Month: May 2024

I was having trouble connecting my Nexxtech Bluetooth keyboard to my ThinkPad T470 running Linux Mint.

I have encountered this problem before with other computers.

I decided to record what worked for me this time so that I can easily refer to it when and if it happens again with another computer.

Once the connection is made, the keyboard seems to work well.

The article I used from Medium, written by Wainaina Gichuhi, had instructions for both GUI and the terminal.

The GUI method did not work, but the instructions for the Linux command line in a terminal worked perfectly.

In case the article disappears the instructions are adapted from the source article as follows:

Connect via Terminal

Put your mouse or keyboard in pairing mode (the instructions are provided by the device manufacturer).

At the terminal prompt, type

bluetoothctl

In the bluetoothctl prompt, type as follows:

scan on

You should see available bluetooth devices and their MAC address listed. Note your keyboard or mouse and copy the MAC address.

Then, at the prompt:

pair MAC

And then

connect MAC

and then

trust MAC

Trusting a Bluetooth device ensures that it reconnects automatically after a reboot, wake or when turned on.

Remember to replace MAC with your keyboard or mouse MAC address.

For example, when I did the scan, the MAC address for my keyboard was 20:11:10:12:24:0B