I'm developing a stereo headset with Bluetooth using the classic profiles (HFP, A2DP, AVRCP) as one would expect Ina stereo headset. However, I want to deploy a remote control app for iOS, and use it simultaneously to the other classic links, but the dual-mode chipset I'm working with in my design does not behave as I'd expect;
The headset is setup as a peripheral, letting the iOS device act as central. As such, the peripheral advertise its BLE services (with my specific 128-bit UUIDs) and all is good. I can browse the peripheral from any central, but only when I'm not connected with classic profiles (e.g., while not streaming audio).
My device does not seem to be able to advertise BLE, while connected with HFP and/or A2DP! However, I have seen demos of the same chipset acting as BLE central, scanning and connecting to other BLE peripherals, while simultaneously streaming audio via A2DP. However, in that setup the device was acting as A2DP sink connected to an iPhone, while scanning/connecting via BLE to a third unit acting as BLE peripheral. Hence, not point-to-point with both Classic and Smart Bluetooth to the same device.
Is there a dual-mode constraint that one cannot act as peripheral while supporting/connecting to Bluetooth Classic profiles? And that only Central-mode is supported in that case?
FYI, I'm using CSR's 8670 chipset.
New answer added. My apologies for not clarifying/cleaning-up my previous answer until now -- time flies!
You learn as long as you live, I suppose, and this question's answer is NOT that it's not supported which I claimed earlier (based on what I thought I knew).
The short and clean answer to dual-mode and headset development on CSR-chipsets is simply that it was a constraint in the CSR bluetooth stack on earlier SDKs.
The Bluetooth SIG has never not supported dual-mode acting as Peripheral while being connected via classic links to the same device. On the contrary, it clearly spec. how such interoperability should be carried out -- but that doesn't always mean that all BT-stack implementations out there are capable of such functionality.
Hence; Using the latest devtools and the latest Bluetooth firmwares/stacks from CSR has resolved all issues and dual-mode is now fully, and actually quite nicely I might add, supported on the CSR8670/75 chipsets.