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BT Ferry (Bass BT Ferry)

Availability: BT Ferry ships on Bass: Lineout Android 16 (Lineage 23.2) builds that enable the bass-btferry addon (--btferry). It is not available on Android 14 / Lineage 21.0 images yet.

BT Ferry is a privileged Bluetooth phone ferry for Wi‑Fi/Bluetooth-only tablets and desktops that have no cellular modem. Pair an Android phone or iPhone over Classic Bluetooth; everyday phone presence (messages, contacts, calls, and media audio when supported) appears on the larger Bass Desktop surface. The phone keeps the cellular radio — there is no cloud relay.

   
Package com.bass.btferry
Addon id bass-btferry
Build flag --btferry / USE_BTFERRY=true
Also see User guide

What it does

Feature Bluetooth profile Notes
Contacts sync PBAP Phonebook into the platform PBAP client account
SMS inbox + send MAP MMS/RCS/iMessage chrome are best-effort / OEM-dependent
Answer / reject / hang up HFP Hands-Free Call audio via SCO when the stack routes it
Phone media on Desktop speakers A2DP Sink + AVRCP External-speaker mode + transport when the phone publishes metadata

How to enable (A16 Lineout)

On a Lineage 23.2 workspace with the addon cloned under vendor/ax86-lite/addons/bass-btferry/:

./build.sh --btferry
# or
USE_BTFERRY=true

The addon stages into device/generic/x86_64_tablet/ax86-addons/BassBtFerry/ and inherits product Bluetooth accessory props (MAP/PBAP/HFP client, A2DP sink, SMS receiver package → com.bass.btferry).

First-run checklist

  1. Flash an image built with --btferry.
  2. Confirm accessory props, e.g. getprop bluetooth.profile.a2dp.sink.enabled → true (also MAP/PBAP/HFP client roles and bluetooth.profile.map_client.sms_receiver_package → com.bass.btferry).
  3. Open BT Ferry → Bluetooth settings → pair the phone.
  4. Back in BT Ferry, select the phone / connect (PBAP + MAP + HFP + A2DP).
  5. Approve contacts / messages / phonebook prompts on the phone.
  6. Sync contacts, send a test SMS, place or receive a call, and confirm Desktop speakers for phone media.

Non-goals (current)

  • Guaranteed MMS/RCS or rich iMessage decorations
  • Full Messages/iCloud history browser
  • Arbitrary phone-app notification mirroring (optional iPhone ANCS later)
  • Pretending the Desktop is the cellular modem