How to Set up Bluetooth in Arch Linux

Last Update: Jun 7, 2024

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I installed Arch Linux on my new laptop a couple of months ago, and strangely enough, never used Bluetooth on it yet. Bluetooth in Arch Linux can be fun and interesting at times.

I wanted to use my favorite Sony headphones on my laptop (It only has Arch Linux on it, no Windows!), so I thought I’d document the process.

Step 1: Install Bluez and Blueman

The first step is to install some utilities.

I will install:

• Bluez
• Bluez Utils
• Blueman

sudo pacman -S bluez
sudo pacman -S bluez-utils
sudo pacman -S blueman

These should install without a problem. You’ll see a neat icon here:

Next, make sure the btusb Kernel module is loaded:

lsmod | grep btusb

Here’s a trick to help it find adapters, even if you plug one in:

sudo vim /etc/bluetooth/main.conf

Search for autoenable:

Save the file.

2. Enable the Service

Next, we want to try starting up the service:

sudo systemctl start bluetooth.service

If you want it to start up automatically, enable it:

sudo systemctl enable bluetooth.service

Now we should be up and running. You can turn on all adapters with Blueman:

Now you should be ready to connect and pair.

3. Pairing

Blueman makes pairing pretty easy:

Select a device:

Start pairing:

And you’re done connecting!

If you’re connecting headphones like I am, there are a few more steps.

Connecting Audio

First off, I’ll install pulseaudio and the Bluetooth extension.

sudo pacman -S pulseaudio
sudo pacman -S pulseaudio-bluetooth

Start up pulseaudio:

sudo systemctl pulseaudio start

If you want it to start up automatically:

sudo systemctl start pulseaudio

One utility I like to use to control audio (point it towards my speakers or the headphones) is Pavucontrol.

sudo pacman -S pavucontrol
pavucontrol

This is a great way to switch back and forth:

Note: If You Have a2dp

If your audio devices uses a2dp (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile), you may get the following error:

Connection Failed: Protocol not available

Here’s how to fix it. There’s a gdm fix, so it connects upon login (if you’re using GDM)

cd ~/src
git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/pulseaudio-bluetooth-a2dp-gdm-fix.git
makepkg -i

You’ll also need to do this:

Here’s a hotfix that I found that worked. Check out this gist.

Use this content for your bt-autoenable-a2dp.sh file:

mkdir -p ~/.config/scripts/xorg
vim ~/.config/scripts/xorg/bt-auto-enable-a2dp.sh
sh ~/.config/scripts/xorg/bt-auto-enable-a2dp.sh

Create a udev rules file and add this content

sudo vim /etc/udev/rules.d/20-bt-auto-enable-a2dp.rules

Now you should be up and running and listening to audio! It worked for my WH-1000MX3 headphones.

Questions, comments? Let me know!

Published: Apr 30, 2020 by Jeremy Morgan. Contact me before republishing this content.