Help ThinkOutside Stowaway BT Keyboard

[stxflyer]

Having trouble pairing my Eris and the keyboard. Eris detects the keyboard and then asks for a pin#. At that point I'm stuck. Since my experience with Bluetooth is very limited, could anyone provide some help?

The keyboard pairs up just fine with my iPAQ 4700. So it wouldn't appear to be a hardware problem.

 

[ScarcelyAware]

The eris can't do it on its own. Run a quick google search for KeyPro or BlueInput. They're both apps that enable the use of bluetooth keyboards.


Also, don't expect either app to work flawlessly, or at all.

 

[stxflyer]

Thanks for the apps. Unfortunately neither one worked. BlurInput didn't even recognize bluetooth on the Eris.

 

[jeff_vs]

I accidentally discovered a solution to this problem. I recently picked up an HTC Amaze, but this should work for any Android device.

The process to pair is not even remotely intuitive, and is not mentioned in the manual. Pairing with Windows devices is easier, by far. Regardless.....

- On the Droid, with Bluetooth turned on, go to Settings > Wireless & Networks > Bluetooth Settings.
- Now, go back to the Think Outside keyboard. Hit CTRL, blue FN and green FN all simultaneously to initiate pairing. The green LED above the "T" will start blinking.
- Back to the Droid. Hit "Scan for devices" and when the "Think Outside Keyboard" shows up tap it. The pairing process will begin.
- When the Bluetooth pairing request dialogue pops up, enter "1111" with the number pad on the screen and hit "OK".

Now, here's the trick:

- Immediately, go to the Think Outside keyboard, click and HOLD the blue FN key and hit "1111" (same number as you entered on the Droid) then, with the blue FN key still being held down, hit the "Enter" key. The trick is that the Blue FN key turns the "Enter" key into the "Ok" key.

The pairing process will complete and it will say "Connected". When you close the keyboard, or it times out, it will say "Paired but not connected". All you have to do is reopen the keyboard or hit the space bar and the status goes back to "Connected". Any where you would have to use the screen keyboard, you can now use the Think Outside keyboard.

I used to use the stylus on my windows mobile device to take notes in meetings. Now, even the latest Windows Mango phones don't have the transcriber feature anymore (capacitive touch screens ... grrr). So, using the Think Outside keyboard in my meetings to take notes is key. I had the Think Outside keyboard sitting around for years, bought it when it first came out. I had a lot more disposable income back then.

Later,
Jeff

 

[calicobramble]

Hi, I've been trying to do exactly this with a Think Outside BT k/b to my Samsung Galaxy S2. It looked like a good match, but I'm stuck. I can get the S2 to see the k/b, and if I tap the S2 screen to ask it to pair to the K/b the screen changes to ask me to input the PIN but the number pad doesn't come up. Am I missing something? Can you manually bring the number pad up? The screen only offers enter or cancel, and if you press enter the S2 returns a wrong code message and dips out. Any ideas?

I also tried my favourite all time widget which I've never got to work with anything, but I bought it 'cos it was so cool, and that's the Celluon CL850 Laser key image keyboard. I downloaded an app to do this from the Android store. The phone and the k/b pair up OK, and if I'm in the app I can get it to connect. But I don't get any characters on the screen whatever I do, and if I leave the app to go to Notes the connection to the CL850 stops. Any ideas??

Many Thanks Simon

 

[jeff_vs]

Every time I encounter an entry field where the screen keyboard doesn't pop up automatically, tapping in the field where the entry is to be made causes the keyboard to pop up.

Also, pressing and holding the menu button will pop up the keyboard (but not always, I'm still a little fuzzy on the rules as to when this is true).

 

[Jenny Evans]

Jeff, you're a genius! I don't know how you ever discovered it, but it's key for me on my Dell Streak and works.

 

[jedijunk]

Calicobramble (Simon?), if you're still around and haven't found your answer yet:

I just stumbled across this thread while trying to solve the same problem. I have a Samsung Galaxy S2 (the TMobile version) and an old iGo Stowaway Think Outside XTBT01 bluetooth keyboard.

The solution Jeff_vs offered will almost get you there. Like you, on my S2 it prompted me for a pin but didn't give me an input box or onscreen keyboard. The message on my S2 screen when I tried to connect read: "Enter PIN Think Outside Keyboard to pair with "605655". So I guessed that it might be all done from the keyboard. After trial and error, I discovered that the number in the on-screen message worked as the PIN to type in on the keyboard!

To recap the steps that worked for me:

- On the Droid, with Bluetooth turned on, go to Settings > Wireless & Networks > Bluetooth Settings.
- Now, go back to the Think Outside keyboard. Hit CTRL, blue FN and green FN all simultaneously to initiate pairing. The green LED above the "T" will start blinking.
- Back to the Droid. Hit "Scan for devices" and when the "Think Outside Keyboard" shows up tap it. The pairing process will begin and you will get a message like "Enter PIN Think Outside Keyboard to pair with "605655"
- Immediately, go to the Think Outside keyboard, click and HOLD the blue FN key and hit "605655" (or whatever number appears in the message on the Droid) then, with the blue FN key still being held down, hit the "Enter" key. The trick is that the Blue FN key turns the "Enter" key into the "Ok" key.

