Ralink RT 3290 Bluetooth Problem on Ubuntu 14.04

Question

I recently installed Ubuntu 14.04 and everything is working good except the Bluetooth.

I have Ralink 3290 Bluetooth. tried to install the driver using the method described here. The code is not compiling and giving 2 errors. Even the change in os/linux/pci_main_dev.c is not working.

Update: Now I followed this link and after modifying some file a little bit, I was successful in compiling and installing this driver. I am certain that Ubuntu finally found a Bluetooth Adapter, and now I am getting bluetooth in:

rfkill list all
0: phy0: Wireless LAN
     Soft blocked: yes
     Hard blocked: no
1: hci0: Bluetooth
    Soft blocked: yes
    Hard blocked: no

But now the Bluetooth is disabled error is showing and the output of

dmesg | grep Blue
[   17.378741] Bluetooth: Core ver 2.17
[   17.378778] Bluetooth: HCI device and connection manager initialized
[   17.378788] Bluetooth: HCI socket layer initialized
[   17.378792] Bluetooth: L2CAP socket layer initialized
[   17.378799] Bluetooth: SCO socket layer initialized
[   17.809313] Bluetooth: hci0 sending frame failed
[   20.507392] Bluetooth: RFCOMM TTY layer initialized
[   20.507420] Bluetooth: RFCOMM socket layer initialized
[   20.507440] Bluetooth: RFCOMM ver 1.11
[   20.669232] Bluetooth: BNEP (Ethernet Emulation) ver 1.3
[   20.669237] Bluetooth: BNEP filters: protocol multicast
[   20.669249] Bluetooth: BNEP socket layer initialized

is coming.

Solution 1

I got the bluetooth to work!

1. First download the Source code from here and extract it to Home.

2. After that, open the rtbth_core_bluez.c file, and then go to line 86 and change it from:

   int rtbt_hci_dev_send(struct sk_buff *skb)
   {
       struct hci_dev *hdev = (struct hci_dev *)skb->dev;
   

   to:

   int rtbt_hci_dev_send(struct hci_dev *hdev, struct sk_buff *skb)
   {
       //struct hci_dev *hdev = (struct hci_dev *)skb->dev;
   

3. Go to line 216 and change it from:

       status = hci_recv_frame(skb);
   

   to:

       status = hci_recv_frame(hdev,skb);
   

4. Then go to line 406 and change it from:

   hdev->ioctl = rtbt_hci_dev_ioctl;
   

   to:

   //hdev->ioctl = rtbt_hci_dev_ioctl;
   

5. Save, then open rtbth_hlpr_linux.c and go to line 575. Change it from:

   //daemonize((PSTRING)&pOSTask->taskName[0]);
   

   to

   (PSTRING)&pOSTask->taskName[0];
   

6. Now you are ready to Compile. Compile it in Terminal by:

   cd rtbth-3.9.3
   make
   sudo make install
   

7. Reboot. Additionally, you can follow the PDF file contained inside this ZIP in case bluetooth still does not work.

Solution 2

This is reported as bug on LP:

https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/1189721

As of now, there is no working driver. If you have LP account, I'd recommend you marking the bug as affecting you and subscribing for email notifications on comments.

Solution 3

According to shihiro's comment on the bug report there's a well maintained PPA available for the Bluetooth driver:

Use in terminal

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:blaze/rtbth-dkms
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install rtbth-dkms

or load and install it from Launchpad. On the first link there is the source link to the GitHub page. In README.md you can read:

# Init
sudo modprobe rtbth
sudo rfkill unblock bluetooth
hcitool dev # check

I typed it in terminal and everything works.

On Ubuntu 17.10, and possibly earlier versions, the module might get blacklisted automatically. If that happens to you

1. add rtbth to /etc/modules,
2. open /etc/modprobe.d/dkms-rtbth.conf and comment out or delete the line that says blacklist rtbth,
3. reboot the system.

Solution 4

Here is a easy way, I too was looking for solving this problem for 2 years now, and at most I was able to get all Bluetooth Devices listed and was unable to connect to any of them, but below solution I encountered today and It worked flawlessly for me.

