Technical FAQ

Technical FAQ

This article aims to answer some of the most common technical questions that we are asked.

1. How does it work?
2. Prerequisites and Minimum Hardware Requirements
3. How to install Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable
4. How to reinstall Microsoft Bluetooth drivers
5. What is the maximum USB extension cable length?
6. How much power does the Bluetooth radio use?
7. Do multiple deliveries ocurr?
8. What are the ranges can I expect from Unicast?
9. How to use a PIN code? Do I need to use one?
10. How do I deliver to iPhone or Blackberry?
11. What is Alternative Text?
12. How to create adverts to send out?
13. Does it re-send to same mobile?
14. How to Check if a Bluetooth Dongle is working?
15. What are the timeout and query length settings used for?

How does it work? 

Unicast products work by using a Bluetooth device to transmit files from your PC directly to mobile devices with Bluetooth switched on and set to 'discoverable'. The file will be downloaded onto the phone upon the user accepting the message.

Prerequisites and Minimum Hardware Requirements 

In order to run either Unicast Lite or Unicast Pro the following minimum requirements must be met:

• Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable Service Pack 1
• Microsoft Dot Net Framework 2.0
• Windows XP Service Pack 2 or Vista Service Pack 1
• RAM : min 100 MB (uses between 20-40 MB when running)
• Hard disk space : requires 3 MB (for install)

How to install Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable 

Please ensure that you have all the latest Microsoft updates on your machine before trying to run Unicast Lite/Pro.

If you do have the latest updates and encounter an unexpected error when running Unicast then you can try downloading the Microsoft Visual C++ SP1 Redistributable from the following link, this is a dependency for Unicast Lite to run (usually already installed as part of Microsoft Office and other applications.) Right click the following link and save to your computer then run it.

This file needs to saved to a location on your computer and then run. If you encounter problems running this installer it may already be installed, in this case use the Add/Remove Programs to remove “Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable” and then try this installer again.

After a successful install of the redistributable Unicast Lite/Pro should run without any problems.

What is the maximum USB extension cable length? 

Maximum USB length is 5m, any more than that and there is voltage depletion which will bring unpredictable results.

How much power does the Bluetooth radio use? 

The power consumption of the Bluetooth dongles which we supply with our software is:/

• Standby mode: 25mA
• Transmission mode: 80mA

To get an idea of how quickly this will contribute to battery drain on a laptop you can compare this to the power consumption rate against battery life for normal use stated in the specification of the machine that you are using you should be able to come up with a relative figure. 80mA is a tiny amount and the difference will be marginal.

Do multiple deliveries ocurr? 

If a campaign was successfully received, cancelled or denied by a target device then no further attempts to send to that device will be made. Further sending attempts are only attempted in the case of a timeout or loss of signal.

What are the ranges can I expect from Unicast? 

We offer 4 types of dongles for Unicast;

1. 25 Meters
2. 50 Meters
3. 150 Meters
4. 1000 Meters (Unicast Pro only)

However, a lot of phones are only capable to receiving around 70 Meters away. The optimal range dongle we recommend is the 150 Meter dongle, which is supplied with our software on the Unicast Lite 150m Retail Pack

How to use a PIN code? Do I need to use one? 

The pin code that needs to be entered when requested on a phone is the same as that specified in the campaign setup, on creation of a new campaign this defaults to 0000 (four zeros). This can be edited at any time in the campaign editor of Unicast Lite.

If no pin code is specified in the campaign editor then a pin code will not be used however this will limit the number of devices that can be potentially sent to because many require pin code authentication before allowing Bluetooth connection of any kind.

If no pin code is specified then user's phones will not show request to enter a passcode, except in the case of Blackberries which always require pairing in which case the default PIN of 0000 will be used.

Some phones require that pairing using a PIN code is done before they allow files to be received, this can often be turned off in the Bluetooth settings on the phone itself. This is different for each phone so you would need to refer to the manufacturer’s user manual.

Unicast always tries to send to phones without pairing (ie without using the PIN code) if that send fails it then tries to pair using the PIN code and if pairing succeeds Unicast attempts the send again.

How do I deliver to iPhone or Blackberry? 

1. iPhone
   
   Unfortunately iPhones do not support Bluetooth for sending/receiving files. There has been an iPhone application approved to enable Bluetooth but only between iPhones. Apple will not approve an application for Bluetooth sending/receiving files to other devices. This means that iPhone users currently have no safe/legal way to enable Bluetooth on their iPhones.
   
   For a more detailed explanation please see this article on our website: iPhone does not support Bluetooth
   
   
2. Blackberry
   
   It is possible to deliver to Blackberry phones please see this article on our website: Bluetooth delivery to BlackBerry phones

What is Alternative Text? 

The alternative text feature is legacy from the original version of Unicast and we are planning on removing it in future versions of the software because it leads to too much confusion for users. It was originally intended as a fallback for when target devices could not accept images; this was common in very early mobile phones, nowadays however all new handsets support images but very few will accept text files and those that do often store them in places that users find difficult to access. Therefore we recommend using image files instead.

For more information please see this article on our website : The alternative text option in Unicast

How to create adverts to send out? 

You can use normal media to send out via Bluetooth marketing see the article in the link below for more details. Through our technolgy partners Eigo Ltd we offer a graphic design service for media content.

For more information please see this article on our website : How to create adverts to send out

Does it re-send to same mobile? 

Each campaign can only send once to any individual phone, the campaign will attempt sending to a phone numerous times until one of the following occurs

• The delivery succeeds
• The delivery is denied/rejected by the user of the phone
• The delivery is cancelled part way through by the user of the phone

Once one of the above has occurred that phone will not be sent to again under the current campaign. This behaviour cannot be overridden to re-test delivery simply create a new campaign and run it to try sending to your test device again.

How to Check if a Bluetooth Dongle is working? 

For detailed information on how to check this please see this article on our website : How to check if a Dongle is faulty or broken