Puppy Linux Discussion Forum

Hi again, I’m enjoying Friendly Fossa 9.5, and it’s mostly meeting my needs, but I’d like to install a wireless mouse. I have a very nice (and expensive) Logitech M720 bluetooth mouse that worked fine on this computer under Windows 10, but I’ve uninstalled Windows in favor of FriendlyFossa. I’ve tried the Janky BT application that comes with FossaPup 9.5, but the bluetoothctl window that pops up when I hit the “Start Bluetooth” button doesn’t allow me to type anything into it. I’ve not been able to try anything further, to see if that mouse would work. Any idea how to get the bluetoothctl window to behave? Perhaps I should try a different bluetooth tool? Suggestions? Note I’ve tried the standard fossapup64 9.5 installation, with identical results, so I don't think this problem is specific to Friendly Fossa.

I’ll need to buy a new mouse, since I use that Logitech M720 on a different computer. (I’m trying to set up “His and Her” laptops so the wife and I can both compute at the same time, while on the road.) Can anyone recommend a specific wireless mouse that is known to work with FossaPup64 9.5, and is easy to set up? I’d prefer a Bluetooth mouse, since the laptop has bluetooth built in and only two USB ports, so it would be nice to retain both the USB ports, but I’d consider a simple wireless mouse that uses a USB dongle. Particularly given the trouble I’m having getting BT started on this laptop, it might be easier to use something tried and true (and hopefully cheaper than the M720). Any suggestions? FWIW, I'm in the USA.

More details on my machine and installation:
Puppy Version: friendly-fossa64-rc3 (based on fossapup64 9.5)
System specs:
RAM - 4 GB
Processor - Intel Pentium CPU N3510 @ 1.99 GHz
Product name: HP Pavilion 11 x2 Notebook PC
Installation: Frugal, on sda2

Thanks very much.

Hallo, @loldigox .

Welcome to the wornderful world of Linux..! You're discovering one of Linux's lesser-known 'secrets'.....that Bluetooth support is not that great, and usually takes some mucking-about to get functional. It's usually 'do-able', but you may need to bear with us for a bit.

My own MX Master has dual options; Bluetooth and/or wireless. This HP Pavilion desktop uses a 'combo' wireless/Bluetooth chip; although most would use ethernet with a desktop, I actually use the wireless connection, because it's a complete PITA to run a cable all the way from our router to where my tower is situated. And that obviates the use of Bluetooth.....because the chip will run either wireless OR Bluetooth, but not both at the same time.

So I use the multi-connection dongle. Which I'm quite happy with.....but then, I DO have around 15 USB ports to play with (if you count the 7-port self-powered hub)!

-------------------------------

Someone here ought to be able to help. This is probably more to do with firmware/kernel modules than anything else (once sorted-out, Bluetooth should be functional for you), but those are not my strong suit. Plenty here that know what they're doing with them, however.

Stick around. Hopefully, we'll get ya 'fixed'.

Mike.

loldigox wrote: ↑Fri Mar 11, 2022 6:20 am

... but I’d consider a simple wireless mouse that uses a USB dongle.

Any non-BT Logitech mouse would do just fine. M1xx, M2xx, M3xx all works great.
In fact, almost any mouse regardless of the brand - as long as they're regular wireless (or wired) mouse, would do just fine.
Avoid MS Mouse, they have some quirks in them - they don't always work as well.

Thanks @garnet and @mikewalsh !

I remembered I have an old Logitech wireless mouse and keyboard with a clunky big dongle on an old desktop (which I'll consider converting to Puppy one of these days). I tried that, and it works great with FossaPup.

So I'm going to go ahead and order a regular Logitech wireless mouse with low profile dongle. Looks like the M510 is a decent price ($19.99 on Amazon). I'll give that one a try. Thanks again for your help.

Quick update: BestBuy had a sale on the Logitech M220 yesterday for $12.99. I picked one up, plugged it in, and it works great. Looks like the simpler, more generic (and cheaper) the better.

Thanks again @garnet and @mikewalsh for your suggestions. They were right on target.