bluez5 : Cannot connect to a paired bluetooth device on Ubuntu 17.10

Question

I'm using bluez v5.46 on Ubuntu 17.10 and I cannot connect to a paired bluetooth device.

Here is the output of the bluetoothctl command :

$ bluetoothctl 
[NEW] Controller 6C:0B:84:27:43:66 tensorFlowPHY [default]
Agent registered
[bluetooth]# scan on
Discovery started
[CHG] Controller 6C:0B:84:27:43:66 Discovering: yes
[NEW] Device FC:58:FA:A1:C2:70 OE-P51
[bluetooth]# pair FC:58:FA:A1:C2:70 
Attempting to pair with FC:58:FA:A1:C2:70
[CHG] Device FC:58:FA:A1:C2:70 Connected: yes
[CHG] Device FC:58:FA:A1:C2:70 UUIDs: 00001101-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb
[CHG] Device FC:58:FA:A1:C2:70 UUIDs: 00001108-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb
[CHG] Device FC:58:FA:A1:C2:70 UUIDs: 0000110b-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb
[CHG] Device FC:58:FA:A1:C2:70 UUIDs: 0000110e-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb
[CHG] Device FC:58:FA:A1:C2:70 UUIDs: 0000111e-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb
[CHG] Device FC:58:FA:A1:C2:70 ServicesResolved: yes
[CHG] Device FC:58:FA:A1:C2:70 Paired: yes
Pairing successful
[CHG] Device FC:58:FA:A1:C2:70 ServicesResolved: no
[CHG] Device FC:58:FA:A1:C2:70 Connected: no
[CHG] Controller 6C:0B:84:27:43:66 Discoverable: no
[bluetooth]# connect FC:58:FA:A1:C2:70 
Attempting to connect to FC:58:FA:A1:C2:70
Failed to connect: org.bluez.Error.Failed

Here is a little bit more info :

$ journalctl -u bluetooth | tail
Mar 29 12:06:01 tensorFlowPHY systemd[1]: Started Bluetooth service.
Mar 29 12:06:01 tensorFlowPHY bluetoothd[1136]: Starting SDP server
Mar 29 12:06:01 tensorFlowPHY bluetoothd[1136]: Bluetooth management interface 1.14 initialized
Mar 29 14:36:12 tensorFlowPHY bluetoothd[1136]: a2dp-sink profile connect failed for FC:58:FA:A1:C2:70: Protocol not available
Mar 29 14:36:59 tensorFlowPHY bluetoothd[1136]: a2dp-sink profile connect failed for FC:58:FA:A1:C2:70: Protocol not available

And systemctl says :

$ systemctl status bluetooth
● bluetooth.service - Bluetooth service
   Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/bluetooth.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled)
   Active: active (running) since Fri 2018-03-30 16:30:15 CEST; 21s ago
     Docs: man:bluetoothd(8)
 Main PID: 1492 (bluetoothd)
   Status: "Running"
    Tasks: 1 (limit: 4915)
   Memory: 1.5M
      CPU: 42ms
   CGroup: /system.slice/bluetooth.service
           └─1492 /usr/lib/bluetooth/bluetoothd

Mar 30 16:30:15 tensorFlowPHY systemd[1]: Starting Bluetooth service...
Mar 30 16:30:15 tensorFlowPHY bluetoothd[1492]: Bluetooth daemon 5.46
Mar 30 16:30:15 tensorFlowPHY systemd[1]: Started Bluetooth service.
Mar 30 16:30:15 tensorFlowPHY bluetoothd[1492]: Starting SDP server
Mar 30 16:30:15 tensorFlowPHY bluetoothd[1492]: Bluetooth management interface 1.14 initialized
Mar 30 16:30:20 tensorFlowPHY bluetoothd[1492]: a2dp-sink profile connect failed for FC:58:FA:A1:C2:70: Protocol not available
Mar 30 16:30:31 tensorFlowPHY bluetoothd[1492]: a2dp-sink profile connect failed for FC:58:FA:A1:C2:70: Protocol not available

