I have been a UNIX power user for 20+ years, and have run Linux (RedHat, SuSE) on various laptops for the past 5+ years. I recently upgraded to OpenSuSE 10.2 to see if I would be able to use bluetooth and WLAN on my LenovoThinkpad X60, but no. Still
after all these years, it seems that SuSE is not capable of handling Bluetooth and WLAN in a reliable way. Bluetooth simply does not work (does not connect at all to my SonyEricsson P990i or to my bluetooth mouse). Setting up Bluetooth in Yast2 seems to work OK but there is no way the Yast2 lets me check the communication. Yast2 setup of WLAN works better but
requires at least two-three reboots, with the radio unit constantly switched on, to kick in. What am I (or SuSE) doing wrong?

Bo

Bo,
most of the time when hardware doesn't work its because its either not supported (or not supported 100%) or its not configured right. First off you should identify what bluetooth and wireless card your computer contains to see if its supported and or requires any configuration. Next find if your mouse and phone are supported via bluetooth and apply the same steps. A good resource for finding information and guides if you haven't already found is google.

a few commands to point you in the right place you should already be aware of since your a power user of +5 years: lspci, lsusb, and lsmod.

My ThinkPad X60 (Duo Core 1.83 GHz, 1.5 GB RAM) comes with an integrated Intel PRO wireless unit. This hardware is supported in
SuSE 10.2 (and was so in 10.1). It works fine *when it pleases to start*. About two times out of three the software (Yast2) does not manage to start it. This is clearly not a hardware problem. My SuSE 10.2 is fully patched.

The bluetooth dongle (Belkin) is also recognized by SuSE 10.2/Yast2
and is supported. However, the pairing with my Kensington bluetooth mouse is extremely flimsy. Again Yast2 does not help. This mouse and dongle combination works flawlessly in Windows XP on the very same ThinkPad laptop.

I said I was a UNIX power user - not a Linux power user :-). The lspci, lsusb, and lsmod commands you quote are very Linux and not UNIX :-( However, they all show that everything is OK.

What I need help with is what software tools I should use to set
up WLAN and Bluetooth so they work in a *stable* way *all the time*. I have not been able to find any information on this in the manual(s) or the FAQs.

Thank you for any help.

Bo

I have never used suse or bluetooth before so I can't really help you too much. I did a quick google search and didn't find anything helpful. In all my experiences with linux shell applications are written first and then gui applications come later on. There may not be great support in suse's yast for bluetooth yet (I may be wrong). I recommend searching for the phone or mouse setup on google and seeing if anybody else has documented their experiences with these devices.

Thanks for your comments. Of course, I scanned the Web high and low for any clues as to why the WLAN and, in particular, Bluetooth communication in OpenSuSE is so unstable and flimsy and only works
now and then. I do not require a GUI; in fact I prefer UNIX commands with all their flexibility and power instead of GUI simplifications of them...

Shall I assume that Linux users in general accept a low quality of their systems...?

Bo

I wouldn't go that far. I would look at it like this:
1. hardware is developed and sold.
2. The hardware vendor decides to write drivers probably only for windows or mac. Someone out there in the world then must take there time to write this driver but can be very slow process depending on the cooperation of the hardware vendor and other factors.
3. Once the driver is written it must be tested and can contain bugs.
4. Someone else now comes along and writes software to interact with this driver to provide easier functionality.

#4 can be the most diverse step because it can be distro dependent or only be a shell application. On top of that if the software written is graphical usually simpilicity was in mind only allowing certain features to take place.

5. You download the software and use it and find out it doesn't suit your needs or doesn't work properly. This situation could either be a bug or a lack of features. So what I recommend is finding out who coded that software and file a bug report or feature request.

Its not a matter of low quality but the fact that we live in an imperfect world. I hope this explaination helps.

Also as a last resort try a different distro like debian, ubuntu (debian + better hardware detection + newer packages), or any other rpm based distro.

Hi, bothide, I don't know much BUT i like to tell you that every bluetooth dongle is supported by SuSE since 9.3 version. Well, you are facing problems because of unfamiliarity with appropriate commands.

I myself used to connect my Sony Ericsson P800 phone with china made bluetooth dongle for file transfers and also for DIAL UP NETWORKING for GPRS Connection.


There are two ways to connect any bluetooth device (Such as mobile phones or mouse etc.) with computer with the help of bluetooth dongle. one : by commands and second : by gui.

If you want me to write you all the commands i use to connect with SE P800 i can write you in next reply.

So i assure you that all the hardware based on bluetooth technology is fully comapatible and runable in suse linux.

regards.

--gurmeet

I really would appreciate it if you could tell me how
to get bluetooth connect to my kensington blutooth mouse.
Command line or GUI examples are equally welcome.

Thanks,

Bo