Lost PS3 bluetooth after updating Raspbian

jmebd

Anyone did the "update" that was posted on raspberrypi.org and experience a loss of connection to their PS3 controllers? I've tried removing and reinstalling the drivers and pairing and no dice. Wonder what's up? Didn't get any error messages when I did the upgrade.

BenWlson

I tried testing out the Pi3 bluetooth with my PS3 controller after the update and was not able to get it to connect.

I also get a weird "watchdog has not stopped" error during reboots now after the update too.

jmebd

I noticed some errors about bluetooth failing to start so inside 'systemctl' found bluetoothd had EXITED and no permission to execute so I changed the permission and was able to get bluetooth "reporting" that it was active but still no wireless connection. I tried removing/reinstalling within retropie setup and nada still. Tried resetting all permissions setting in retropie menu for roms and such (hope that didn't screw anything up) but it didn't do anything either.

My PS3 controller works while connected but wireless is dead.....???

ArcueidLover

While I don't use my PS3 controller wirelessly, I did use a Bluetooth Keyboard which has stopped working after the update, it also will not see the device for re-pairing, gives me a blank list of paired devices when trying to unpair and a bizarre 'tracklist' text when trying to show any registered BT devices.

Lagorth

I have the same problem. Bluetooth worked fine before the update. Now it is impossible (for me) to get a connection.

HoolyHoo

Had the same issue. Turns out the update upgrades pi-bluetooth to version 0.1.1 which breaks bluetooth in Retropie. Solution is to downgrade pi-bluetooth back to version 0.1.0. You can do that by running from the command line:

wget http://archive.raspberrypi.org/debian/pool/main/p/pi-bluetooth/pi-bluetooth_0.1.0_armhf.deb

and

sudo dpkg -i pi-bluetooth_0.1.0_armhf.deb

Then Reboot. Hope this helps.

Lagorth

Unfortunately this didn't solve my problem. Is there a way to check whether bluetooth is activated in retropie after this downgrade?

symp

@HoolyHoo Thanks that fixed my problem, was trying everything I could think of

@Lagorth use hciconfig via ssh/terminal it should return bluetooth address etc if bluetooth is working

Lagorth

@symp when I type hciconfig in terminal nothing happens. So bluetooth isn't working, right?

jmebd

@HoolyHoo Thanks for your help! Back off the bluetooth dongle crutch again!

eightbit

@Lagorth

Right. After the downgrade you will see output from hciconfig. Before it you will not (because it is not working with 0.1.1). Downgrading it worked for me as well.

A Former User

same thing here with the 8bitdo NES30 pro, after update bluetooth didnt want to recognize or connect to the controller. I've now downgraded it and shows up in the "unregister and remove bluetoothdevice" menu....some progress better than none. I even had to do a fresh install of retropie and copy over all the roms thinking it was something wrong with the system

Meneer Jansen

My personal howto for Bluez 5 and the command line (notice that you can also confugure BT from within Emulationstation):

Bluez 5

Ubuntu 14.04 still uses Bluez 4 (see below). Debian 8 'Jessie' uses ver. 5.

Summary:
- bluetootlctl
- agent on
- devices
- pair 11:22:33:AA:BB:CC
- Enter PIN
- trust 11:22:33:AA:BB:CC
- connect 11:22:33:AA:BB:CC
Use the utility 'bluetoothctl' for everything. Once this program is started then it changes your prompt to:

[bluetooth]#
If it "sees" a BT controller or device then the prompt is blue. Type "help" for a list of commands.
Get MAC address of bluetooth keyboard or other device. Set your device in pairing mode (!) and type:

devices

Example of output:

Device 20:15:06:05:61:80 Bluetooth 3.0 Keyboard

Tip: put dongle in device discovery mode with "scan on" command if device is not yet on the list.
Set "agent on"!
Type "pair XX:YY:01:05:61:80" (TAB completion works).
If you've set the agent on then it should ask you to type a PIN code on the keyboard and to press enter on it afterwards.
Then trust, connect etc.
Type "quit". Your keyboard should be connected now.
I don't know how or why, but its autoconnected at boot. If not, check the references.
Troubleshooting:
- To list BT dongles and their MAC address type "list" (not necessary if you've got only
  one). Example of output:
  [bluetooth]# list
  Controller XX:YY:ZZ:01:02:B6 raspberrypi [default]
- Set your dongle on w/: "power on".
- Prompt not blue and error org.bluez.Error.NotReady: Power issue? ????????????!!!!!!!
- hciconfig hci0 up
References:
[1] https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/bluetooth#Bluetoothctl

[2] https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/bluetooth_keyboard

[3] Possible errors messages: http://maemo.org/api_refs/5.0/beta/bluez/adapter.html

Wolfman100

I have now been digging around attempting to get the bluetooth controller in the Pi to see the PS3 controller at root level from the commandline using bluetoothctl following this guide:

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/bluetooth#Bluetoothctl

The Pi does not see the PS3 controller when scanning for devices but every other bluetooth device around.This leads me to assume that one of two scenarios is ocurring:

1)The Bluetooth in the PS3 controller is broken
2)The Pi's Bluetooth needs sixpair to be running in order to see the PS3 controller

If someone with more in-depth knowledge than me confirm whether either of these possibilities are true?

eightbit

@Wolfman100 said in Lost PS3 bluetooth after updating Raspbian:

I have now been digging around attempting to get the bluetooth controller in the Pi to see the PS3 controller at root level from the commandline using bluetoothctl following this guide:

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/bluetooth#Bluetoothctl

The Pi does not see the PS3 controller when scanning for devices but every other bluetooth device around.This leads me to assume that one of two scenarios is ocurring:

1)The Bluetooth in the PS3 controller is broken
2)The Pi's Bluetooth needs sixpair to be running in order to see the PS3 controller

If someone with more in-depth knowledge than me confirm whether either of these possibilities are true?

Are you using the RetroPie-Setup to set up the PS3 controller? Mine works fine.

Wolfman100

Yes I am.When prompted I plug the PS3 controller in via USB then disconnect it and push the 'PS' button to pair but nothing happens.

opensourcefan

@Wolfman100 said in Lost PS3 bluetooth after updating Raspbian:

Yes I am.When prompted I plug the PS3 controller in via USB then disconnect it and push the 'PS' button to pair but nothing happens.

I remember this same issue when I first tried. I think it all needs to be done before closing the window, not sure because it's not super clear. Maybe connect and wait for a bit then disconnect and wait for a bit before turning it on again. It would be great if it check marked the steps to show that they have been accomplished so you know when to move onto the next.

stayupthetree

@opensourcefan When it works, it works regardless if the screen is there or not. Similar to the USB Rom service, it is backgrounded.

Worth noting to those with trouble, apparently you have to choose between using the PS3 controller on bluetooth or using anything else. The 'sixad' install takes over as the bluetooth controller that would start as a system service. It is apparently a one or the other thing, or so I gathered from this https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup/issues/1181

stayupthetree

@Wolfman100 Did you downgrade pi-bluetooth from 0.1.1 to 0.1.0?

eightbit

@Wolfman100 said in Lost PS3 bluetooth after updating Raspbian:

Yes I am.When prompted I plug the PS3 controller in via USB then disconnect it and push the 'PS' button to pair but nothing happens.

Provided your BT is working (make sure to downgrade it to 0.1.0 if you did not already) when you plug in the PS3 controller you should see all four lights blinking. Then you unplug it and press the PS button and it should vibrate, rotate the lights and stop at light #1. Now it is synced.