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Is networking via Bluetooth PAN or DUN still viable on Ubuntu?

All bluez instructions I could find fail to pair. Blueman says that there is no dhcp server installed regardless of dhcp being installed and working.

Looking for somone who has this working :)

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I use this guide http://blog.sumostyle.net/2009/11/ubuntu-tethering-via-bluetooth-pan/

to connect my Ubuntu 12.10 laptop to my iPhone 3Gs iOS 6.1 personal hotspot.

UPDATE: Since the original link has been dead, here I found the snapshot in the wayback machine. I also copied and pasted the article into this answer.

https://web.archive.org/web/20130911035616/http://blog.sumostyle.net/2009/11/ubuntu-tethering-via-bluetooth-pan/

Ubuntu tethering via Bluetooth PAN

I have been attmepting to tether my iPhone to my computer using bluetooth in Karmic.

Supposedy blueman can do this very easily (www.blueman-project.org). To install blueman just run: $ sudo aptitude install blueman.

My experience with blueman has been very hit and miss however, the connection appears to be made via bluetooth but I can rarely seem to get NetworkManager to make a network connection. Sometimes I have success pairing the devices again.

Using the older pand binary I have had a lot more success. If you are not scared of the terminal, it isn’t difficult and appears far more reliable

Install the older bluez tools:

$ sudo aptitude install bluez-compat

$ hcitool scan

Find the address of your phone from the list

$ sudo pand --connect 00:25:00:96:13:BB -n

This command will pair you phone to your computer and create a pan device. Of course replacing the MAC address with the address of your phone. This command will re-pair you devices each time it is run. If, like me you have an iPhone, you need to have you iPhone in the Bluetooth System Preference app to accept the pairing.

$ sudo dhclient bnep0

You are now tethered.

To kill the tether:

$ sudo pand -K

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  • That is a dead link. Can you provide details in this answer?
    – Felix Eve
    Oct 17, 2018 at 12:31
  • @FelixEve I've update my answer with the original article content that I found via the wayback machine snapshot. Oct 19, 2018 at 12:32
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Blueman could report the error for two reasons.

  1. DHCP server (dnsmasq or your equivalent) not installed. ( less probable )
  2. DHCP server (dnsmasq) is installed. But it is not your env PATH. ( mostly your case ).

So make sure dnsmasq is installed and it is in your PATH ( or else add it )

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    This answer is incomplete. If Dnsmasq is not installed, how does he install it? It it is installed but not in the env PATH, how does he add it?
    – Parto
    Sep 26, 2014 at 9:56
  • @Parto Assumed this forum is for developers. Don't think if this question is going to be looked at by a naive user(questions mentions PAN/DHCP). Telling sudo apt-get install dnsmasq and export PATH=$PATH:/path/to/dnsmasq feels like spoon feeding. Sep 27, 2014 at 16:44
  • See attempts to start dnsmasq here github.com/blueman-project/blueman/blob/1.99.alpha1/blueman/… which will fail if not in PATH Sep 27, 2014 at 16:48
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    @Kiran this site is neither a forum nor targeted at developers. Answers should be as complete as possible.
    – guntbert
    Dec 3, 2014 at 18:41
  • For downvoters, if the site is not targeted at developers, please edit the site description which quotes Ask Ubuntu is a question and answer site for Ubuntu users and developers at link. Now if the claim is about users part in it, I would be happy to meet an Ubuntu user who knows about PAN/DUN/Bluez/Blueman/DHCP (mentioned in original question) and still is not a developer. Sep 29, 2021 at 12:42

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