Bluetoothctl: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 17:37, 30 July 2025

Bluetoothctl is a command-line tool used to interact with the Bluetooth subsystem on Linux systems. It provides a text-based interface for managing Bluetooth devices, including discovering, pairing, connecting, and configuring Bluetooth devices.

Key Features of Bluetoothctl:

Device Discovery: Scan for nearby Bluetooth devices.
Pairing: Pair with Bluetooth devices.
Connecting: Establish a connection with paired devices.
Trusting: Mark devices as trusted to allow automatic connections in the future.
Agent Management: Manage Bluetooth agents, which handle pairing requests and PIN/passkey entry.
Power Control: Turn Bluetooth on or off.
Device Information: Retrieve information about connected and discovered devices.

Reference: https://usercomp.com/news/1466027/bluetooth-headset-pairing-issue-in-linux

Check bluetooth service

$ sudo systemctl status bluetooth

Enable Bluetooth Adapter

Use rfkill command.

$ rfkill list all
$ sudo rfkill unblock bluetooth

Scan Bluetooth Devices

$ sudo bluetoothctl scan on
Discovery started
.
.
.

See Bluetooth Devices

$ bluetoothctl devices

$ bluetoothctl devices | grep -i mx
Device D6:A3:C1:F9:2C:21 MX Master 3S
Device C7:A2:BB:7F:F3:49 MX Anywhere 2S

Pair and Connect a Bluetooth Device

$ dzdo bluetoothctl pair <device MAC>

$ dzdo bluetoothctl pair D6:A3:C1:F9:2C:21
Attempting to pair with D6:A3:C1:F9:2C:21
[CHG] Device D6:A3:C1:F9:2C:21 Paired: yes
Pairing successful

Once the pairing is complete, you need to connect the Bluetooth device:

$ sudo bluetoothctl connect D6:A3:C1:F9:2C:21
 Attempting to connect to D6:A3:C1:F9:2C:21
 Connection successful

Trusting a Bluetooth Device

If the pairing failed due to error "AuthenticationRejected", you may have to trust it first:

$ dzdo bluetoothctl pair D6:A3:C1:F9:2C:21
Attempting to pair with D6:A3:C1:F9:2C:21
Failed to pair: org.bluez.Error.AuthenticationRejected

$ dzdo bluetoothctl trust D6:A3:C1:F9:2C:21
[CHG] Device D6:A3:C1:F9:2C:21 Trusted: yes
Changing D6:A3:C1:F9:2C:21 trust succeeded

$ dzdo bluetoothctl pair D6:A3:C1:F9:2C:21
Attempting to pair with D6:A3:C1:F9:2C:21
[CHG] Device D6:A3:C1:F9:2C:21 Paired: yes
Pairing successful

@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 * <b>Power Control</b>: Turn Bluetooth on or off.
 * <b>Device Information</b>: Retrieve information about connected and discovered devices.
+Reference: https://usercomp.com/news/1466027/bluetooth-headset-pairing-issue-in-linux
 ====Check bluetooth service====
 ----
   $ sudo systemctl status bluetooth
 ====Enable Bluetooth Adapter====
 ----
-Use <b>rfkill</b> command.
+Use [[Rfkill|<b>rfkill</b>]] command.
   $ rfkill list all
   $ sudo rfkill unblock bluetooth
 ====Scan Bluetooth Devices====
@@ Line 30: / Line 32: @@
   .
   .
 ====See Bluetooth Devices====
@@ Line 39: / Line 40: @@
   Device D6:A3:C1:F9:2C:21 MX Master 3S
   Device C7:A2:BB:7F:F3:49 MX Anywhere 2S
 ====Pair and Connect a Bluetooth Device====
@@ Line 54: / Line 54: @@
    Attempting to connect to D6:A3:C1:F9:2C:21
    Connection successful
 ====Trusting a Bluetooth Device====