"Receive files over bluetooth" randomly stops working - plus setting should be available under BlueTooth settings

[Teo]

I often send image files via bluetooth from my android phone to my ubuntu PC.

It worked fine until yesterday, but now I systematically get "the remote bluetooth device rejected the request".

Nothing has changed in the way I transfer files and I'm trying from the very same phone.

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 11.10
Package: linux-image-3.0.0-16-generic 3.0.0-16.29
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.0.0-16.29-generic 3.0.20
Uname: Linux 3.0.0-16-generic i686
NonfreeKernelModules: nvidia
AlsaVersion: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture Driver Version 1.0.24.
ApportVersion: 1.23-0ubuntu4
Architecture: i386
AudioDevicesInUse:
 USER PID ACCESS COMMAND
 /dev/snd/controlC0: teo 32650 F.... pulseaudio
CRDA: Error: [Errno 2] No such file or directory
Card0.Amixer.info:
 Card hw:0 'Intel'/'HDA Intel at 0xfebf8000 irq 49'
   Mixer name : 'Realtek ALC660-VD'
   Components : 'HDA:10ec0660,10430000,00100001 HDA:10573055,10431316,00100700'
   Controls : 25
   Simple ctrls : 16
Date: Sun Mar 18 17:55:36 2012
HibernationDevice: RESUME=UUID=b1b3e5fe-38e2-44c9-9e48-4564cd9f4d66
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 10.04 LTS "Lucid Lynx" - Release i386 (20100429)
MachineType: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. M51Sn
ProcEnviron:
 PATH=(custom, user)
 LANG=en_US.UTF-8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
ProcKernelCmdLine: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-3.0.0-16-generic root=UUID=173acbf5-26a0-49e3-8d2b-f1c142582cbf ro quiet splash vt.handoff=7
RelatedPackageVersions:
 linux-restricted-modules-3.0.0-16-generic N/A
 linux-backports-modules-3.0.0-16-generic N/A
 linux-firmware 1.60.1
SourcePackage: linux
StagingDrivers: zram
UpgradeStatus: Upgraded to oneiric on 2011-12-07 (101 days ago)
UserAsoundrc:
 pcm.!default { type pulse }
 ctl.!default { type pulse }
 pcm.pulse { type pulse }
 ctl.pulse { type pulse }
dmi.bios.date: 12/24/2007
dmi.bios.vendor: American Megatrends Inc.
dmi.bios.version: 303
dmi.board.asset.tag: ATN12345678901234567
dmi.board.name: M51Sn
dmi.board.vendor: ASUSTeK Computer Inc.
dmi.board.version: 1.0
dmi.chassis.asset.tag: ATN12345678901234567
dmi.chassis.type: 10
dmi.chassis.vendor: ASUSTeK Computer Inc.
dmi.chassis.version: 1.0
dmi.modalias: dmi:bvnAmericanMegatrendsInc.:bvr303:bd12/24/2007:svnASUSTeKComputerInc.:pnM51Sn:pvr1.0:rvnASUSTeKComputerInc.:rnM51Sn:rvr1.0:cvnASUSTeKComputerInc.:ct10:cvr1.0:
dmi.product.name: M51Sn
dmi.product.version: 1.0
dmi.sys.vendor: ASUSTeK Computer Inc.

[Mathieu Trudel-Lapierre (cyphermox)]

Thank you for taking the time to report this bug and helping to make Ubuntu better. The issue that you reported is one that should be reproducible with the live environment of the Desktop CD of the development release - Precise Pangolin. It would help us greatly if you could test with it so we can work on getting it fixed in the next release of Ubuntu. You can find out more about the development release at http://www.ubuntu.com/testing/ . Thanks again and we appreciate your help.

[Teo (teo1978)]

Still an issue in 12.04.

This happens intermittently: some times bluetooth transfers are systematically rejected, some times they work fine. From the same devices.

Maybe rebooting fixes the issue, I never tried specifically.

[Teo (teo1978)]

Still an issue in 12.10.
For god's sake how long is this going to take until this gets even looked at?

[Teo (teo1978)]

Wow, interestingly, turning off and on bluetooth physically (most laptops have a switch that allows turning bluetooth and wifi off and on) fixes the issue.

