Home / ubuntu / Questions / 605878
Accepted
Marcus
Asked: 2015-04-07 01:12:45 +0800 CST

How to prevent a Bluetooth headset to autoconnect without disabling Bluetooth?

  • 772

I have Xubuntu 14.10, with the package pulseaudio-module-bluetooth installed, which works fine with my Bluetooth headset.

I find annoying though, that the headset is automatically connected to the computer, as very often I want it to be connected to another device.

Is there a way to disable the automatic connection? I can't simply disable Bluetooth as I have a Bluetooth mouse.

14.10

4 Answers

  1. Best Answer

    Hardware solution:

    1. Obtain a cheap USB mouse.

    2. Put your Bluetooth mouse away somewhere safe.

    3. Attach the USB Mouse

    4. Open a terminal and issue the command rfkill list this will give you a listing of rf devices, preceded by an index number.

    5. Issue the command rfkill block n where n is the index number of the device you wish to block (in this case your bluetooth interface)

    You can re-enable the device with the command rfkill unblock n where n is the index number of the device you wish to unblock (in this case your bluetooth interface)

    Note: I don't have bluetooth so I tested this process with a different rf device.

    Software solution:

    1. Install blueman bluetooth manager from the Software Center or with this command:

       sudo apt-get install blueman

      Note: Installation requires the "universe" repository to be active in your software sources.

    2. Open Blueman from the dash.

    3. Select the headset from the list

    4. Click Setup...

    5. A window will open up, on that window, check Do not connect.

    6. Click Next button

    7. You're done

    You should be able to connect and disconnect bluetooth devices at will.

    • 5

  2. Another valid, simple solution: don't trust the device. When the connection popup shows up, just (click on) Deny.

    • 2

  3. Install the blueman package and run blueman-manager. Right-click on your headset and choose Remove.

    This should "unpair" your headset. You can always re-pair using the same tool if you want to connect again.

    It's not perfect, but may be a usable workaround for you.

    • 0

  4. To prevent a specific device from automatically connecting while leaving it paired, you can untrust the device in bluetoothctl.

    $ bluetootctl
# devices
Device <MAC> <ID>
# untrust <MAC>

    If you turn the device off and on now (while watching bluetootctl) you can see it start to connect, but then ask you to trust it and (with no input) eventually timeout. The device will stop sending these connection requests once it pairs with something else.

    [CHG] Device <MAC> Connected: no
[CHG] Device <MAC> Connected: yes
Authorize service
[agent] Authorize service <UUID> (yes/no): Request canceled
[CHG] Device <MAC> Connected: no

    If you want to connect the device, you can accept the trust request from bluetootctl (or maybe your GUI depending on your windows manager). You can re-enable autoconnect with trust <MAC> in bluetootctl.

    • 0