Bluetooth dongle compatibility

The DualShock 4 controller may not work with all bluetooth dongles out there. 2.0 devices especially seems to have problems. This is a list of dongles and their compatibility.

Manufacturer	Model	Type	Bluetooth	Compatibility	Notes
Asus	P8Z68-V	motherboard	2.1 + EDR	👍
Asus	USB-BT400	usb	4.0 LE	👍
Atheros	AR3011	usb	2.1 + EDR	👍
Azio	BTD-V201	usb	2.1 + EDR	👍
TP-Link	UB400	usb	4.0 LE	👍	Works great when connected to always on USB port
Generic	CSR8510 chipset	4.0 LE + EDR	4.0 LE + EDR	👎
IOgear	GBU421	usb	2.1 + EDR	👍 *	2 Controller Max
Intel	7260 AC	PCIe	4.0 LE + EDR	👎	Connects but lags with low signal warning
Kinivo	BTD- 300	usb	3.0 + EDR	👎	Connects but lags with low signal warning
Kinivo	BTD- 400	usb	4.0 LE + EDR	👎	Connects but lags with low signal warning
Plugable	USB-BT4LE	usb	4.0 + EDR	👍	Broadcom BCM20702, works with Rpi-3B+
StarTech	USBBT1EDR4	usb	4.0 LE + EDR	👎	Connects but lags with low signal warning

Possible workarounds for dongles that may not want to cooperate immediately

Pairing a 2.0 dongle in Bluez 5.14+ by mtorromeo (source)

I managed to pair it using bluetoothctl after enabling the agent:

[bluetooth]# scan on
[bluetooth]# trust MAC
[bluetooth]# agent on
[bluetooth]# pair MAC
Request PIN code
[agent] Enter PIN code: 0000

And then "ds4drv --hidraw" worked fine.

Recap:

• Without the "agent on" command, pair fails with "Failed to pair: org.bluez.Error.AuthenticationRejected" with the bluetooth 2 dongle.
• The agent/pin steps are not necessary with the bluetooth 4 dongle.

Workaround suggested by Polymetric (source)

I had to restart the bluetooth service, then go into bluetoothctl and power on the device. Commands are below.

$ systemctl restart bluetooth
$ systemctl enable bluetooth
$ bluetoothctl
[bluetooth]# power on
[bluetooth]# exit