Bluetooth transfer of files between computer and Samsung Galaxy A4

English Network/Internet
1

Hi All,

I am trying to establish Bluetooth transfer of files between my Dell laptop and Samsung Galaxy A4 Android phone. I have the gnome desktop and seem to be having all the Bluetooth apps loaded on my computer such as bluez, gnome-bluetooth, mtp-tools and mtpfs etc. The phone also has bluetooth and it shows the computer hostname ‘home’ (dell-linux.home) as one of the ‘Paired Devices’ (I do not know this term).
However, bluetooth in my computer does not seem to be working. In the ‘settings’ when I click the bluetooth icon, it says ‘no bluetooth found. Plug in dongle to use bluetooth’.

Similarly, I am clueless of transfer with wifi.

Request help on both these counts.

Regards,

RSP2

2

Sure the laptop has bluetooth? Post output of


lsusb -v

, between CODE tags, the # in the editor layout ribbon

3

Hi Knurpht,

Thanks for your reply.
‘lsusb -v’ gives a huge output. I am just showing the output of ‘lsusb’, below:


rsp@dell-linux:~> lsusb
Bus 001 Device 008: ID 0bda:0129 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. RTS5129 Card Reader Controller
Bus 001 Device 009: ID 0cf3:0036 Atheros Communications, Inc. 
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 8087:8000 Intel Corp. 
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
Bus 002 Device 002: ID 093a:2510 Pixart Imaging, Inc. Optical Mouse
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub

Can you find the problem?
What is to be done to get Bluetooth on?

Regards,

RSP2

4

Does as User show something:

hciconfig --all

or as root:

journalctl -b | grep -i firm

And please post it, not saying:

‘lsusb -v’ gives a huge output. I am just showing the output of ‘lsusb’, below:

5

When such output is requested, please copy/paste unabridged as it may provide detail required to help clarify/diagnose a given situation. If the output is lengthy you can always upload it to https://paste.opensuse.org/ and then post a reply with a link to the content here.

6

Hi Deano_ferrari**,

Please see the output at : ** https://paste.opensuse.org/60097317

Thanks & Regards,

RSP2

7

So, the output shows that the top entry in lsusb output is a bluetooth device.
Install rfkill in your preferred way, then do:


su -c 'rfkill list'

to see if the devices is blocked somehow.

But … Why not install KDEconnect on both computer and phone and pair them? That will give you a lot more than just file transfer. Needs the devices to be on the same network though.

8

Recommend

You look up the User Manual for your Dell laptop.
Laptops can have both hardware and software switches to enable/disable Bluetooth, and you need to know how to enable/disable BT on your specific laptop model. Also, typically laptops have a light that turns on when either WiFi or BT is paired and has an active connection with another device (not always, but usually). If you notice any unusual lights (possibly blue in color) turned on your laptop, that will be supporting evidence you’re working.

Only after you’ve verified that the hardware switch is on should you <then> look for software switches like rfkill.

As for “What is pairing?”
You’ll probably find many descriptions on the Internet.
It’s a procedure that sets up a connection between BT devices.
Without Pairing, you might walk into a coffee shop and everyone would be automatically connected to everyone else with no privacy. Pairing ensures that only authorized devices are talking to each other, even if all are sharing the same space (both frequency and physically).

When your device (Samsung) says it’s paired with your laptop, it means only that a connection has been set up in the past that can be re-activated, it’s not necessarily saying that the connection is actively working.

HTH,
TSU

9

Hi Knurpht,

Installed ‘rfkill’. Output of ‘sudo -c rfkill list’ is below:


rsp@dell-linux:~> sudo -c rfkill list
usage: sudo -h | -K | -k | -V
usage: sudo -v -AknS] -g group] -h host] -p prompt] -u user]
usage: sudo -l -AknS] -g group] -h host] -p prompt] -U user] -u user] [command]
usage: sudo -AbEHknPS] -r role] -t type] -C num] -g group] -h host] -p prompt] -T timeout] -u user]
            [VAR=value] -i|-s] <command>]
usage: sudo -e -AknS] -r role] -t type] -C num] -g group] -h host] -p prompt] -T timeout] -u user] file ...

Further help needed.

Regards RSP2

10

Do this

rfkill list

Admin permissions are only required for blocking/unblocking eg

sudo rfkill unblock wifi
11

Hi tsu2,

Thanks a lot for your reply. Checked up for Bluetooth switch. There is none in this model. Thanks for explaining ‘pairing’.

Regards,

RSP2

12

Hi Deano Ferrari,

The output is as below:


rsp@dell-linux:~> rfkill list
Absolute path to 'rfkill' is '/usr/sbin/rfkill', so running it may require superuser privileges (eg. root).
rsp@dell-linux:~> sudo rfkill list
0: dell-rbtn: Wireless LAN
    Soft blocked: no
    Hard blocked: no
1: hci0: Bluetooth
    Soft blocked: no
    Hard blocked: no
2: phy0: Wireless LAN
    Soft blocked: no
    Hard blocked: no
rsp@dell-linux:~> sudo rfkill unblock wifi
rsp@dell-linux:~>

Regards,

RSP2

13

Ok, BT not blocked so that’s good. You should be able to pair with the Android device successfully?

14

Hi Deano_Ferrari,

Thanks a lot. It is working now.

Regards,

RSP2

15

Good to read of your success with this. When you get time, you should also investigate Knurpht’s suggestion to try KDEConnect perhaps.

https://en.opensuse.org/SDB:KDE_Connect
https://community.kde.org/KDEConnect

16

Hi Deano,

Well have installed KDEconnect on laptop as well as on phone. How to work it? on phone it is showing ‘no devices’. have also entered IP address and hostname. But no go.

Kindly do advise.

Regards,

RSP2

17

I don’t have experience with using it (I don’t own an Android phone), so can only offer general advice, but I’m sure that a user familiar with will be able to advise further. The first thing to check though is that the openSUSE firewall is not blocking the service as mentioned here

https://en.opensuse.org/SDB:KDE_Connect#openSUSE_Firewall_Port_Modifications

18

Hi All,

Have opened firewall port for KDEconnect. The phone can see my laptop now and is paired also. Can transfer files from phone to laptop. The GUI for KDEconnect (indicator-kdeconnect is not available for Leap-42.3.Had installed the one meant for Leap-42.2. But that did not open.

But, what is the command for transfer from laptop to phone?

Help would be appreciated.

RSP2

19

I’ll close this thread now that you’ve opened another to deal with using KDE Connect

https://forums.opensuse.org/showthread.php/530479-File-transfer-between-computer-and-phone-with-KDEconnect