Bluetooth

2025-12-24T05:36:11Z

Acdw: Correct service -> rc-service

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluetooth Bluetooth] is a standard for the short-range wireless interconnection of cellular phones, computers, and other electronic devices. [https://www.bluez.org/ BlueZ] is an implementation of the Bluetooth protocol stack for Linux, and it is provided by the {{Pkg|bluez}} package.

This article describes the basic installation of Bluetooth controllers and devices.

== Prerequisites ==

* Set up [[Include:Setup Device Manager|eudev]]

== Installation ==

Basic installation requires the Installation of {{Pkg|bluez}} package as follows:{{Cmd|# apk add {{Pkg|bluez}}}}

Optionally install {{Pkg|bluez-deprecated}} if you need deprecated tools like <code>hcitool</code>

=== File transfer ===

To enable bluetooth file transfer, [[Install]] the {{Pkg|openobex}} package.

=== Front-ends ===

There are several front-ends available:

* The {{Pkg|bluez}} comes with the <code>bluetoothctl</code> front-end
* {{Pkg|blueman}}: a full-featured Bluetooth manager
* {{Pkg|bluedevil}}: the [[KDE]] Bluetooth manager
* {{Pkg|bluetuith}}: simple text-based bluetooth management user interface
* {{Pkg|gnome-bluetooth}}: the [[GNOME]] Bluetooth manager

== Configuration ==

Set up the bluetooth hardware first before connecting it to other devices. The steps involved are as follows:

Load the <code>btusb</code> kernel module: {{Cmd|# modprobe btusb}}
Add user <username> to the <code>lp</code> group: {{Cmd|# adduser <username> lp}}

=== Service configuration ===

It is necessary to set up the {{ic|bluetooth}} service before proceeding further.

Use standard '''start|stop|restart''' [[OpenRC]] command to start the {{ic|bluetooth}} service immediately: {{Cmd|# rc-service bluetooth start}}
Add the {{ic|bluetooth}} service to start during every boot: {{Cmd|# rc-update add bluetooth default}}

=== Verify the hardware ===

Now, check the state of the Bluetooth radio transmitter using <code>rfkill</code>: {{Cmd|$ rfkill list bluetooth}}

It should return something similar to:

0: hci0: Bluetooth
Soft blocked: no
Hard blocked: no

If the device is listed as blocked, it can be unblocked using the same tool: {{Cmd|# rfkill unblock bluetooth}}

{{Note|It may be necessary to [[OpenRC|restart]] the Bluetooth service before continuing.}}

=== Pairing with <code>bluetoothctl</code> ===

<code>bluetoothctl</code> tool can be run both in interactive and non-interactive mode. The non-interactive commands can be issued from the shell by suffixing <Code>bluetoothctl</Code> like {{ic|$ bluetoothctl list}} or {{ic|$ bluetoothctl power on}}.

The example below shows step-by-step procedure to configure a bluetooth adapter in interactive mode. Begin by starting <code>bluetoothctl</code> and follow these basic steps:

{{Cmd|$ bluetoothctl}}

The prompt should display:

[bluetooth]#

List the available controllers:

[bluetooth]# list

Display information about a controller:

[bluetooth]# show ''controller_mac_address''

Set the default controller:

[bluetooth]# select ''controller_mac_address''

Power on the controller:

[bluetooth]# power on

Enable the agent and set it as default:

[bluetooth]# agent on
[bluetooth]# default-agent

Set the controller as discoverable (temporarily for 3 minutes) and pairable:

[bluetooth]# discoverable on
[bluetooth]# pairable on

Scan for devices:

[bluetooth]# scan on

Put the device into pairing mode. This generally involves pressing a button or a combinations of buttons, usually for several seconds.

Discover the device MAC address:

[bluetooth]# devices

Pair with the device:

[bluetooth]# pair ''device_mac_address''

Enter the PIN if prompted:

[agent] PIN code: ####

Trust the device:

[bluetooth]# trust ''device_mac_address''

Connect to the device:

[bluetooth]# connect ''device_mac_address''

Display information about the device:

[bluetooth]# info ''device_mac_address''

The device is now paired:

[bluetooth]# quit

=== Set adapter power state ===

If you would like the adapter to not be automatically enabled (e.g. on a portable device where you wish to save battery), set <code>AutoEnable=false</code> in <code>/etc/bluetooth/main.conf</code> in the <code>[Policy]</code> section: {{Cat|/etc/bluetooth/main.conf|[Policy]
...
AutoEnable=false
...}}

=== Battery Reporting ===

An experimental feature can be enabled in order to report device battery level: {{Cat|/etc/bluetooth/main.conf|[General]
...
Experimental=true
...}}

== Troubleshooting ==

Due to the variety of available Bluetooth hardware it is possible that you receive errors while attempting to install, activate, or find your Bluetooth device.

