Bluetooth not turning on

Hardware Support
1

Hello once more,

I'm encountering issues with Bluetooth on my HP ProBook 4530s. It's quite perplexing; Bluetooth functions smoothly only about one out of every ten reboots. Most of the time, however, it fails to work. I've attempted to use Blueman, but it seems to only function when Bluetooth is already turned on.

Most of the time, the Bluetooth appears to be turned off, accompanied by the option to toggle it off again:

Screenshot from 2024-03-15 15-53-38
Screenshot from 2024-03-15 15-53-381366Ă—768 111 KB

Also, here is the output of sudo /etc/init.d/bluetooth status when this happens:

â—Ź bluetooth.service - Bluetooth service
     Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/bluetooth.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled)
     Active: active (running) since Sat 2024-03-16 22:56:13 +0330; 31min ago
       Docs: man:bluetoothd(8)
   Main PID: 1106 (bluetoothd)
     Status: "Running"
      Tasks: 1 (limit: 9294)
     Memory: 1.5M
     CGroup: /system.slice/bluetooth.service
             └─1106 /usr/lib/bluetooth/bluetoothd

Mar 16 22:56:13 Barbood-NoteBook systemd[1]: Starting Bluetooth ser…..
Mar 16 22:56:13 Barbood-NoteBook bluetoothd[1106]: Bluetooth daemon…53
Mar 16 22:56:13 Barbood-NoteBook systemd[1]: Started Bluetooth serv…e.
Mar 16 22:56:13 Barbood-NoteBook bluetoothd[1106]: Starting SDP server
Mar 16 22:56:13 Barbood-NoteBook bluetoothd[1106]: Bluetooth manage…ed
Hint: Some lines were ellipsized, use -l to show in full.

Occasionally, however, it functions correctly as depicted in the following image:

Screenshot from 2024-03-15 23-41-04
Screenshot from 2024-03-15 23-41-041366Ă—768 137 KB

However, in the current instance, although it shows as off, the option to turn it on is displayed, yet attempting to do so yields no result:

Bluetooth off - turn on
Bluetooth off - turn on1366Ă—768 129 KB

Here is the output of sudo lshw -C network:

  *-network                 
       description: Wireless interface
       product: AR9285 Wireless Network Adapter (PCI-Express)
       vendor: Qualcomm Atheros
       physical id: 0
       bus info: pci@0000:25:00.0
       logical name: wlo1
       version: 01
       serial: 9c:b7:0d:42:05:da
       width: 64 bits
       clock: 33MHz
       capabilities: pm msi pciexpress bus_master cap_list ethernet physical wireless
       configuration: broadcast=yes driver=ath9k driverversion=5.15.0-100-generic firmware=N/A ip=192.168.1.101 latency=0 link=yes multicast=yes wireless=IEEE 802.11
       resources: irq:19 memory:d4700000-d470ffff
  *-network
       description: Ethernet interface
       product: RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller
       vendor: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd.
       physical id: 0
       bus info: pci@0000:26:00.0
       logical name: enp38s0
       version: 06
       serial: e4:11:5b:37:c4:4d
       capacity: 1Gbit/s
       width: 64 bits
       clock: 33MHz
       capabilities: pm msi pciexpress msix vpd bus_master cap_list ethernet physical tp mii 10bt 10bt-fd 100bt 100bt-fd 1000bt 1000bt-fd autonegotiation
       configuration: autonegotiation=on broadcast=yes driver=r8169 driverversion=5.15.0-100-generic firmware=rtl_nic/rtl8168e-2.fw latency=0 link=no multicast=yes port=twisted pair
       resources: irq:17 ioport:2000(size=256) memory:d4404000-d4404fff memory:d4400000-d4403fff
3

I'm pretty noob at Linux but I don't think Firmware or Driver is the problem. But I see different and strange outputs from different commands.

here is the output of /etc/init.d/bluetooth status. (The Bluetooth is off):

 bluetooth.service - Bluetooth service
     Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/bluetooth.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled)
     Active: active (running) since Sun 2024-03-17 13:25:20 +0330; 14min ago
       Docs: man:bluetoothd(8)
   Main PID: 1110 (bluetoothd)
     Status: "Running"
      Tasks: 1 (limit: 9294)
     Memory: 1.5M
     CGroup: /system.slice/bluetooth.service
             └─1110 /usr/lib/bluetooth/bluetoothd

Mar 17 13:25:20 Barbood-NoteBook systemd[1]: Starting Bluetooth se…..
Mar 17 13:25:20 Barbood-NoteBook bluetoothd[1110]: Bluetooth daemo…53
Mar 17 13:25:20 Barbood-NoteBook systemd[1]: Started Bluetooth ser…e.
Mar 17 13:25:21 Barbood-NoteBook bluetoothd[1110]: Starting SDP se…er
Mar 17 13:25:21 Barbood-NoteBook bluetoothd[1110]: Bluetooth manag…ed
Hint: Some lines were ellipsized, use -l to show in full.

here is the output of rfkill list:

0: phy0: Wireless LAN
	Soft blocked: no
	Hard blocked: no

Here, it is not showing any Bluetooth. But take a look at lsusb:

Bus 002 Device 004: ID 03f0:311d HP, Inc Atheros AR9285 Malbec Bluetooth Adapter
Bus 002 Device 003: ID 1bcf:2888 Sunplus Innovation Technology Inc. HP Universal Camera
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 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 248a:8514 Maxxter 
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

The outputs are very contradictory and I don't know really what to do. I've tried Drivers, Firmware, Blueman and Bluez and bunch of other methods.
And I know that the problem is not from the hardware itself, because it is working fine on my windows 10 and I've also tried it on Ubuntu 22.04

4

No solution?
@337harvey
@Aravisian

5

I just found this from websearch "HP ProBook 4530s wifi switch" which may shed some light on bluetooth. Although this refers to wifi, isn't it the same card for both. I was thinking on the lines of physical switch being toggled or wireless status or Airplane mode being grabbed by Windows. When exiting Windows do a full shutdown.
Do you have Windows Fast Start disabled and BIOS Secure boot disabled?

Maybe a trip to your BIOS may reveal something.

2 Likes
6

I agree, it is contradictory. I would also lean toward Hardware issue.

I realize you say that the card works fine on Windows but-

  • how much testing has it had on Windows?
  • Hardware can show signs of failure sooner on GnuLinux than on Windows OS.

I agree that it is much better to examine the Software Side thoroughly before concluding it is hardware. Unless you have an easy access bluetooth card or USB dongle you can turn to without trouble, examining the software side allows the greatest chance to solve the issue without expense.

But, it is also more tedious.

As @zabadabadoo pointed out, the Bluetooth is radio and is therfor run by the Wifi card.
Have you checked your card and drivers?

sudo lshw -C network