Scanning starts, but never returns anything

[Johannmann]

I'm using Raspberry Pi 400 and use the am43 blinds. On the raspberry, i use homebrige which i installed with the homebridge raspberry pi image. I still can acces the pi via ssh as su.

What i did:

Install git Run the two commands:

• sudo apt-get install bluetooth bluez libbluetooth-dev libudev-dev
• sudo apt-get install bluetooth bluez libbluetooth-dev libudev-dev Setup the am43 with my iphone and kill the app and switch off bluetooth afterwards Install the plugin and restart homebridge. I checked the log to find the identifier of my am43 to enter it in the config but i only get the following out of the log.

[3/13/2021, 14:05:43] [am43-blinds] Started scanning for AM43 blinds, stopping in 8 seconds Preparing Advertiser for 'Homebridge 963C' using ciao backend!

This is the only log message i get in reference to the plugin. It doesn't say anything about not finding devices, just nothing. To me this sounds like it starts searching but never stops.

tbh. I'm not sure if i need to configure anything with the built in bluetooth: If i go to the bluetooth controller (sudo bluetoothctl) and type list, nothing appears. Scan on yields: No default controller available

I'm not super proficient in these things and might be off the track, but maybe you have an idea?

Thanks and greetings! Johann

[renssies]

Looking at this thread it seems like more people are having this issue and it seems to be hardware-related. Some report issues if the blue USB 3.0 ports are used. https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=291837

Just to make sure you could try a separate SD card with Raspberry Pi OS (non-lite) and see if the Bluetooth menu in that one works, if it doesn't it is likely a hardware issue.

If that is the case then you can still use the 400 if you buy a separate, Raspberry Pi Compatible, Bluetooth 4.0 USB dongle. I can recommend a USB dongle anyway if the blinds motor is far from the Raspberry Pi, because the antenna of the Raspberry Pi is quite weak.

From another user, this dongle from Trust works. The link is dutch, but you can probably find the product somewhere else too: https://www.coolblue.nl/product/236284/trust-bluetooth-4-0-usb-adapter.html.

I've also had success with a Ugreen dongle, however, the current one they sell doesn't look the same as the one I have, so I can't guarantee it works. The chipset is in fact the same, however, the range might be different because of the different look. https://www.amazon.com/UGREEN-Bluetooth-Wireless-Transmitter-Keyboards/dp/B01LX6HISL/ref=sr_1_6

[Johannmann]

Hey Rens, thanks for the quick response.

After reading your post, i thought maybe they have fixed the bluetooth issue and an update might help: i updated the pi (sudo apt update & sudo apt full-upgrade), rebooted and it worked like a charm!

Blind is now fully controlable as intended. Thanks for your great work on this!