Discussion, talk and tips
https://forum.puppylinux.com/
Hi all,
I'm running Fossa 64bit and would like to add bluetooth to my machine via a usb dongle and would like to know if Puppy supports it.
I found this one -
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/144663886608 ... R5Cg3N6LYg
Can you do things like connecting sound card to usb and if so - how?
Regards
Phil
My guess is, it will work. I bought a wireless (Bluetooth) keyboard that came with its own dongle and it worked out of the box in Linux.
I think there is no problem.
I am using with my puppy linux distro different "usb dongles elements":
Mouse
Keyboard
Multi-usb connect
Internet usb
So I think there is no problem with bluetooth, because it generally supports Bluetooth USB dongles, and it often includes support for a wide range of hardware, including Bluetooth adapters.
However, the specific compatibility of Bluetooth dongles with Puppy Linux can vary depending on the version of Puppy Linux that you are using and the specific Bluetooth dongle you're using if it is very modern or not and if drivers are included.
As conclusion, If the Bluetooth dongle is supported by the Linux kernel, there's a good chance it will work with your Puppy as well.
But I recomend you to wait for other user advise ... just in case, haha
Have a nice day.
Most wireless keyboard, mouse, etc, that come with their own USB dongle are not bluetooth, they are wireless RF. If you buy a bluetooth USB dongle to connect to bluetooth speakers, headphones, etc., then your best bet is to try F96-CE_4 which does have good bluetooth support . Also has a Help file to assist in setting it up.
wizard
Fossapup64 9.5 is a little problematic on getting Bluetooth working.
Here is where several posts start about getting Bluetooth working in Fossapup64 9.5
viewtopic.php?p=9509#p9509
The very newest Puppy versions have much better support for Bluetooth.
Part one of this bluetooth info for fatdog is relevant to all puppies & linux...
Mm. Don't forget, guys, that if you have any kind of peripheral that comes with its own 'Bluetooth' dongle - and I concur with @wizard here; almost ALL dongles are good old 2.4 GHz wireless - then the manufacturer will have made certain that the connection between peripheral and dongle is solid. In such a case, Puppy simply sees a USB dongle.
Bluetooth is nearly always an internal, built-in component. The old Dell Latitude has it, and even this HP desktop rig has it, courtesy of a combo wireless/Bluetooth chip (which I still think is out-of-place on a desktop, though I'm not arguing; Bionicpup64 has to use it, because Ethernet simply won't function for it at all)....
I digress.
Certainly, Puppies will recognise Bluetooth.....but how well it's implemented is, I think, as much down to the choice of software used for controlling it, as anything else. I can't comment further, because I don't use it. Even the pair of fully-enclosed headphones I bought during the first year of the pandemic use a standard wireless dongle, rather than Bluetooth. (Took some tracking down, too, because although Bluetooth-connected headphones are common, wireless-connected ones are NOT. And I wanted a set that would quickly and reliably work anywhere, without needing to set-up Bluetooth in every single one of my Pups. 'Wireless' was just a no-brainer, especially with the dongle having its own sound card built-in......)
Mike. 
Thanks for all the replies folks.
I've ordered the dongle in post one, we'll see how we get on.
Regards
Phil
@bigphil :-
Well, from the looks of things, it's not going to break the bank, is it?
Worst-case scenario, it won't do anything. Best-case, it'll do what you want. I experimented with one from our local Pound Shop, several years ago. Of course, what I hadn't realised was that it was a very early standard version; 1.2, or 2.1, something like that. Puppy recognised it, and the Bluetooth program I tried kinda "saw" it.....but it wouldn't actually connect or anything. "Wrong protocol", or something like that...
(*shrug*)
Both my current machines have it built-in.....but I have absolutely no use for it!
Let us know how you get on with it, please.
Mike.
The seller's listing states the device uses the CSR8510 chipset.
Reading online, most people suggest using a newer kernel.
Some people reported that their devices were cheap Chinese fakes and had difficulties pairing their adapters.
Hopefully, you will be more successful.
Yeah. I do remember, the early model Bluetooth dongle I got from the local Pound Shop DID have a Cambridge Silicon Radio chipset in it. Don't ask me which one, but apparently CSR were eventually bought out by Qualcomm in 2015.......but not before they'd "offloaded" their Bluetooth design/manufacturing division to Samsung, three years earlier.
They still have an office on the Cambridge Business Park, part of what's known locally as "Silicon Fen", on the outskirts of Cambridge here in the UK (also known as the 'Cambridge Cluster', a grouping together in one area of around 5,000 high-tech companies, many of whom are right on the cutting-edge of their respective fields in terms of R & D). 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silicon_Fen
Mike.
The bluetooth dongle arrived and the system found it.
I followed the instructions in bigpups post and it connected to the speaker and worked.
However the next time I came to use it it failed to connect.
Bluetooth manager came up with this comment -
"Connection failed: Protocol not available"
whatever that means.
I've uninstalled bluez and blueman and re-installed but still no go.
Any ideas chaps.
Regards
Phil
@dimkr
I'm using fossapup 9.5 64 bit.
Regards
Phil
Blueman needs PulseAudio or PipeWire, so it won't work on Fossapup. But it will work in F96CE and other recently released puppies.
dimkr wrote
Blueman needs PulseAudio or PipeWire, so it won't work on Fossapup. But it will work in F96CE and other recently released puppies.
I guess my memories playing tricks on me.
I probably got it running in F96CE which is installed on the same machine but didn't try it in Fossa95.
Can you share the model number etc for your new device?
I have a rebuild on the go and have to get a wifi/bluetooth dongle/card.
If the device is plugged in, open up terminal and just type in
lsusb
It should list the USB devices attached.
Thanks in advance 
jasper,
the manufacturer of the dongle is Envy-Tech and the model number is csr 4.0, it's available from fleebay - the links in the first post.
Fossapup 9.5 sees it (lsusb) but I cannot get Blueman (the bluetooth utility) to connect to the speakers in 9.5.
It might connect to other devices (see dimkr's post above).
However Fossapup 9.6 sees it, Blueman runs and connects to the speakers and it all works.
Hope this helps,
Phil