No Bluetooth with RTL8723bs

Hi,

I have a “clean install” on a x86_64 Tablet (Linx 10v64) that has (I believe?) a RealTek combined WiFi/Bluetooth chip.
The WiFi seems to be working okay? Apart from not being seen by NetworkManager until I had enabled it first in Wicked.
After that either service seems happy with the WiFi side of chip.

However, I can not get the Bluetooth working. I think I have the BlueDevil and BlueMan GUIs working because I can pop an alternative BT adaptor in the USB slot and all seems to work.
But I don’t want to loose the only full-size USB slot. Can anyone help?

I have googled here and across the Internet and although there was a lot of chat about compiling firmware from alternatives repos, all that stopped a few years ago. This is telling me that the firmware that I think I need is about somewhere in an “official” source?

Please let me help you, help me with any logs, debug outputs etc. I am deliberately not wanting to clutter this introduction.

Best regards, Martin

Components: LEAP 15, Kernel 4.12.14-lp150.12.45-default, KDE 5.45, Plasma 5.12.6

Adding to the above…

I have found this:

linux-jpt2:~ # dmesg -w | grep rtl
    8.107745] RTL8723BS: rtl8723bs v4.3.5.5_12290.20140916_BTCOEX20140507-4E40
    8.107747] RTL8723BS: rtl8723bs BT-Coex version = BTCOEX20140507-4E40
   11.243033] rtl8723bs: acquire FW from file:rtlwifi/rtl8723bs_nic.bin

What does this mean? Is it telling me what I need to know?
Where could I “acquire” that file?

Regards, Martin

Hi
Nope, it’s found it down in /lib/firmware/rtlwifi, if you install rfkill and run the command;


rfkill list

Not soft blocked is it?

linux-jpt2:~ # rfkill list
0: phy0: Wireless LAN
        Soft blocked: no
        Hard blocked: no
linux-jpt2:~ # 

No mention of Bluetooth…

Martin

Hi
So is the kernel-firmware package installed, you should see the file in question in /lib/firmware/rtlwifi/?

Is this device part of the system, a USB dongle?

Do you see it in the output of;


/sbin/lspci
lsusb

I think so…

linux-jpt2:~ # ls -1 /lib/firmware/rtlwifi/rtl8723bs*
/lib/firmware/rtlwifi/rtl8723bs_ap_wowlan.bin
**/lib/firmware/rtlwifi/rtl8723bs_bt.bin**
/lib/firmware/rtlwifi/rtl8723bs_nic.bin
/lib/firmware/rtlwifi/rtl8723bs_wowlan.bin
linux-jpt2:~ # 

I guess the *_bt.bin is the bluetooth driver?

Is this device part of the system, a USB dongle?

On the Motherboard (if it is still called that these days?)

Do you see it in the output of;


/sbin/lspci
lsusb
linux-jpt2:~ # **lspci**
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series SoC Transaction Register (rev 36)
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series PCI Configuration Registers (rev 36)
00:03.0 Multimedia controller: Intel Corporation Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series Imaging Unit (rev 36)
00:0b.0 Signal processing controller: Intel Corporation Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series Power Management Controller (rev 36)
00:14.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series USB xHCI Controller (rev 36)
00:1a.0 Encryption controller: Intel Corporation Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series Trusted Execution Engine (rev 36)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series PCU (rev 36)
linux-jpt2:~ # 

… and

linux-jpt2:~ # **lsusb**
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 17ef:6018 Lenovo 
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 046d:c534 Logitech, Inc. Unifying Receiver
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
linux-jpt2:~ #

… so I guess the answer is… No.

Martin

Hi
Is it enabled in the system BIOS, does it (bluetooth) actually exist on the system?

  1. No references that I can find in the BIOS (see point 2.)
  2. This is a Windows 10 Tablet/Notebook and the Bluetooth works under Windows 10.

See: LINX 10v64 Specs
Right-hand-side under"Wireless"

Regards, Martin

A bit more info…

It seems that the RTL8723BS is a 802.11bgn SDIO WLAN with Bluetooth 4.0 Single-Chip Controller!

