Blue tooth adapter not recognised -Zorin 15.3

I might be late to this thread given the activity, but I have questions if you don't mind.

  • On plugin while running
    journalctl -f
    what is the output or relevant errors shown?

  • have you checked to see if the driver is loaded?
    lsusb -t
    will show you what drivers(if any) are recognized and loaded into the kernel and relevant to the usb device.

  • what drivers are in-kernel, are they the ones you installed?
    lsmod
    will show all drivers loaded into the kernel

  • after unplug/replug share the output of:
    systemctl --failed

That was me, and it's different hardware altogether, while that driver might work, the path to resolution is unclear, meaning I feel this is a guess, unless you're seeing something I'm not linking that git repo with the specific hardware?

Thx @geekdad - yes, different hardware etc, but, what ever you throw in the air, some might just stick - meaning maybe someone can take that and go forward with it. So thanks again for your input.

Ahh @zabadabadoo, yeah, I remember, we discussed, at some length, the issue of sound in Zorin 15.3 a year or so back. Bluetooth, like the sound issue is something that has plagued Linux, or at lest Ubuntu for seemingly ever.
Then we wonder why people prefer to stick with Windows~
I mean look around, what doesn't run off bluetooth these days? Even my almost decade old Samsung note runs BT devices no hassle.
Anyway rant aside, you can enable BT?
But I guess not using an Intel AX210 card?

See the very bottom of this post:

That's the latest firmware file for the AX210. That should get bluetooth working.

I had posted a link for you to install the mainline repository and command so you can easily install the 5.10 kernel. It was How to upgrade Zorin 16.2 to a newer kernel. This should work for your version of Zorin as well. If it doesn't, we can look at adding a repo for Ubuntu 18 (zorin 15 base).

Hello, can I just clarify what Linux you are running please?
I am 18.4 Ubuntu - Zorin 15.3

I am not confident enough to be messing round with kernels from version 20. something.
Cheers

'morning @337harvey , yes, I saw that and quickly read it. I've sort of cooled on going back, given the comment that even version 5.10 was dodgy.

Now more focused on trying to find a way to go to at least version 5.12 or above. Something more definite. If we can maybe it will be beneficial for others. I mean @zabadabadoo and I can't be the only 15.3 diehards and at some point, someone might want to install an AX210 card.

@Mr_Magoo's suggestion looks promising if I could be sure it would work on 15.3 without crashing the entire system. I've played around with kernel before with disastrous results, not keen to relive that experience.

If I could share something with you that I found out recently when attempting to patch my kernel to better support fan control and thermal management, maybe it could help answer some questions or confusion I think I noticed and clear things up where kernel versions are concerned. If not, I apologize for wasting anyone's time, especially the OP. Definitely don't want to hijack anything here.

For my purposes, I was trying to find out if the 6.2.1 or 6.2.7 to which I was looking to migrate, had the patch I needed and thus farther along than the 5.15 I was on previously; at least in terms of development and hardware support.

I was confused at first when I found that the 6.2 kernel I was considering might not contain the patches or be farther along than the 5.15 kernel I was running previously, until I found this out:
What I found out is that kernel 5.15 is technically considered to be a more recent kernel version than the 6.2.1 or the 6.2.7 I'm running now. If only because the 6.# variants are still under development.

Along those lines, Linux kernel version numbering follows a system where the first digit indicates the major version, the second digit indicates the minor version, and the third digit indicates the patch level.
So in your case, 5 is the major version, 3 is the minor version, and 6.2.1 is a separate major.minor.patch release to a kernel on which it was based (like 5.15 or similar).

That said:
For hardware support in 15.3, a patch would probably be needed and that, I've also found, is a tricky and complicated process. This possibility might be further emphasized when taking into consideration your mention of appreciating the distros which use the earlier kernels. This leads me to believe you might consider entertaining the possibility of patching your kernel or installing a non-standard kernel like 6.#..., if you want to stay on the lower versions of a distro but also run a higher kernel for better hardware support using a more modern/updated WiFi card with BT capability.

You could, for instance, look into the tuxinvader ppa, or using kernel.org to find and use a v6.# kernel based on 5.3 (or even 5.10) if one even exists, which includes the driver support for your card, and install that v6.# kernel.

