BTProximity: Lock and Unlock PC when Bluetooth phone is in range

March 25, 2010 by Dave
 

BTProximity is an application for Windows Vista and Windows 7 that can detect when your bluetooth-enabled phone has come into range, and unlock your computer.  When the device moves out of range, the computer is automatically locked.  This isn’t a fake lock window, the computer is locked using Windows Security.

BTProximity is donationware, if you like it, please donate!

Download (Windows Vista/7 only – x86 and x64)

BTProximity (ClickOnce Installer)

Notes

- The device needs to be paired with Windows first, then it will show up in the devices list.  If you don’t pair the device, secure mode will need to be disabled in order for the device to appear.

- Be sure to install the unlock component if you’d like to automatically unlock.

- Be sure to set the credentials to unlock.

- Setting the check interval too high may lead to poor battery life.

- “Faster Unlock” will unlock as soon as the device has been seen, without an additional check.

- Notification area icon colors:

Gray: Host device is not compatible or not found.

Red:  Device is not connected (out of range)

Green: Device is connected (in range)

Comments

10 Comments on BTProximity: Lock and Unlock PC when Bluetooth phone is in range

  1. Joseph Harris on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 10:42 am

    2. This is an awesome little program. I can’t select my Bluetooth device though. It just searches and searches and doesn’t seem to be able to find it. Could it be because I’m using BlueSoleil instead of Windows 7’s built-in Bluetooth?

    Also, in a future release, would it be possible to have it lock and unlock based on signal strength rather than whether there is a connection at all? This would effectively let the user set “range.”

  2. Dave on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 2:29 pm

    3. @Joseph Harris Thanks for using my app!

    I do think you need to use either the Microsoft or Widcomm bluetooth stack, if that isn’t possible I don’t believe you’d be able to use this software.

    I’ll see what I can do about range – while that may be novel and useful for some people, I think pinging the phone so often will likely result in very poor battery life.

  3. Eric on Wed, 12th May 2010 12:51 pm

    4. Hey, I tried using this on windows 7 x64…. the lock part works fine, but it will never “unlock” when I return to my office… which is the part I would love to work. Any ideas?

  4. Dave on Wed, 12th May 2010 1:16 pm

    5. @Eric -

    I think I have overlooked something with x64 support. I develop on x64 and it works on my machine, but some missing dependency or condition is causing it to fail for others. I’m looking into it and hopefully I’ll have an update soon.

  5. VictorE on Thu, 13th May 2010 2:41 pm

    6. i installed bt proximity on my windows 7 desktop. when i reboot the pc, the “install unlock” button is not greyed out, which i assume to mean i need to click it to enable it.

    do i need to do this each time i reboot?

  6. Pete on Fri, 14th May 2010 4:18 pm

    7. Great app, simple and functional. Many thanks.
    Ive got it working first time on x64 win7, windows bluetooth stack and nokia phone.

  7. Dave on Fri, 14th May 2010 8:08 pm

    8. @VictorE – you don’t need to install it more than once, but the program doesn’t remember the state of the component install. This will be fixed in a future version.

  8. Owen Palmer on Sat, 26th Jun 2010 9:08 am

    9. I’m also finding the unlock a problem and I’m running Win7 32bit. I’ve entered my login credentials, and installed the unlock bit.

    It does lock the computer, and going by the menu, it does recongnise my phone at the unlock time within the limit I have set, however it just doesn’t unlock the computer. My comp is a Dell Latitude 6500 and it has a Widcomm bluetooth stack.

  9. VictorE on Fri, 16th Jul 2010 9:28 pm

    10. My Windows 7 workstation does not unlock when I bring my iPhone near it. My desktop locks, it just doesn’t unlock. Are there any troubleshooting steps I need to follow?

  10. Jag on Tue, 3rd Aug 2010 12:53 am

    11. Hi
    I am trying to use this software on window xp tablet edition service pack 3
    it sees the phone and does its periodic pings but
    and
    it does not let me log off or shutdown the computer while the btproximity program is running. I have to manually close the program and then
    i am using the latest micrsoft bluetooth drivers. also is it possible for me to use this installation with multiple users without reinstalling for each.

    Regards
    Jag