bluetoothctl is bluetooth control tool which allows us to make the host discoverable, scan other devices, pair to the scanned devices and also connect to those devices using command line utility on ubuntu.
Follow below commands for the same. Commands are self explanatory, replace scaned mac address of your device instead of “6C:C4:D5:6C:C5:BC” whereever required.
$ bluetoothctl
[NEW] Controller 70:1A:04:59:69:04 ubuntu-0 [default] [bluetooth]# list
Controller 70:1A:04:59:69:04 ubuntu-0 [default][bluetooth]# show 70:1A:04:59:69:04
Controller 70:1A:04:59:69:04
Name: laptop
Alias: ubuntu-0
Class: 0x3c010c
Powered: yes
Discoverable: no
Pairable: yes
UUID: Headset AG (00001112-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb)
UUID: Generic Attribute Profile (00001801-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb)
UUID: A/V Remote Control (0000110e-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb)
UUID: OBEX File Transfer (00001106-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb)
UUID: Generic Access Profile (00001800-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb)
UUID: OBEX Object Push (00001105-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb)
UUID: PnP Information (00001200-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb)
UUID: A/V Remote Control Target (0000110c-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb)
UUID: IrMC Sync (00001104-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb)
UUID: Handsfree (0000111e-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb)
UUID: Audio Source (0000110a-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb)
UUID: Audio Sink (0000110b-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb)
UUID: Message Notification Se.. (00001133-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb)
UUID: Phonebook Access Server (0000112f-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb)
UUID: Message Access Server (00001132-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb)
Modalias: usb:v1D6Bp0246d0525
Discovering: no [bluetooth]# select 70:1A:04:59:69:04 [bluetooth]# power on
Changing power on succeeded[bluetooth]# agent on
Agent registered[bluetooth]# default-agent
Default agent request successful[bluetooth]# discoverable on
Changing discoverable on succeeded
[CHG] Controller 70:1A:04:59:69:04 Discoverable: yes[bluetooth]# scan on
Discovery started
[CHG] Controller 70:1A:04:59:69:04 Discovering: yes[bluetooth]# devices
[NEW] Device 6C:C4:D5:6C:C5:BC Nokia 7 plus[bluetooth]# pair 6C:C4:D5:6C:C5:BC
Attempting to pair with 6C:C4:D5:6C:C5:BC
[CHG] Device 6C:C4:D5:6C:C5:BC Connected: yes
Request confirmation
[agent] Confirm passkey 090015 (yes/no): yes
[CHG] Device 6C:C4:D5:6C:C5:BC Modalias: bluetooth:v001Dp1200d1436
[CHG] Device 6C:C4:D5:6C:C5:BC UUIDs: 00001103-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb
[CHG] Device 6C:C4:D5:6C:C5:BC UUIDs: 00001105-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb
[CHG] Device 6C:C4:D5:6C:C5:BC UUIDs: 00001106-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb
[CHG] Device 6C:C4:D5:6C:C5:BC UUIDs: 0000110a-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb
[CHG] Device 6C:C4:D5:6C:C5:BC UUIDs: 0000110c-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb
[CHG] Device 6C:C4:D5:6C:C5:BC UUIDs: 0000110e-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb
[CHG] Device 6C:C4:D5:6C:C5:BC UUIDs: 00001112-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb
[CHG] Device 6C:C4:D5:6C:C5:BC UUIDs: 00001115-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb
[CHG] Device 6C:C4:D5:6C:C5:BC UUIDs: 00001116-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb
[CHG] Device 6C:C4:D5:6C:C5:BC UUIDs: 0000111f-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb
[CHG] Device 6C:C4:D5:6C:C5:BC UUIDs: 0000112d-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb
[CHG] Device 6C:C4:D5:6C:C5:BC UUIDs: 0000112f-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb
[CHG] Device 6C:C4:D5:6C:C5:BC UUIDs: 00001132-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb
[CHG] Device 6C:C4:D5:6C:C5:BC UUIDs: 00001200-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb
