Apple Devices

Apple devices emit various BTLE continuity messages, often identified by the fingerprint apple:100?:*-*. In households with multiple iPhones, the nearby info may collide, leading to duplicate fingerprints. To resolve this, you can obtain the remote IRK (Identity Resolving Key) from your iOS (iPhone, iPad) or Watch OS (Apple Watch) device. While adding the IRK to the Known BLE identity resolving keys section of the ESPresense configuration is an option, using the Enroll feature is recommended as it’s easier and syncs automatically to all ESPresense nodes. Note: ESPresense version 3.0 or higher is required!**

Note: Some iOS devices do not emit a beacon while the phone screen is off if there is not a reason for the device to broadcast a signal, consequently the device may not appear while the screen is off. Something like an iWatch, Universal Clipboard with Handoff enabled, or other services that require the phone to communicate regularly may resolve this issue as they require the subject iOS device to communicate while ‘sleeping’. In the case you do not have a bluetooth device like an iWatch, some people report that using background apps like iCloud Family Sharing, iCloud Photo Backup, or Room Assistant have convinced the device to communicate while ‘sleeping’. This issue is not universal, but it’s not clear why this occurs at this time and you may not experience this issue even if the device seemingly has no reason to communicate.

Enrollment (easiest)

iPhone / iPads (native)

  • Navigate to the ESPresense devices page in your browser: http://<ip>/ui/#/devices.
  • Enter a name for your device in the name field and click the Enroll button.
  • On your iPhone or iPad, go to Settings -> Bluetooth. You’ll see a new ESPresense device.
  • Tap on the bluetooth device named ESPresense and accept the request to pair securely.
  • The Enroll prompt should stop automatically, indicating the key has been obtained and added to the MQTT topic espresense/settings.

Apple Watch (using Bluetooth Terminal App)

  • Download and install the Bluetooth Terminal app from the Apple App Store on an iOS device, ensure it installed on your watch as well.
  • Navigate to the ESPresense devices page in your browser: http://<ip>/ui/#/devices.
  • Enter a name for your device in the name field and click the Enroll button.
  • Launch the BluetoothLE App on your Apple Watch (included as part of iOS Bluetooth Terminal app).
  • Tap on the bluetooth device named ESPresense and accept the request to pair securely.
  • The Enroll prompt should stop automatically, indicating the key has been obtained and added to the MQTT topic espresense/settings.

If you’re having trouble, please note: you will see ESPresense in the native settings, but it will refuse to securely pair. It’s imperative to follow the steps under the ‘Apple Watch (using Bluetooth Terminal App)’ section above to ensure a successful pairing via the app. Secure pairing is the key to us getting an IRK!

If you’re using the BluetoothLE App on your Apple Watch, you can see the bluetooth device ESPresense but pairing fails to intiate, you may need to force a refresh of the devices in the app. This typically applies when you have had a previously unsucesful pairing attempt or re-flashed the ESP basestation. Simply forcing the app to close and re-launch doesn’t force a refresh of devices. On your Apple Watch:

  • Force the BluetoothLE App to close (Typically by clicking the watch button, swiping the BluetoothLE App card left and then the red X button).
  • Turn off Bluetooth via Settings > Bluetooth > Bluetooth Switch (at bottom of screen).
  • Launch BluetoothLE App on your Apple Watch. This will ask you to Turn on Bluetooth to allow the app to detect devices. Do so by clicking the Settings button etc.
  • Important when Bluetooth is enabled, you will be in the Apple Watch Bluetooth devices discovery mode. DO NOT try to connect to ESPresense here!
  • Open the BluetoothLE App once again and you will see the discovered BLE deviced being refreshed. Now follow the steps under the ‘Apple Watch (using Bluetooth Terminal App)’ section above to ensure a successful pairing via the app.

Lookup Method (requires a Mac)

This method can be used for any iOS/iPadOS/Watch OS device:

  • On MacOS, ensure you are logged in with the iCloud ID associated with your device.
  • Launch the Keychain Access application.
  • In the left sidebar, click on iCloud.
  • In the upper right search bar, type bluetooth.

  • A series of entries will appear with the application password type.

    keychain-icloud

  • On your Apple Watch device, go to Settings > About, scroll down to find the Bluetooth address, in the format: XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX
  • Open each entry to find the one associated with your Apple Watch. The Account field should match the Bluetooth address of your watch, in the format: Public: XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX.

  • Click on Show password. Type your macOS password twice and copy the contents.

    keychain-password

  • Paste the contents in the form below and click ‘Decode’ to convert this into an IRK.




Output
Enter base64 above...


Option 1

  • Add the output (which should be 32 characters) to the ‘Known BLE identity resolving keys’ section of the ESPresence configuration.

    ble-irk

  • In your HASS configuration, add the same string with ‘irk:’ prefixed, e.g., “irk:xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx”.
  • Click ‘Save’ in the ESPresense UI, then ‘Restart Device’.

Option 2

  • Alternatively you can publish an MQTT message to the settings topic to simulate what would happen were you to pair from the UI. To do this you can publish to the topic: espresense/settings/irk:xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx/config with a payload {"id":"device_id", "name":"Device Name"}. Make sure there are no spaces in the id value.