EDIT 1: I installed one Ubuntu package that was missing : pulseaudio-module-bluetooth and restarted pulseaudio with the command : pulseaudio -k

Now the output of the bluetooth log after connection trial is :

Mar 30 16:36:59 tensorFlowPHY bluetoothd[1492]: Unable to get connect data for Headset Voice gateway: getpeername: Transport endpoint is not connected (107)
Mar 30 16:37:00 tensorFlowPHY bluetoothd[1492]: connect error: Connection refused (111)
Mar 30 16:37:02 tensorFlowPHY bluetoothd[1492]: connect error: Connection refused (111)

Any idea why ?

EDIT 2 : I just restarted Ubuntu as someone asked to do. Still have the same pb.

EDIT 3 : I already have both modules loaded in /etc/pulse/default.pa :

$ egrep "(policy|discover)" /etc/pulse/default.pa
.ifexists module-bluetooth-policy.so
load-module module-bluetooth-policy
.ifexists module-bluetooth-discover.so
load-module module-bluetooth-discover

But I cannot find those on the hdd, do I need to install something else ?

EDIT 4: My mistake, I used the locate command. After a sudo updatedb, the locate command is now able to find those 2 files.

EDIT 5 : Here is the pactl output :

$ pactl list modules | grep "Name:"
    Name: module-device-restore
    Name: module-stream-restore
    Name: module-card-restore
    Name: module-augment-properties
    Name: module-switch-on-port-available
    Name: module-udev-detect
    Name: module-alsa-card
    Name: module-alsa-card
    Name: module-bluetooth-policy
    Name: module-bluetooth-discover
    Name: module-bluez5-discover
    Name: module-native-protocol-unix
    Name: module-default-device-restore
    Name: module-rescue-streams
    Name: module-always-sink
    Name: module-intended-roles
    Name: module-suspend-on-idle
    Name: module-console-kit
    Name: module-systemd-login
    Name: module-position-event-sounds
    Name: module-role-cork
    Name: module-filter-heuristics
    Name: module-filter-apply
    Name: module-switch-on-connect
    Name: module-x11-publish
    Name: module-x11-cork-request
    Name: module-x11-xsmp

and the dpkg -l output :

$ dpkg -l | grep blue
ii  bluefish                                  2.2.9-1                                                    amd64        advanced Gtk+ text editor for web and software development
ii  bluefish-data                             2.2.9-1                                                    all          advanced Gtk+ text editor (data)
ii  bluefish-plugins                          2.2.9-1                                                    amd64        advanced Gtk+ text editor (plugins)
ii  blueman                                   2.0.4-1ubuntu3                                             amd64        Graphical bluetooth manager
ii  bluez                                     5.46-0ubuntu3                                              amd64        Bluetooth tools and daemons
ii  bluez-cups                                5.46-0ubuntu3                                              amd64        Bluetooth printer driver for CUPS
ii  bluez-obexd                               5.46-0ubuntu3                                              amd64        bluez obex daemon
ii  bluez-tools                               0.2.0~20140808-5build1                                     amd64        Set of tools to manage Bluetooth devices for linux
ii  gnome-bluetooth                           3.26.1-1                                                   amd64        GNOME Bluetooth tools
ii  indicator-bluetooth                       0.0.6+17.10.20170605-0ubuntu3                              amd64        System bluetooth indicator.
ii  libbluetooth3:amd64                       5.46-0ubuntu3                                              amd64        Library to use the BlueZ Linux Bluetooth stack
ii  libgnome-bluetooth13:amd64                3.26.1-1                                                   amd64        GNOME Bluetooth tools - support library
ii  pulseaudio-module-bluetooth               1:10.0-2ubuntu3.1                                          amd64        Bluetooth module for PulseAudio sound server

