I have the same issue. Bluetooth on Index doesn't seem to work on Linux.

Same issue here, though I agree that this seems to be a duplicate of #96

Same issue #96 seems to be for the Vive, not the Index though. On the Index, Bluetooth can not even be enabled at all.

Same issue on Linux Mint 19.1 (Ubuntu 18.04). I have a working Bluetooth dongle installed as well.

Same for Ubuntu 19.04

same on Manjaro/Kernel 5.2
is there any other way to enable the power management for the lighthouses?

Doesn't work on 5.2.8 (Manjaro) with any bluetooth device. My motherboard has a bluetooth support and I also tried a dongle, nothing is detected.

i can connect to the lighthouses via the bluetooth-settings of the OS, but even when they are paired and connected, it doesn't appear in steamvr-settings...

I prepared simple python program for switching between standby/normal mode: https://gist.github.com/prefiks/e614116fc3983a8e7e5fe326800dc101

Accepts 'on' or 'off' parameter to switch between those two modes, and it does that for all devices that it detects over bluetooth. It may require root access, and possibly also pairing those devices?

@prefiks I see some confetti, so it is working for others? When I try with dongle I am getting:

$ sudo ./light_houses.py off
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "./light_houses.py", line 28, in <module>
    scanner.scan(2)
  File "/usr/lib/python3.7/site-packages/bluepy/btle.py", line 854, in scan
    self.stop()
  File "/usr/lib/python3.7/site-packages/bluepy/btle.py", line 803, in stop
    self._mgmtCmd(self._cmd()+"end")
  File "/usr/lib/python3.7/site-packages/bluepy/btle.py", line 312, in _mgmtCmd
    raise BTLEManagementError("Failed to execute management command '%s'" % (cmd), rsp)
bluepy.btle.BTLEManagementError: Failed to execute management command 'scanend' (code: 11, error: Rejected)

Scanning with bluetoothctl works, so the dongle should be fine.

With built-in bluetooth it works only for one basestation:

$ sudo ./light_houses.py off
Found LightHouse LHB-CAB8FCD0: address = da:20:79:4f:89:33
Found LightHouse LHB-B0634E90: address = ce:50:43:be:55:c9
Connecting to da:20:79:4f:89:33
Connecting to ce:50:43:be:55:c9
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "./light_houses.py", line 32, in <module>
    lh.connect(device, addrType = btle.ADDR_TYPE_RANDOM)
  File "/usr/lib/python3.7/site-packages/bluepy/btle.py", line 445, in connect
    self._connect(addr, addrType, iface)
  File "/usr/lib/python3.7/site-packages/bluepy/btle.py", line 439, in _connect
    raise BTLEDisconnectError("Failed to connect to peripheral %s, addr type: %s" % (addr, addrType), rsp)
bluepy.btle.BTLEDisconnectError: Failed to connect to peripheral ce:50:43:be:55:c9, addr type: random

Any idea what could be wrong with my setup?

The first one i also get when i run without sudo, looks like scan require some extra permissions, for the second one maybe try pairing that device from bluetooth panel?

@prefiks Not working for me too:

$ sudo ./lh.py off
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "./lh.py", line 28, in <module>
    scanner.scan(2)
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.7/dist-packages/bluepy/btle.py", line 852, in scan
    self.start(passive=passive)
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.7/dist-packages/bluepy/btle.py", line 790, in start
    self._mgmtCmd("le on")
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.7/dist-packages/bluepy/btle.py", line 312, in _mgmtCmd
    raise BTLEManagementError("Failed to execute management command '%s'" % (cmd), rsp)
bluepy.btle.BTLEManagementError: Failed to execute management command 'le on' (code: 17, error: Invalid Index)

@leinardi That's what I get when I don't have a bluetooth controller. The Index bluetooth chip doesn't work (at least not for me), so you need an external bluetooth dongle (or one on the motherboard).

Have there been any updates on this? I'd like to update the firmware for my base stations, but it looks like that's not possible yet in Linux. I'm on the SteamVR Beta and it still does not work.

I'm sort of surprised that I can't update the firmware simply by plugging in a micro usb cable to them -> my computer...maybe that could be a possible temporary workaround? I'm sure it's not that simple or anything, just an idea.

I mean I would just like to turn the stupid things off when I'm not using them so I don't have to unplug them.

Also, this should probably be 3 separate issues.

