[SOLVED] looking for bluetooth adapter

[Charles_NL]

I have two laptops with linux and I'm looking for bluetooth adapters. For streaming audio to external speaker or headset.
Laptop 1: HP notebook with Linux Mint 18.3 Sylvia Mate
Laptop 2: Packard Bell notebook Linux Mint 19.3 Tricia Xfce

I found on Aliexpress this one. Is this adapter a good choice?

Amazon doesn't deliver to the Netherlands.

[Moonstone Man]

Is this adapter a good choice?

Pretty much every adapter out there is a good choice because they nearly all work as expected. It's hardly worth bothering about given the price of the thing.

[hglee]

I found on Aliexpress this one. Is this adapter a good choice?

Might as well get a Bluetooth adapter that includes WiFi, such as this one or this one. They're advertised as using the RTL8723BU chipset, which has built-in support by Mint. (I got the OSGEAR UW150BT from Amazon, and it too has the RTL8723BU.)


Many of those AliExpress dual-band Bluetooth + WiFi-5 dongles (eg. this one) note the RTL8821CU chipset, which needs installation of a device driver such as this one (copy-and-paste the following five Terminal command-lines, one at a time)...

Code: Select all

# RTL8821CU (WiFi-5 + Bluetooth 4.2) driver
sudo apt-get install -y git dkms build-essential
cd ~/Downloads; git clone https://github.com/brektrou/rtl8821CU.git
cd rtl8821CU && sudo ./dkms-install.sh
sudo modprobe 8821cu

[Charles_NL]

Thanks for your comments.
Since my laptops already have WiFi, I only need a BT adapter. Am pleased with the reaction of Kadaitcha Man and go buy the adapter that I listed in my post start.

[hglee]

Thanks for your comments.
Since my laptops already have WiFi, I only need a BT adapter.

All of my laptops also have built-in WiFi -- and Bluetooth -- but a backup WiFi module can be useful for unexpected situations, such as troubleshooting connection problems.

WiFi for just $1 or $2 more than Bluetooth alone is a bargain I wouldn't skip.

[Charles_NL]

Thanks for the additional information about the dual band dongles. And also for the terminal commands that need to be entered. It has now become clearer for me what to choose and why.
Thank you hglee!

[MartyMint]

I surprised your laptops don't already have bluetooth. How old are they?

[Charles_NL]

I surprised your laptops don't already have bluetooth. How old are they?

Laptop 1: HP notebook with Linux Mint 18.3 Sylvia Mate
Laptop 2: Packard Bell notebook Linux Mint 19.3 Tricia Xfce

The HP notebook is from 2015
The Packard Bell notebook is from 2008

[Joe2Shoe]

These work on my laptops running LM20.1

Onvian USB Bluetooth Adapter CSR 4.0 Dongle Receiver Transfer Wireless Adapter for PC Computer Laptop Supports Windows 10 8.1 8 7 Vista XP - Upgraded Version

https://www.amazon.com/Onvian-Bluetooth ... 187&sr=8-3

[Charles_NL]

Might as well get a Bluetooth adapter that includes WiFi, such as this one. They're advertised as using the RTL8723BU chipset, which has built-in support by Mint.

This dual band dongle works good under LM20.1 Mate.
But it is not clear to me how I know which Wi-Fi is being used? The internal of my HP notebook or the wifi dongle? How can i see this en changed it?

[hglee]

Might as well get a Bluetooth adapter that includes WiFi, such as this one. They're advertised as using the RTL8723BU chipset, which has built-in support by Mint.

This dual band dongle works good under LM20.1 Mate.
But it is not clear to me how I know which Wi-Fi is being used? The internal of my HP notebook or the wifi dongle? How can i see this en changed it?

Click the NetworkManager icon in the panel (taskbar). The two wifis have different names, and each has a list of all the hotspots it can see.

My Dell 2-in-1 has Intel AX200 WiFi-6 built in, and NetworkManager labels it as Wi-Fi Networks (Intel 6 AX200).

The Osgear dongle has a Realtek RTL8723BU chipset, and NetworkManager labels it as Wi-Fi Networks (Realtek Wi-Fi).


Or NetworkManager might label one or both by their connection name, which mine are wlp1s0 and wlx8c882b004a.

To see your HP's two wifi connection names, copy-and-paste this Terminal command-line...

Code: Select all

2>/dev/null iwconfig|grep -i ieee|grep -o '^\S*'

The iwconfig Terminal command alone will show the technical specs of both your wifi connections, including their names...

Code: Select all

iwconfig

You activate a wifi connect by clicking on a hotspot (access point) name in that wifi's list. That name then gets bold text, and 'Disconnect' beneath it.


P.S. The Realtek RTL8723BU chipset in the Osgear dongle is not dual-band with 5GHz wifi, it's 150Mbps 802.11N (WiFi-4) in the 2.4GHz band.

[Charles_NL]

Thank you for your answer.
I understand how to do it, but is there also a way to turn off the internal WiFi?

[hglee]

Thank you for your answer.
I understand how to do it, but is there also a way to turn off the internal WiFi?

I need to know some specifics about your wifi setup:


Open a Terminal window (Ctrl-Alt-T), copy-and-paste the following long command-line, then tap Enter...

Code: Select all

(lsusb -tv;lspci -nnk;iwconfig;rfkill list;lsmod|egrep -i "rt|rw|wif|wl";mokutil --sb-state) 2>&1|nc termbin.com 9999

After a brief pause, a termbin.com URL will appear in the Terminal. Copy and post that URL in a reply.

