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Trimble Geo 7X - Bluetooth COM not working, connect button dimmed out

  • 1.  Trimble Geo 7X - Bluetooth COM not working, connect button dimmed out

    Posted 07-17-2025 00:45

    Hi, we have an older Trimble geo 7x system we want to use with another platform just as an GNSS GPS.

    I can add my phone, tablet and PC as a bluetooth device on it but i CAN NOT connect. that button is always dimmed out. What can be the problem?

    Also, I can not see any "services" under any of the added bluetooth devices BUT the devices show up under the option to output NMEA in another menu.

    Best Regads
    Emil



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    Emil Andersson
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  • 2.  RE: Trimble Geo 7X - Bluetooth COM not working, connect button dimmed out

    Posted 07-21-2025 14:48
    Edited by Norman Smart 07-21-2025 17:57

    I don't think that the Geo 7x can output GNSS information to Android devices - at the time the Geo 7x was designed, Trimble really didn't support Android devices.  Here's a Knowledge Base article from Frontier Precision (a large MGIS dealer) which supports this statement.

    Working from memory since I don't have a Geo 7x available at the moment, there was a free Trimble app (GNSS Connector) which let you output NMEA to a Bluetooth serial port and you could connect to that serial port using a Windows PC or Windows embedded (WEHH) device.  I found a Geo 7x manual here on the NEI site, but I'm not sure where you'd find an installer for Trimble GNSS Connector for the Geo 7x.



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    Norman Smart
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    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Trimble Geo 7X - Bluetooth COM not working, connect button dimmed out

    Posted 07-28-2025 16:25

    Hi Norman, thanks for your answer!

    This has nothing to do with android, it is the bluetooth option to "connect" to a device that does not work. It is possible to pair the GPS with different devices as I mentioned but when I want to make the connection (bluetooth) active, the "connect" button is disabled.

    Best Regards
    Emil



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    Emil Andersson
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    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Trimble Geo 7X - Bluetooth COM not working, connect button dimmed out

    Posted 07-28-2025 16:38

    It's not purely about Android, the problem is the combination of Geo 7x and Android. 

    Geo 7x was not designed to allow connections to Android, so you you can Bluetooth pair a Geo 7x to an Android device but there's no way that the Android device can get GNSS data.  With Windows, you can pair the Geo 7x with a Windows device then the GNSS Connector app lets you output data from the Geo 7x in a way which works with Windows.



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    Norman Smart
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    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Trimble Geo 7X - Bluetooth COM not working, connect button dimmed out

    Posted 07-28-2025 16:43

    Ahh, ok. I will try with my laptop again but it did not work the last time and that is windows.

    How does the GPS know anything about what host system the connected bluetooth device uses? The Bluetooth serial port is native and should not be affected by underlaying OS, but I trust your knowledge.

    I will try with my laptop tomorrow and confirm that that works.

    Cheers



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    Emil Andersson
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    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: Trimble Geo 7X - Bluetooth COM not working, connect button dimmed out

    Posted 07-28-2025 16:48

    It's been years since I did this so I do not remember details. 

    You'll need the GNSS Connector app which feeds GNSS data out on Bluetooth.  This may have the options of outputting TSIP format, which is only understood by Terrasync and similar Trimble applications, or NMEA, which is useable by third-party applications.



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    Norman Smart
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    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: Trimble Geo 7X - Bluetooth COM not working, connect button dimmed out

    Posted 07-28-2025 19:28
    Edited by Norman Smart 07-28-2025 19:30

    Right, I did some Internet searching so here are step-by-step instructions:

    1. Open the Trimble Geospatial downloads page for Geo 7x - I didn't think this was available anymore!
    2. Download the the GeoExplorer 6000 series GNSS Connector Application
    3. Copy the GNSS Connector cab file onto your Geo 7x
    4. On the Geo 7x, run the cab file in File Explorer, choose to install it on the device (if you're installing from an SD card).
    5. On the Geo 7x, tap Start menu / Settings / Connections  / Wireless Manager / Menu / Bluetooth Settings, select the Mode tab, turn on Bluetooth and turn on Make the device visible to other devices
    6. On the PC, open device manager and make a note of what "Standard Serial over Bluetooth" port numbers exist (we want to see what ports are added when we pair to the Geo 7x) 
    7. On the PC, pair your Windows PC with the Geo 7x - it should appear with a name like Geo1234567890
    8. On the PC, open device manager again and make a note of the "Standard Serial over Bluetooth" port numbers which have been added - there should be 2 new ports
    9. On the Geo 7x, run GNSS Connector then under NMEA out, select port "Bluetooth (COM9) then tap Connect - you should see the middle LED start blinking as the GNSS starts up, two blue flashes then orange,  changes to green once the GNSS is generating positions
    10. On the PC, if you run an app which uses NMEA, try opening the lower-numbered port identified in step 6.  This should give NMEA output, but if it doesn't, try the other port.

    Note: Don't worry about baud rate / data rate settings - these don't matter with a Bluetooth connection



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    Norman Smart
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    Original Message