AX200 Bluetooth LE stopped working on recent Linux kernels

[Jim_Hz]

I have a Dell XPS 13 7390 laptop running Fedora with kernel 6.6.9-200. It can see non-LE Bluetooth devices but does not see any Bluetooth LE devices. If I boot the same machine into Ubuntu running kernel 6.2.0-26, it works fine.

Here is the working system's dmesg outputs:

[ 13.698963] Bluetooth: Core ver 2.22
[ 13.698986] Bluetooth: HCI device and connection manager initialized
[ 13.698991] Bluetooth: HCI socket layer initialized
[ 13.698993] Bluetooth: L2CAP socket layer initialized
[ 13.698996] Bluetooth: SCO socket layer initialized
[ 13.911785] Bluetooth: hci0: Found device firmware: intel/ibt-20-1-3.sfi
[ 13.911849] Bluetooth: hci0: Boot Address: 0x24800
[ 13.911851] Bluetooth: hci0: Firmware Version: 126-5.22
[ 13.913333] Bluetooth: hci0: FW download error recovery failed (-19)
[ 13.913365] Bluetooth: hci0: sending frame failed (-19)
[ 13.913372] Bluetooth: hci0: Failed to read MSFT supported features (-19)
[ 14.512270] Bluetooth: hci0: Bootloader revision 0.3 build 0 week 24 2017
[ 14.514199] Bluetooth: hci0: Device revision is 1
[ 14.514201] Bluetooth: hci0: Secure boot is enabled
[ 14.514202] Bluetooth: hci0: OTP lock is enabled
[ 14.514203] Bluetooth: hci0: API lock is enabled
[ 14.514203] Bluetooth: hci0: Debug lock is disabled
[ 14.514204] Bluetooth: hci0: Minimum firmware build 1 week 10 2014
[ 14.514448] Bluetooth: hci0: Found device firmware: intel/ibt-20-1-3.sfi
[ 14.514862] Bluetooth: hci0: Boot Address: 0x24800
[ 14.514994] Bluetooth: hci0: Firmware Version: 126-5.22
[ 16.309133] Bluetooth: hci0: Waiting for firmware download to complete
[ 16.309250] Bluetooth: hci0: Firmware loaded in 1752734 usecs
[ 16.309287] Bluetooth: hci0: Waiting for device to boot
[ 16.323256] Bluetooth: hci0: Device booted in 13652 usecs
[ 16.323344] Bluetooth: hci0: Malformed MSFT vendor event: 0x02
[ 16.368208] Bluetooth: hci0: Found Intel DDC parameters: intel/ibt-20-1-3.ddc
[ 16.370375] Bluetooth: hci0: Applying Intel DDC parameters completed
[ 16.371291] Bluetooth: hci0: Firmware revision 0.3 build 126 week 5 2022
[ 23.889622] Bluetooth: BNEP (Ethernet Emulation) ver 1.3
[ 23.889625] Bluetooth: BNEP filters: protocol multicast
[ 23.889630] Bluetooth: BNEP socket layer initialized
[ 23.890630] Bluetooth: MGMT ver 1.22
[ 30.065475] Bluetooth: RFCOMM TTY layer initialized
[ 30.065485] Bluetooth: RFCOMM socket layer initialized
[ 30.065489] Bluetooth: RFCOMM ver 1.11

Here is the broken system (with the newer kernel) output:

