Bluetooth firmware download problem

[Steven67]

Got a Kinivo BTD-400 adapter. Bluetooth now pairs, but will not connect, to my hearing aids. Kinivo offers a firmware solution: https://community.kinivo.com/t/troubles ... ng-hcd/175. However, I cannot seem to copy the firmware .hcd file to /lib/firmware/brcm. Kinivo's customer service very kindly tried to help me with it, but ultimately I couldn't find "/lib/firmware/brcm" as a directory to copy it to. I tried searching this issue first on the forum search, but kept getting "Access Denied - Sucuri Website Firewall", which I had never encountered before. I haven't found anything I could understand with an external (to the forum) search either.

I would welcome any suggestions; thank you!

[dorsetUK]

Got a Kinivo BTD-400 adapter. Bluetooth now pairs, but will not connect, to my hearing aids. Kinivo offers a firmware solution: https://community.kinivo.com/t/troubles ... ng-hcd/175. However, I cannot seem to copy the firmware .hcd file to /lib/firmware/brcm. Kinivo's customer service very kindly tried to help me with it, but ultimately I couldn't find "/lib/firmware/brcm" as a directory to copy it to. I tried searching this issue first on the forum search, but kept getting "Access Denied - Sucuri Website Firewall", which I had never encountered before. I haven't found anything I could understand with an external (to the forum) search either.

I would welcome any suggestions; thank you!

Hi

From your link.

Solution

The firmware is available at the link below:

http://downloads.kinivo.com/product/dri ... rmware.zip

Extract the .hcd file contained in the ZIP, then copy the hcd to:

/lib/firmware/brcm

Next, power off the computer, plug in the BTD-400, then power the computer back on. The BTD-400 should now operate as expected.
---

I’m using Mint 20.2 Cinnamon and here’s my ‘/lib/firmware/brcm’.

Which made me wonder which version of Mint you’re using? Could you let us know which it is.

Btw - Usually, "Access Denied - Sucuri Website Firewall", means that there’s some maintenance going on.

[Steven67]

Thank you, dorsetUK. BCM20702A1-0a5c-21e8.hcd is sitting comfortably in the brcm file. Bluetooth still refuses to connect my hearing aids. Perhaps I need terminal command(s) to go from here?
edit: using 19.3

[JeremyB]

Post results from terminal for

Code: Select all

lsusb; dmesg | egrep -i 'blue|firm'

[Steven67]

steve@steve-Latitude-E6400:~$ lsusb; dmesg | egrep -i 'blue|firm'
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 008 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 007 Device 002: ID 0a5c:21e8 Broadcom Corp. BCM20702A0 Bluetooth 4.0
Bus 007 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 006 Device 002: ID 046d:c52b Logitech, Inc. Unifying Receiver
Bus 006 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 005 Device 002: ID 0a5c:5800 Broadcom Corp. BCM5880 Secure Applications Processor
Bus 005 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
[ 0.160227] ACPI: [Firmware Bug]: BIOS _OSI(Linux) query ignored
[ 0.403054] acpi PNP0A03:00: [Firmware Info]: MMCONFIG for domain 0000 [bus 00-3f] only partially covers this bridge
[ 2.080278] [Firmware Bug]: Duplicate ACPI video bus devices for the same VGA controller, please try module parameter "video.allow_duplicates=1"if the current driver doesn't work.
[ 44.039425] Bluetooth: Core ver 2.22
[ 44.039471] Bluetooth: HCI device and connection manager initialized
[ 44.039477] Bluetooth: HCI socket layer initialized
[ 44.039480] Bluetooth: L2CAP socket layer initialized
[ 44.039495] Bluetooth: SCO socket layer initialized
[ 44.763173] dell_wmi: firmware scancode 0x200 maps to unrecognized keycode 0xffff
[ 45.120100] Bluetooth: hci0: BCM: chip id 63
[ 45.122092] Bluetooth: hci0: BCM: features 0x07
[ 45.154097] Bluetooth: hci0: BCM20702A
[ 45.156096] Bluetooth: hci0: BCM20702A1 (001.002.014) build 0000
[ 46.543103] Bluetooth: hci0: BCM20702A1 (001.002.014) build 1764
[ 46.575091] Bluetooth: hci0: Broadcom Bluetooth Device
[ 55.520670] Bluetooth: BNEP (Ethernet Emulation) ver 1.3
[ 55.520672] Bluetooth: BNEP filters: protocol multicast
[ 55.520677] Bluetooth: BNEP socket layer initialized
[ 93.460046] Bluetooth: RFCOMM TTY layer initialized
[ 93.460060] Bluetooth: RFCOMM socket layer initialized
[ 93.460069] Bluetooth: RFCOMM ver 1.11
[ 1896.720425] Bluetooth: hci0: BCM: chip id 63
[ 1896.722425] Bluetooth: hci0: BCM: features 0x07
[ 1896.755429] Bluetooth: hci0: steve-Latitude-E6400
[ 1896.757431] Bluetooth: hci0: BCM20702A1 (001.002.014) build 1764
[ 1898.030459] Bluetooth: hci0: BCM20702A1 (001.002.014) build 1764
[ 1898.062867] Bluetooth: hci0: Broadcom Bluetooth Device
steve@steve-Latitude-E6400:~$

