Bluetooth Resetter

A Brute Force Attempt to Reconnect Bluetooth and Get Bluetooth Audio Working Without Restarting

Overview

This script attempts to solve a very annoying problem in Ubuntu 20.04+, where bluetooth devices (I have had problems with multiple headphones) - bluetooth audio either mysteriously stops playing after a while, then refuses to reconnect, or I have to un-pair, then re-pair my headphones, or I have to restart the computer entirely to get it working.

How the Script Resets Bluetooth

TL;DR: disconnect devices, turn off bluetooth, unload modules, load modules, turn on bluetooth, reconnect devices

use bluetoothctl to note currently connected devices, while disconnecting all (including inactive, to account for ongoing connection attempts)
turn bluetooth off using rfkill
unload as many bluetooth modules as it can using rmmod
sleep for 3 seconds, which can be overridden in the command line
load the unloaded bluetooth modules again, using modprobe
turn bluetooth on using rfkill
sleep for 10 seconds
reconnect all devices that had been in connected status using bluetoothctl

Quick Start

Quick Note: Install blueman, it is worth it.

More details on blueman

Regardless of if/how you use this script (graphically after installation (more convenient) or as a script), I highly recommend blueman - better diagnostics, reliable connectivity compared to using Gnome settings/bluetooth for me).

Installation is as simple as running the following apt install command:

sudo apt install -y blueman

Here's what blueman looks like:

Without 'Installing'

wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/prajjwald/bluetooth_resetter/main/bin/bluetooth_reset.sh && \
chmod +x bluetooth_reset.sh && \
#default is 3 seconds, but let's do 10, just to be safe
sudo ./bluetooth_reset.sh restart 10

Installation

- adds desktop icon, puts script in /usr/local/bin

First, run the install script (uninstallation can be done using './uninstall')

git clone https://github.com/prajjwald/bluetooth_resetter.git
cd bluetooth_resetter
sudo ./install

At this point, you can either run the script from the command line or directly from the desktop.

run the script from the command line:

sudo /usr/local/sbin/bluetooth_reset.sh restart 60

Running Graphically From the Desktop

Search for bluetooth in the activities area:

When you run it - you should see the command run in a temporary terminal like so (note that you don't need to enter your password for the script to run using the graphical shortcut):

Recommendations

The blueman utility is very helpful, and is easy to install - just run sudo apt -y install blueman - this is highly recommended
Even if this script works for you, do skim through my bluetooth notes - they have some general observations/helpful links I found. They are pretty basic though.

Feel free to share/suggest your own notes too. I really hope this helps you (if you're here, I assume you're suffering, just like I was).

Some Observations Leading to the Script

blueman has helped - it works better than the Gnome applet/settings when things go awry. Error messages are also more helpful.
even when connected - the bluetooth audio might stop working after some inactivity(?) - though it has also stopped working at times even when I was using it (audio switched to speakers)
a restart seems to fix the problem temporarily
blueman has shown me that my bluetooth connection doesn't seem too optimal
turning Bluetooth Off and then back on doesn't seem to help
a combination of rmmod with lsmod seems to fix the issue without rebooting

With these observations at hand, this is my current attempt at a script that seems to somewhat help.

Some Things That Would Be Nice To Have (but Aren’t There Yet)

Upgraded (or Even Downgraded) bluez

From reading forums online (seems I didn't bookmark that particular link 😥)I did read that bluez version I have (5.60) has a known bug - I should either downgrade to 5.58 iirc (21.10 only has 5.60), or upgrade to git (I did try building it a bit, but gave up - didn't want to fight the build too much). The other option was to add the ppa - sudo add-apt-repository ppa:bluetooth/bluez - unfortunately, they don't have a release for impish yet.