=== "No default controller available" error ===

After having followed these instructions, or others, you run <code>bluetoothctl</code> and encounter the following scenario:

[bluetooth]# list
[bluetooth]# show
No default controller available

One possible solution is that you are missing firmware drivers.

Try running the following command to discover the source of the issue: {{Cmd|# dmesg | grep -i bluetooth | grep -i firmware}}

There are many firmware packages available that could likely solve the this problem (see {{Pkg|linux-firmware-*}}).

Another possible solution is to install {{Pkg|hidapi}} and add load the module: {{Cmd|# apk add hidapi
# modprobe uhid}}

It may also be necessary to create configuration to load the uhid and btusb kernel modules on boot: {{Cmd|cat <<EOF > /etc/modules-load.d/uhid.conf
#Load uhid kernel module:
uhid
EOF}}

{{Cmd|cat <<EOF > /etc/modules-load.d/btusb.conf
#Load btusb kernel module:
btusb
EOF}}

=== "org.bluez.Error.NotAvailable br-connection-profile-unavailable" ===

The error <code>br-connection-profile-unavailable</code> is sometimes produced when trying to connect a Bluetooth HID device but the <code>uhid</code> kernel module is not loaded. HID devices include keyboards and the volume buttons on headphones (which are sometimes presented to the OS as a keyboard), mice, game controllers, alphanumeric displays, etc.

The <code>uhid</code> kernel module is required for USB HID devices with drivers that are implemented in userspace, when userspace HID support is enabled.

Loading <code>uhid</code> with <code>modprobe</code> after encountering this error does not always fix the problem.

Try setting up <code>uhid</code> to load at boot, and then rebooting: {{Cmd|# cat <<EOF > /etc/modules-load.d/uhid.conf
#Load uhid kernel module:
uhid
EOF
# reboot}}

Alternatively, the userspace HID feature can be disabled entirely in favour of kernel HIDP drivers in <code>/etc/bluetooth/input.conf</code>: {{Cmd|1=UserspaceHID=false}}

If running [[PipeWire]], you may also try installing {{Pkg|pipewire-spa-bluez}} to see if that solves the issue.

=== Unable to control Bluetooth speaker volume / Bluetooth output is muted (Pulseaudio) ===

It is possible to automatically switch audio output and volume control to last connected device.

This can solve the problem of controlling the speaker volume when switching between Bluetooth devices.

Append the following lines at the end of the {{Path|/etc/pulse/default.pa}}: {{Cat|/etc/pulse/default.pa|...
###Automatically switch audio to the most recently connected device (Bluetooth, HDMI, USB)
load-module module-switch-on-connect}}

=== Failed to connect: org.bluez.Error.NotReady br-connection-adapter-not-powered ===

The error code <code>Failed to connect: org.bluez.Error.NotReady br-connection-adapter-not-powered</code> may appear after resuming from suspend. This error can be resolved by issuing the command:{{Cmd|$ bluetoothctl power on}}

=== Failed to connect: org.bluez.Error.Failed br-connection-unknown ===

When trying to connect to a bluetooth speaker, If you receive the following error message {{Cmd|$ bluetoothctl connect 88:C6:26:0A:7D:F1
Attempting to connect to 88:C6:26:0A:7D:F1
Failed to connect: org.bluez.Error.Failed br-connection-unknown}}
Check the following {{Cmd|<nowiki>$ bluetoothctl info
Missing device address argument
DeviceSet (null) not available</nowiki>}}

The above errors may appear after resuming from suspend. In such cases, resolve it by restarting {{ic|bluetooth}} service: {{Cmd|$ doas rc-service bluetooth restart}}

=== dbus-daemon[2431]: [system] Rejected send message error name="org.bluez.Profile1.Error.NotImplemented" ===

Jul 19 20:54:59 homepc2 auth.notice dbus-daemon[2431]: [system] Rejected send message, 0 matched rules; type="error", sender=":1.119" (uid=1000 pid=10213 comm="/usr/bin/wireplumber") interface="(unset)" member="(unset)" error name="org.bluez.Profile1.Error.NotImplemented" requested_reply="0" destination=":1.661" (uid=0 pid=11828 comm="/usr/lib/bluetooth/bluetoothd")

To make the above error message in {{path|/var/log/message}} to disappear, enable the following {{Cat|/etc/bluethooth/main.conf|<nowiki>
[General]
...
# Enables D-Bus experimental interfaces
# Possible values: true or false
Experimental = true
...
</nowiki>}}

== See also ==
* [[PulseAudio#Bluetooth|PulseAudio with Bluetooth]]
* [[PipeWire#Bluetooth_audio|PipeWire with Bluetooth]]
* [https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/Bluetooth Bluetooth entry on PostmarketOS Wiki]
* [https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Bluetooth Bluetooth entry on Gentoo Wiki]
* [https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Bluetooth Bluetooth entry on ArchWiki]

[[Category:Multimedia]]
[[Category:Hardware]]
[[Category:Sound]]
[[Category:Drivers]]

Alpine Linux - User contributions [en]

Bluetooth