Any tips on using Bluetooth?

[Member Mynaardt]

Hi, All!

I was just trying to figure out how to pair my hearing aids (yes, hearing aids, not headphones) to Bluetooth on my antiX install. I can do that with my Android phone, which is kind of cool. It’s just like having expensive ear buds. But anyway…

So, I decided to give this a go. I have a USB Bluetooth adaptor stuck into my laptop. That was okay. Then enabled it via the Bluetooth thing in the Applications > Preferences menu. No problems there. And when I did a scan, I got three items showing up. Which was good. BUT, they all showed up as some sort of Hexadecimal ID codes. I couldn’t tell at a glance what kind of devices the three that showed up were. And the only one I have running is my hearing aid.

Is there a trick to figuring out which device to choose? Like is there some way of finding out what code our device gives out. Or is it just trial and error?

I did find one topic addressing Bluetooth, and here are my outputs from lsub and inxi:

$ lsusb
Bus 002 Device 002: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 04f2:b2da Chicony Electronics Co., Ltd thinkpad t430s camera
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
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 003: ID 0a5c:21e8 Broadcom Corp. BCM20702A0 Bluetooth 4.0
Bus 003 Device 002: ID 046d:c52b Logitech, Inc. Unifying Receiver
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub

$ inxi -Nxxx
Network:
  Device-1: Intel 82579LM Gigabit Network vendor: Lenovo driver: e1000e
    v: kernel port: 5080 bus-ID: 00:19.0 chip-ID: 8086:1502 class-ID: 0200
  Device-2: Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205 [Taylor Peak] driver: iwlwifi
    v: kernel pcie: speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 1 bus-ID: 03:00.0 chip-ID: 8086:0085
    class-ID: 0280

And I also have a screenshot of the Bluetooth window showing the devices. So, if anyone could tell me how to make sense of those

Thanks in advance for any nudges in the right direction!

• This topic was modified 7 months, 3 weeks ago by Mynaardt.

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What have the Romans ever done for us?
Apart from: sanitation, medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, fresh water, and public health?

[Member sybok]

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Try identifying the manufacturer using device’s MAC address (the ID codes you mention): https://zsecurity.org/how-to-differ-some-devices-using-just-their-mac-address/
I tried several web-pages on the MAC you mention but no result returned (database is probably incomplete).
E.g. search at https://mac.lc/

And that probably explains why there is no name mentioned, just the MAC address.
Hence I guess that try-error and keeping a written database (e.g. a text file with MAC and human-readable/understandable identifier/description) is the best way to go.

If you wish to find more results, try a web-search and narrow it to antiX forum web pages:
bluetooth site:www.antixforum.com
This is sometimes more efficient when searching the forum.

BTW: I am Brian and so is my wife. 🙂

[Member ModdIt]

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Hi mynaardt,
Please read the MAC adresses from your phone when in pairing mode or after pairing.
@least on android real easy way to id devices.

[Moderator caprea]

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Probably you need to install pulseaudio and pulseaudio-module-bluetooth for pairing and sound transfer with bluetooth.
Please look also here,
https://www.antixforum.com/forums/topic/i-cant-get-any-bluetooth-device-to-pair-with-my-pc/

[Member Mynaardt]

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sybok wrote:

Try identifying the manufacturer using device’s MAC address (the ID codes you mention): https://zsecurity.org/how-to-differ-some-devices-using-just-their-mac-address/
I tried several web-pages on the MAC you mention but no result returned (database is probably incomplete).
E.g. search at https://mac.lc/

And that probably explains why there is no name mentioned, just the MAC address.
Hence I guess that try-error and keeping a written database (e.g. a text file with MAC and human-readable/understandable identifier/description) is the best way to go.

If you wish to find more results, try a web-search and narrow it to antiX forum web pages:
bluetooth site:www.antixforum.com
This is sometimes more efficient when searching the forum.

BTW: I am Brian and so is my wife. 🙂

Hi Sabok:

Thanks for that; I’ll see if I can find that MAC address for the hearing aids.
And at least “MAC address” gives me something more useful to look up than “magic numbers”.