[JeremyB]

The firmware loads, post results for

Code: Select all

hciconfig -a

[Steven67]

steve@steve-Latitude-E6400:~$ hciconfig -a
hci0: Type: Primary Bus: USB
BD Address: 5C:F3:70:A2:6B:11 ACL MTU: 1021:8 SCO MTU: 64:1
UP RUNNING PSCAN ISCAN
RX bytes:3562 acl:0 sco:0 events:439 errors:0
TX bytes:40859 acl:0 sco:0 commands:438 errors:0
Features: 0xbf 0xfe 0xcf 0xfe 0xdb 0xff 0x7b 0x87
Packet type: DM1 DM3 DM5 DH1 DH3 DH5 HV1 HV2 HV3
Link policy: RSWITCH SNIFF
Link mode: SLAVE ACCEPT
Name: 'steve-Latitude-E6400'
Class: 0x1c010c
Service Classes: Rendering, Capturing, Object Transfer
Device Class: Computer, Laptop
HCI Version: 4.1 (0x7) Revision: 0x16e4
LMP Version: 4.1 (0x7) Subversion: 0x220e
Manufacturer: Broadcom Corporation (15)


Is radio frequency interference a possibility? We've got a number of things (wireless router, cordless phone, wireless printer, cell phone signal amplifier [booster]) that I think may operate in the 2400 MHz range. All in the same room.

[Steven67]

Thank you, Jeremy.

The reason I bring up the possibility of RFI is that I also bought a TaoTronics Bluetooth adapter for my television so that I could hear the TV audio through my hearing aids. I think it paired with them (heard a unique chime), but doesn't seem to connect and so no audio via the hearing aids.

Interestingly, the link between my Android phone and the hearing aids works fine in the same room with all of the other Bluetooth-enabled devices.

[JeremyB]

It could be RFI with all those devices operating in the same freqs

[Steven67]

Does it look as though the firmware is properly installed then?

I'm going to start unplugging RF sources one at a time and see whether it will connect then.

[JeremyB]

The messages in the dmesg output shows that the firmware loaded fine

[SMG]

I would welcome any suggestions; thank you!

A person in a different topic mentioned in this post that

I read the manual for the hearing aids, and it says you have to pair during the first 3 minutes after turning them on. I tried again with that knowledge and I saw the hearing aids listed, and was able to pair with them. Now they work great.

Maybe the instruction manual for your hearing aids might have some tips which will help in this situation.

[Steven67]

Thank you, SMG. My hearing aids are paired, but they won't connect.

Hearing aids paired

[JeremyB]

Post results from terminal for

Code: Select all

pactl list short | grep blue

[SMG]

Thank you, SMG. My hearing aids are paired, but they won't connect.

Screenshot from 2021-10-25 12-54-34.png

I found the thread Connecting KS9 to Win10 as Audio and down in the replies I see "You can definitely use your KS9’s with the Bluetooth on your PC. To do so you must work within the limitation of the KS9 to be paired with only one device at a time." That comment and explanation is here.

Do you know for sure your hearing aids can be connected to more than one device at a time? If not, you have to disconnect them from the phone in order to connect them to the computer according to the information on the link I provided.

Edited to exchange pairing for disconnecting/connecting.

[SMG]

If what you have are Kirkland Signature hearing aids, then they can not be used with more than one device at a time according to this Kirlkland hearing aid FAQ How do I pair a second Bluetooth® device to my hearing aids? .

That would explain why the device paired with the adapter you bought for the TV, but you are not hearing the TV. The hearing aids were probably still connected to your cellphone.

[JeremyB]

A lot of bluetooth devices need to be paired again to a previous device if paired to another since. I know you couldn't pair a device in Linux on the same PC that also had Windows and switch between OS's without copying some info from the Windows registry and putting it in a file in Linux

I think the Bluetooth hearing aids store a MAC address of the device it is paired with along with a pairing code, if both don't match you can't connect

I just did a small test with my bluetooth headphones by copying the contents of the /var/lib/bluetooth/ directory from my Mint 20 install on this laptop to my Ubuntu 20.04 install and am able to use the headphones on both OS without having to put the headphones in pairing mode

[Steven67]

steve@steve-Latitude-E6400:~$ pactl list short | grep blue
8 module-bluetooth-policy
9 module-bluetooth-discover
10 module-bluez5-discover
steve@steve-Latitude-E6400:~$

[JeremyB]

I would expect it to pair and connect with audio devices with that result

[Steven67]

The Costco hearing aid specialist steered me to the Phonak (hearing aid mfr.) customer service department and one of their people suggested the Avantree DG80 Bluetooth audio transmitter. I got one and when I plugged it in, it played! Pairing and connecting happen within the dongle, not the computer, according to the Avantree instructions.

The process disconnects Bluetooth in my Android phone, but I can easily switch it back from the phone settings. The Bluetooth audio quality makes quite a difference from the onboard speakers, Not great for violin music, but that doesn't much matter with my high frequency hearing loss.
I've got a question in to Phonak about a possible firmware upgrade for the KS-9s that will allow pairing two devices to the hearing aids.

Now if I could just unload my extensive collection of dongles that I couldn't get to work with Tessa 19.3...