bluez-gnome bluetooth-applet does not prompt for passkey re-entry on bluetooth device

[Robert Lange]

Binary package hint: bluez-gnome

I am using Hardy with the latest updates as of the filing of this bug report. My bluetooth configuration files have not been hand-edited; the only bluetooth configuration I have done is via bluetooth-properties and bluetooth-applet.

This is a user-interface bug in bluetooth-applet that manifests during the keyboard pairing process.

REPRODUCABLE: Always, for me.

TO REPRODUCE: Using bluetooth-properties, initiate the pairing of a new keyboard input device. A bubble appears in the systray over bluetooth-applet asking you to click a button, in order to launch the passkey entry dialog. Click it and enter the passkey via your wired keyboard.

EXPECTED RESULT: A new dialog pops up requesting that you enter your passkey via the bluetooth keyboard, and press enter when done.

ACTUAL RESULT: Nothing happens that is visible to the user. Nothing indicates to the user that they need to do anything. The only way the user can proceed correctly is by *knowing* that he needs to enter the passkey on the bluetooth keyboard and press enter.

SIDE EFFECTS OF BUG: This bug triggers bug #179399. (See comment #27 for more details.) If the user does not complete the passkey sequence quickly enough, the dbus connection between bluetooth-properties, bluetooth-applet, and any other intermediary processes times out, and bluetooth-properties crashes. Furthermore, if bluetooth-properties crashes due to this timeout, then it never completes the pairing process, and the keyboard won't work correctly until the user tries to pair it again. At this point, many users have probably already given up in frustration.

MITIGATION: The timeout problem is a separate bug, but it could be solved in most cases by making the bonding process more obvious, especially for new users. To do this, a pop-up (or bubble) is needed, to inform users that they must enter their passkeys on their bluetooth keyboards.

[Mario Limonciello (superm1)]

This should be resolved in the BlueZ Gnome 1.8 package that entered intrepid yesterday.