Debian-minimal template for sys-audio

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I was able to get my disposable sys-audio to work with Bluetooth earbuds using the USB Bluetooth 4.0 adapter available at ThinkPenguin:

https://thinkpenguin.com/gnu-linux/penguin-usb-bluetooth-40-micro-adapter-tpe-usbbluv4

This USB adapter does not require any non-free firmware.

The necessary packages for Bluetooth:

  • blueman

  • pulseaudio-module-bluetooth

The install commands for my Debian-minimal sys-audio template:

apt-get install alsa-firmware-loaders alsa-oss alsa-ucm-conf alsa-utils qubes-input-proxy-sender qubes-usb-proxy -y

apt-get install --no-install-recommends blueman pavucontrol pulseaudio pulseaudio-module-bluetooth pulseaudio-qubes qubes-audio-daemon qubes-core-admin-client qubes-gui-daemon-pulseaudio socat -y

Here are the steps to connect a Bluetooth wireless device to sys-audio using GUI:

  1. Make sure that sys-audio and sys-usb are running by using the Qui-domains application in the Notification Area of the Panel, and if not, start them by using Launcher items in the Panel or by using the Qube Manager.

  2. Attach the Bluetooth adapter to sys-audio using the Qui-devices application in the Notification Area of the Panel.

  3. Start Blueman Bluetooth Manager in sys-audio using a Launcher item in the Panel.

  4. On the window that appears with the prompt Shall bluetooth get enabled automatically?, select Yes. If the window does not appear after several seconds, you may need to click the Launcher to start the Blueman Bluetooth Manager again. If after several seconds, the window still does not start, you may need to detach the Bluetooth adapter and reattach it to sys-audio and then start the Blueman Bluetooth Manager again.

  5. Select the Search button in the toolbar of the Blueman Bluetooth Manager window in order to scan for Bluetooth wireless devices.

  6. Select your Bluetooth wireless device in the list of available devices, and then select the yellow four-pointed star button in the toolbar in order to mark the device as trusted.

  7. Select the key button next to the four-pointed star button in the toolbar in order to create pairing with the device. Once the initial pairing has completed, the device will connect for a moment and then disconnect. When connected, there will be three colorful icons on the right side of the device item (orange, green, and blue), and when disconnected, the icons will disappear.

  8. Select the Device button in the menu and select the option to Connect, or you can right-click (secondary-click) the Bluetooth device and select the option to Connect.

  9. Once connected, you can select the Blueman-Applet application in the Notification Area of the Panel, move the cursor to the Recent Connections... option, and then select the available option Auto connect profiles on <DEVICE> so that the Bluetooth wireless device will automatically connect in the future. If this feature does not work to auto connect, you can simply click the Auto connect profiles on <DEVICE> option to manually connect, which is quicker and more convenient than connecting manually as described in step 8. You can close the Blueman Bluetooth Manager window now. The Blueman-Applet application can be used to turn Bluetooth on/off and can be used to connect manually. If you want to manually disconnect without turning Bluetooth off, you can select the Devices... option to open the Blueman Bluetooth Manager window again.

With a disposable sys-audio, these steps must be done for each new session, but this is a relatively quick and easy process.

I may make some more attempts to get the Librem 14 built-in Qualcomm Atheros AR9462 Bluetooth to work in the future, but this setup that I have outlined above is preferable to me, since there is no requirement for non-free firmware.

I wish everyone luck with your efforts to configure sys-audio for your needs.

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