[Charles_NL]

Thank you for your support, you are very helpful.

https://termbin.com/5vix

This output is without the bluetooth/wifi adapter. This adapter is therefore not connected.
Does it make a difference in which USB port the adapter is plugged in? The USB port used for this adapter during the installation of mint (USB 3.0) or any other random USB port (USB 2.0) afterwards.

[hglee]

Thank you for your support, you are very helpful.

https://termbin.com/5vix

This output is without the bluetooth/wifi adapter. This adapter is therefore not connected.
Does it make a difference in which USB port the adapter is plugged in? The USB port used for this adapter during the installation of mint (USB 3.0) or any other random USB port (USB 2.0) afterwards.

Network controller [0280]: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8188EE Wireless Network Adapter [10ec:8179]

The choice of USB port shouldn't make a difference, unless your system has a problem with a USB-2 dongle in a USB-3 port.



To disable the RTL8188EE wifi chipset, we'll simply blacklist its driver module. This doesn't do anything to the hardware:

Open a Terminal window (Ctrl-Alt-T), copy-and-paste the following command-line, then tap Enter...

Code: Select all

B=/etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf;sudo cp $B{,-`date +%F.%s`};sudo tee -a $B <<< "blacklist rtl8188ee";sudo rmmod rtl8188ee

Reboot your system.



If you later wish to undo the above action:

Open a Terminal (Ctrl-Alt-T), copy-and-paste the following command-line...

Code: Select all

B=/etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf;sudo cp $B{,-`date +%F.%s`};sudo sed -i '/rtl8188ee/d' $B;sudo modprobe rtl8188ee

Reboot.

[Charles_NL]

Blacklist works, thank you.
I don't understand anything anymore.

My HP notebook has 3 USB ports (2x USB 2.0 & 1x USB 3.0) and BT works well on all 3. Wifi don't work on any USB port.
After a brand new installation of mint 20.1 mate, there was a choice of two wifi adapters, exactly as described by you in your previous post.
I've the bluetooth/wifi usb-adapter removed after the mint-install and on a later time plugged into any other random usb-port. No wifi more, only BT.
Reboot don't have another results.

[hglee]

Blacklist works, thank you.
I don't understand anything anymore.

My HP notebook has 3 USB ports (2x USB 2.0 & 1x USB 3.0) and BT works well on all 3. Wifi don't work on any USB port.
After a brand new installation of mint 20.1 mate, there was a choice of two wifi adapters, exactly as described by you in your previous post.
I've the bluetooth/wifi usb-adapter removed after the mint-install and on a later time plugged into any other random usb-port. No wifi more, only BT.
Reboot don't have another results.

Plug in your new dongle, and let's take a deeper look at your wifi setup (while RTL8188EE is on the blacklist):

Open a Terminal window (Ctrl-Alt-T), copy-and-paste the following 3 command-lines, one by one...

Code: Select all

sudo wget -nv -t 5 -T 10 https://github.com/UbuntuForums/wireless-info/raw/master/wireless-info -P /usr/local/bin/
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/wireless-info && cd ~/Downloads
wireless-info >/dev/null && tr -cd '\11\12\15\40-\176' < wireless-info.txt | nc termbin.com 9999

After the last command, and a longer-than-usual pause, a termbin URL will appear in the Terminal. Copy that URL.



Next, take RTL81888EE off of the blacklist:

Open a Terminal (Ctrl-Alt-T), copy-and-paste the following command-line...

Code: Select all

B=/etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf;sudo cp $B{,-`date +%F.%s`};sudo sed -i '/rtl8188ee/d' $B;sudo modprobe rtl8188ee

Reboot.

Your new dongle may be working again.



Lastly, with your new dongle plugged in, and RTL8188EE not blacklisted, do another deep look:

Open a Terminal window (Ctrl-Alt-T), copy-and-paste the following 2 command-lines, one by one...

Code: Select all

cd ~/Downloads && rm wireless-info.*
wireless-info >/dev/null && tr -cd '\11\12\15\40-\176' < wireless-info.txt | nc termbin.com 9999

After the last command, and another longer-than-usual pause, a termbin URL will appear in the Terminal. Copy that URL.


So, post both of those termin URLs -- the one with RTL8188E on the blacklist, and the other with RTL8188EE not on the blacklist -- and with your new dongle plugged in both times.

[hglee]

I've the bluetooth/wifi usb-adapter removed after the mint-install and on a later time plugged into any other random usb-port. No wifi more, only BT.
Reboot don't have another results.

If your dongle has stopped working, download and reinstall a driver for its Realtek RTL8723BU chipset:

Open a Terminal window (Ctrl-Alt-T), then copy-and-paste the following 4 command-lines, one by one...

Code: Select all

cd ~/Downloads && sudo apt install -y git dkms build-essential
git clone https://github.com/lwfinger/rtl8723bu.git && sudo dkms add ./rtl8723bu
sudo dkms install rtl8723bu/4.3.6.11_12942.20141204_BTCOEX20140507-4E40
sudo modprobe rtl8723bu && rm -rf ~/Downloads/rtl8723bu/

My Osgear dongle worked immediately with this driver, without rebooting.



If you later wish to uninstall this driver:

Code: Select all

sudo dkms remove rtl8723bu/4.3.6.11_12942.20141204_BTCOEX20140507-4E40 --all && sudo rmmod 8723bu

[Charles_NL]

So, post both of those termin URLs -- the one with RTL8188E on the blacklist, and the other with RTL8188EE not on the blacklist -- and with your new dongle plugged in both times.

I hope I understood everything correctly and did what you asked for.
https://termbin.com/0042

https://termbin.com/gdlfg

I have a another, very old, laptop with LM 19.3 Xfce and the dongle was immediately recognized there. However, no BT only wifi.
Donle was recognized as: Realtek 802.11n WLAN Adapter