Bluetooth 5.0 USB Stick Recommendation

[Boccerini]

Hi everyone! Can someone recommend a BT 5.0 USB stick that works well with Linux Mint? I need one for my PC for my new Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro earbuds.

Most of the sticks I see at amazon.de are advertised as only working with Windose...

Edit: I got a tip on a German forum; the Edimax BT-8500 is supposed to work well with Linux.

[kato181]

In terminal copy & paste the following command and post the results back here in between the code display brackets </> 5th icon above the text box.

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inxi -Fxz

[Boccerini]

Thanks for offer to help; I´ll post that information in a day or two . Don´t have much time at the moment.

[Boccerini]

This is with just the Logitech Unifying dongle that I use with Solaar to connect my mouse and keyboard.

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 tracy@TracyPC:~$ inxi -Fxz
System:
  Kernel: 5.4.0-113-generic x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 9.4.0 
  Desktop: Cinnamon 5.0.7 Distro: Linux Mint 20.2 Uma 
  base: Ubuntu 20.04 focal 
Machine:
  Type: Desktop System: Gigabyte product: Z97P-D3 v: N/A serial: <filter> 
  Mobo: Gigabyte model: Z97P-D3 v: x.x serial: <filter> 
  UEFI: American Megatrends v: F8 date: 09/18/2015 
Battery:
  Device-1: hidpp_battery_0 
  model: Logitech K780 Multi-Device Wireless Keyboard 
  charge: 100% (should be ignored) status: Discharging 
  Device-2: hidpp_battery_1 
  model: Logitech Marathon Mouse/Performance Plus M705 
  charge: 55% (should be ignored) status: Discharging 
CPU:
  Topology: Quad Core model: Intel Core i5-4440 bits: 64 type: MCP 
  arch: Haswell rev: 3 L2 cache: 6144 KiB 
  flags: avx avx2 lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx 
  bogomips: 24799 
  Speed: 800 MHz min/max: 800/3300 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 1504 2: 1220 
  3: 1458 4: 1406 
Graphics:
  Device-1: Intel Xeon E3-1200 v3/4th Gen Core Processor Integrated Graphics 
  vendor: Gigabyte driver: i915 v: kernel bus ID: 00:02.0 
  Device-2: NVIDIA GP106 [GeForce GTX 1060 6GB] driver: nouveau v: kernel 
  bus ID: 01:00.0 
  Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.13 driver: modesetting 
  unloaded: fbdev,vesa resolution: 1920x1080~60Hz 
  OpenGL: renderer: NV136 v: 4.3 Mesa 21.2.6 direct render: Yes 
Audio:
  Device-1: Intel Xeon E3-1200 v3/4th Gen Core Processor HD Audio 
  driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus ID: 00:03.0 
  Device-2: Intel 9 Series Family HD Audio vendor: Gigabyte 
  driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus ID: 00:1b.0 
  Device-3: NVIDIA GP106 High Definition Audio driver: snd_hda_intel 
  v: kernel bus ID: 01:00.1 
  Device-4: Texas Instruments PCM2902 Audio Codec type: USB 
  driver: hid-generic,snd-usb-audio,usbhid bus ID: 3-8:5 
  Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.4.0-113-generic 
Network:
  Device-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet 
  vendor: Gigabyte driver: r8169 v: kernel port: d000 bus ID: 03:00.0 
  IF: enp3s0 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter> 
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 2.95 TiB used: 689.09 GiB (22.8%) 
  ID-1: /dev/sda vendor: Western Digital model: WD20EZRZ-00Z5HB0 
  size: 1.82 TiB 
  ID-2: /dev/sdb vendor: Crucial model: CT1000MX500SSD1 size: 931.51 GiB 
  ID-3: /dev/sdc vendor: SanDisk model: SDSSDA240G size: 223.57 GiB 
Partition:
  ID-1: / size: 72.83 GiB used: 12.18 GiB (16.7%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sdb1 
  ID-2: /home size: 827.66 GiB used: 676.90 GiB (81.8%) fs: ext4 
  dev: /dev/sdb4 
  ID-3: swap-1 size: 14.90 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) fs: swap dev: /dev/sdb3 
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 36.0 C mobo: N/A gpu: nouveau temp: 35 C 
 

And this is with the Edimax BT 8500, that, unfortunately, doesn´t work with Mint (yet, I hope).