BTW; was that Brian or Bwian?! 😀
And let’s not forget the name of Pilates great friend in Rome, eh?
(I always get the giggles no matter how often I see that one scene)

What have the Romans ever done for us?
Apart from: sanitation, medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, fresh water, and public health?

[Member Mynaardt]

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ModdIt wrote:

Hi mynaardt,
Please read the MAC adresses from your phone when in pairing mode or after pairing.
@least on android real easy way to id devices.

Thanks for that, Moddit.

Since I seldom look for things to do with Bluetooth; do I find that MAC address in my phone’s Android settings, or elsewhere?

Thanks again for the reply.

What have the Romans ever done for us?
Apart from: sanitation, medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, fresh water, and public health?

[Member Mynaardt]

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caprea wrote:

Probably you need to install pulseaudio and pulseaudio-module-bluetooth for pairing and sound transfer with bluetooth.
Please look also here,
https://www.antixforum.com/forums/topic/i-cant-get-any-bluetooth-device-to-pair-with-my-pc/

Thanks, caprea.
I will look that up.

It should be pretty obvious by now that I’ve not delved into Bluetooth before, so thank you so much for the help, Everyone!

What have the Romans ever done for us?
Apart from: sanitation, medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, fresh water, and public health?

[Moderator Brian Masinick]

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That article over at https://zsecurity.org/how-to-differ-some-devices-using-just-their-mac-address/ is actually pretty good; it tells us what MAC actually stands for, gives plenty of examples, and though it has quite a few technical details, it certainly gives enough pictorial detail so that users can find their MAC address (usually the vendor has it ON their devices or the material that ships with the device).

The antiX discussion referenced also provides plenty of additional details and suggestions. I recommend taking the time to at least be able to find a MAC address and provide it where needed; understanding it is optional.

--
Brian Masinick

[Member ModdIt]

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Hi Mynaardt,
when bluetooth device and phone is in pairing mode: my phone shows me the MAC adress and asks if I want to pair
with that device, after pairing I can see the adress in settings, device connections. That is as far as I am aware
standard in android.

I am not familiar with hearing aids which can be paired with bluetooth, but the proceedure will be same as my
ear buds.

[Member Mynaardt]

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Brian Masinick wrote:

That article over at https://zsecurity.org/how-to-differ-some-devices-using-just-their-mac-address/ is actually pretty good; it tells us what MAC actually stands for, gives plenty of examples, and though it has quite a few technical details, it certainly gives enough pictorial detail so that users can find their MAC address (usually the vendor has it ON their devices or the material that ships with the device).

The antiX discussion referenced also provides plenty of additional details and suggestions. I recommend taking the time to at least be able to find a MAC address and provide it where needed; understanding it is optional.

That sounds handy, thanks!

What have the Romans ever done for us?
Apart from: sanitation, medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, fresh water, and public health?

[Member Mynaardt]

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ModdIt wrote:

Hi Mynaardt,
when bluetooth device and phone is in pairing mode: my phone shows me the MAC adress and asks if I want to pair
with that device, after pairing I can see the adress in settings, device connections. That is as far as I am aware
standard in android.

I am not familiar with hearing aids which can be paired with bluetooth, but the proceedure will be same as my
ear buds.

Thanks, Moddit.

I’ll potter around with that tomorrow. After having some Turkish style coffee (read; caffeinated tar in a cup). It won’t hurt to get a better understanding of this Bluetooth business.

When I had to get hearing aids, it just so happens that the new ones are made Bluetooth compatible. Soooo, I figured I may as well take advantage of the situation.

What have the Romans ever done for us?
Apart from: sanitation, medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, fresh water, and public health?

[Member ModdIt]

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Quote from Mynaard,

When I had to get hearing aids, it just so happens that the new ones are made Bluetooth compatible.
Soooo, I figured I may as well take advantage of the situation.

Makes sense comfort wise as they should fit your hearing curve, and nice with hands free for phone use.

If you get really stuck it might be worth playing with a USB to bluetooth transmitter, they are cheap
and good, there the pairing is with the dongle not the operating system. Works all over the place,
in car, TV etc. Majority are plug and play, usb stick size. Sounds nice, where USB sound works no issue.
about 9 Euro on amazon..

Will see if I can find how to run one with my soundcard, only 3.5 mm jacks there.

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