Connect Bluetooth Devices with TUXEDO Notebooks - TUXEDO Computers

Connections via Bluetooth with headphones, headsets or Ear Pods do not always work right away. We provide assistance and tips on how to work around problems.

Bluetooth is an industry standard that has been used since the late 1990s for the wireless transmission of data such as music, videos or images between compatible devices over short distances using radio waves. PCs, notebooks, tablets, smartphones and other devices sold today generally support the standard. Currently, the Bluetooth protocol 5.4, which was introduced in February 2023, is current.

Technical backgrounds

Bluetooth uses different profiles for different tasks. While the A2DP (short for “Advanced Audio Distribution Profile”) profile is intended for the transmission of music, HSP (“Headset Profile”) is used for the transmission of voice via headsets. Radio communication takes place in the frequency range between 2.402 GHz and 2.480 GHz.

Bluetooth is still the standard for fast and simple transmissions between two devices, but is being partially displaced by WLAN. This is due to the disadvantages of Bluetooth, such as the restriction to short distances of usually around 10 metres and the susceptibility to interference from nearby routers or cordless telephones that transmit on similar frequency ranges to the range used by Bluetooth.

Bluetooth under Linux

Set up connection via the graphical interface

The official implementation of Bluetooth in Linux is done via the protocol stack BlueZ, with which the user usually does not interact directly. You as the user communicate via graphical tools in your respective desktop environment. In GNOME, GNOME Bluetooth takes over this task. TUXEDO OS uses KDE Plasma, which includes the package Bluedevil.

You will find the application in the system settings under the tab Bluetooth. The first time the module is switched on, it is deactivated. After activation, you will see the button Add new device at the bottom right. Bluedevil then searches for devices in the vicinity that support Bluetooth. For some devices it is sufficient to switch them on, others must also be set to pairing mode. The name of the devices found does not always reveal which device it is. When you have identified the desired device, click on it to complete the connection (pairing).

To analyze problems: Bluetooth via terminal

Since the detection does not always work reliably, you can resort to the command line in such cases. The command bluetoothctl serves this purpose. By entering the command without arguments, you open an interactive mode in which you can then make Bluetooth settings.

If you enter the argument help at this point, all available commands are listed with a short explanation that you can use for configuration. First, you can display the capabilities of the Bluetooth controller with the command show.

It is important that the capabilities Powered, Pairable and Discoverable are all marked with yes. If this is not the case, switch them on with power on, discoverable on or pairable on.

If you see an error message like Failed to set power on: org.bluez.Error.Failed, start the service via the Bluetooth module mentioned above in the system settings.

Now you are ready to connect your devices. To do this, you first need the MAC address of the device to be connected. To do this, use the command scan on. The tool then outputs discovery started and searches for available devices. You can see the devices found with the command devices.

The MAC address is in the output of the found devices directly after Device. Copy this MAC address and append it to the pair command, in this example pair 60:AB:D2:3F:31:9D. Depending on the device type, for example when connecting to smartphones, you will be asked to allow the connection.

Depending on the device to be connected, the connection in the system settings or on the command line succeeds without problems at the first attempt, but may also require several attempts. If error messages appear, the quickest solution is to switch the module off and on in the system settings and try again. If you see the term blocked in an output, use the command rfkill list all to check whether Bluetooth is blocked.

If you see a yes in the output, unblock it with the command sudo rfkill unblock bluetooth. If you use Bluetooth to copy data from your smartphone to your desktop, for example, we recommend the outstanding application KDE Connect as an alternative. You can also find out how to control already connected headsets under Linux in a separate article.