Mint - Bluetooth Issues
from Cold_Brew_Enema@lemmy.world to linux@lemmy.ml on 30 Dec 18:13
https://lemmy.world/post/23711894

Hello,

I am not able to figure out whatever bluetooth issues I am having. None of my devices stay connected and will never reconnect once disconnected. I have a pair of WH-XM4 and they will not stay connected. Here is what I tried so far:

Reinstall BlueZ

Check for blocking with rfkill

Restart Bluetooth, but I just get this error “Bluez Daemon is not running, blueman-manager cannot continue”

I’m at my wits end. Please help.

#linux

threaded - newest

vk6flab@lemmy.radio on 30 Dec 18:29 next collapse

You need to check the various logs, dmesg, syslog and probably manually start the services on a command line to see what errors they produce.

Telorand@reddthat.com on 30 Dec 18:41 next collapse

BlueZ has/had some problematic issues with connectivity. Bazzite and other distros had problems a few months ago that sound awfully similar to what you’re experiencing. I’m not as familiar with how Mint handles packages (like if they have their own repos with specific package versions), but it might be that your specific version is behind the fixes.

Cold_Brew_Enema@lemmy.world on 30 Dec 18:51 collapse

Hello, thanks for the response. I might have found the issue. Running dmesg I saw some errors, so I realized I never downloaded a driver for the Bluetooth dongle I’ve been using. I did and rebooted and now I don’t see the error anymore and my headphones are working.

I do appreciate the response. I want to daily drive linux and never go back to windows

vk6flab@lemmy.radio on 30 Dec 22:27 collapse

You’ll get there.

I’ve been doing it for over 25 years and although it’s been hard at times, I’ve never regretted it.

ExtremeDullard@lemmy.sdf.org on 30 Dec 19:48 next collapse

My experience with Bluetooth support in Linux is: you’re either using one of the very few problem-free BT controllers and it works okay most of the time, or you have more or less problems all of the time.

The least problematic controllers I own are ASUS USB-BT500. The most problematic are ASUS USB-BT400 and Realtek RTL8821CE.

The state of Bluetooth in Linux is completely terrible, it has been for many, many years and it’s hardly getting any better. Bluez, like Pulseaudio, needs to die, and sooner rather than later.

Cold_Brew_Enema@lemmy.world on 30 Dec 20:28 next collapse

Lol well I am using BT400 dongle, so that doesn’t bode too well. As a new user, why is Bluetooth so bad? Don’t love Windows, but at least Bluetooth is painless over there, for the most part

eugenia@lemmy.ml on 30 Dec 20:39 next collapse

Buy a supported usb bt dongle, they’re tiny. Better than fighting with models that don’t work well.

ExtremeDullard@lemmy.sdf.org on 30 Dec 21:53 collapse

A lot of those BT adapters are cheap shit. Like the aforementioned RTL8821CE: it’s a nasty hack to do wifi and BT using a single 2.4 GHz transponder. But here’s the thing: however bad they are, they’re made to work well in Windows - possibly with a lot of awful engineering shortcuts and hackery, but in the end, Windows users will never know and that’s the point.

When open-source developers try to make equivalent Linux drivers without documentation or help from the manufacturer, reverse-engineering their way around the general crappiness of the products, you get… well, not very good drivers. And it really is nobody’s fault but the unhelpful adapter’s manufacturer.

So there is that, and the general bugginess on BlueZ on top of it.

Cold_Brew_Enema@lemmy.world on 30 Dec 22:23 collapse

Thanks for the added context. That makes sense

spaghettiwestern@sh.itjust.works on 30 Dec 20:30 collapse

The most problematic are ASUS USB-BT400 and Realtek RTL8821CE

Can confirm. The Realtek adapter in my HP laptop is a major PITA. Both BT & wifi have problems that I’ve only able to partially resolve.

spaghettiwestern@sh.itjust.works on 30 Dec 20:34 next collapse

I have similar problems with devices disconnecting from my Realtek BT/wifi card. I was able to significantly reduce (but not completely eliminate) the problems by disabling power management for the BT adapter’s associated USB port.

hlqxz@lemmy.ml on 31 Dec 02:04 next collapse

I have several issues getting Bluetooth to work on my machine as well. I ended up getting a Linux compatible Bluetooth dongle and using bluetoothctl for managing connections. It’s still a very manual way to connect my headphones to my machine but I still prefer it over wires.

sic_semper_tyrannis@lemmy.today on 31 Dec 05:59 next collapse

Mint has been the most particular distro for bluetooth for me. I noticed there is a difference between “connecting” and “pairing”. I have to “pair” the first time my device is connected and then “connect” every subsequent time. If I pair the device to another computer I have to re-pair on Mint.

Xiisadaddy@lemmygrad.ml on 31 Dec 17:32 collapse

I agree with everyone saying just to get a new dongle. It’s not worth the headache spending hours trying to get one to work when you can get one that’ll work much better for pretty cheap. When i got my current laptop i specifically got a model that has ubuntu support from the manufacturer even tho i don’t run ubuntu. Because all the hardware in it will atleast be decently linux compatible if they want to ship it with ubuntu sometimes.

Also Mint is typically pretty good about drivers so if its not working on Mint then yeah its gonna be a pain to fix is my guess.