How to Set Up Bluetooth in Linux

With the increasing prevalence of Bluetooth peripherals such as mice, keyboards, and headsets, it can be difficult to imagine using the wired versions of these devices sometimes. On some Linux distributions, Bluetooth is set up perfectly for you straight out of the box. Distributions like Ubuntu and Elementary make it easy for you to get Bluetooth set up and working on your machine. However, other distributions like Fedora and Arch Linux require you to do some setup before you’re able to fully enjoy the benefits of Bluetooth on your machine. Here is how you can set up Bluetooth in Linux.

How to Set Up Bluetooth on Your Linux Machine

The steps will vary a little across distributions, but the basic steps are the same. If your distribution doesn’t already have Bluetooth set up for you, you will first need to install Bluez, which contains the driver stack for Bluetooth adapters as well as utilities for the CLI administration of Bluetooth.

After installing Bluez, you may need to install a Bluetooth manager. Some desktop environments have built-in Bluetooth managers. For example, KDE Plasma has the KDE Bluetooth client. Gnome also has a built-in client. If you are using a desktop environment that doesn’t have a built-in client, you can install the Blueman client.

How to Install Bluez

Below are instructions on how to install Bluez on a few different distributions.

Debian

sudo apt-get install bluez*

OpenSUSE

With OpenSUSE, you have to install bluez with the Open Build Service.

Fedora

sudo dnf install bluez bluez-tools

Arch Linux

sudo pacman -S bluez bluez-utils

Other Package Managers

Bluez works with all Linux distributions. If you have a different package manager than the distributions above, have no fear. You will just need to search for bluez in your package manager, then install everything that includes the term bluez.

How to Install Blueman

Find out how to install Blueman on various Linux distributions below.

Debian

sudo apt-get install blueman

OpenSUSE

sudo zypper install blueman

Fedora

sudo dnf install blueman

Arch Linux

sudo pacman -S blueman

Other Distributions

To install Blueman on your Linux distributions, you should search the package manager in the distribution being used for Blueman and then install all of the relevant packages.

Enabling Bluetooth

After installation, you will need to activate and start the Bluetooth service. If you are using a Bluetooth dongle, you will first have to run the following command:

modprobe btusb

To enable the Bluetooth service, run the following command:

sudo systemctl enable bluetooth.service

To start the Bluetooth service, use this command:

sudo systemctl start bluetooth.service

After doing this, you’ll be able to start using Bluetooth on your system.

Connection to Devices Using Blueman

The connection process will vary depending on the desktop manager you’re using. However, we’ll show how it’s done using Blueman since it’s fairly representative of the process across the board.

To connect to a device, open “Bluetooth Manager” in your applications and hit search. Make sure that the device you want to connect to is discoverable When you see it in the device list, right-click on it and hit “Connect.” You may have to enter a passcode, but this information will be in the user’s manual of your device.