# Bluetooth mouse

Related articles

- Bluetooth
- Bluez4
- Mouse polling rate

This article describes how to set up a Bluetooth mouse through the command line without relying upon a graphical application.

## Installation

Install the bluez package which contains the current Linux bluetooth stack (Bluez5). You may also want to install bluez-utils which provides the bluetoothctl utility. See Bluetooth for more information.

If you would prefer to configure bluetooth through the older Bluez4 stack then install the bluez4AUR package from the AUR. Please consult the Bluez4 article for more information.

Warning: Bluez4 has been deprecated. It is strongly recommended that you use Bluez5 instead.

## Bluez5 instructions

Tip: Ensure that the bluetooth daemon is started before continuing.

Bluez5 provides the bluetoothctl utility which provides a simple interface for configuring bluetooth devices.

The text below is an example of how you can connect a bluetooth mouse using bluetoothctl:

    # bluetoothctl
    [bluetooth]# list
    Controller <controller mac> BlueZ 5.5 [default]
    [bluetooth]# select <controller mac>
    [bluetooth]# power on
    [bluetooth]# scan on
    [bluetooth]# agent on
    [bluetooth]# devices
    Device <mouse mac> Name: Bluetooth Mouse
    [bluetooth]# pair <mouse mac>
    [bluetooth]# trust <mouse mac>
    [bluetooth]# connect <mouse mac>

In order for the device to start on boot you may have to create a udev rule. Please see Bluetooth#Bluetoothctl for more information.

Tip: In case you were using USB Bluetooth dongle and moved it to another USB port, you may need to remove the mouse's MAC address in bluetoothctl with remove <mouse mac> command and repeat the entire procedure again.

## Bluez4 instructions

### Kernel modules

No additional actions are necessary if the bluetooth service is started using systemd. If it does not work try the following command:

    # modprobe -v btusb bluetooth hidp l2cap

It loads the kernel modules you need, if they were not loaded automatically.

### Test

The following command should show your bluetooth adapter:

    # hciconfig

    hci0:  Type: BR/EDR  Bus: USB
           BD Address: 00:22:43:E1:82:E0  ACL MTU: 1021:8  SCO MTU: 64:1
           UP RUNNING PSCAN
           RX bytes:1062273 acl:62061 sco:0 events:778 errors:0
           TX bytes:1825 acl:11 sco:0 commands:39 errors:0

### Configure bluetooth mouse

The method described here is based in three steps, in this order:

1. Make the PC learn about the bluetooth mouse.
2. Grant the mouse permissions to connect.
3. Make the mouse learn about the PC.

### Search your mouse

First make your mouse discoverable. For example some mouse need to press a button. Then issue the following command:

    # hcitool scan

    Scanning ...
            00:07:61:F5:5C:3D       Logitech Bluetooth Mouse M555b

Your mouse bluetooth mac address will be similar to `12:34:56:78:9A:BC`. You may also find it in the documentation or on the mouse itself.

### Connecting the mouse

To scan the device (you may need to use `su -c` or `sudo`):

    hidd --search
    hcitool inq

To connect the device:

    hidd --connect <bdaddr>

To show your currently connected devices:

    hidd --show

The mouse should show up in this list. If it does not, press the reset button to make it discoverable.

Note: If you have the ipw3945 module loaded (wifi on HP computer) bluetooth would not work.

#### Connecting the mouse at startup

This article or section is out of date.

Reason: This section of the article discusses instructions for the SysVinit init system. SysVinit has been replaced by Systemd. (Discuss in Talk:Bluetooth mouse#)

Edit `/etc/conf.d/bluetooth`:

    # Arguments to hidd
    HIDD_OPTIONS="--connect <enter here your bluetooth mouse mac address>"

and test the new settings:

    /etc/rc.d/bluetooth stop
    hidd --killall #(drop mouse connection)
    /etc/rc.d/bluetooth start

Note: The above instructions to start the mouse at startup do not work with the now outdated 3.11 bluetooth packages. New versions such as the current (3.32) packages are not affected.

If you are using an older version, then to start the mouse at startup, add:

    hidd --connect <enter here your bluetooth mouse address (No capitals!!!)>

to your `/etc/rc.local file`.

Note: You can connect any bluetooth mouse and/or keyboard without any further configuration and without knowing the device address. You can do it by adding the --master and/or --server option in HIDD_OPTIONS depending on your device.

## Troubleshooting

### Mouse lag

If you experience mouse lag you can try to increase the polling rate. See Mouse polling rate for more information.

### Problems with the USB dongle

If you have trouble with your USB dongle, you may also want to try:

    # modprobe -v rfcomm

At this point, you should get an hci0 device with:

    # hcitool dev

Sometimes the device is not active right away. Try starting the interface with:

    # hciconfig hci0 up

and searching for devices as shown above.

Categories:

- Mice
- Bluetooth