hciconfig

configures Bluetooth devices

TLDR

Show all Bluetooth interfaces

$ hciconfig

Show specific interface

$ hciconfig [hci0]

Bring interface up

$ sudo hciconfig [hci0] up

Bring interface down

$ sudo hciconfig [hci0] down

Enable device scanning

$ sudo hciconfig [hci0] piscan

Reset interface

$ sudo hciconfig [hci0] reset

Show detailed info

$ hciconfig -a

SYNOPSIS

hciconfig [options] [device] [command]

hciconfig configures Bluetooth devices. It displays and modifies HCI (Host Controller Interface) device settings, similar to ifconfig for network interfaces.The tool manages Bluetooth adapter state, visibility, and various parameters like name, class, and scan modes.

PARAMETERS

-a

Show all information.

Bring device up.

down

Bring device down.

reset

Reset device.

piscan

Enable page and inquiry scan.

noscan

Disable scanning.

iscan

Enable inquiry scan only.

pscan

Enable page scan only.

name name

Set local name.

class class

Set device class.

auth

Enable authentication.

noauth

Disable authentication.

INSTALL

sudo apt install bluez

sudo dnf install bluez

sudo pacman -S bluez

sudo apk add bluez-deprecated

sudo zypper install bluez

brew install bluez

nix profile install nixpkgs#bluez

CAVEATS

Deprecated in favor of bluetoothctl. Requires root for configuration. Changes may not persist after reboot. Interface naming may vary.

HISTORY

hciconfig is part of BlueZ, the official Linux Bluetooth stack. BlueZ was created by Maxim Krasnyansky and Marcel Holtmann, and is maintained by the community with Intel contributions. While hciconfig is being phased out, it remains useful for low-level Bluetooth configuration.