Hope I didn't lose anyone or goof and mess up my info. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Using the link i previously provided, you could install the 5.14 kernel or 5.15. The mainline gives you access to all available kernels and their firmware. You have to be careful the further from the latest official Zorin kernel. It may have dependencies or libraries you would have to add the next Ubuntu version repository to access.

For example, I'm running Zorin on a stable 6.2 kernel. I had to add the libc6 library from the jammy repos to run it. My first attempt failed because I didn't remove the jammy repo prior to upgrading. So I had to reinstall, restore from backup and perform the upgrade again... then removing the jammy repo. Now I'm stable with newer hardware support, a few bug fixes and optimizations that are yet not available to any of the 5.* versions. Most are not worth the risk, but would ensure your network card will work.

@ajo001, while I don't doubt your research or sources, one thing I dispute is that, though the kernel versions are based on their previous counterparts, they include newer firmware support. This provides more hardware support for newer hardware that weren't in those previous versions. It will also include bug fixes and optimizations, like the AMD processor support that was added in 5.15. Because of this, to say the hardware may not be supported is wrong. The AX210 was supported, stable, from kernel 5.14. While new optimizations may be introduced, until the end of life for that card is reached, it will be included with every kernel version. That may be quite a few revisions since network cards don't change as fast as GPUs.

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Sorry I think I may not have worded my post clearly enough; that's what I was trying to say. OP was using an outdated kernel (5.3) version and was much more likely to get the hardware support needed to use the new card by changing their kernel, as you suggested, or at the very least beginning the massive overhaul of their own - rather outdated kernel - and patching the 5.3 somehow.

I think there may be a loss in translation or my wording was befuddled when I tried to make that point.

Sorry for detracting from yours and OP's main point though. I'll likely leave it to the more experienced people on here to answer difficult issues such as these which I clearly don't understand well enough.

Hiya @ajo001 , technical mistranslation aside, thanks for your input. As i said before, someone else's idea might just spark another idea in someone else. That way we progress.
I found your post useful and in some ways, tied in with (I think) @Mr_Magoo.
Just to clarify though, I was running kernel 5.11 - which, according to Intel is sufficient to run the card- no mention of BT though.
So again, thanks for weighing in - my position is; I listen to everything anyone has to say. Maybe it is irrelevant, impractical, but we don't know till we listen.
The world needs to listen more.
Cheers
Bic

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Zorin Core 16.2r-1 with ZFS file system

uname -a
Linux HP-Laptop 5.15.0-58-lowlatency #64~20.04.1-Ubuntu SMP PREEMPT Fri Jan 6 18:45:25 UTC 2023 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

That shouldn't matter, as the file mentioned in my prior post is the firmware file for the AX210, so it should work no matter the Linux version.

I've got an older version of that file on my system than that provided in the link, so if you want to try something nearer to your version, let me know and I'll figure out a way to get that file to you. The file in the link provided, however, is the latest and greatest, so it should have more bugs fixed.

If you rename your existing file, then download and drop the new file into /lib/firmware/intel, if the new file doesn't work, you can just delete it, rename the old file back to its original name, and you're back to your original setup.

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UPDATE Saturday, April first.

1/ thx to everyone who weighed in.
2/ Working from a post by @Mr_Magoo and later a tut by @joshuaorbit I installed mainline and upgraded to the latest kernel.
#/ BT failed
#downgraded to 6.09 (per tut) BT failed
#downgraded to 5.15- BT failed.
3/ Removed AX 210 card, replaced original.
!BT functional.


So maybe we can eliminate the kernel from the mix at this point?

I think I have read everything on line over the past week, I have tried so many options I am now looping. So am puting this on hold. Will look at any ideas anyone else has or revisit anywhere I might have gone wrong.

Thx again.
Bic

This seems agreeable on the surface. I very nearly questioned everything and backtracked on this myself after reading your post.
But I decided to double-check on it before replying and everything I read confirms that the ax210 really needs to be on higher than 5.13
So, i would not eliminate the kernel from the mix because I think it is a relevant factor in the mix.
It may be that something is still missing in addition to the kernel.
Above, I think i saw you are using the iwlwifi driver... Changing to the backport-iwlwifi-dkms may do the trick.

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SUNDAY April 2
Exec summary:

 can't try your backport-iwlwifi-dkms idea at this point, 
and something is knocking in my head that I have tried 
that early on - the words backport and DKMS are 
familiar.  Came up with an error code  at the time I recall.

