Thursday, 27 December 2007

Ubuntu Bluetooth Remote Control

I have a Sony Ericsson K800i phone and one of its coolest features is the ability to control your pc using bluetooth. It's pretty straightforward in Windows but Ubuntu needs a little bit of work to get it going. Open up your terminal and follow the steps below.

  • Install bluez-utils, Gutsy comes with this installed but here's how you can install it if you don't have it
sudo apt-get install bluez-utils

  • Next let's search for our phone
hcitool scan

  • You should see your phones MAC address and identifier appear, something like this
00:11:22:AA:BB:CC MyPhonesName

  • Now, copy the MAC address of your phone and enter the following
sudo hidd --connect 00:11:22:AA:BB:CC

Your phone should now ask you if you want to allow remote control, select yes and your ready to control your Ubuntu. Unfortunately you have to do the above every time you want to use it. To control your media applications such as Totem or amarok you need to download certain configuration files to your phone. For a list of compatible phones and the configuration files check out the link below.

Links:
help.ubuntu
ubuntu forums

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