[ 21.068395] Bluetooth: Core ver 2.22
[ 21.068416] Bluetooth: HCI device and connection manager initialized
[ 21.068420] Bluetooth: HCI socket layer initialized
[ 21.068422] Bluetooth: L2CAP socket layer initialized
[ 21.068427] Bluetooth: SCO socket layer initialized
[ 21.157262] Bluetooth: hci0: Bootloader revision 0.3 build 0 week 24 2017
[ 21.159683] Bluetooth: hci0: Device revision is 1
[ 21.159685] Bluetooth: hci0: Secure boot is enabled
[ 21.159686] Bluetooth: hci0: OTP lock is enabled
[ 21.159687] Bluetooth: hci0: API lock is enabled
[ 21.159688] Bluetooth: hci0: Debug lock is disabled
[ 21.159689] Bluetooth: hci0: Minimum firmware build 1 week 10 2014
[ 21.214105] Bluetooth: hci0: Found device firmware: intel/ibt-20-1-3.sfi
[ 21.214286] Bluetooth: hci0: Boot Address: 0x24800
[ 21.214288] Bluetooth: hci0: Firmware Version: 255-255.255
[ 22.068412] Bluetooth: BNEP (Ethernet Emulation) ver 1.3
[ 22.068416] Bluetooth: BNEP filters: protocol multicast
[ 22.068421] Bluetooth: BNEP socket layer initialized
[ 23.040876] Bluetooth: hci0: Waiting for firmware download to complete
[ 23.041251] Bluetooth: hci0: Firmware loaded in 1784312 usecs
[ 23.041285] Bluetooth: hci0: Waiting for device to boot
[ 23.056253] Bluetooth: hci0: Device booted in 14627 usecs
[ 23.056254] Bluetooth: hci0: Malformed MSFT vendor event: 0x02
[ 23.061048] Bluetooth: hci0: Found Intel DDC parameters: intel/ibt-20-1-3.ddc
[ 23.063255] Bluetooth: hci0: Applying Intel DDC parameters completed
[ 23.064259] Bluetooth: hci0: Firmware revision 0.3 build 249 week 27 2023
[ 23.066267] Bluetooth: hci0: HCI LE Coded PHY feature bit is set, but its usage is not supported.
[ 23.142659] Bluetooth: MGMT ver 1.22
[ 30.418864] Bluetooth: RFCOMM TTY layer initialized
[ 30.418872] Bluetooth: RFCOMM socket layer initialized
[ 30.418877] Bluetooth: RFCOMM ver 1.11

Note the suspicious firmware version and the message about the "LE Coded PHY feature bit". I also saw a previous post about newer btintel modules having this problem. The broken system is version 6850F65AEED3D3A5FE15B61.

[VonM_Intel]

Hi, Jim_Hz.

Thank you for posting in the Intel Communities. We can definitely help you with that.

As I carefully look into the errors that you've provided, please be informed that the causes of Bluetooth stopped working or detected are varied. We suggest to install the latest (and stable) version of Linux Kernel. You may also visit and check this article: (https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000005511/wireless.html) where you can find where to download the Linux Software, and after installing the Linux kernel, the Intel Bluetooth and Wi-Fi interfaces should be available out-of-the-box, as the required firmware is included. 

The output of command '#rfkill list' indicates Bluetooth is blocked by the kernel:

"oem-bluetooth: Bluetooth

  Soft blocked: yes

  Hard blocked: no"

We recommend also trying this steps:

Try # rfkill unblock bluetooth or # rfkill unblock all

Best regards,

Von M.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Jim_Hz]

Okay, I installed kernel 6.7.1-250 and rebooted. This did not help. I ran `rfkill list` as you suggested, and it says this:

1: hci0: Bluetooth
Soft blocked: no
Hard blocked: no
2: phy0: Wireless LAN
Soft blocked: no
Hard blocked: no

I still believe Bluetooth LE is broken for the AX200 on recent kernels. Here are the `dmesg` logs for kernel 6.7.1:

[ 27.346118] Bluetooth: Core ver 2.22
[ 27.346143] Bluetooth: HCI device and connection manager initialized
[ 27.346146] Bluetooth: HCI socket layer initialized
[ 27.346149] Bluetooth: L2CAP socket layer initialized
[ 27.346154] Bluetooth: SCO socket layer initialized
[ 27.505288] Bluetooth: hci0: Found device firmware: intel/ibt-20-1-3.sfi
[ 27.505443] Bluetooth: hci0: Boot Address: 0x24800
[ 27.505445] Bluetooth: hci0: Firmware Version: 255-255.255
[ 27.514351] Bluetooth: hci0: FW download error recovery failed (-19)
[ 27.514379] Bluetooth: hci0: sending frame failed (-19)
[ 27.514390] Bluetooth: hci0: Reading supported features failed (-19)
[ 27.514391] Bluetooth: hci0: Error reading debug features
[ 27.514393] Bluetooth: hci0: HCI LE Coded PHY feature bit is set, but its usage is not supported.
[ 27.514400] Bluetooth: hci0: sending frame failed (-19)
[ 27.514405] Bluetooth: hci0: Failed to read MSFT supported features (-19)
[ 28.038517] Bluetooth: hci0: Bootloader revision 0.3 build 0 week 24 2017
[ 28.039522] Bluetooth: hci0: Device revision is 1
[ 28.039524] Bluetooth: hci0: Secure boot is enabled
[ 28.039525] Bluetooth: hci0: OTP lock is enabled
[ 28.039526] Bluetooth: hci0: API lock is enabled
[ 28.039527] Bluetooth: hci0: Debug lock is disabled
[ 28.039529] Bluetooth: hci0: Minimum firmware build 1 week 10 2014
[ 28.080101] Bluetooth: hci0: Found device firmware: intel/ibt-20-1-3.sfi
[ 28.080205] Bluetooth: hci0: Boot Address: 0x24800
[ 28.080206] Bluetooth: hci0: Firmware Version: 255-255.255
[ 28.366081] Bluetooth: BNEP (Ethernet Emulation) ver 1.3
[ 28.366085] Bluetooth: BNEP filters: protocol multicast
[ 28.366089] Bluetooth: BNEP socket layer initialized
[ 29.768372] Bluetooth: hci0: Waiting for firmware download to complete
[ 29.768463] Bluetooth: hci0: Firmware loaded in 1648785 usecs
[ 29.768494] Bluetooth: hci0: Waiting for device to boot
[ 29.783473] Bluetooth: hci0: Device booted in 14636 usecs
[ 29.783476] Bluetooth: hci0: Malformed MSFT vendor event: 0x02
[ 29.784188] Bluetooth: hci0: Found Intel DDC parameters: intel/ibt-20-1-3.ddc
[ 29.785475] Bluetooth: hci0: Applying Intel DDC parameters completed
[ 29.786476] Bluetooth: hci0: Firmware revision 0.3 build 249 week 27 2023
[ 29.788482] Bluetooth: hci0: HCI LE Coded PHY feature bit is set, but its usage is not supported.
[ 29.853686] Bluetooth: MGMT ver 1.22
[ 36.380634] Bluetooth: RFCOMM TTY layer initialized
[ 36.380643] Bluetooth: RFCOMM socket layer initialized
[ 36.380648] Bluetooth: RFCOMM ver 1.11

[VonM_Intel]

Hi, Jim_Hz.

Thank you for your response. We will do further research on this matter and post the response on this thread once available.

Best regards,

Von M.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[VonM_Intel]

Hi, Jim_Hz.

Thank you for waiting. Please be informed that we are still conducting further research and replication of the issue. Also, please be advised that we have sent you an email regarding the needed additional information/details that we require to fix the issue more efficiently.

Best regards,

Von M.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[VonM_Intel]

Hi, Jim_Hz.

Thank you for patiently waiting. We conducted some further research and replication of the issue, I would like to know if this issue occurs consistently or intermittently. Also, kindly tell us what are the BLE devices (e.g. mouse) you are using and their model names. This will help us to find a more accurate resolution as we are still working and doing some further investigation to fix the issue. 

Moreover, please provide us the following logs of kernel 6.2.0-26 (where LE is visible) and kernel 6.7 (where LE is not visible):

1. The 'full' dmesg log, please type # dmesg > dmesg.log
2. The output of # modinfo btintel

Best Regards,

Von M.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Jim_Hz]

In the related support ticket (Case 06114002) I provided a link to a Google Drive folder with `dmesg`, `modinfo btintel`, and `btmon` outputs for the working 6.2.0 kernel, the default Fedora 39 6.6.14 kernel (not working), and a vanilla 6.7.4 kernel (not working).

The BLE devices I know about (that can also be seen in the working btmon log) are a Logitech M720 Triathlon mouse and a Google Nest mini speaker.

Not seeing any BLE on recent kernels is consistent. I have never seen BLE devices. In the 6.2.0 kernel, I always see them.

[ctucker]

I'm having the same issues as Jim_Hz, and have attached the requested outputs.

Thank you for looking into it!

[Jim_Hz]

Well, I reinstalled Fedora (with Silverblue, actually), and my Bluetooth LE now works fine. (This is kernel 6.7.4-200.)

I don't know what happened, but you can close my case.

[VonM_Intel]

Hi, Jim_Hz.

We are glad to know you found a solution, thank you for taking the time to share this fix. We will take note of this (re-installing fedora with Silverblue (Kernel 6.7.4-200)) for future references and hopefully, it may help other community members experiencing similar behavior. Since the thread is now solved, we will proceed to close it. Please keep in mind that this thread will no longer be monitored by Intel.

Best Regards,

Von M.

Intel Customer Support Technician