Sage Security issues?

[pavelh]

Hi,
so I've been playing with my Sage for two days now and this strange thing caught my attention.
My settings are:
Wi Fi OFF
Bluetooth OFF

But when I near my phone (which has bluetooth capabilities but has bluetooth turned OFF) to Sage, Bluetooth gets turned ON all on its own and Wi Fi gets turned ON as well!

Am I just not getting something or is this a golden opportunity for hackers to access your files stored on Sage? Seems to me like you don't want to carry any confidential material on it :-/
Or, I hope, I am totally wrong and I am simply not getting something.

Video of the whole process, where I deliberately turn both wifi and btooth OFF first, before activating them both again by simply moving the phone closer (time: 00:00:47):
https://mega.nz/file/YKhEWaAD#uv9ghX...-HxmZ_NdHpH4z8


PH

[Sirtel]

Bluetooth on the Sage activates every time you look at its setting (yes, only look, without touching the screen). And it activates wifi too. You can't check the bluetooth setting without turning it and wifi on. That, IMO, is a bug.

[pavelh]

OMG, you're right!
I don't need to leave the phone nearby. All I have to do is open the bluetooth settings page. I just picked up my neighbour's TV on Sage (not to be taken literally of course)!
If that is the case, then it might be avoidable by simply not going there, but still... OMG! What a clusterfu*k!
(sorry for the vulgar term, but it is so precise in this situation IMHO)
PH

[Lynx-lynx]

i know right, to check that wifi and bluetooth are off, they auto turn on, so you can turn them off

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by Lynx-lynx

i know right, to check that wifi and bluetooth are off, they auto turn on, so you can turn them off

I really hope it is not a feature.

[pavelh]

re: I really hope it is not a feature.

having many experiences with Microsoft actually using the words "by design"... like "it is not a bug, it is by design", LOL ;-) I hope Kobo never goes this way!

BTW I let them know about this issue a few minutes ago. Let's see what they come up with!


PH

[Lynx-lynx]

thank you Pavelh

[martinot]

Originally Posted by pavelh

re: I really hope it is not a feature.

having many experiences with Microsoft actually using the words "by design"... like "it is not a bug, it is by design", LOL ;-) I hope Kobo never goes this way!

BTW I let them know about this issue a few minutes ago. Let's see what they come up with!


PH

Kobo claims it is done like that on purpose.

[pavelh]

@martinot
Did a Kobo representative specifically tell you that?

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by Lynx-lynx

i know right, to check that wifi and bluetooth are off, they auto turn on, so you can turn them off

If you know it's on. Isn't this a potential battery draining "feature?"

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by rcentros

If you know it's on. Isn't this a potential battery draining "feature?"

Except, is it actually doing anything? From what I can see, the Bluetooth isn't visible except when connecting to a device. And then when playing an audiobook. Doing some testing here, my other device or laptop do not see the Sage except when it is actively trying to pair. It isn't showing up at other times. It is likely that, like WiFi, Bluetooth is off and not using power except when it is in use.

[martinot]

Originally Posted by pavelh

@martinot
Did a Kobo representative specifically tell you that?

If it was not obvious it was a joke along yours with MS.

[BiliBug]

Originally Posted by davidfor

Except, is it actually doing anything? From what I can see, the Bluetooth isn't visible except when connecting to a device. And then when playing an audiobook. Doing some testing here, my other device or laptop do not see the Sage except when it is actively trying to pair. It isn't showing up at other times. It is likely that, like WiFi, Bluetooth is off and not using power except when it is in use.

Generally, if the Bluetooth or WiFi “radio” is enabled, it is hammering the airwaves looking for a connection. That uses power, regardless as to whether it is actually connected to another device/modem.

[John F]

Originally Posted by davidfor

Except, is it actually doing anything? From what I can see, the Bluetooth isn't visible except when connecting to a device. And then when playing an audiobook. Doing some testing here, my other device or laptop do not see the Sage except when it is actively trying to pair. It isn't showing up at other times. It is likely that, like WiFi, Bluetooth is off and not using power except when it is in use.

If bluetooth is on, wouldn't it need to do something once in a while to connect to headphones?

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by John F

If bluetooth is on, wouldn't it need to do something once in a while to connect to headphones?

Yes, but, it could also say, "I'm not actually playing anything, so why don't I just not do anything. And when I'm asked to play something, then I will try and connect."

And a quick test seems to back this up. The steps I did were:

1. Closed the book I was reading.
2. Opened an audiobook. This show "No Bluetooth Connected".
3. I tapped the play button on the Sage.
4. The pairing dialog showed. It showed my wireless earphones as a saved device. But, they were in the case and not available to pair.
5. After a few moment, the TV showed up.
6. I paired to the TV and the book started playing.
7. After a few seconds, I exited the book player.
8. After a few more seconds, I opened the book player again. This showed the device was still paired and when I hit play, it started.
9. Then I exited the book player again. The TV still showed it was paired (had it's player app up and showed the details of the device and book).
10. After a few minutes, the TV changed to say "Ready to connect".
11. I waited another couple of five minutes and opened the audibook again. The device hadn't gone to sleep in this time. This showed "No Bluetooth Connected".
12. I left it there for a couple of minutes while I caught up on typing these steps. The Bluetooth status did not change.
13. Tapping play brought up the device list with not connected devices. After a few moment, it paired to the TV and the device list closed.
14. I had to tap the play button to actually play the book.
15. Stopping, waiting and then opening the player again, showed the no connected device.
16. Opening the Bluetooth on my phone and my laptop and scanning for Bluetooth devices did not show the Sage. But, as it is the host device, I don't know what these should show.

All that says to me that the Bluetooth is not actually active except when playing an audiobook and maybe for a short time afterwards. It is definitely dropping the connection to the audio device within five minutes of stopping playing a book. And it isn't automatically connecting to an audio device when I open a book. It is by no means conclusive, but, I really don't think that the Bluetooth is continuously scanning or announcing itself when the audiobook player is not active.