• No Bluetooth on Vive (Don't have a vive so I don't know if that's still true)
• No Bluetooth on Index
• No Bluetooth from other device.

In this case I can see my phone from the Bluetooth menu in my settings menu. (Also the lighthouses I think.) But SteamVR refuses to acknowledge that I have Bluetooth.

• No Bluetooth on Vive (Don't have a vive so I don't know if that's still true)

Can confirm. There is no bluetooth on the Vive. I do have a checkbox that is ticked, but Bluedevil does not see it as a device.

@kisak-valve Are there any plans in place to get bluetooth working in SteamVR for Linux? I've been seeing a lot of bug fixes in SteamVR Beta, so that makes me hopeful that more features will be added later on after this seemingly bug fixing phase...if there was some official confirmation on possible plans to get bluetooth working on Linux, that would make me (and probably a lot of other people here) happy. Thank you.

For the desperate: here's how to set the channel on the Vive base station 2.0 without bluetooth: https://holocafe.de/en/blog/posts/how-to-set-up-multiple-steamvr-20-base-stations

(The other question is: can we update base 2.0 from Linux via USB without bricking it like the old one? If no, isn't bluetooth then kinda really needed?)

Does @prefiks script work on Lighthouse 2 devices? Near as I can tell, you can't even discover / pair them. Tried with multiple dongles and even my phone.

If not, than this issue is even bigger for me. Unplugging these devices requires a ladder for my setup, but the noise is just maddening enough to make me do it.

It stopped working after my lighthouses were updated, i didn't manage to get that script working again.

Well, crap. :(

I also experience issues when trying to toggle the lighthouse boxes (2.0), sometimes it works, then it doesn't. Sometimes it toggles one box, but not the other. When I retry often enough, it then works at some point. I now use an usb bluetooth dongle, as this seems to work more reliably than the Index bluetooth.

Still, with the script posted above I always have my issues, unfortunately. I went and created a different script which makes use of gatttool to toggle the boxes, which works better for me - not everytime, but most of the time. It is a little bit more work to set it up, though, as you need to get the MAC addresses and add them to the script.
For those who are interested, here is a guide and the script: gatttool script
If you know your lighthouse MAC addresses already, you can skip step 2+3.

I also experience issues when trying to toggle the lighthouse boxes (2.0), sometimes it works, then it doesn't. Sometimes it toggles one box, but not the other. When I retry often enough, it then works at some point. I now use an usb bluetooth dongle, as this seems to work more reliably than the Index bluetooth.

Still, with the script posted above I always have my issues, unfortunately. I went and created a different script which makes use of gatttool to toggle the boxes, which works better for me - not everytime, but most of the time. It is a little bit more work to set it up, though, as you need to get the MAC addresses and add them to the script.
For those who are interested, here is a guide and the script: gatttool script
If you know your lighthouse MAC addresses already, you can skip step 2+3.

gatttool is deprecated. Getting input/output errors and not working. Maybe if you use older hardware or bluez versions

Using smirgol's gattool method works reliably 100% of the time for me with a cheap Logilink bluetooth dongle.

gatttool is deprecated, is there another option?

This modified version of @prefiks script is working for me right now on Ubuntu 20.04

https://gist.github.com/waylonflinn/d525e08674ec3abb5c98cd41d1fd2f24

doesnt work for me... just get errors (on arch)
File "./lh.py", line 39, in <module> lh.connect(device, addrType = btle.ADDR_TYPE_RANDOM) File "/usr/lib/python3.8/site-packages/bluepy/btle.py", line 445, in connect self._connect(addr, addrType, iface)

UPDATE: Works now with a new bluetooth-dongle. dont know if 5.0 is necessary or my old dongle wasnt ok, but it works great now.
just for completion i wanna point to this great guide:
https://www.reddit.com/r/virtualreality_linux/comments/g02bi5/automatically_turn_on_and_off_base_stations_when/

1. Set the launch options in Steam for SteamVR. /path/to/lh.py on; %command%; sleep 5; VR_PID=$(pidof vrserver); if [ -z $VR_PID ]; then echo "VR Server not found"; else while [ -d /proc/$VR_PID ]; do sleep 5; done; /path/to/lh.py off; fi; This simply runs the lh.py to turn the base stations on. Then executes the normal SteamVR stuff. And then waits for the process vrserver to terminate to turn the base stations off again.

