Can't connect earbuds via Bluetooth

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1

EDIT : See my own reply below the accepted answer for the solution that worked on my system if you’re having an identical issue.

Hello everyone,

I’m running Fedora 42 Workstation on a XPS 9343 (2015). I’ve tried several times to connect my Sony WF-1000XM5 earbuds to it, without any success. They show up just fine in the dropdown Bluetooth menu when they’re in pairing mode, but clicking on them just displays a spinning wheel which disappears after several seconds, without the earbuds having been paired.

Some info :

  • lsusb | grep -i bluetooth indicates that I have a Broadcom Corp. BCM20702A0 bluetooth chipset;
  • akmod-wl and broadcom-wl are already installed;
  • The USB ID of the Broadcom chipset is 0a5c:216f. I have tried putting the .hcd firmware file in /lib/firmware/brcm by downloading the driver directly from Dell, and using 7zip to unpack the .exe, then hex2hcd. It didn’t fix the problem, though I am not a technical user, so I might have done several things wrong in the process.

With the BCM2070 being a 10+ years old chipset, I am surprised that I even had to attempt that to begin with. What am I missing here?

Thanks in advance for your help!

2

Try this steps in terminal:

$sudo bluetoothctl

$ scan on
$ devices

look for WF-1000XM5, then

$ trust mac_number of earphone

then

$ connect mac_number of earphone

3

Thanks for your help! Unfortunately, I get the following error (mac_number censored just in case):

hci0 MY:MAC:NBR type BR/EDR connect failed (status 0x08, Timeout)
Failed to connect: org.bluez.Error.Failed br-connection-timeout

4

Are the earphones using Bluetooth LE, which is not yet supported in Fedora?

5

Sony’s website specify “Bluetooth Specification Version 5.3”.

I doubt that the earphones are to blame as they connected just fine on my previous work laptop, which was also running Fedora 42.

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6

i also wear earplugs sometimes

7

Yep, sounds like an issue with the Broadcom chipset.

There are some tutes out there on how to properly install Broadcom and Mediatek drivers, though it is not easy.

Another option is to find a cheap and compatible wifi/bluetooth chip around $10 to replace it.

BTW, does wifi work?

8

This is probably the kind of tutorial I followed, though regurgitated by a LLM, to no avail (see the third bullet point in my original post).

WiFi works now, though I’ve had problems at install and after two updates (kernel updates if I recall correctly), where I had to connect with an ethernet cable and update akmod-wl and broadcom-wl.

Given the fairly low price of WiFi chipsets, I’m probably going to do as you suggest. Intel is the recommended option for “plug-and-play” behavior on Linux, is that correct? I was thinking of grabbing an AX210.

9

I’d just go for a N class wifi, range is better on lower frequencies. Also support might be more established.

You can find tested parts via Bluetooth devices

10

Thanks, I’ll see what I can easily find online, availability from a trusted retailer is more important than pure performance for me at this time (as long as it works flawlessly). I get conflicting returns on the AX210, with your link saying “failed” on Fedora, while other users on reddit/here report perfect operation.

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11

I thought I’d write the conclusion (hardware-side) to this story, in case anybody has the same issues or needs.

Initial config:

  • Dell XPS 13 9343 (2015)
  • Fedora 42
  • Broadcom BCM20702A0 according to lsusb | grep -i bluetooth. I am not 100% sure about that. The model number on the chipset itself is DW1560.

I swapped the Broadcom chipset for an Intel AX210. Precise specifications of the Intel chipset:

  • Model name: Intel Killer AX1675x
  • Product code: AX210.NGWG.NVX

The three Intel firmwares for wifi management (iwlwifi-mvm-firmware.noarch, iwlwifi-dvm-firmware.noarch and iwlwifi-mld-firmware.noarch) were installed before swapping the chipset. According to a LLM - so take this with a grain of salt -, only the iwlwifi-mvm-firmware.noarch is needed for an AX210.

The only hurdle I faced during the swap was with the antennas:

  • The original DW1560 chipset has antennas ports on both sides of the retaining screw, with the white antenna cable plugged on the J0 port (left side of the screw when the XPS 13 is upside down with the hinge facing away from you), and the black antenna cable on the J1 port (right side of the screw). A white triangle is pointing toward the J0 port, a black one is pointing towards the J1 port. There is also a small metallic bracket held by the screw, helping retain the antennas.
  • The Intel AX210 chipset has both antennas ports on the right side of the retaining screw. The leftmost port is tagged MAIN 2 with a black triangle, and the rightmost port is tagged AUX 1 with a white triangle.

I could not find which port was supposed to be the “main” on the DW1560 chipset. As a quick search seemed to indicate that there was no clear established convention for the color coding of the antenna ports, and that the only problem getting the antennas connection wrong is a reduced signal, I decided to stick with what was most convenient cabling-wise (no crossed cables), i.e. plugging the white cable on the leftmost “MAIN 2” port, and the black one on the rightmost “AUX 1” port.
I had to get rid of the metallic bracket, as it was not compatible with the antennas position on the new chipset.

WiFi and Bluetooth worked immediately after turning my laptop back on; my Sony WF-1000XM5 earbuds paired without issue.

If you’re having the same issues that I had and thinking about swapping the chipset on a different computer, make sure that the replacement chipset is at least keyed the same as your original one.

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