How to prevent a Bluetooth headset to autoconnect without disabling Bluetooth?

Question

I have Xubuntu 14.10, with the package pulseaudio-module-bluetooth installed, which works fine with my Bluetooth headset.

I find annoying though, that the headset is automatically connected to the computer, as very often I want it to be connected to another device.

Is there a way to disable the automatic connection? I can't simply disable Bluetooth as I have a Bluetooth mouse.

Solution 1

Hardware solution:

1. Obtain a cheap USB mouse.

2. Put your Bluetooth mouse away somewhere safe.

3. Attach the USB Mouse

4. Open a terminal and issue the command rfkill list this will give you a listing of rf devices, preceded by an index number.

5. Issue the command rfkill block n where n is the index number of the device you wish to block (in this case your bluetooth interface)

You can re-enable the device with the command rfkill unblock n where n is the index number of the device you wish to unblock (in this case your bluetooth interface)

Note: I don't have bluetooth so I tested this process with a different rf device.

---

Software solution:

1. Install blueman bluetooth manager from the Software Center or with this command:

    sudo apt-get install blueman
   

   Note: Installation requires the "universe" repository to be active in your software sources.

2. Open Blueman from the dash.

3. Select the headset from the list

4. Click Setup...

5. A window will open up, on that window, check Do not connect.

6. Click Next button

7. You're done

You should be able to connect and disconnect bluetooth devices at will.

Solution 2

Another valid, simple solution: don't trust the device. When the connection popup shows up, just (click on) Deny.

Comments

[0x2b3bfa0]

You can temporary disable bluetooth on you computer.

[Marcus]

Thanks for answering, but that doesn't work, because I have a BT mouse :-)

[Rinzwind]

And why not include that in the question? ;)

[Thomas Ward]

The question becomes then which is initiating the connection - the computer, or the headset. In the case of me, it's the bluetooth earbuds I have, but I don't think there's a way to disable it as the earbuds (read as a headset by Ubuntu) triggers the connection.

[0x2b3bfa0]

@Marcus: I edited the Elder Geek answer, please try the software solution. If you can get sucess with this method, please accept the answer. I have the user interface in Spanish and I badly translated the options, if I'm wrong in anything, please notify.

[Edward Torvalds]

keep your bluetooth headphone either switched off or connected to other device ;)

[Marcus]

I think this is a reasonable solution; if nothing comes up in the next days, considering what "Thomas W.", most likely, there is no other way (so that this answer would be acceptable.

[0x2b3bfa0]

Ok, if nobody posts a full software answer, I'll give the bounty to Elder.

[Elder Geek]

@Helio edited answer to include possible software solution.

[0x2b3bfa0]

@ElderGeek: I edited your answer to improve S/W solution details.

[Elder Geek]

@Helio Thank you for the edit. I can't believe I didn't check the software center. Were you able to test? It looks like this will indeed do the trick based on the screenshot I found...

[0x2b3bfa0]

@ElderGeek: I tried it and seems to work. Now will see what says Marcus...

[Marcus]

hell yeah! that works.

[Marcus]

to be more specific, it worked somewhat unstably, but I'll leave that to the "tweaking" part :-)

[Marcus]

I think that rather than unpairing, it's somewhat more efficient not to trust the device, and click on "deny" when they connection pop-up shows.

[Elder Geek]

If you run into bugs, please subscribe to existing bugs that affect you or in the case of new bugs, report them at bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/blueman to help the developers squash them! ;-)

[0x2b3bfa0]

@Marcus, please edit the answer to enhance it with a good screenshot and your method based on experience (not trust instead of disable...) and I'll give the bounty to the question.

[Elder Geek]

@Helio I believe that both answers are valid. Someone with the same problem and a USB mouse on the shelf might prefer the hardware answer.. The hardware answer may also be more "future proof" than the software one depending on the state of ongoing development.

[cmoran92]

I am trying the option to "Setup" --> "Don't connect" mentioned in the other answer. It seems to be working

[SebMa]

@Marcus Thanks, I really think this is the best answer, because I had tried other suggestions on the internet but only your suggestion worked on my system. Moreover people can have a hard time finding your suggestion because it's somewhat "hidden" inside a comment. Can you please convert it to answer and I'm sure you'll get many upvotes :)

[Marcus]

@SebMa Wrote the answer! :-)