It is very easy to install, files are located on github rtbth-dkms.

To Install,

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:blaze/rtbth-dkms
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install rtbth-dkms

and then follow the Init commands below, your BlueTooth will work now, in case of any problem leave a comment, I will be happy to help you.

Usage

# Init
sudo modprobe rtbth
sudo rfkill unblock bluetooth
hcitool dev # check

# Switch off
sudo rfkill block bluetooth

# Switch on
sudo rfkill unblock bluetooth

# Shutdown
sudo pkill -2 rtbt
sudo rmmod rtbth

View more solutions

Comments

[Admin]

You should ask 2 different questions as those are 2 different issues. Also, please paste the error messages you get so that we can help you further.

[Admin]

It worked for me, thank you. I was able to pair apple BT mouse by entering "0000" as PIN.

[Admin]

just switched to Qualcomm Atheros AR9485 Wireless Network Adapter (rev 01), I couldn't get any of this to work; we'll see if it's an ubuntu problem once my bluetooth headphones have charged (luckily they have a phono fallback)

[Admin]

@MrMesees this is only for Ralink RT3290 bluetooth.

[Adnan]

Help taken from here: wirama.web.id/rt3290-bluetooth-rtbth-driver-with-kernel-3-13

[Adnan]

New problem. Even after my bluetooth is detected and is ON, I seem to be unable to pair with any device.

[Dmitry Lebedev]

This bug affects me too. I posted my comment on Launchpad: bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/1189721/comment‌​s/…

[Shaakunthala]

Got Ralink 3290 on HP 15-n240tx according to this guide, but I'm also having the same problem. It doesn't pair. Error is 'incorrect PIN or password' (seen on device)

[opu 웃]

Pairing problem here too!

[Adnan]

After upgrading the kernel to 3.15-rc7 and installing this driver, I can successfully pair with my Moto G and send a file. But I am unable to receive a file and If I turn off the Bluetooth, then the Bluetooth won't turn on again. Only rebooting will make it work again.

[3l4ng]

1) do we have to make the changes listed in the patched driver you have provided above? 2) I installed without modification and BT is detected, so is my device. Unfortunately I cannot pair my headset, even after trying with pin 0000. Please help System - Ubuntu 14.10, kernel 3.16.0-28-generic

[Adnan]

I had to make these changes in order to properly compile the driver. I don't know whether it can compile on 14.10 with kernel 3.16 without those changes. When I wrote the above answer, I was able to share a file from my laptop to my phone. But now it doesn't work anymore.

[david6]

Just tested with Ubuntu 14.10 (fully updated), and with code changes as suggested. Installs and appear to work ..

[Steel Brain]

I get this error on kernel 4.0 /steel/Local/BT/rtbth-3.9.3/rtbth_core_bluez.c:89:72: error: ‘hdev’ undeclared (first use in this function)

[Adnan]

Has anyone tried installing the driver which is present at the Ralink (now Mediatek) site for this PCIe? Even if anyone successfully installed it in the previous versions of Linux, does that make Bluetooth work too?

[dadexix86]

This worked on 15.04 too, but does not compile on the 15.10... Any hint? :)

[dat tutbrus]

@dadexix86 Late reply but I'm needing help too. It's because of the kernel. The linux kernel for 15.10 is v4. Don't try to downgrade it. I've tried. Still fail.

[ulidtko]

-1, becase this is not how you apply patches to software.

[Adnan]

@ulidtko maybe you'll be kind enough to show us the proper software patching process, and properly apply the patch to this driver.

[ulidtko]

@Adnan, sure. man 1 patch

[Adnan]

Are you able to successfully transfer files by bluetooth?

[David Foerster]

@Adnan: I don't have any Bluetooth devices myself, so I have no way to test this. I merely extended a good comment into an actual answer.

[Adnan]

I too no longer own this Ralink device myself, so I hope this will be helpful for someone else in the future.

[Lynob]

It might not work when installed, if that happens, I added how to fix it