Good morning! Nit picking here (not arguing) but I think the relevant part of that sentence was "at this point."
In short, I agree, because until I upgraded from 5.4 nothing worked. I upgraded accidentally - I blindly followed a post on line where someone had success.

It wasn't till sometime later when another post talked about the need for a higher kernel and I did a check that I found I had 5.11. I thought it was a natural upgrade, it wasn't 'till much later I traced it back to an earlier post.

So, I agree, at basics, having 5.11 at least is mandatory to having the Internet (WIFI) run. It wasn't until I followed the very first post I linked to in this errr, novel, that it did actually work though. That involved cd to the driver folder and adding errrr, I forget now. In that post, someone questioned BT, the author confirmed it was working for him. After a fruitless day I turned to Zorin support.

Don't forget though, yesterday, I upgraded to kernel 6.29, no go, then slowly downgraded to 5.15. So, I have been above the min recommended kernel, hence my suggestion re kernel elimination at this point. In short - i agree.

Right now, Sunday, I have removed the 210, packed it up ready to return to seller unless she can provide me a driver they know works or replace the card. I am working on the basis that the BT unit on the card is faulty!!!

For what it's worth, at around 10 pm last night, I decided to relax with my BT headset on the old card, Zorin recognised it, connected it, my head set acknowledged she was ready. No sound! Checked settings AOK. Switched to wired headset and enjoyed the movie in full sound.

So now, I am really messed up - headset worked under BT before I started all this, now doesn't.
My conclusion is that somewhere, something I have done over the past 4 days has changed settings which is both stopping the 210 BT from working (remember the WIFI does) and the older one from playing sound.

Seems all I really need now is a simple line of code that resets BT back to last Thursday morn when i tried to install AX210! ( Yeah, I know)

Summary - can't try your backport-iwlwifi-dkms idea at this point, and something is knocking in my head that I have tried that early on - the words backport and DKMS are familiar. Came up with an error code at the time I think.

For most of today I have to research for tomorrows article so if you don't hear from me, you know why.
Cheers
Bic

EDIT: This is the post that eventually had the AX210 WIFI working: [Guide] Install Intel Wireless Drivers on Linux - Linux - Framework Community

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In addition to the file I mentioned above, the thread you provided states that renaming the default firmware file is necessary:
sudo mv /usr/lib/firmware/iwlwifi-ty-a0-gf-a0.pnvm /usr/lib/firmware/iwlwifi-ty-a0-gf-a0.pnvm.bak

So perhaps downloading the latest purpose-built firmware file for that particular WiFi / bluetooth adapter, then renaming the default firmware file so it's not used will do the trick.


You can also do:
sudoedit /etc/default/grub

Then add iwlwifi.debug=0x00010000 to the GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT line so you get all the logs for the adapter.

Then after a reboot, check journalctl -b to see the logs.

If you want to filter the logs, append | grep wifi (for wifi) or | grep blue (for bluetooth) to that command.

Hiya @Mr_Magoo, just taking a tea break, saw your note. Needed to drop a quick reply.
Thanks!
I need a clear head for this, right now it is far from. Also, a lot of good people have tried to help, wonderful, but I think I now have too many theories to recall which was which.
The renaming rings a bell, but I'm darned if I can recall when or where.
Later tonight can I come back to you, I'd like to try your last idea but as I said, what went afore it is a bit messy in my head right now.
Cheers
TheBic

EDIT: forgot to say, I thought your post seemed familiar, going back thru my links I also saw that in the INTEL community board - guy name JLim. I was hung up on the GIT page - not sure what to do. Beyond my skills. Git has a totally, not awfully polite meaning in my language~

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@Mr_Magoo - trying to unpick all your posts to find a start point. This thread is a little messy now. And I'm tired.

Is that file the one from this link you posted?

Thursday May 4th - original vendor was unable to provide much more help, kit returned credited.
Purchased installed new brand, same Intel AX 210 card.
Wifi worked out of the box but BT ( previously no issues in old card) still not functional.

Have worked thru most of the above suggestions again, but am now lost and confused. @Mr_Magoo I think your answer might be what I am looking for but perhaps we should start this again, step by step, with a new thread so I am not distracted?
What do you think mods, close and begin again?
Cheers
P