Bluetooth discovery issues

OK. Been running Dragonized Garuda on an older laptop for a couple months now, and I love it. Smooth, fast, the whole thing. The only “issue” I’m having is finding any BT device I want to connect to. Mouse, headphones, what have you. When I scan, I get a list of numbers and letters, but nothing to discern the device I want to connect to. I’ve tried process of elimination, and that’s just about impossible because the list is big (2 dozen maybe) and it’s constantly refreshing, So I can’t keep track of what I have already tried.
Any tips for how to either make it show the name or find my device?

System:
Kernel: 6.12.10-zen1-1-zen arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 14.2.1
clocksource: tsc avail: hpet,acpi_pm
parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/@/boot/vmlinuz-linux-zen
root=UUID=7e8b23cc-1bfe-49d0-8364-b89765ff553d rw rootflags=subvol=@
quiet loglevel=3 ibt=off
Desktop: KDE Plasma v: 6.2.5 tk: Qt v: N/A info: frameworks v: 6.10.0
wm: kwin_wayland vt: 1 dm: SDDM Distro: Garuda base: Arch Linux
Machine:
Type: Laptop System: ASUSTeK product: G75VX v: 1.0
serial: <superuser required>
Mobo: ASUSTeK model: G75VX v: 1.0 serial: <superuser required>
part-nu: ASUS-NotebookSKU uuid: <superuser required>
UEFI: American Megatrends v: G75VX.206 date: 02/27/2013
Battery:
ID-1: BAT0 charge: 62.7 Wh (96.3%) condition: 65.1/77.0 Wh (84.6%)
volts: 14.8 min: 14.8 model: ASUSTek G75--52 type: Li-ion serial: N/A
status: not charging cycles: 769
CPU:
Info: model: Intel Core i7-3630QM bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Ivy Bridge
gen: core 3 level: v2 built: 2012-15 process: Intel 22nm family: 6
model-id: 0x3A (58) stepping: 9 microcode: 0x21
Topology: cpus: 1x dies: 1 clusters: 4 cores: 4 threads: 8 tpc: 2
smt: enabled cache: L1: 256 KiB desc: d-4x32 KiB; i-4x32 KiB L2: 1024 KiB
desc: 4x256 KiB L3: 6 MiB desc: 1x6 MiB
Speed (MHz): avg: 3400 min/max: 1200/3400 scaling: driver: intel_cpufreq
governor: performance cores: 1: 3400 2: 3400 3: 3400 4: 3400 5: 3400 6: 3400
7: 3400 8: 3400 bogomips: 38313
Flags: avx ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx
Vulnerabilities: <filter>
Graphics:
Device-1: NVIDIA GK104M [GeForce GTX 670MX] vendor: ASUSTeK driver: nouveau
v: kernel non-free: series: 470.xx+ status: legacy-active (EOL~2024-09-xx)
arch: Kepler-2 code: GKxxx process: TSMC 28nm built: 2012-2018 pcie:
gen: 1 speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 16 link-max: gen: 3 speed: 8 GT/s ports:
active: LVDS-1 empty: DP-1,HDMI-A-1,VGA-1 bus-ID: 01:00.0
chip-ID: 10de:11a1 class-ID: 0300 temp: 49.0 C
Device-2: Sunplus Innovation ASUS Webcam driver: uvcvideo type: USB
rev: 2.0 speed: 480 Mb/s lanes: 1 mode: 2.0 bus-ID: 1-1.3:4
chip-ID: 1bcf:2885 class-ID: 0e02
Display: wayland server: X.org v: 1.21.1.15 with: Xwayland v: 24.1.4
compositor: kwin_wayland driver: X: loaded: nouveau unloaded: modesetting
alternate: fbdev,nv,vesa dri: nouveau gpu: nouveau display-ID: 0
Monitor-1: LVDS-1 model: AU Optronics 0x219d built: 2012 res:
mode: 1920x1080 hz: 60 scale: 125% (1.25) to: 1536x864 dpi: 128 gamma: 1.2
size: 381x214mm (15x8.43") diag: 437mm (17.2") ratio: 16:9 modes:
max: 1920x1080 min: 640x350
API: EGL v: 1.5 hw: drv: nvidia nouveau platforms: device: 0 drv: nouveau
device: 1 drv: swrast gbm: drv: nouveau surfaceless: drv: nouveau wayland:
drv: nouveau x11: drv: nouveau
API: OpenGL v: 4.5 compat-v: 4.3 vendor: mesa v: 24.3.4-arch1.1 glx-v: 1.4
direct-render: yes renderer: NVE4 device-ID: 10de:11a1 memory: 2.92 GiB
unified: no display-ID: :1.0
API: Vulkan v: 1.4.303 layers: 14 device: 0 type: cpu name: llvmpipe
(LLVM 19.1.7 256 bits) driver: N/A device-ID: 10005:0000
surfaces: xcb,xlib,wayland
Info: Tools: api: clinfo, eglinfo, glxinfo, vulkaninfo
de: kscreen-console,kscreen-doctor gpu: corectrl wl: wayland-info
x11: xdpyinfo, xprop, xrandr
Audio:
Device-1: Intel 7 Series/C216 Family High Definition Audio vendor: ASUSTeK
driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus-ID: 00:1b.0 chip-ID: 8086:1e20
class-ID: 0403
Device-2: NVIDIA GK104 HDMI Audio driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel pcie:
gen: 1 speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 16 link-max: gen: 3 speed: 8 GT/s
bus-ID: 01:00.1 chip-ID: 10de:0e0a class-ID: 0403
API: ALSA v: k6.12.10-zen1-1-zen status: kernel-api with: aoss
type: oss-emulator tools: N/A
Server-1: PipeWire v: 1.2.7 status: active with: 1: pipewire-pulse
status: active 2: wireplumber status: active 3: pipewire-alsa type: plugin
4: pw-jack type: plugin tools: pactl,pw-cat,pw-cli,wpctl
Network:
Device-1: Broadcom BCM4352 802.11ac Dual Band Wireless Network Adapter
vendor: AzureWave driver: wl v: kernel modules: bcma pcie: gen: 2
speed: 5 GT/s lanes: 1 bus-ID: 03:00.0 chip-ID: 14e4:43b1 class-ID: 0280
IF: wlp3s0 state: up mac: <filter>
Device-2: Qualcomm Atheros AR8151 v2.0 Gigabit Ethernet vendor: ASUSTeK
driver: atl1c v: kernel pcie: gen: 1 speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 1 port: d000
bus-ID: 04:00.0 chip-ID: 1969:1083 class-ID: 0200
IF: enp4s0 state: down mac: <filter>
Info: services: NetworkManager, systemd-timesyncd, wpa_supplicant
Bluetooth:
Device-1: IMC Networks BCM20702A0 driver: btusb v: 0.8 type: USB rev: 2.0
speed: 12 Mb/s lanes: 1 mode: 1.1 bus-ID: 1-1.1:3 chip-ID: 13d3:3404
class-ID: fe01 serial: <filter>
Report: btmgmt ID: hci0 rfk-id: 31 state: up address: <filter> bt-v: 4.0
lmp-v: 6 status: discoverable: no pairing: yes class-ID: 6c010c
Drives:
Local Storage: total: 2.73 TiB used: 364.97 GiB (13.1%)
SMART Message: Unable to run smartctl. Root privileges required.
ID-1: /dev/sda maj-min: 8:0 vendor: PNY model: CS900 2TB SSD
size: 1.82 TiB block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s
tech: SSD serial: <filter> fw-rev: 0600 scheme: GPT
ID-2: /dev/sdb maj-min: 8:16 vendor: Crucial model: CT1000MX500SSD4
size: 931.51 GiB block-size: physical: 4096 B logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s
tech: SSD serial: <filter> fw-rev: 023 scheme: MBR
Partition:
ID-1: / raw-size: 1.82 TiB size: 1.82 TiB (100.00%) used: 114.63 GiB (6.2%)
fs: btrfs dev: /dev/sda2 maj-min: 8:2
ID-2: /boot/efi raw-size: 300 MiB size: 299.4 MiB (99.80%)
used: 584 KiB (0.2%) fs: vfat dev: /dev/sda1 maj-min: 8:1
ID-3: /home raw-size: 1.82 TiB size: 1.82 TiB (100.00%)
used: 114.63 GiB (6.2%) fs: btrfs dev: /dev/sda2 maj-min: 8:2
ID-4: /var/log raw-size: 1.82 TiB size: 1.82 TiB (100.00%)
used: 114.63 GiB (6.2%) fs: btrfs dev: /dev/sda2 maj-min: 8:2
ID-5: /var/tmp raw-size: 1.82 TiB size: 1.82 TiB (100.00%)
used: 114.63 GiB (6.2%) fs: btrfs dev: /dev/sda2 maj-min: 8:2
Swap:
Kernel: swappiness: 133 (default 60) cache-pressure: 100 (default) zswap: no
ID-1: swap-1 type: zram size: 17.51 GiB used: 514 MiB (2.9%) priority: 100
comp: zstd avail: lzo-rle,lzo,lz4,lz4hc,deflate,842 max-streams: 8
dev: /dev/zram0
Sensors:
System Temperatures: cpu: 50.0 C mobo: N/A gpu: nouveau temp: 49.0 C
Fan Speeds (rpm): cpu: 2000
Info:
Memory: total: 20 GiB note: est. available: 17.51 GiB used: 7.27 GiB (41.5%)
Processes: 318 Power: uptime: 6d 17h 16m states: freeze,mem,disk
suspend: deep avail: s2idle wakeups: 30 hibernate: platform avail: shutdown,
reboot, suspend, test_resume image: 6.98 GiB services: org_kde_powerdevil,
power-profiles-daemon, upowerd Init: systemd v: 257 default: graphical
tool: systemctl
Packages: pm: pacman pkgs: 1799 libs: 537 tools: octopi,paru Compilers:
clang: 19.1.7 gcc: 14.2.1 Shell: garuda-inxi default: fish v: 3.7.1
running-in: konsole inxi: 3.3.37
Garuda (2.6.26-1.1):
System install date:     2024-12-19
Last full system update: 2025-01-26
Is partially upgraded:   No
Relevant software:       snapper NetworkManager dracut
Windows dual boot:       No/Undetected
Failed units:

