Fri 26 Aug 2016

BlueTooth

First we need to install the Bluetooth package (this was already installed for me on Debian Jessie), and check it works. 

sudo apt install bluetooth
systemctl status bluetooth

Blueman

This is a GUI. 

sudo apt install blueman

## We'll want to run this in the background in our i3 config.
blueman-applet

The Bluetooth icon now shows up in our bar, and we should be able to pair a device.

Sound

I was connecting to an Anker A3143 portable Bluetooth speaker. I found my connection didn't last, that I couldn't repeat connect, and that my device didn't get added to pavucontrol as a sink.

I found Arch Linux's Bluetooth Headset page helpful. 

sudo journald -n 20
## We see: a2dp-sink profile connect failed

## We need some special drivers for Bluetooth sound.
sudo apt install bluez pulseaudio-module-bluetooth

## Not sure which of these helped
pactl load-module module-bluetooth-discover
pactl load-module module-bluetooth-policy

I still need to find out:

  • Do I need to load this module each time I start?
  • Which module is it anyway? Both?