# Detect MAC addresses of nearby Bluetooth devices
**URL:** https://community.particle.io/t/detect-mac-addresses-of-nearby-bluetooth-devices/39267
**Category:** Cloud
**Created:** [February 8, 2018, 11:18pm UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/detect-mac-addresses-of-nearby-bluetooth-devices/39267 "2018-02-08T23:18:44Z")
**Posts on this page:** 16
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Jimmie](https://community.particle.io/u/Jimmie)
#### Post date: [February 8, 2018, 11:18pm UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/detect-mac-addresses-of-nearby-bluetooth-devices/39267/1 "2018-02-08T23:18:44Z")
Hello:
Is there any example code showing how to detect all nearby Bluetooth devices to a Photon?
For example I want to be able to read the address of all mobile phones in the vicinity …
Do the Bluetooth devices have to have turned their discovery ON?
Thanks.
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### Author:  [@Moors7](https://community.particle.io/u/Moors7)
#### Post date: [February 8, 2018, 11:42pm UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/detect-mac-addresses-of-nearby-bluetooth-devices/39267/2 "2018-02-08T23:42:21Z")
Are you using a bluetooth radio with your Photon?
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### Author:  [@Jimmie](https://community.particle.io/u/Jimmie)
#### Post date: [February 8, 2018, 11:43pm UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/detect-mac-addresses-of-nearby-bluetooth-devices/39267/3 "2018-02-08T23:43:49Z")
Thank you Moors7.
I do not have anything built yet so I am open to any hardware needed …
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### Author:  [@Moors7](https://community.particle.io/u/Moors7)
#### Post date: [February 8, 2018, 11:45pm UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/detect-mac-addresses-of-nearby-bluetooth-devices/39267/4 "2018-02-08T23:45:03Z")
Depending on what it is you want to do, you might want to look into [bluz.io](http://bluz.io)
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### Author:  [@Jimmie](https://community.particle.io/u/Jimmie)
#### Post date: [February 8, 2018, 11:46pm UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/detect-mac-addresses-of-nearby-bluetooth-devices/39267/5 "2018-02-08T23:46:26Z")
I am just trying to detect Bluetooth devices at one location and then at another location … I do not want to connect to them, just discover them …
I am familiar with Bluz but need more computing power …
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### Author:  [@BulldogLowell](https://community.particle.io/u/BulldogLowell)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2018, 12:05am UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/detect-mac-addresses-of-nearby-bluetooth-devices/39267/6 "2018-02-09T00:05:40Z")
> **[Bluefruit LE - Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE 4.0) - nRF8001 Breakout](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1697)**
>
> Our Adafruit Bluefruit LE (Bluetooth Smart, Bluetooth Low Energy, Bluetooth 4.0) nRF8001 Breakout allows you to establish an easy to use wireless link between your Arduino and any compatible ...
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### Author:  [@Jimmie](https://community.particle.io/u/Jimmie)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2018, 12:22am UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/detect-mac-addresses-of-nearby-bluetooth-devices/39267/7 "2018-02-09T00:22:22Z")
Thank you @BulldogLowell.
Will this module be able to sniff device addresses in its vicinity?
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### Author:  [@BulldogLowell](https://community.particle.io/u/BulldogLowell)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2018, 12:36am UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/detect-mac-addresses-of-nearby-bluetooth-devices/39267/8 "2018-02-09T00:36:59Z")
I’d search the Adafruit webpage for bluetooth sniffing
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### Author:  [@Jimmie](https://community.particle.io/u/Jimmie)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2018, 12:38am UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/detect-mac-addresses-of-nearby-bluetooth-devices/39267/9 "2018-02-09T00:38:42Z")
No results with that query …
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### Author:  [@BulldogLowell](https://community.particle.io/u/BulldogLowell)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2018, 12:40am UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/detect-mac-addresses-of-nearby-bluetooth-devices/39267/10 "2018-02-09T00:40:39Z")
> **[BLE Sniffer | Introducing the Adafruit Bluefruit LE Friend | Adafruit Learning...](https://learn.adafruit.com/introducing-adafruit-ble-bluetooth-low-energy-friend/ble-sniffer)**
>
> Your new BLE BFF!
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### Author:  [@Jimmie](https://community.particle.io/u/Jimmie)
#### Post date: [February 9, 2018, 12:43am UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/detect-mac-addresses-of-nearby-bluetooth-devices/39267/11 "2018-02-09T00:43:03Z")
Thanks a million. 😀 Will check it out.
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### Author:  [@jorgos](https://community.particle.io/u/jorgos)
#### Post date: [April 25, 2018, 7:36pm UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/detect-mac-addresses-of-nearby-bluetooth-devices/39267/12 "2018-04-25T19:36:34Z")
Hey! Did you manage to look into this any further? I’m interested in doing the same thing, detecting nearby bluetooth devices, not directly communicating with them. Thanks so much!
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### Author:  [@Jimmie](https://community.particle.io/u/Jimmie)
#### Post date: [April 25, 2018, 7:54pm UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/detect-mac-addresses-of-nearby-bluetooth-devices/39267/13 "2018-04-25T19:54:52Z")
Hello @jorgos
It is apparently very complicated to do if the devices are not advertising. So basically got no where …
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### Author:  [@jorgos](https://community.particle.io/u/jorgos)
#### Post date: [April 26, 2018, 11:14am UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/detect-mac-addresses-of-nearby-bluetooth-devices/39267/14 "2018-04-26T11:14:30Z")
Aha, what does ‘advertising’ mean for phones? That you need to have the Bluetooth settings open or just turned on? I’ve experimented with a regular RaspberryPi and its integrated bluetooth was able to detect my phone and bluetooth signal strength when the phone was locked. I was hoping to do the same with an Electron or other 3G board.
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### Author:  [@Jimmie](https://community.particle.io/u/Jimmie)
#### Post date: [April 26, 2018, 3:28pm UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/detect-mac-addresses-of-nearby-bluetooth-devices/39267/15 "2018-04-26T15:28:51Z")
Advertising not only means Bluetooth on, but for modern phones means also scanning.
When this is not the case, for privacy, phones mask their true mac and may change it.
This is why quite often sniffing is only possible for very high end devices, and even then with high misses \> 40%.
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### Author:  [@jorgos](https://community.particle.io/u/jorgos)
#### Post date: [April 26, 2018, 4:39pm UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/detect-mac-addresses-of-nearby-bluetooth-devices/39267/16 "2018-04-26T16:39:27Z")
Thanks, very interesting!! I guess I assumed it would be possible based on that test with a raspberry pi and my iPhone (6), but maybe not. What do you mean by “high end devices”? Phones or sniffers?