I made an improved version of the scripts posted here previously by @prefiks and @waylonflinn.
It is more reliable, can start automatically with SteamVR and includes some additional features (e.g. switching the audio device automatically).
https://github.com/DavidRisch/steamvr_utils
Based on the age of this issue i don't think Valve will add Base Station power management to Linux any time soon. So feel free to suggest improvements to the utility.

Great, but at least for me, SteamVR already switches the audio automatically. I reckon it might conflict?

Great, but at least for me, SteamVR already switches the audio automatically. I reckon it might conflict?

Strange, I always had problems with that.
You can simply disable the audio component in the config file.

I will make some tests and try to publicize your script. Congratulations for it! I have made a primitive thing on steamvr start for myself with shell script, but yours is much more scalable. I have three base stations, let's see if it works for all of them.

Great, but at least for me, SteamVR already switches the audio automatically. I reckon it might conflict?

Strange, I always had problems with that.
You can simply disable the audio component in the config file.

I haven't had time yet to try it out, but thankyou for this anyway! :+1:
Will your script also change to the correct output? The most annoying thing on my side is that my second monitor is HDMI and thus available as an audio device - so i have to switch the hdmi-output to hdmi4 everytime the index is connected.

Will your script also change to the correct output?

Currently not (only the correct sink, not a specific port on that device).
But it looks like that should be possible using pactl set-card-profile. I will add that feature. Thanks for the suggestion!

@Termuellinator: The script now searches for any port with a connected device named 'Index HMD' (or containing 'VIVE') and switches to that port automatically.
If it does not work for you (or someone else), please create an issue and include the output of pactl list cards while SteamVR is running and the log file.

Hey, David. Just to let you know, I have made some mention of your script in an article I published about VR on Linux, where I also tell about this bluetooth problem and others like it. https://boilingsteam.com/the-state-of-virtual-reality-on-linux/

Thanks! Great article.
In the "VR Tools, Add-ons and Utilities" section you mention "steamvr-tools", judging from the context I think you meant "steamvr-utils".

I will correct that, thanks.

Wow, can't believe this is still an open issue. It is super annoying that we can't simply manage device settings.

This is stupid.

quite a few internet searches eventually ended me up here
its depressing to see after multiple years its still an issue :(

@lostgoat @kisak-valve Any Update on this?

I've just installed Arch and ran into the same/multiple issues.

Computer:

• Asus X570-i ROG using onboard Bluetooth (which works flawlessly on windows and for everything but steam on linux)

                `+oooo:                  Kernel: 5.13.4-arch2-1 
               `+oooooo:                 Uptime: 44 mins 
               -+oooooo+:                Packages: 1451 (pacman) 
             `/:-:++oooo+:               Shell: bash 5.1.8 
            `/++++/+++++++:              Resolution: 3840x1080 
           `/++++++++++++++:             DE: Plasma 5.22.3 
          `/+++ooooooooooooo/`           WM: KWin 
         ./ooosssso++osssssso+`          Theme: Breeze Dark [Plasma], Breeze [GTK2/3] 
        .oossssso-````/ossssss+`         Icons: [Plasma], breeze-dark [GTK2/3] 
       -osssssso.      :ssssssso.        Terminal: konsole 
      :osssssss/        osssso+++.       CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X (16) @ 3.800GHz 
     /ossssssss/        +ssssooo/-       GPU: AMD ATI Radeon RX 6800/**6800 XT** / 6900 XT 
   `/ossssso+/:-        -:/+osssso+-     Memory: 4841MiB / 32015MiB 

Original issue:

Error 307

Which showed
Error: setcap of vrcompositor-launcher failed. (https://github.com/ValveSoftware/SteamVR-for-Linux/issues/234)

I ran

sudo setcap CAP_SYS_NICE+ep ~/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/common/SteamVR/bin/linux64/vrcompositor-launcher

Which got rid of the 307 error ( After reboot), but STILL does not have any controls for Bluetooth.

When I go to Bluetooth settings I See:

X Bluetooth not available

A few random notes,

• I'm seeing the following error spammed (like 400 per second) in web console

Sun Jul 25 2021 14:44:40.760113 - lighthouse: Packet received after 0.560s, keepalive (0/1)
Sun Jul 25 2021 14:44:40.760146 - lighthouse Wireless controller LHR-{redact} disconnected
Sun Jul 25 2021 14:44:40.760168 - lighthouse: : Disconnected from receiver {redact}7A6C791-RYB
Sun Jul 25 2021 14:44:41.371341 - Excessive binding loads from steam (27927): crc=4054{redact} lc=8 Reload=F res=2
Sun Jul 25 2021 14:44:41.371378 - ===== indexhmd: state=4, NOT empty, uri=file:///home/ME/.local/share/Steam/st
/resources/config/legacy_bindings_generic_hmd.json

• Trying to use the reboot SteamVR option results in a hang, which I have to manually KILL all steam related processes to get back in.

