Connection Options

ConnectionOptions (ConnectionOptions) controls how IBluetoothRemoteDevice.ConnectAsync() establishes a connection: permission behavior, retry logic, whether to wait for an advertisement first, and platform-specific parameters. It's passed per call, not DI-configured — see the type's generated page for the full property list.

Basic Usage

var options = new ConnectionOptions
{
    PermissionStrategy = PermissionRequestStrategy.RequestAutomatically,
    ConnectionRetry = RetryOptions.Default,
    WaitForAdvertisementBeforeConnecting = false
};

await device.ConnectAsync(options);

Platform-Specific Options

  • Android (AndroidConnectionOptions): AutoConnect, ConnectionPriority, TransportType, PreferredPhy (API 26+), and per-operation ServiceDiscoveryRetry/GattWriteRetry/GattReadRetry.
  • Apple (AppleConnectionOptions): NotifyOnConnection/NotifyOnDisconnection/NotifyOnNotification, EnableTransportBridging and RequiresAncs (iOS 13+).
  • Windows (WindowsConnectionOptions): see the generated reference — Windows exposes fewer connection-time knobs than Android/Apple.

Best Practices

  • Always set retry logic. Connection failures are common, especially Android GATT error 133 — prefer RetryOptions.Aggressive over RetryOptions.None in production.
  • Disable AutoConnect on Android. Direct connections are faster and more predictable; AutoConnect = true is rarely what you want.
  • Match ConnectionPriority to the use case — High for real-time audio/control, LowPower for periodic sensor reads (see Enumerations for the trade-off table).
  • Add GATT operation retries on Android (ServiceDiscoveryRetry, GattWriteRetry, GattReadRetry) for unreliable devices.
  • Set WaitForAdvertisementBeforeConnecting = true for devices with intermittent advertising.
  • Use conditional platform blocks (options.Android = ... / options.Apple = ...) rather than assuming one platform's option shape works everywhere.
Edit this page