Code: Select all

 tracy@TracyPC:~$ inxi -Fxz
System:
  Kernel: 5.4.0-113-generic x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 9.4.0 
  Desktop: Cinnamon 5.0.7 Distro: Linux Mint 20.2 Uma 
  base: Ubuntu 20.04 focal 
Machine:
  Type: Desktop System: Gigabyte product: Z97P-D3 v: N/A serial: <filter> 
  Mobo: Gigabyte model: Z97P-D3 v: x.x serial: <filter> 
  UEFI: American Megatrends v: F8 date: 09/18/2015 
Battery:
  Device-1: hidpp_battery_0 
  model: Logitech K780 Multi-Device Wireless Keyboard 
  charge: 100% (should be ignored) status: Discharging 
  Device-2: hidpp_battery_1 
  model: Logitech Marathon Mouse/Performance Plus M705 
  charge: 55% (should be ignored) status: Discharging 
CPU:
  Topology: Quad Core model: Intel Core i5-4440 bits: 64 type: MCP 
  arch: Haswell rev: 3 L2 cache: 6144 KiB 
  flags: avx avx2 lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx 
  bogomips: 24799 
  Speed: 800 MHz min/max: 800/3300 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 815 2: 1147 
  3: 866 4: 829 
Graphics:
  Device-1: Intel Xeon E3-1200 v3/4th Gen Core Processor Integrated Graphics 
  vendor: Gigabyte driver: i915 v: kernel bus ID: 00:02.0 
  Device-2: NVIDIA GP106 [GeForce GTX 1060 6GB] driver: nouveau v: kernel 
  bus ID: 01:00.0 
  Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.13 driver: modesetting 
  unloaded: fbdev,vesa resolution: 1920x1080~60Hz 
  OpenGL: renderer: NV136 v: 4.3 Mesa 21.2.6 direct render: Yes 
Audio:
  Device-1: Intel Xeon E3-1200 v3/4th Gen Core Processor HD Audio 
  driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus ID: 00:03.0 
  Device-2: Intel 9 Series Family HD Audio vendor: Gigabyte 
  driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus ID: 00:1b.0 
  Device-3: NVIDIA GP106 High Definition Audio driver: snd_hda_intel 
  v: kernel bus ID: 01:00.1 
  Device-4: Texas Instruments PCM2902 Audio Codec type: USB 
  driver: hid-generic,snd-usb-audio,usbhid bus ID: 3-8:5 
  Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.4.0-113-generic 
Network:
  Device-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet 
  vendor: Gigabyte driver: r8169 v: kernel port: d000 bus ID: 03:00.0 
  IF: enp3s0 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter> 
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 2.95 TiB used: 689.09 GiB (22.8%) 
  ID-1: /dev/sda vendor: Western Digital model: WD20EZRZ-00Z5HB0 
  size: 1.82 TiB 
  ID-2: /dev/sdb vendor: Crucial model: CT1000MX500SSD1 size: 931.51 GiB 
  ID-3: /dev/sdc vendor: SanDisk model: SDSSDA240G size: 223.57 GiB 
Partition:
  ID-1: / size: 72.83 GiB used: 12.18 GiB (16.7%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sdb1 
  ID-2: /home size: 827.66 GiB used: 676.90 GiB (81.8%) fs: ext4 
  dev: /dev/sdb4 
  ID-3: swap-1 size: 14.90 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) fs: swap dev: /dev/sdb3 
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 34.0 C mobo: N/A gpu: nouveau temp: 32 C 
  Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A gpu: nouveau fan: 1046 
Info:
  Processes: 218 Uptime: 8m Memory: 7.61 GiB used: 1.57 GiB (20.6%) 
  Init: systemd runlevel: 5 Compilers: gcc: 9.4.0 Shell: bash v: 5.0.17   