I've also done these things https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Virtual_reality#OpenVR_/_SteamVR

I'm just dumping everything here, but let me know what else is needed.

I'm more than willing to run tests if needed

Another year has passed. @kisak-valve Is there any chance this will be fixed at some point? Can we get some updates on the issue?

A workaround I've been using flawlessly is an app called "Lighthouse PM" on the android app store (can't speak to apple's). Icon is a picture of a lighthouse with a RGB background. Works as flawlessly as the steamvr interface should.

In that case relying https://github.com/jeroen1602/lighthouse_pm#linux-builds might be better, no phone involved.

Also these Python scripts I have linked here...

• https://github.com/risa2000/lh2ctrl - Lighthouse v2
• https://github.com/nouser2013/lighthouse-v2-manager - Lighthouse v2
• https://github.com/risa2000/lhctrl - Lighthouse v1 (Vive 2016)

EDIT: added steamvr_utils, linked below, to the document linked above.

As they all rely on manual switching, i think mentioning https://github.com/DavidRisch/steamvr_utils again is worth it for those not reading the whole thread - putting the daemon in the steam vr launch arguments makes it really seamless :+1:

Thank you all for mentioning alternative solutions. And it's definitely a good thing at least those has been developed (and many of them!), but I'm sure we all would really like to hear a reply from Valve. It would be really nice if this issue can be at least looked at and hopefully fixed.

I'm also very curious as to why such a basic feature wasn't implemented in Linux's SteamVR, maybe it's so different that adding code for it would make the main version -- the windows version -- have issues? It's not the only very basic feature that's missing, we have other things like the VR screenshot hotkey and the likes (and it seems to be only the screenshot hotkey, because the functionality seems to work in games that trigger it, like No Man's Sky).

Anyway, if Valve does not have time/resources to fix these issues, I think it should reveal the code with an open-source license for contributors to do it for them.

Agreed, we can probably make it work. But I'm yet to see a proprietary project that would get opened just to let community finish it.

HTC contributed the firmware for the Vive's Broadcom Bluetooth radio, under license from Broadcom:

https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/firmware/linux-firmware.git/tree/LICENCE.broadcom_bcm43xx?id=f472074db02b93ea4381d0aada906e28481cb7c6

The "Valve VR Radio" uses their own VID of 28de, but the PID is 2102, the same PID as Broadcom's ANYCOM Blue USB-200/250, which I can only find Windows drivers for. If this is the same radio, Valve would need to work with Broadcom to get a Linux driver.

EDIT: For reference, the Vive uses the Broadcom BCM920703, aka 0BB4:0306, "Vive Hub Bluetooth 4.1" / "Vive Bluetooth 4.1"

EDIT2: the driver already exists

According to the "Hardware for Linux" page, Broadcom's ANYCOM Blue USB-200/250, which comes in the Gigabyte Z590 AORUS PRO AX, works on Linux, so there's already a Linux driver in the kernel. https://linux-hardware.org/?id=usb:0a5c-2102

Hey, I am still facing this issue. I don't have any onboard bluetooth. I checked SteamVR Utils and they claimed "Since the Linux version of SteamVR can now turn base stations on and off itself, this project is no longer necessary." as of April 2024. Is there any source for this? Did anyone manage to get this working?

Update: I was stupid. Just go to base station settings under SteamVR, and enable power management. No idea why it would be off by default, but here we go.

Recently noticed this problem (the "bluetooth not available"). After a bit of troubleshooting I found out that it was a permissions issue: the user I run as did not have r/w access to the /dev/ttyACM0 device.

The quick fix/temporary solution was doing a chmod a+rw on it.

The durable solution is have udev setting the right permission.
I found I had an old 60-steam-vr.rules in /etc/udev/rules.d overriding the one from the steam-devices debian package. Removing that fixed it for me.
Otherwise the solution would have been adding a line to a .rules file under /etc/udev/rules.d:
SUBSYSTEM=="tty", ATTRS{idVendor}=="28de", ATTRS{idProduct}=="2102", MODE="0660", TAG+="uaccess"