As I understand it SDIO is an SPI (4-wire serial) interface which may explain why the “no-show” for lspci?

But if the kernel can “see” the NIC half, how can I get it to “see” the BT interface? Rhetorical question…

Regards, Martin

Hi
If you add the following grub kernel boot option;


r8723bs.rtw_btcoex_enable=1

Does that help?

Dho…

That looked exciting! But… No luck. I don’t know if these add any light:

linux-jpt2:~ # **dmesg | grep 8723
    7.926930] r8723bs: module is from the staging directory, the quality is unknown, you have been warned.
    7.934989] r8723bs: module is from the staging directory, the quality is unknown, you have been warned.**
    7.991185] RTL8723BS: module init start
    7.996376] RTL8723BS: rtl8723bs v4.3.5.5_12290.20140916_BTCOEX20140507-4E40
    8.006554] RTL8723BS: rtl8723bs BT-Coex version = BTCOEX20140507-4E40
**    8.087070] r8723bs: module is from the staging directory, the quality is unknown, you have been warned.**
    8.375377] RTL8723BS: rtw_ndev_init(wlan0)
    8.377781] RTL8723BS: module init ret =0
   11.076844] rtl8723bs: acquire FW from file:rtlwifi/rtl8723bs_nic.bin
   12.598923] RTL8723BS: set bssid:00:00:00:00:00:00
   14.561726] RTL8723BS: nolinked power save enter
   22.940444] RTL8723BS: nolinked power save leave
   23.153858] RTL8723BS: set bssid:1c:b7:2c:81:54:38
   23.153885] RTL8723BS: set ssid [myAP1] fw_state = 0x00000088
   23.249772] RTL8723BS: start auth
   23.252505] RTL8723BS: auth success, start assoc
   23.256998] RTL8723BS: rtw_cfg80211_indicate_connect(wlan0) BSS not found !!
   23.257015] RTL8723BS: assoc success
   23.257337] Modules linked in: af_packet iscsi_ibft iscsi_boot_sysfs msr intel_rapl nls_iso8859_1 intel_powerclamp nls_cp437 coretemp vfat kvm_intel snd_soc_sst_byt_cht_nocodec axp288_charger fat axp288_adc kvm axp288_fuel_gauge axp20x_pek extcon_axp288 irqbypass crc32_pclmul crc32c_intel ghash_clmulni_intel pcbc gpio_keys aesni_intel aes_x86_64 crypto_simd glue_helper cryptd joydev pcspkr wdat_wdt snd_intel_sst_acpi snd_intel_sst_core snd_soc_sst_atom_hifi2_platform snd_soc_nau8824 snd_soc_sst_match snd_hdmi_lpe_audio snd_soc_core mei_txe snd_compress processor_thermal_device lpc_ich snd_pcm_dmaengine mei snd_pcm kxcjk_1013 intel_soc_dts_iosf r8723bs(C) snd_timer thermal snd industrialio_triggered_buffer cfg80211 kfifo_buf intel_hid axp20x_i2c dw_dmac sparse_keymap silead axp20x industrialio intel_cht_int33fe
   23.354434] RTL8723BS: send eapol packet
   23.361606] RTL8723BS: send eapol packet
   23.374852] RTL8723BS: set pairwise key camid:4, addr:1c:b7:2c:81:54:38, kid:0, type:AES
   23.375723] RTL8723BS: set group key camid:5, addr:1c:b7:2c:81:54:38, kid:1, type:AES

That was without the kernel boot option.

