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#1 2021-03-31 12:35:23

Robin Candau
Member
Registered: 2021-03-31
Posts: 6
Website

[SOLVED] Bluetooth suddenly not working after last kernel update

Hi everyone,

I had an issue with bluetooth after updating to the last Kernel (Linux 5.11.11-arch1-1).
Indeed, after applying the update and rebooting, bluetooth suddenly stopped working.

I was able to solve the problem myself with the precious help of the Arch Wiki, but I haven't seen any news about this so far (something like : Be careful, last update kernel breaks bluetooth for "some reasons").
So I thought to myself that it could be interesting to share the resolution I applied with you (Hope you're all okay with that).


Configuration :

- Desktop PC
- Arch Linux running normal Linux Kernel (not LTS I mean)
- Gnome DE
- Asus BT500 USB bluetooth dongle


Problem :

- The problem cause : Updating Kernel from Linux 5.10.11-arch1 to Linux 5.11.11-arch1-1 (looks like the most likely cause)
- The problem consequence : Bluetooth suddenly not working after applying the update and rebooting


Analyses :

I wasn't able to activate the bluetooth through the Gnome Setting anymore, the on/off switch was "greyed" and the setting page said that Bluetooth was not activated (even though my bluetooth service is enabled via systemd).

I tried to relaunch it manually via :

sudo systemctl start bluetooth

But it didn't worked.

The service status showed the following :

sudo systemctl status bluetooth
[...]
"mars 31 13:11:18 Arch-Linux systemd[1]: Condition check resulted in Bluetooth service being skipped."

Fix :

According to this page on the Arch Wiki, it looks like the /sys/class/bluetooth directory has been deleted for some reasons (?).
This prevents bluetooth service to launch correctly.

So you can re-create this directory with :

sudo modprobe btusb

and then you'll be able to restart the bluetooth service correctly :

sudo systemctl restart bluetooth

I also had to reinstall my USB bluetooth dongle drivers. And then, everything worked correctly again.


I'm not trying to just give you a link to the Arch Wiki there (help vampirism), but also warning that this kernel update breaks bluetooth for some reasons (by deleting the /sys/class/bluetooth directory).
As it happened to me, I assume it will happen to someones else.... Just trying to help !

Anyway I'm also keeping a document with all the problems I had since I installed Arch-Linux and how I fixed them. Just like a personal knowledge base that I'm keeping up to date and that I share with others smile
You can consult it here.

Thank you for reading this ! Hope I helped someone smile

Last edited by Robin Candau (2021-03-31 12:39:27)

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#2 2021-04-03 15:36:55

Auracle
Member
Registered: 2021-01-12
Posts: 6

Re: [SOLVED] Bluetooth suddenly not working after last kernel update

Thank you. Your solution worked the second time I tried it. I think complete hardware restart is necessary.
For reference below is my hardware configuration.

Operating System: Arch Linux
KDE Plasma Version: 5.21.3
KDE Frameworks Version: 5.80.0
Qt Version: 5.15.2
Kernel Version: 5.11.11-arch1-1
OS Type: 64-bit
Graphics Platform: X11
Processors: 8 × 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1165G7 @ 2.80GHz
Memory: 15.3 GiB of RAM
Graphics Processor: Mesa Intel® Xe Graphics.
Laptop Model Name and Number: Asus Zenbook UX425EA

Edit: Upon further usage, the bluetooth does not work reliably and there is a connection drop observed multiple times during an hour's session. This loss of connection is random, hence cannot get ready beforehand. Moreover, if you find the "Enable Bluetooth" greyed out a

sudo systemctl restrart bluetooth 

usually works well.

Last edited by Auracle (2021-04-05 05:19:09)

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#3 2021-04-04 03:23:35

Robin Candau
Member
Registered: 2021-03-31
Posts: 6
Website

Re: [SOLVED] Bluetooth suddenly not working after last kernel update

Glad it helps someone ! smile

Thanks for the shared information about your system !
Hopefully this post will help anyone else smile

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#4 2021-04-18 09:36:55

Robin Candau
Member
Registered: 2021-03-31
Posts: 6
Website

Re: [SOLVED] Bluetooth suddenly not working after last kernel update

Hi everyone,

Just to get this topic updated, I had the exact same issue upgrading to the 5.11.15-arch1-2 kernel. The /sys/class/bluetooth directory has been once again deleted for some reasons.
Still not sure if the problem comes from the kernel update itself or not, but it's still the most likely cause in my opinion.

By the way, it looks like it only happens using a USB Bluetooth Dongle (makes sense, as we need to recreate the /sys/class/bluetooth using "modprobe btsusb".
It does not happen on my laptop, which is using an integrated bluetooth card.

I guess that USB Bluetooth Dongle are not recognized/listed as "real hardware" and not directly take into consideration by the kernel (unlike an integrated bluetooth card), so the associated directory/configuration is erased (I mean, not automatically re-installed/re-imported) after every major kernel update.
That's just a supposition tho... But that makes sense to me.

According to that, I think this "issue" will happen at every major kernel update (for instance : It did not happen when updating from kernel 5.11.14-arch1-1 to 5.11.14-arch1-2, but happened when updating from kernel 5.11.14-arch1-2 to 5.11.15-arch1-2). So I'll need to redo the following steps each time (not a big matter to me thought, that's just to say).

Anyway, I fixed it the exact same way I did on my initial post :

 sudo modprobe btusb 

---> Re-creates the /sys/class/bluetooth directory

 sudo systemctl restart bluetooth 

---> Re-start bluetooth service

And then, reinstall my USB Bluetooth Dongle drivers (I made a script for that, available here : https://github.com/Antiz96/Bash-Scripts … _driver.sh).

Last edited by Robin Candau (2021-04-18 19:41:27)

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#5 2021-04-23 09:21:44

Robin Candau
Member
Registered: 2021-03-31
Posts: 6
Website

Re: [SOLVED] Bluetooth suddenly not working after last kernel update

Hi everyone,

I recently updated to the 5.11.16-arch1-1 kernel and had the exact same "issue" with the exact same fix to make bluetooth work again.

That was just to confirm the theory I wrote in my previous post. So this is more like a kernel "behavior" rather than a real issue.

This is my last post on that topic. I think we all understood that we'll need to run the commands listed in my previous posts to make the bluetooth work again after a Kernel update (for those who use a USB Bluetooth Dongle like me).
I guess we can consider that topic as closed ! smile

Last edited by Robin Candau (2021-04-23 09:29:57)

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