconnect if the authentication fails. The challenge will probably be for the BLE device to know if the app is registered online. You can use some calculated key sequence based on an ID or something. You are probably right about the estimotes being connectible, because you can configure them. I thought they were pre-configured beacons.