Pi 4 Bluetooth controller range issue

[lhari84]

Hi,

I got another issue with my new Pi 4 & NesPi 4 Case & Recalbox 8.0.2 setup:
Today I've paired all of my Bluetooth controllers:

• Sony DualShock 4 (v2)
• 8Bitdo N30 Pro (v1)
• 8Bitdo SF30 Pro

Now the problem is that first 2 have only a range of about 1,5 meters, maximum!!
The 3rd one (SF30 Pro) offers a normal range, it works without issues in the whole room.

With my Pi 3 B+ & SuperPi Case & Recalbox 7.2.2 setup, I didn't have this issue with this same set of controllers.
Further, I have completely reinstalled Recalbox 8.0.2 and also tried both bluetooth drivers. I'm out of ideas why this happens. Are there any known issues with RB 8.0.2 / Pi 4 regarding that?

Thanks for your help!

[lhari84]

Found some hint that USB 3 can cause issues and plugged SSD into USB 2 Port. It made things better but it's still not like it used to be with Pi 3. It's so annoying when a new piece of hardware only makes troubles

[Zing]

@lhari84

Are there any known issues with RB 8.0.2 / Pi 4 regarding that?

It looks like there really is a bug:

• https://forum.recalbox.com/topic/26184/logitech-k380-bluetooth-keyboard-recalbox-8-rpi4
• https://gitlab.com/recalbox/recalbox/-/issues/2063

[lhari84]

@zing
This seem to be other issues. My main problem is just the low range. If I'm close enough (too close for my needs), everything works as it should.

Anyway, I also could not pair a Logitech keyboard. No PIN request at all - so no pairing. In the past (about 2 years ago), it worked by connecting by SSH while pairing process. There the PIN was shown up and could be entered on keyboard and confirmed by return. Currently nothing appears in CLI.

Another experience I've made:
No external bluetooth dongle seem to work: I have 4 different BT 4.0 dongles with 3 different chipsets. In Pi 3B (no +) times, where internal BT was very crappy, it was enough to connect the dongle and it worked. Now, not any controller is found in pairing mode when any dongle is connected to USB port.
I've tried to use one of the dongles as a workaround for my range issue.

Thanks for your answer anyway.

[Zing]

@lhari84

This seem to be other issues.

Yes, these are different issues, but I believe they are related.

No external bluetooth dongle seem to work

This is weird, I haven't seen any other users complain about it.

Are your dongles on the compatibility list?
https://wiki.recalbox.com/en/hardware-compatibility/compatible-devices/usb-dongles

[lhari84]

@zing said in Pi 4 Bluetooth controller range issue:

Are your dongles on the compatibility list?
https://wiki.recalbox.com/en/hardware-compatibility/compatible-devices/usb-dongles

Not at all, only the "Asus USB-BT400 Bluetooth 4.0". But even though the green checkmark, there is note "Works with customizations to the Broadcom firmware - doesn't work from stock." - So it really may not work out of the box.

Anyway, I have two dongles with CSR-chipset, one from deleyCON, one from tinxi, which worked perfectly in Recalbox versions about 2-3 years ago, even though they are not on list.
I'm sure this is because they are using the same chipset as other dongles that can be found on the list, for example the Digitus:
https://shop.okluge.de/digitus-bluetooth-4.0-tiny-usb-adapter-class-2-csr-chipsatz-bluetoothstick-stick.html

Best solution would be if it's really a bug and I don't even need a dongle as a workaround at all
My current workaround is to use the 8Bitdo SF30 Pro only, as it provides a larger range then the other ones for any reason (not as large as before with Pi 3B+ and RB 7.2.2., but sufficient for my needs).