And here are the bluetooth pulseaudio modules loaded :

$ pactl list modules short | grep module-bluetooth
9   module-bluetooth-policy     
10  module-bluetooth-discover

EDIT 6: Your solution worked ! So to sum up :

$ bluetoothctl
[bluetooth]# power on
Changing power on succeeded
[CHG] Controller 6C:0B:84:27:43:66 Powered: yes
[bluetooth]# remove FC:58:FA:A1:C2:70
[DEL] Device FC:58:FA:A1:C2:70 OE-P51
Device has been removed
[bluetooth]# exit
Agent unregistered
[DEL] Controller 6C:0B:84:27:43:66 tensorFlowPHY [default]
$ sudo service bluetooth restart

and finally :

$ bluetoothctl
[NEW] Controller 6C:0B:84:27:43:66 tensorFlowPHY [default]
Agent registered
[bluetooth]# power on
Changing power on succeeded
[CHG] Controller 6C:0B:84:27:43:66 Powered: yes
[bluetooth]# scan on
Discovery started
[CHG] Controller 6C:0B:84:27:43:66 Discovering: yes
[NEW] Device FC:58:FA:A1:C2:70 OE-P51
[bluetooth]# pair FC:58:FA:A1:C2:70 
Attempting to pair with FC:58:FA:A1:C2:70
[CHG] Device FC:58:FA:A1:C2:70 Connected: yes
[CHG] Device FC:58:FA:A1:C2:70 UUIDs: 00001101-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb
[CHG] Device FC:58:FA:A1:C2:70 UUIDs: 00001108-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb
[CHG] Device FC:58:FA:A1:C2:70 UUIDs: 0000110b-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb
[CHG] Device FC:58:FA:A1:C2:70 UUIDs: 0000110e-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb
[CHG] Device FC:58:FA:A1:C2:70 UUIDs: 0000111e-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb
[CHG] Device FC:58:FA:A1:C2:70 ServicesResolved: yes
[CHG] Device FC:58:FA:A1:C2:70 Paired: yes
Pairing successful
[CHG] Device FC:58:FA:A1:C2:70 ServicesResolved: no
[CHG] Device FC:58:FA:A1:C2:70 Connected: no
[bluetooth]# connect FC:58:FA:A1:C2:70 
Attempting to connect to FC:58:FA:A1:C2:70
[CHG] Device FC:58:FA:A1:C2:70 Connected: yes
Connection successful
[CHG] Device FC:58:FA:A1:C2:70 UUIDs: 00001101-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb
[CHG] Device FC:58:FA:A1:C2:70 UUIDs: 00001108-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb
[CHG] Device FC:58:FA:A1:C2:70 UUIDs: 0000110b-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb
[CHG] Device FC:58:FA:A1:C2:70 UUIDs: 0000110c-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb
[CHG] Device FC:58:FA:A1:C2:70 UUIDs: 0000110e-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb
[CHG] Device FC:58:FA:A1:C2:70 UUIDs: 0000111e-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb
[CHG] Device FC:58:FA:A1:C2:70 ServicesResolved: yes
[OE-P51]#

For future reference: The issues can be as simple as not having the receiving setup in file sharing. You can check that as mentioned in this answer - askubuntu.com/a/132025/455123 — thepurpleowl, Commented Jun 21, 2023 at 4:21

Ali Razmdideh · Accepted Answer · 2018-03-30 16:04:49Z

From Arch wiki, Pairing works, but connecting does not, section:

This may be due to the pulseaudio-bluetooth package not being installed. Install it if it missing, then restart pulseaudio.

But pulseaudio-bluetooth package's name is pulseaudio-module-bluetooth on Ubuntu.

So your problem should be solved after installing it:

sudo apt install pulseaudio-module-bluetooth

And after installing this package restart your system to load some pulse audio modules like module-bluetooth-policy and module-bluetooth-discover.

