I recently got the Apple AirPods 2 and just like my Chromebook, pairing my AirPods with Ubuntu was not that easy. And unlike Windows, restart doesn’t fix issues. Instead, you have to make a few changes in the Bluetooth configuration. So, here is how you fix Apple AirPods not Working on Ubuntu 19.04
Read: Airpods Not Working Properly With Mac – Quick Fix
Fix Ubuntu 19.04 Bluetooth Not Working
Heads up, I am using an Acer E5-575G laptop with Ubuntu 19.04 codenamed Disco Dingo. The Bluetooth module I have inbuilt is from Microsoft. First of all, we need to check if Ubuntu can recognize the Bluetooth module. For that, turn on Bluetooth and run the following command. You should get an output something similar to the below screenshot.
hciconfig -a
If you don’t see any output from the above command, most probably you have the Bluetooth service turned off. Use the following command to turn it on.
sudo service Bluetooth start
Once you have Bluetooth running, we need to change the controller mode for the laptop’s Bluetooth hardware. To do that, we need to make changes to the “/etc/bluetooth/main.conf” file. Use the following command to do that
Read: How to Change Name of Your AirPods on Any Device
sudo nano /etc/bluetooth/main.conf
Within the Bluetooth configuration file, move to the last line and append the following in it.
ControllerMode = dual
Linux uses dual controller mode by default which supports both LE and BR/EDR protocols. Basically, LE is what you term as Bluetooth 5.0 and BR/EDR is the old classic Bluetooth 4.0. At times, Ubuntu starts using BR/EDR which might cause an issue with Apple AirPods 2 since it uses Bluetooth 5.0.
Read: How to Pair Airpods With Amazon Fire Stick and Control Its Volume
By setting ControllerMode = dual, we enforce Ubuntu to use both Bluetooth protocols. Alternatively, you can also try and set ControllerMode as LE. Post the changes, save the file and run the following command to restart Bluetooth. service
sudo /etc/init.d/bluetooth restart
Now, you should be able to connect to the Airpods. In case you still can’t connect, try resetting the Apple AirPods by pressing the button on the back of the case for at least 15 seconds. After the reset, try connecting the AirPods once again.
For any issues or queries, let me know in the comments below.
Also Read: How to Use AirPods With PS4