I suspect the issue starts happening (randomly I think, not systematically) after a suspend/resume - or maybe after the system has been running for some time.

[Teo (teo1978)]

Sorry for confirming my own report, but this is still an issue in 13.04, still unassigned, still importance undecided, and there's not much to confirm.

[Teo (teo1978)]

Switching off and on the hardware bluetooth/wireless button systematically fixes the issue.

[Teo (teo1978)]

Now, fresh install of Ubuntu 13.04 on another computer.
Systematically rejects ALL bluetooth transfers.
Turning physically off and on bluetooth/wireless doesn't fix the issue (unless it only turns off wifi, in which case the workaround is simply not available for some machines).

For god's sake, when is this going to be addressed?

[teo1978 (teo8976)]

Why the hell was this marked as duplicate of #1285948?! Don't you see that bug describe a problem in SENDING, not RECEIVING files over bluetooth?

[teo1978 (teo8976)]

Unbelievable.
Now, after 2 years and a half waiting for this to be fixed, and without hearing a thing from any developer, it TURNS OUT THERE'S A SETTING for this... IN THE WRONG PLACE, which you would never find unless you google for it.

In Personal File Sharing there's a checkbox "Receive files over bluetooth". All you need is to enable that.

- this setting should be under Bluetooth Settings instead of (or in addition to) under Personal File Sharing.
- it should be accessible from the notification icon on the top-right corner of the screen

[teo1978 (teo8976)]

Err, besides that, accepting files via bluetooth IS broken.

Even though "Receive files over bluetooth", at random times it starts rejecting all files again.
The workaround is to switch "Receive files over bluetooth" off and then on again. That fixes the issue, at least for me.

[teo1978 (teo8976)]

WTF it's been FOUR F***ING YEARS and the problem has only got worse.

Now the workaround in comment 11 no longer works. There's NO WAY to receive files over bluetooth. They are systematically rejected.

[Konrad Zapałowicz (kzapalowicz)]

Hey,

does the issues is still present in the modern versions of Ubuntu? Which one are you running?

[teo1978 (teo8976)]

I am using 15.10 and the situation is as described in comment #12: incoming files sent via bluetooth are systematically rejected no matter what.

[Daniel van Vugt (vanvugt)]

Please let us know if the problem persists for you and if so then what Ubuntu version.

[teo1978 (teo8976)]

On 16.04, now I can't even see the computer from another bluetooth device (my smartphone).

Bluetooth is turned on and visibility is turned on. If I click on "ubuntu settings..." there is no other setting (I thought maybe there was something like "discoverability" that I should turn on).

[teo1978 (teo8976)]

Also, in "Personal File Sharing Preferences" (it's ridiculous that you have to look for these settings somewhere else, they should be under Bluetooth settings), "receive files over bluetooth" is turned on and "accept files" is set to "always".

[teo1978 (teo8976)]

Now, several minutes after turning on Bluetooth on the computer, it was finally visible from the phone.

So from the phone I tried sending a file, and I got the screen (on the phone) that I attached.
It said: "Type the pairing code then press Return or Enter". (note: "the" pairing code. What pairing code? If I am supposed to type it on the computer, which "press return or enter" seems to suggest, then it should show up on the phone - or viceversa)

So on the computer some prompt was supposed to show up, but it didn't. A small padlock showed up in the bluetooth icon on the computer, but there was no prompt for a code anywhere, nor did it show up by clicking on the bluetooth icon.

After a while the operation timed out from the phone.

Then I tried again.
This time, at the prompt "type the pairing code then press Return or Enter" (again the one in the screenshot) I tapped on "pair". (the prompt is quite ambiguous: am I supposed to type the code, which I can't possibly know, in which case the "pair" button shouldn't be necessary, or should I press "pair" and *then* I'll be shown the code on the phone and prompted to insert it on the computer, in which case the message is confusing because it's telling me to enter it now??)
So I tapped on "pair", and... The file was sent succesfully!! No code showed up anywhere and I didn't have to insert it anywhere.
Of course I had paired these two particular devices before, literally years ago (and I'm not abusing the word "literally").

The UI of the whole process is a fucking mess on both sides, both Ubuntu AND Android. There are a bunch of bugs on both sides. Sharing files via bluetooth is a hell.

[teo1978 (teo8976)]

prompt on the phone (i.e. source device)