Update:

But if still, you get below message after reboot:

connect error: Connection refused (111)

According to this answer, you should add these lines to /etc/pulse/default.pa file. (If not exist):

load-module module-bluetooth-policy
load-module module-bluetooth-discover

But these lines should be exist by default and after reboot your system, those modules should be loaded.

Update2:

According to this article on Arch wiki:

This may be because you have already paired the device with another operating system using the same bluetooth adapter (e.g., dual-booting). Some devices can't handle multiple pairings associated with the same MAC address (i.e., bluetooth adapter). You can fix this by re-pairing the device

So please re-pair your device with this commands (Or you can use GUI method):

First run:

bluetoothctl

Then use this commands to show paired devices:

devices

And this should be have some output like this:

Device XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX Device Name

Then remove paired devices with this command:

remove XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX

And restart Bluetooth service:

sudo service bluetooth restart

Then try to pair device again.

@SebMa Please add these commands output to your answer pactl list modules | grep "Name:" and dpkg -l | grep blue. Those help us to know which module or package should be loaded or installed. — Ali Razmdideh, Commented Mar 30, 2018 at 15:36
Update2 helped me connect with my bluetooth headphones on Ubuntu 19. Thanks! — Wojciech Domalewski, Commented Jul 13, 2019 at 20:01

jakethefinn · Accepted Answer · 2020-02-28 10:41:55Z

2

Disable NetworkManager!

...or similar network management. It is what solves most networking issues where you manually try to control a service which NetworkManager is programmed to oversee.

In Kali Linux edit /usr/sbin/update-rc.d which "auto-disables service we don't want to start by default".

Find this entry in the whitelist

# List of whitelisted init scripts
#
...
network-manager enabled
...

and move it to the blacklist and change enabled to disabled. Similarily, move bluetooth to the whitelist and enable if you want it to remain on through reboot if you manually turn it on. Secondly, don't forget to power on blutetooth to make the connection persistent.

...
[bluetooth]# power on
Changing power on succeeded
[CHG] Device FC:58:FA:A1:C2:70 Connected: yes

You can also disable NetworkManager for a single device in /etc/NetworkManager/NetworkManager.conf, mask it by MAC address or interface name:

[keyfile]
unmanaged-devices=mac:<hwaddr>

[keyfile]
unmanaged-devices=interface-name:<ifname>

To find the MAC address and interface name of the local bluetooth device use the command

hcitool dev

edited Feb 28, 2020 at 10:41

answered Feb 28, 2020 at 10:17

jakethefinn

961 silver badge5 bronze badges

1

Can't I disable it just for Bluetooth connections ? See I use it to connect to my wifi which has a too long password for me type and I don't want to it (into a file)
– SebMa
Commented Feb 28, 2020 at 10:26
1

updated the answer, thanks for the question SebMa!
– jakethefinn
Commented Feb 28, 2020 at 10:42
When you say for a single device, you mean for a single Bluetooth controller device right ?
– SebMa
Commented Feb 28, 2020 at 10:52
Or any other device, like my wifi dev on interface wlan0 for example. In regards to bluetooth, you either allow NM to control the local bluetooth device (bluetooth controller device) and therefore the remote bluetooth devices when connecting to it, or no bluetooth devices.
– jakethefinn
Commented Feb 28, 2020 at 10:56
Do I need to restart some service to take this configuration change into account ?
– SebMa
Commented Feb 28, 2020 at 11:03

| Show 6 more comments

A N Syafiq. · Accepted Answer · 2021-05-27 04:15:35Z

-1

You might want to re-read your device's manual on how to pair. I've wasted 3 hours just for this particular problem and it turned out that my device has specific instruction on how to pair. After following the instruction I can pair it no problem

edited May 27, 2021 at 4:15

answered May 26, 2021 at 16:04

A N Syafiq.

11 bronze badge

Please, do you mean you finally found a solution or what?
– ThunderBird
Commented May 26, 2021 at 16:55

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