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I'm attempting to figure out how to get a USB Bluetooth dongle to work with my BeagleBone Black. I've tried a few different ones to no avail, but have seen posts from others who seem to have had some success.

I have tried the procedure documented here: http://www.michaelhleonard.com/enable-bluetooth-on-beaglebone-black/

However, when I plug the dongle in, it doesn't even light up. Nor does it show up when I "lsusb". The BBB is being powered by a 2.5A 5V adapter, so power should not be an issue. Has anyone been able to get a USB Bluetooth Dongle working on a BeagleBone Black, and if so, which one was it, and what can I do to get it to at least power up?

tomgersic
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  • What is the output in `/var/log/syslog` (or output from journalctl) as you plug in the USB dongle? This may give some clues as to whether the appropriate kernel module is available. – Austin Phillips Sep 12 '13 at 04:39
  • Same here - even though the Bluetooth service is running, the USB dongle neither lights up, nor outputs anything to /var/log/syslog – Brent Faust Sep 25 '13 at 18:14
  • Seems to be an issue with BeagleBone Black, I'm not sure. I was able to get it working on a Raspberry Pi. – tomgersic Oct 24 '13 at 16:56
  • Your link didnt open (possibly banned in my country). Try this link: http://hipstercircuits.com/serial-over-usb-on-beaglebone/ – acs Sep 14 '13 at 14:33

4 Answers4

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I've had a similar problem, and I think it's the usb hotplugging issue mentioned above. I stumbled into an easy workaround that works for me (running Linux 3.8). Try typing:

lsusb -v

The -v is important. If I leave it off, my device remains invisible and isn't powered on. When the -v option is present, it powers up and stays up.

tigercat
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In case you are running a 3.8 kernel: usb hotplugging seems to have issues. no. 1 recommendation is booting the BBB with the usb device plugged in already until hotplugging is fixed.

the power adapter should be sufficient with 2.5 amps.

Alex
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  • Have you gotten it to work? I notice that even rebooting under both ArchLinux and Ubuntu doesn't work (Kernel 3.8.13-bone26). – Brent Faust Sep 25 '13 at 18:12
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I started a crowdfunding project to fix USB Hostplugging on Angstrom.

http://igg.me/at/eMagii/x/5581172

Have tested with USB Mouse, Keyboard, Serial adapter and hub. First I boot the system, with the USB host empty, then I plug in the above units, without problems.

They are all detected.

Ulf Samuelsson
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While I found that there are multiple issues with my BeagleBone Black (A5C) USB host, what helped me to get past the non-detection on USB is a 1000uF 16V capacitor across the +5V and GND lines of the USB connection. I removed a bit of the insulation of a short USB extension cable and soldered the capacitor to the red and black wires.

This might be a solution only for a single A5C board, but maybe it helps on other boards as well.

mh-
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