linux-jpt2:~ # **dmesg | grep 8723
    0.000000] Command line: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-4.12.14-lp150.12.45-default root=UUID=5ac81afb-09e9-4033-b9bc-0957fd743d2a resume=/dev/mmcblk0p3 showopts r8723bs.rtw_btcoex_enable=1
    0.000000] Kernel command line: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-4.12.14-lp150.12.45-default root=UUID=5ac81afb-09e9-4033-b9bc-0957fd743d2a resume=/dev/mmcblk0p3 showopts r8723bs.rtw_btcoex_enable=1
    8.073175] r8723bs: module is from the staging directory, the quality is unknown, you have been warned.
    8.083928] r8723bs: module is from the staging directory, the quality is unknown, you have been warned.
    8.094706] r8723bs: module is from the staging directory, the quality is unknown, you have been warned.**
    8.170663] RTL8723BS: module init start
    8.170666] RTL8723BS: rtl8723bs v4.3.5.5_12290.20140916_BTCOEX20140507-4E40
    8.170667] RTL8723BS: rtl8723bs BT-Coex version = BTCOEX20140507-4E40
    8.584672] RTL8723BS: rtw_ndev_init(wlan0)
    8.607706] RTL8723BS: module init ret =0
   10.938648] rtl8723bs: acquire FW from file:rtlwifi/rtl8723bs_nic.bin
   12.474026] RTL8723BS: set bssid:00:00:00:00:00:00
   14.400400] RTL8723BS: nolinked power save enter
   22.817138] RTL8723BS: nolinked power save leave
   23.028528] RTL8723BS: set bssid:1c:b7:2c:81:54:38
   23.028559] RTL8723BS: set ssid [myAP1] fw_state = 0x00000088
   25.441186] RTL8723BS: start auth
   25.444584] RTL8723BS: auth success, start assoc
   25.448741] RTL8723BS: rtw_cfg80211_indicate_connect(wlan0) BSS not found !!
   25.448753] RTL8723BS: assoc success
   25.449212] Modules linked in: af_packet iscsi_ibft iscsi_boot_sysfs msr intel_rapl intel_powerclamp nls_iso8859_1 coretemp nls_cp437 kvm_intel vfat fat kvm irqbypass crc32_pclmul crc32c_intel ghash_clmulni_intel pcbc snd_soc_sst_byt_cht_nocodec axp288_charger axp288_fuel_gauge extcon_axp288 axp288_adc axp20x_pek gpio_keys aesni_intel aes_x86_64 crypto_simd glue_helper cryptd snd_intel_sst_acpi snd_intel_sst_core snd_soc_sst_atom_hifi2_platform snd_soc_nau8824 snd_soc_sst_match wdat_wdt mei_txe snd_soc_core snd_compress snd_hdmi_lpe_audio mei joydev pcspkr r8723bs(C) lpc_ich snd_pcm_dmaengine snd_pcm processor_thermal_device intel_soc_dts_iosf cfg80211 snd_timer thermal kxcjk_1013 axp20x_i2c silead rfkill snd axp20x dw_dmac industrialio_triggered_buffer kfifo_buf intel_hid sparse_keymap industrialio
   25.546985] RTL8723BS: send eapol packet
   25.553202] RTL8723BS: send eapol packet
   25.553654] RTL8723BS: set pairwise key camid:4, addr:1c:b7:2c:81:54:38, kid:0, type:AES
   25.556025] RTL8723BS: set group key camid:5, addr:1c:b7:2c:81:54:38, kid:1, type:AES

… and with “r8723bs.rtw_btcoex_enable=1”. Warnings about the r8723bs module? Meaning… What?

Martin

On Tue 22 Jan 2019 09:26:03 AM CST, martinprowe wrote:

Dho…

That looked exciting! But… No luck. I don’t know if these add any
light:
<snip>

… and with “r8723bs.rtw_btcoex_enable=1”. Warnings about the r8723bs
module? Meaning… What?

Hi
So what is the output from;


/sbin/modinfo r8723bs

If it’s still in staging for the kernel, then it means it’s not been
fully tested/accepted…

I would look at raising a bug report, can you download and boot from a
Tumbleweed Live USB and see if it works first?


Cheers Malcolm °¿° SUSE Knowledge Partner (Linux Counter #276890)
SLES 15 | GNOME Shell 3.26.2 | 4.12.14-25.25-default
If you find this post helpful and are logged into the web interface,
please show your appreciation and click on the star below… Thanks!