Edimax has a Linux driver, that I downloaded and tried to install using the commands that were in the instructions:

$ sudo make install INTERFACE=all
or
$ sudo make install INTERFACE=usb
or
$ sudo make install INTERFACE=uart

I don´t understand the rest of the instructions Here they are, for reference:

"===============
TITLE
===============

The document describes how to support Realtek Bluetooth UART and USB driver in Linux system.

===============
REQUIREMENT
===============

The supported kernel version is 2.6.32 - 5.3.

=============================
QUICKLY INSTALL AUTOMATICALLY
=============================

$ sudo make install INTERFACE=all
or
$ sudo make install INTERFACE=usb
or
$ sudo make install INTERFACE=uart

=============================
NOTICE
=============================

If you can't install driver at fedora31.
You need follow the steps below.

1.Move /lib/Moduels/(kernel version)/kernel/driver/bluetooth/btusb.ko.xz to other path, like /home/
2.sudo make install INTERFACE=usb.
3.Move btusb.ko.xz back to /lib/Moduels/(kernel version)/kernel/driver/bluetooth/

Then, reboot or re-plug the BT dongle.

===============
FOR UART I/F
===============

-The default serial protocol of Realtek Bluetooth chip is Three-wire (H5) protocol.

-The default initial baud rate is 115200.

-Installation

To support Three-wire (H5) protocol, you need to install Realtek hci_uart driver
and rtk_hciattach tool.

1. Make sure your UART setting is correct.
host tx - controller rx
host rx - controller tx
host rts - controller cts
host cts - ground
( host cts - controller rts ) // for RTL8822C and RTL8761B
NC - controller rts

2. Install Bluetooth kernel driver and rtk_hciattach tool
$ cd uart
$ sudo make install

3. Copy the right FW file and config file to the correct path.
$ sudo mkdir -p /lib/firmware/rtlbt/
$ sudo cp rtkbt-firmware/lib/firmware/rtlbt/rtl8xxxx_fw /lib/firmware/rtlbt/
$ sudo cp rtkbt-firmware/lib/firmware/rtlbt/rtl8xxxx_config /lib/firmware/rtlbt/

NOTE: PLEASE REFER THE FORWARD SECTION OF FILENAME LIST TO CORRESPONDE THE FW FILENAME AND THE CONFIG FILENAME WITH THE CHIP.

3. Initialize Realtek Bluetooth chip by rtk_hciattach
$ sudo rtk_hciattach -n -s 115200 ttyUSB0 rtk_h5

Tips: ttyUSB0 is serial port name in your system, you should change it
according to hardware such as ttyS0.

-Uninstallation
$ sudo make uninstall

- If you want to change the parameter such as baud rate and pcm settings, you
should modify rtl8xxx_config file.

===============
FOR USB I/F
===============

-Installation

1. Build and install USB driver, change to the driver direcotory
$ cd usb
$ sudo make install

2. Copy the right FW file and config file to the correct path.
$ sudo cp rtkbt-firmware/lib/firmware/rtl8xxxxx_fw /lib/firmware/
$ sudo cp rtkbt-firmware/lib/firmware/rtl8xxxxx_config /lib/firmware/

NOTE: PLEASE REFER THE FORWARD SECTION OF FILENAME LIST TO CORRESPONDE THE FW FILENAME AND THE CONFIG FILENAME WITH THE CHIP.

3. Insert Realtek Bluetooth dongle
Check LMP subversion by the following command
$ hciconfig -a

Now RTK chip can be recognized by the system and bluetooth function can be used.