Boom - you should be good to go. Use the reconnect steps Jeff_vs provides if the device times out.

I'm still trying to figure out why caps lock appears to be stuck on. Not sure yet if it occurs in all apps, but it's on by default. I seem to be able to cancel it by hitting backspace, but it reengages the next time I hit the Shift key. So something isn't quite perfect with the driver. Still...

 

[ChromeJob]

... Helps if you have the manual, which I do (PDF and paper). For future readers who arrive here needing help:

The pairing process can be secure or insecure ... with the appropriate driver (which I had for my Nokia 6682 (Symbian)). For Androids and iPhones, you're doing a secure pairing. As mentioned, hold down CTRL, LEFT FN (blue) and RIGHT FN (green) keys until the Keyboard Status Light (green LED above "T") starts blinking once per second. It's now discoverable. Scan for devices on your mobile, and select "Pair with this" when the correctly named keyboard comes up. Put in a PIN of 1-9 digits (numerals only) and click OK. Holding the LEFT FN (blue) key to enable numerals on your keyboard, enter the same numbers, and (still holding LEFT FN) click Enter/OK/Select.

Normally, the Keyboard Status Light will blink slowly (once every four seconds), indicating it is connected and ready. If the light stops blinking, the keyboard has gone to sleep, just press the space bar or another key again. If the light glows red after opening, it means you need to replace the batteries.

I'm still exploring, but many of the functions and features that the keyboard offers with the appropriate driver just aren't there (e.g. application shortcut programming, etc). Sure wish the parent company would continue developing the drivers, the keyboard went for hundreds of $, and still does. Tough little unit, reliable, folds up small and compact ... I held out upgrading my phone for years because of the investment I'd made. But for simple typing, it seems to work, just go slow and carefully. You may see your application act unpredictably with more complicated key combinations.

 

[falbhan]

Wondering if someone might have thoughts as to what is going on with my combo. I can go all the way through the process with my N1 and Stowaway, but after I put in the PIN on the keyboard and hit Enter all I get is "Paired but not connected" on the N! and a flashing (once per second) on the Stowaway.

I can never get connected and the Stowaway never seems to move beyond the pairing mode.

Would love to get this working if anyone has any ideas.

Thanks,

 

[TGIFreddy]

This worked with my Droid 3. Thanks much for helping me bring this device back to life!

 

[Alan270]

Think Outside/iGo Stowaway Keyboard
I have had three of these keyboards and the reason for this is that they are such fun to use. Number one, I used with Symbian, two with Windows Mobile and this one with Samsung Galaxy 2. Thanks to a developer called APEDROID there is now software for Android, in the Google Market.
I have got a set-up, now that, is much more versatile than my laptop, this consists of: A Samsung Galaxy 2; Stowaway; media-tech mini Bluetooth mouse; five Samsung batteries; a four port mains to USB charger; USB spider to charge two types of mini USBs and four batteries via mini clip connectors. I hope to buy a Blue Parrot, noise and wind cancelling, headset; which will enable me to have conversations in windy conditions whilst walking and also in packed noisy bars. When I have Ice Cream Sandwich installed, it should be possible to translate full pages and also use, voice to text recognition, so that I can input data and write, when lying on a beach. THERE IS ONLY ONE WEAK LINK HERE, WHICH IS THAT, THE STOWAWAY, GOES TO SLEEP VERY RAPIDLY EVEN WHEN YOU ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF A WORD.
There is a challenge here, which is to find a way of keeping this sleeping beauty awake, for say over ten minutes, (which would give enough time to contemplate my next sentence).
Is it possible to break into the keyboards software and tune it?
Sadly iGo do not seem to appreciate the product that they inherited and do not support it) Does anyone have any clues as to how to extend the pairing time? Without the keyboard the Smartphones use is limited. The Stowaway would sell well now, because, Smartphones are now user friendly.
The keyboard held out long enough for me, to write this plea for help, which pleases me. Also I have just today discovered a clue When the keyboard, needs to be paired, give it a few minutes, to automatically connect. Also for some reason the keyboard needs to be, unpaired and then paired.
Working from my pockets and leaving my laptop in my office, means a new and fascinating lifestyle for me, so any helpful advice would be a blessing. Alan in Wroclaw Poland on 06 06 2012.

 

[ChromeJob]

I've found that when the keyboard is asleep, I have to hit a few keys and give it about 15 seconds to wake and connect again, sufficient to type into the mobile's app. Just be patient.

To answer your first question, I still have my 6682 which can be paired to the keyboard, and has the Symbian driver/utility installed. This utility allowed you to set all the common keyboard settings: speed of repeat, delay until repeat, time to sleep(?), etc. I thought it was limited to the driver on the phone, but ... since my keyboard doesn't go to sleep for two to five minutes (I use NiMH batteries, so I don't try to conserve them crazily) ... I suspect the utility was appying settings to the keyboard itself.

My keyboard has never gone to sleep on me while I was typing. Soo....

So ... find your old phone with the driver/utility on it, and power that puppy up.