Please post your garuda-inxi as requested by the template.

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I don’t know if this is how it’s done, but I edited the post to reflect that output.

Almost perfect, please always use code blocks for terminal output. I fixed it :wink:

2 Likes

Thanks so much! I don’t even know what you said there. Like, what it means. I’ve been out of the forum game for a while.

hello,

maybe you can try another Kernel LTS to check if that problem happens to other Kernel or try X11 version because older bluetooth device.IMC Networks BCM20702A0 Bluetooth.

what is your output from bluetoothctl terminal? is there any error?

The only output was “Agent registered”
If it’s because my hardware is old, I get that. I may try a newer BT adapter and see if it changes discovery.

Yes because its not activated then you get the message "Agent registered.

You have a Broadcom device if im right.

Maybe you can check in Octopi to install the firmware driver for it.

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Thanks for the help. Installed it, but nothing changed. Had an Asus BT dongle lying around. Popped that in and it showed names of what I was looking to pair with. Not too concerned with losing a USB port, still have 2 left.
Thanks again!

you can leave it for few days maybe someone have an idea or you set your answer as Solution :smiley:

I think I marked it solved. Your suggestion actually DID work, after I pulled the dongle and restarted the device names started showing up. So thanks a bunch!

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my bluetooth looks like that activated :grin:

bluetoothctl
[bluetooth]# Agent registered
[bluetooth]# hci0 class of device changed: 0x000000
[bluetooth]# hci0 new_settings: bondable ssp br/edr le secure-conn wide-band-speech
[bluetooth]# [CHG] Controller 48:51:C5:F7:88:D3 Class: 0x00000000 (0)
[bluetooth]# [CHG] Controller 48:51:C5:F7:88:D3 Powered: no
[bluetooth]# [CHG] Controller 48:51:C5:F7:88:D3 Discovering: no
[bluetooth]# [CHG] Controller 48:51:C5:F7:88:D3 PowerState: on
[bluetooth]# [CHG] Controller 48:51:C5:F7:88:D3 PowerState: off-blocked
[bluetooth]# [CHG] Controller 48:51:C5:F7:88:D3 PowerState: off-enabling
[bluetooth]# hci0 class of device changed: 0x6c0104
[bluetooth]# [CHG] Controller 48:51:C5:F7:88:D3 Class: 0x006c0104 (7078148)
[bluetooth]# hci0 new_settings: powered bondable ssp br/edr le secure-conn wide-band-speech
[bluetooth]# [CHG] Controller 48:51:C5:F7:88:D3 PowerState: on
[bluetooth]# [CHG] Controller 48:51:C5:F7:88:D3 Powered: yes
[bluetooth]#

if its off and i turn it on then it works for me with sony wi200 headset=)

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