[CHG] Device 6C:C4:D5:6C:C5:BC UUIDs: 00001800-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb
[CHG] Device 6C:C4:D5:6C:C5:BC UUIDs: 00001801-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb
[CHG] Device 6C:C4:D5:6C:C5:BC Paired: yes
Pairing successful
[CHG] Device 6C:C4:D5:6C:C5:BC Connected: no[bluetooth]# trust 6C:C4:D5:6C:C5:BC
[CHG] Device 6C:C4:D5:6C:C5:BC Trusted: yes
Changing 6C:C4:D5:6C:C5:BC trust succeeded
[CHG] Controller 70:1A:04:59:69:04 Discoverable: no[bluetooth]# connect 6C:C4:D5:6C:C5:BC
Attempting to connect to 6C:C4:D5:6C:C5:BC
[CHG] Device 6C:C4:D5:6C:C5:BC Connected: yes
Connection successful[Nokia 7 plus]# info
Device 6C:C4:D5:6C:C5:BC
Name: Nokia 7 plus
Alias: Nokia 7 plus
Class: 0x5a020c
Icon: phone
Paired: yes
Trusted: yes
Blocked: no
Connected: yes
LegacyPairing: no
UUID: Dialup Networking (00001103-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb)
UUID: OBEX Object Push (00001105-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb)
UUID: OBEX File Transfer (00001106-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb)
UUID: Audio Source (0000110a-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb)
UUID: A/V Remote Control Target (0000110c-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb)
UUID: A/V Remote Control (0000110e-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb)
UUID: Headset AG (00001112-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb)
UUID: PANU (00001115-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb)
UUID: NAP (00001116-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb)
UUID: Handsfree Audio Gateway (0000111f-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb)
UUID: SIM Access (0000112d-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb)
UUID: Phonebook Access Server (0000112f-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb)
UUID: Message Access Server (00001132-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb)
UUID: PnP Information (00001200-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb)
UUID: Generic Access Profile (00001800-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb)
UUID: Generic Attribute Profile (00001801-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb)
Modalias: bluetooth:v001Dp1200d1436
RSSI: -69[Nokia 7 plus]# help
Available commands:
list List available controllers
show [ctrl] Controller information
select Select default controller
devices List available devices
paired-devices List paired devices
power Set controller power
pairable Set controller pairable mode
discoverable Set controller discoverable mode
agent Enable/disable agent with given capability
default-agent Set agent as the default one
set-scan-filter-uuids [uuid1 uuid2 ...] Set scan filter uuids
set-scan-filter-rssi [rssi] Set scan filter rssi, and clears pathloss
set-scan-filter-pathloss [pathloss] Set scan filter pathloss, and clears rssi
set-scan-filter-transport [transport] Set scan filter transport
set-scan-filter-clear Clears discovery filter.
scan Scan for devices
info [dev] Device information
pair [dev] Pair with device
trust [dev] Trust device
untrust [dev] Untrust device
block [dev] Block device
unblock [dev] Unblock device
remove Remove device
connect Connect device
disconnect [dev] Disconnect device
list-attributes [dev] List attributes
select-attribute Select attribute
attribute-info [attribute] Select attribute
read Read attribute value
write <data=[xx xx="" ...]=""> Write attribute value
notify Notify attribute value
register-profile Register profile to connect
unregister-profile Unregister profile
version Display version
quit Quit program $ quit 
After Entering Devices, not showing any new devices
This walk-through saved me more than once when the GUI would not work for pairing. Thank you!
Great to know, it helped 🙂
Thanks,
I was troubleshooting a usb bluetooth dongle that I’d plugged into the wrong usb extension cable and it was not getting enough power to turn on. A shorter extension in the same port works. This helped figure out why I could not power on even though it could be detected. I hate trouble shooting crappy cables.
Great it worked. now i have an alias to connect to my bt headphones.