kernel-packages team mailing list archive
-
kernel-packages team
-
Mailing list archive
-
Message #173221
[Bug 1573351] Re: Unable to connect bluetooth keyboard with many different symptoms
bug creation dialogue did not save the correct package name - presumably
I didn't do something properly.
** Package changed: usb-creator (Ubuntu) => bluez (Ubuntu)
--
You received this bug notification because you are a member of Kernel
Packages, which is subscribed to bluez in Ubuntu.
https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1573351
Title:
Unable to connect bluetooth keyboard with many different symptoms
Status in bluez package in Ubuntu:
New
Bug description:
I have been struggling to pair and connect the bluetooth docking
station (keyboard and touchpad) to my Asus T300 Chi transformer
notepad. I run xenial 16.04 64-bit on this system, built from the beta
2 distribution and fully up-to-date at the tiime of the release
candidtae freeze. I've managed to work on the system with a usb
keyboard and mouse, as well as the touch-sensitive screen.
The latest version of bluez from the repository was 5.37.0ubuntu5.
Running various compinations of actions under the gui and also
bluetoothctl, I tried to analyse the failures with syslog and btmon.
This was very frustrating because I eventually realised the software
and hardware state could be corrupted, leading to unrepeatability in
my tests. I still experienced what are probably timing bugs when I
started from a power-off and reboot.
The keyboard would sometimes fail to pair, sometimes say it was paired
when it wasn't, sometimes pair and then get into a
connected/disconnected loop. Sometimes it would connect, but the keys
were dead. It was too confusing to list all the different failure
symptoms. On the other hand, I had no problems connecting my android
phone to the system over bluetooth, so this eliminated a lot of
possibilities.
Initially, I thought my symptoms were related to
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/bluez/+bug/1490349, but I
eventually concluded this was not the case. I tried repeating my tests
with a bluetooth usb dongle, a different machine, and several
different ubuntu releases, but didn't have a system old enough to test
with something that others reported to be working.
btmon traces showed the keyboard reports its capabilities included
Secure Simple Pairing, but every pairing attempt which got far enough
would require a pin, often without saying what it was! I currently
have the original windows 10 image and so could boot it under grub2.
Even though the keyboard had previously been paired to the latest
windows driver, it failed to connect. I suspected the failed ubuntu
attempts had replaced the pairing credentials because both operating
systems use the same bluetooth adapters on the computer and keyboard.
(At least this new experience meant I couldn't make the usual claim
"it works with windows!) It took many attempts to get the keyboard
paired. The windows driver doesn't use SSP either, because it requires
its automatically-generated pin to be entered on the keyboard. I found
I could force the old credentials to be deleted by powering-off the
keyboard and tablet, then booting windows without the keyboard. Then
hold the keyboard switch hard to the right while windows detected it,
then initiate pairing and let the switch spring to its normal middle
position. Windows would then display a new pin and I had to enter it
on the keyboard fairly quickly, or the attempt would fail. I wrote
down the pin in case I could use it with ubuntu (I later found I
couldn't).
I followed bluez upwards along its distribution path. Even debian
unstable ships the 5.37 package, but the latest version from the
developers is 5.39. 5.38 was a large bug fix release, and 5.39 fixes
some more bugs. I did a manual build and install. I used bluetoothctl
and had to start the default agent before starting the pairing
process. Pairing failed and I wasn't prompted for the windows pin. I
erased the windows pin on the keyboard and issued the pair command -
bluez gave me a new pin and after typed it on the keyboard the pairing
was successful. The info command showed it had used legacy pairing
(like windows), rather than SSP. The keyboard connected and
disconnected a coule of times, then stayed disconnected. I tried
issuing the trust command and the device status changed to paired and
trusted. I despondently type a few letters on the keyboard and was
astonished when they appeared on the screen! bluetoothctl displayed
the connected:on message.
The keyboard is now working perfectly. The blue LED seldom comes on as
I expected - it stays solidly blue with windows, but only flicks on
briefly when reconnecting after inactivity. I can even use it to
trigger a system resume from suspend state from the keyboard or
touchpad.
Obviously, grub2 does not support bluetooth or touchscreen devices, so
ubuntu is my default boot system. I can only get to windows with a usb
keyboard connected.
To manage notifications about this bug go to:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/bluez/+bug/1573351/+subscriptions