-Uninstallation
$ sudo make uninstall

===============
FILENAME LIST
===============

Chip I/F FW/Config Path FW Filename Config Filename
for
BT driver
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RTL8761AUV USB /lib/firmware/ rtl8761au_fw rtl8761a_config

RTL8761AW USB /lib/firmware/ rtl8761aw_fw rtl8761aw_config
(RTL8761AW
+RTL8192EU)

RTL8761AUV USB /lib/firmware/ rtl8761au8192ee_fw rtl8761a_config
+RTL8192EE

RTL8761AUV USB /lib/firmware/ rtl8761au8192ee_fw rtl8761a_config
+RTL8812AE

RTL8761ATV UART /lib/firmware/rtlbt/ rtl8761a_fw rtl8761a_config

RTL8761ATV
+RTL8192EE UART /lib/firmware/rtlbt/ rtl8761at8192ee_fw rtl8761a_config

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RTL8761BUV USB /lib/firmware/ rtl8761bu_fw rtl8761bu_config

RTL8761BTV UART /lib/firmware/rtlbt/ rtl8761b_fw rtl8761b_config

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RTL8725AU USB /lib/firmware/ rtl8725au_fw rtl8725au_config

RTL8725AS UART /lib/firmware/rtlbt/ rtl8725as_fw rtl8725as_config

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RTL8723BU USB /lib/firmware/ rtl8723b_fw rtl8723b_config
RTL8723BE

RTL8723BS UART /lib/firmware/rtlbt/ rtl8723b_fw rtl8723b_config

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RTL8821AU USB /lib/firmware/ rtl8821a_fw rtl8821a_config
RTL8821AE

RTL8821AS UART /lib/firmware/rtlbt/ rtl8821a_fw rtl8821a_config

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RTL8822BU USB /lib/firmware/ rtl8822bu_fw rtl8822bu_config
RTL8822BE

RTL8822BS UART /lib/firmware/rtlbt/ rtl8822b_fw rtl8822b_config

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RTL8723DU USB /lib/firmware/ rtl8723du_fw rtl8723du_config
RTL8723DE

RTL8723DS UART /lib/firmware/rtlbt/ rtl8723d_fw rtl8723d_config

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RTL8821CU USB /lib/firmware/ rtl8821cu_fw rtl8821cu_config
RTL8821CE

RTL8821CS UART /lib/firmware/rtlbt/ rtl8821c_fw rtl8821c_config

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RTL8822CU USB /lib/firmware/ rtl8822cu_fw rtl8822cu_config
RTL8822CE

RTL8822CS UART /lib/firmware/rtlbt/ rtl8822cs_fw rtl8822cs_config"

[Boccerini]

And here are the results from lsusb:

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 tracy@TracyPC:~$ lsusb
Bus 002 Device 002: ID 8087:8001 Intel Corp. 
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 8087:8009 Intel Corp. 
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
Bus 003 Device 005: ID 08bb:2902 Texas Instruments PCM2902 Audio Codec
Bus 003 Device 008: ID 7392:c611 Edimax Technology Co., Ltd USB 2.0 Hub
Bus 003 Device 006: ID 046d:c52b Logitech, Inc. Unifying Receiver
Bus 003 Device 003: ID 1a40:0101 Terminus Technology Inc. Hub
Bus 003 Device 007: ID 045e:028e Microsoft Corp. Xbox360 Controller
Bus 003 Device 004: ID 0a5c:21e8 Broadcom Corp. BCM20702A0 Bluetooth 4.0
Bus 003 Device 002: ID 1a40:0101 Terminus Technology Inc. Hub
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
tracy@TracyPC:~$ 
 

[Boccerini]

Well, my problem is solved. It turns out the Edimax 8500 was apparently installed correctly, but my Soundcore earbuds can only be paired to one device at a time, and that´s why they wouldn´t connect to my PC.

I deleted the pairing with my phone, and I could easily pair them with my PC; I don´t even need the Edimax 8500. The earbuds pair just fine with the Logitech Unifying receiver