Hi all!
For those who don’t know me: I’m the creator of SimpleBLE, a cross-platform Bluetooth Low Energy library built out of our own frustration with the ecosystem. We now have an Unreal plugin on Fab for people who need BLE from Blueprint or C++ without owning the OS glue on every target.
What it is, concretely: a BLE central. Scan, connect, inspect services/characteristics, then read, write, and subscribe to notifications. Same workflow on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android. Built for UE 5.4 through 5.8.
Shape of the API (illustrative) in C++, Blueprints use the same operations:
// AHeartRateActor::BeginPlay()
auto adapter = SimpleBLE::Adapter::get_adapters()[0];
adapter.scan_for(5000);
auto peripheral = adapter.results()[0];
peripheral.connect();
peripheral.notify(hr_svc, hr_char, [this](ByteArray data) {
// live sensor data into Unreal
});
We think this is great for projects that want to incorporate real-life devices into their environments or AR/VR setups, things like fitness trackers, haptics, wearables or even companion apps for custom hardware.
Honest limits:
- BLE only — not Classic serial (SPP), not HID gamepad pairing.
- Central only — for now, Peripheral mode is in the works but not ready for prime time yet.
- Quest support — is still considered experimental. If you are on Quest, reach out and we’ll do our best to support your needs.
Important Links:
- Fab Listing: SimpleBLE for Unreal Engine | Fab
- SimpleBLE for Unreal: Unreal Engine Bluetooth Plugin | SimpleBLE for Unreal Engine
- Docs: https://docs.simpleble.org
- Core library source: GitHub - simpleble/simpleble: SimpleBLE - the all-in-one Bluetooth library for MacOS, iOS, Windows, Linux and Android. · GitHub
Want to know more about SimpleBLE’s capabilities or see what others are building with it? Ask away!