Bluetooth Scanner sets system-wide keyboard, UITextFields wont show soft keyboard on responder

Question

This is a bit curly, and I am not sure there is an answer.

I have a simple application that uses a handheld bluetooth scanner paired to an iPhone to keep lists of pa

Answer 1

I think you've pretty much covered it.

According to HT4111:

You can stop using a Bluetooth accessory by either turning off the accessory, or turning off Bluetooth on iPad.

According to Gizmodo's 10 iPad Essential Tips & Tricks:

When you have a Bluetooth keyboard connected to your iPad, the virtual keyboard will cease to appear. (This is a good thing.) However, what if, for some random reason, you needed that virtual keyboard? Don't unpair your Bluetooth. Just... Hit the eject key on Apple's physical keyboard. It'll bring up the virtual one.

If there's an off button on the scanner, then hit that. If you have an actual bluetooth keyboard, then use that (or hit its eject button if it's an Apple keyboard). If you have control over the design of the scanner hardware, then you can add a "show keyboard" button (I'm not sure which keycode Apple uses for "eject") if turning it off is too tedious.

Answer 2

Socket Mobile just added a new "double tap" feature to their Bluetooth barcode scanner that lets you open the onscreen keboard. There's a video demo on YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/socketmobile