Bluetooth Page Turner plugin for Kobo KOReader

[lumping-sugar66]

Hello everyone,

I’m pleased to share an exciting update about my KOReader plugin for kobo devices, which now includes proper scripts for turning Bluetooth on and off, along with the necessary modifications and connections to run my selfie clicker as a page turning device. This should be adaptable to various devices and can serve as a useful example for other developers. While I plan to add more functionality in the future and polish it, make it more error prune etc., I wanted to share now and invite the community to collaborate.

Key Features and Insights

Bluetooth On and Off:
This plugin allows you to turn Bluetooth on and off on the fly and connect to your device directly from KOReader. Here’s how it works:

Turning Bluetooth On: Normally bluetooth processes are killed with KOReader on bootup. The plugin enables Bluetooth directly from KOReader and establishes connection to pre-paired bluetooth devices.
Turning Bluetooth Off: Properly shutting down Bluetooth is crucial to prevent excessive battery drain. On a Clara 2E, I observed a battery drain of about 2.8-3% per hour during sleep if Bluetooth isn’t turned off correctly. The plugin ensures Bluetooth is turned off properly. Without a proper shutdown (like pkill only) the drain would still be around 1.5% per hour during sleep. With this plugin, I can turn Bluetooth on and off and leave the device to sleep with 0% drain.

Nickel doesn’t shut down Bluetooth correctly, so relying on Nickel to turn Bluetooth off after exiting KOReader can still result in significant battery drain. It’s better to turn off Bluetooth using this.

Installation and Usage Instructions

How to Install:

The installation isn't quite hands-free right now. You still need to pair your device once using nickel, and find which /dev/input/eventX it gets mapped to. The initial pairing can also be done using SSH/bluetoothctl.
You also need to add the event code to device.lua listened devices with the action you're expecting. Readme has some examples and more detail on this.

How it Works:

This plugin adds a menu under Gear > Network > Bluetooth, which includes:

Bluetooth On: Turns on WiFi (required for Bluetooth) and Bluetooth, then attempts to establish a connection to a previously paired input device. The plugin also includes the uhid.ko kernel patch, which is necessary for certain Bluetooth devices to be recognized.
Bluetooth Off: Properly shuts down Bluetooth to prevent battery drain.

Further Information
For more details or to contribute, please visit the GitHub repository:

https://github.com/onatbas/bluetooth.koplugin
Let me know what you think and I look forward to your feedback and contributions.