I'm looking for recommendations on which Linux distributions tend to work smoothly with Bluetooth. I'm not a complete beginner; I have some familiarity with Linux. However, I often run into issues, especially related to Bluetooth connectivity. It seems like every distro I try has its own set of problems. I know it's not my Bluetooth card since I dual boot with Windows 11, where Bluetooth works fine. I've noticed that even with popular distros like Ubuntu and Fedora, Bluetooth keeps failing randomly, and fixing it can be quite a hassle. I do my best to avoid issues caused by dual booting by making sure to disconnect and forget devices in Windows before switching to Linux, but the problems persist. Any advice or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated!
8 Answers
Mint and Zorin are also super user-friendly and have made my Bluetooth setup pretty smooth. Might be worth checking them out!
I had quite a few problems with Bluetooth on Linux until I checked my distro's wiki for setup instructions. After running a couple of commands, I got Bluetooth working great, especially with KDE on Wayland—seems to help!
I’ve had a great experience using Fedora for Bluetooth. It tends to handle Bluetooth connectivity very well without any major issues.
In my experience, Bluetooth can be hit or miss with Linux. Some distros have persistent issues, it seems to have been a long-standing problem across various versions!
Most distros should work fine with Bluetooth these days. I've been using KDE Neon (based on Ubuntu) for 4 years, and while I had some initial setup issues, it's been great for the last few years on my Dell laptop.
Just because your Bluetooth works in Windows doesn't guarantee the same experience on Linux. Linux support can vary widely even for the same hardware. It's worth checking the compatibility of your Bluetooth chipset with the specific distro you’re using.
I also dual boot with Windows 11 and Linux Mint, and I’ve faced similar Bluetooth issues. It could be linked to your BIOS settings, like Secure Boot interfering with driver initialization. I’m planning to remove Windows completely to see if it improves the situation.
Kubuntu 24.04 has worked flawlessly for me. It’s basically Ubuntu with a different desktop environment, and Bluetooth just works out of the box on my Asus laptop. Just a heads up, some Bluetooth chips are less compatible with Linux, though!
Interesting! I’ll have to check the wiki. I guess every distro can have its quirks.