**linux-jpt2:~ # modinfo r8723bs**
filename:       /lib/modules/4.12.14-lp150.12.45-default/kernel/drivers/staging/rtl8723bs/r8723bs.ko
version:        v4.3.5.5_12290.20140916_BTCOEX20140507-4E40
author:         Realtek Semiconductor Corp.
description:    Realtek Wireless Lan Driver
license:        GPL
suserelease:    openSUSE Leap 15.0
srcversion:     2C69FF9FC5128A8C0C4031F
alias:          sdio:c*v024CdB723*
alias:          sdio:c*v024Cd0626*
alias:          sdio:c*v024Cd0623*
alias:          sdio:c*v024Cd0523*
alias:          acpi*:OBDA8723:*
depends:        mmc_core,cfg80211
staging:        Y
retpoline:      Y
intree:         Y
vermagic:       4.12.14-lp150.12.45-default SMP mod_unload modversions retpoline 
parm:           rtw_ips_mode:The default IPS mode (int)
parm:           rtw_usb_rxagg_mode:int
parm:           rtw_btcoex_enable:Enable BT co-existence mechanism (int)
parm:           rtw_ant_num:Antenna number setting (int)
parm:           rtw_qos_opt_enable:int
parm:           ifname:The default name to allocate for first interface (charp)
parm:           rtw_initmac:charp
parm:           rtw_channel_plan:int
parm:           rtw_chip_version:int
parm:           rtw_rfintfs:int
parm:           rtw_lbkmode:int
parm:           rtw_network_mode:int
parm:           rtw_channel:int
parm:           rtw_wmm_enable:int
parm:           rtw_vrtl_carrier_sense:int
parm:           rtw_vcs_type:int
parm:           rtw_busy_thresh:int
parm:           rtw_ht_enable:int
parm:           rtw_bw_mode:int
parm:           rtw_ampdu_enable:int
parm:           rtw_rx_stbc:int
parm:           rtw_ampdu_amsdu:int
parm:           rtw_lowrate_two_xmit:int
parm:           rtw_rf_config:int
parm:           rtw_power_mgnt:int
parm:           rtw_smart_ps:int
parm:           rtw_low_power:int
parm:           rtw_wifi_spec:int
parm:           rtw_antdiv_cfg:int
parm:           rtw_antdiv_type:int
parm:           rtw_enusbss:int
parm:           rtw_hwpdn_mode:int
parm:           rtw_hwpwrp_detect:int
parm:           rtw_hw_wps_pbc:int
parm:           rtw_max_roaming_times:The max roaming times to try (uint)
parm:           rtw_mc2u_disable:int
parm:           rtw_80211d:Enable 802.11d mechanism (int)
parm:           rtw_notch_filter:0:Disable, 1:Enable, 2:Enable only for P2P (uint)
parm:           rtw_hiq_filter:0:allow all, 1:allow special, 2:deny all (uint)
parm:           rtw_tx_pwr_lmt_enable:0:Disable, 1:Enable, 2: Depend on efuse (int)
parm:           rtw_tx_pwr_by_rate:0:Disable, 1:Enable, 2: Depend on efuse (int)
parm:           rtw_phy_file_path:The path of phy parameter (charp)
parm:           rtw_load_phy_file:PHY File Bit Map (int)
parm:           rtw_decrypt_phy_file:Enable Decrypt PHY File (int)
linux-jpt2:~ #

… any clues?

Unfortunately, no. I tried both Gnome TW Live and KDE TW Live, neither showed any interest in exposing the Bluetooth interface.
Of minor interest (maybe) the Gnome Desktop was able to recognise the accelerometer and rotate the display (however in Portrait Mode it is upside-down?)

Yep. I’m game. Can you point me to the Were/How links?

Many regards, Martin

PS Your signature says

…please show your appreciation and click on the star below… Thanks!

Where are the stars?

Hi
Follow this link, you want to use kernel;
openSUSE:Submitting bug reports - openSUSE

I’m wonder if the alias line pointing at sdio needs updating to include your device…

It’s the star icon under the post text…