Bluetooth connections

The steps for connecting the controller to another device using Bluetooth® wireless technology or Bluetooth Long-Range Robotic (BLR) technology are outlined below.

NOTE – To use the device in Trimble Access, you must pair to the device from the Bluetooth tab of the Connections screen in Trimble Access. If you pair with a BLR device using the controller operating system Bluetooth screen, the Trimble Access software is unable to connect to the device.

As long as your device supports Bluetooth, you can connect the controller to any:

You can also connect the controller to a mobile phone or external modem and use the connected device to connect to the internet. To create those connections, see Internet connection setup.

To enable the controller to find the device when it scans for nearby Bluetooth devices, make sure Bluetooth is enabled on the device and the discoverable setting is enabled. For more information, refer to the documentation provided with your device.

TIP – You can only pair to a Bluetooth device when it is discoverable (visible to Bluetooth searches). Trimble devices with older firmware versions are usually discoverable unless a Bluetooth connection is already active. Trimble devices with more recent firmware versions are discoverable only for a limited time (3 to 15 minutes) after the device is powered up.

When using a Trimble active target, Bluetooth is always enabled when the active target is on.

When using a TDL2.4 Radio Bridge, press the Radio button for 2 seconds to make it discoverable. The blue and red LEDs will blink, indicating the radio is ready to be paired with. If you press and hold the radio button for longer than 10 seconds then all stored Bluetooth pairings in the TDL2.4 are cleared. You will need to recreate any Bluetooth pairings between the TDL2.4 and your controller(s).

  • If the controller is running Windows:
    1. Swipe in from the right to display the Windows Action Center panel.
    2. If the Bluetooth connections tile is gray, tap the tile to enable Bluetooth. The tile changes to blue.
  • If the controller running Android:
    1. Swipe down from the notifications area at the top of the screen.
    2. If required, tap the icon to expand the settings area and then swipe right to view page 2.
    3. If the Bluetooth icon is gray, tap the icon to enable Bluetooth.

NOTE – If the device is a BLR device, the steps to connect are slightly different. To pair with a BLR device see the following section Bluetooth connections.

TIP – If you are connecting a controller to another controller, complete these steps on one controller.

  1. Tap and select Settings / Connections. Select the Bluetooth tab.

    The Bluetooth tab shows a list of device types. For each option you can select from the list of paired Bluetooth devices. If there are no paired devices, the software opens the Bluetooth search screen.

    TIP – The Trimble DA2 receiver is only available in the Connect to GNSS rover list. It cannot be used as a GNSS base.

  2. Tap Search. The Bluetooth search screen shows a list of Discovered devices and Paired devices.

    NOTE – A device cannot respond to a scan if the Bluetooth radio is already in use. You must end the existing Bluetooth connection on the device and restart the scan. To restart the scan, tap Clear. The list of Discovered devices clears and the scan restarts automatically.

  3. Select the device to connect to. Tap Pair.
  4. If your device operating system shows a Pair with pop-up dialog, confirm the pairing.

  5. If the controller is not already paired with the device, you may be prompted to enter the PIN. You may also need to enter the same PIN on the device.

    The default PIN for a:

    • Trimble GNSS receiver is 0000, although this can be changed in the receiver web interface used to configure the receiver settings.
    • Trimble S Series total station is the last 4 digits of the instrument serial number.
    • Trimble C3 or C5 total station is 0503.
    • Spectra Geospatial FOCUS 50 total station is the last 4 digits of the instrument serial number
    • Trimble LaserAce 1000 or MDL LaserAce laser rangefinder is 1234.
    • Ohmex SonarMite echo sounder is 1111.
    • Radio Detection RD8100 locator is 1234.

    Note that many devices including Spectra Geospatial receivers do not require a PIN by default.

    For PINs for other devices, refer to the documentation provided with the device.

    TIP – The Pair with pop-up dialog is provided by the operating system. If additional settings such as the PIN contains letters or symbols check box or the Enable access to your contacts and call history check box appear you can leave the check boxes unchecked.

  6. Tap OK.

  7. The Trimble Access software displays a pop-up dialog for the newly paired device. From the device type list, select how you want to use the Bluetooth device. Tap Accept.

    TIP – If you paired with a cellular modem, the controller now appears as a paired device on the cellular modem.

  8. In the Bluetooth tab, tap Accept.
  1. Tap and select Settings / Connections. Select the Bluetooth tab.

  2. Select the device to connect to from the appropriate device type field and then tap Accept.

    If Auto‑connect is enabled, the Trimble Access software connects to the device within a few seconds. Otherwise, start a survey to connect to the device.

    NOTE – To connect the TDL2.4/EDB10 to a Trimble VX spatial station or Trimble S Series total station, you must configure the TDL2.4/EDB10 to use the same radio settings as the instrument.

  3. Tap Accept.

TIP – The controller automatically connects to the selected device the next time you turn on both devices.

NOTE – If you attempt to reconnect to a Trimble GNSS receiver and the software shows Bluetooth error 10051, then the GNSS firmware on the receiver has been updated and the settings have been restored to the default settings. You must unpair from the device and then re-pair with the device.

If you are unable to pair with a device, try the following:

  • Try to pair in an environment with low signal interference. It can be difficult to discover a device and pair with it in an environment with a high number of Bluetooth devices, or where USB3 peripherals are being used nearby.

  • Check that no other controllers are connected to the Bluetooth device you are trying to connect to - many devices only allow one connection at a time.

  • Turn the Bluetooth device off then on.

  • Try to pair to the Bluetooth device as quickly as possible once the device powers up, as some devices turn off Bluetooth pairing some time after starting up.

  • Restart the controller.

  • If you have paired your controller to the Bluetooth device previously, remove the pairing and pair again.

  • Confirm that the controller has a recent version of the operating system and a recent version of Trimble Access.

  • Confirm that the Bluetooth device has a recent firmware version.

  • If you can't pair to the device in the Trimble Access software, try pairing using the controller operating system.

  1. Tap and select Settings / Connections. Select the Bluetooth tab.

  2. To unpair from a device, in the Bluetooth tab tap Search to open the Bluetooth search screen.

  3. In the Paired devices list, select the paired device and then tap Remove.