How to change Bluetooth broadcast device name?

Question

I just can't figure a way to change my Bluetooth device name.

Is there any command?

Defect: Cannot change bluetooth name – AlikElzin-kilaka Mar 05 '17 at 11:45 — AlikElzin-kilaka, Mar 05 '17 at 11:45

score 89 · Answer 1 · answered Nov 20 '11 at 09:17

89

It seems the option was removed from the Bluetooth control panel, but you should still be able to change the name via the command line:

sudo hciconfig hci0 name 'Device Name'

Once you run the command, you should be able to verify the change by bringing up the Bluetooth control panel again and checking the device name.

answered Nov 20 '11 at 09:17

James Henstridge

41,136

Useful Answer! Helped Me Thank You Very Much! :) – Gaurav Nov 19 '12 at 15:24
1

this is the safest and right way to do it, thx! – Aquarius Power Oct 01 '13 at 16:40
working ubuntu 13.10 – Shaharil Ahmad Jun 09 '14 at 19:02
5

It works, but the name is reset after reboot. I use Ubuntu 14.04. Can it be set permanently? – fikr4n Sep 04 '14 at 02:49
6

As @BornToCode points out, the change doesn't persist. Restarting the service with service bluetooth restart will show that the name change is reverted. – Paul Lammertsma Jan 22 '15 at 00:40
It certainly used to persist the name under /var/lib/bluetooth/$addr/config. I wonder why it isn't doing so now? – James Henstridge Jan 22 '15 at 11:12
@JamesHenstridge Perhaps investigating what Blueman Bluetooth Manager does will reveal how it now works? – Paul Lammertsma Jan 23 '15 at 20:29
In bluez-utils-5.50 there's no more the hciconfig util – juanmah Nov 11 '18 at 16:25
This still works in Ubuntu 18. Note that the settings gui does NOT reflect the change. C api calls, do however. Client devices will show the name change too, though they may take a few minutes to catch up (notably Windows takes it's time on this...) – BuvinJ Dec 18 '19 at 01:58
This does not work permanent in Ubuntu 20.10, you also have to edit the value Alias in /var/lib/bluetooth/*/settings – rubo77 Mar 26 '21 at 17:42

score 73 · Accepted Answer · edited Oct 09 '15 at 11:26

73

You can't change bluetooth device name from control panel in ubuntu yet. Here is the bug report, which provides this workaround:

If you want to change the bluetooth device name permanently, you have to create a file called /etc/machine-info which should have the following content:
PRETTY_HOSTNAME=device-name

After this, restart the Bluetooth service:

sudo service bluetooth restart

Or reboot.

edited Oct 09 '15 at 11:26

Daniel

1,268

answered Nov 20 '11 at 09:10

subhajit

996

1

No need to restart. service bluetooth restart does the trick. – ArunasR Oct 21 '14 at 15:23
In Ubuntu 20.10 you have to edit the value Alias in /var/lib/bluetooth/*/settings and call sudo hciconfig hci0 name 'NewDeviceName@yourdomain.net' - see my answer below: https://askubuntu.com/a/1326338/34298 – rubo77 Mar 26 '21 at 17:41

score 22 · Answer 3 · edited Aug 29 '12 at 09:51

22

What I did (on 12.04):

device name is stored in /var/lib/bluetooth/XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX/config
delete it
restart (~# service bluetooth restart)
device name is rewritten in config (according to /etc/bluetooth/main.conf ?)

edited Aug 29 '12 at 09:51

Sathyajith Bhat

1,504

answered Aug 28 '12 at 15:28

Marx

221
2
2

If you don't like the bluetooth version of the device name, i.e. hostname-0, you can replace the line "Name = %h – %d" to simply "Name = %h" in step 4 above, which will get rid of the numbering suffix, as I just did in 13.04. – Sadi Jul 10 '13 at 17:31
this works on 15.04 – Mark Jun 17 '15 at 14:27

score 6 · Answer 4 · edited May 07 '14 at 13:42

6

I am using Blueman Bluetooth Manager. There is an option to change a computer's BT name in:

Adapter → Parameters

edited May 07 '14 at 13:42

user.dz

48,105

answered May 07 '14 at 12:47

Highstaker

161
1
3

1

Thank you very much! This is more like the Ubuntu-way ( more user-friendly ;-) than other answers, and the latest version 1.23 has this feature via menu Adapter → Preferences → Friendly Name. Further info: https://github.com/blueman-project/blueman – Sadi Sep 21 '14 at 08:02

score 6 · Answer 5 · answered Jul 19 '15 at 23:59

To change the bluetooth host name permanently, on Ubuntu 14.04 or later:

Open a terminal with CTRL-ALT-T

Edit /etc/bluetooth/main.conf replacing "%h" with the computer name you want. "%h" always seems to represent "ubuntu" on my systems for some reason.

gksudo gedit /etc/bluetooth/main.conf

For example change Name = %h-%d to Name = gruber-%d `
Remove /var/lib/bluetooth/xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx/config to make your system forget the old name. The xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx has a hexadecimal value unique to your bluetooth hardware.

sudo rm /var/lib/bluetooth/xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx/config
Restart the bluetooth service

sudo service bluetooth restart

(Under 15.04 or later:)

sudo systemctl restart bluetooth.service

You can check the new name by opening the Bluetooth settings. The last two steps are from Marx's answer.

This is my preferred answer, but rather than delete the config file I would rather edit it, as in dreis nineoneone's answer. Incidentally, the service command still works in 15.04. — AFH, Dec 06 '15 at 16:01

score 3 · Answer 6 · answered Jun 29 '21 at 09:20

The default Bluetooth package (bluez) comes with a command-line utility bluetoothctl that can set/reset the broadcast name (the "controller alias").

To change the broadcast name to new-name:

bluetoothctl system-alias new-name

To remove the alias, setting the broadcast name back to your computer's name:

bluetoothctl reset-alias

This will modify the appropriate settings in /var/lib/bluetooth automatically. MakeUseOf has a nice introduction on what you can do with bluetoothctl.

score 2 · Answer 7 · edited Nov 21 '18 at 20:37

2

You can change the name of a bluetooth remote device on your PC :

check the MAC adress of the device in the bluetooth settings. It looks:
```
XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX
```

open the Terminal and type:

sudo gedit /var/lib/bluetooth/XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX/config/info

if it asks for the password, type it (you won't see it)
the gedit will open up with that file.
modify (only) the value corresponding to 'Name'
```
Name=modified_name_as_you_like_it
```

The change will not be instantaneous !

Restart the service (or the PC), using the command:
```
sudo service bluetooth restart
```

edited Nov 21 '18 at 20:37

Community

1

answered Nov 28 '15 at 15:36

dreis nineoneone

47
3

1

If your adapter has an alias, also edit /var/lib/bluetooth/XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX/settings, and change that. – Mr. B Jun 20 '16 at 22:30
1

This doesn't appear to work in Ubuntu 18.04. When you restart the bluetoothservice, the device isn renamed successfully but is not connected yet. When you connect, a new info file is written which overwrites your chances and the device name is therefore reset. – AlainD Oct 08 '19 at 09:44
in Ubuntu 20.10 you have to edit the value Alias in /var/lib/bluetooth/*/settings – rubo77 Mar 26 '21 at 17:34

score 1 · Answer 8 · answered Jun 11 '20 at 20:23

1

On Ubuntu 20.04 you can do this from the settings.

Settings > About > Device Name

Reboot your computer for the changes to take effect.

answered Jun 11 '20 at 20:23

Timothée Jeannin

280
1
2
8

score 0 · Answer 9 · answered Mar 26 '21 at 17:40

In Ubuntu 20.10 look at

sudo grep Alias /var/lib/bluetooth/*/settings

edit the value Alias with

sudo gedit /var/lib/bluetooth/*/settings

For example call it NewDeviceName@yourdomain.net

Then call

sudo hciconfig hci0 name 'NewDeviceName@yourdomain.net'`

No need for reboot or bluetooth restart.

Alternatively you can do this from the settings:

Settings -> Info -> Gerätename

I guess in english it is:

Settings -> About -> Device Name

score 0 · Answer 10 · edited Jan 14 '24 at 12:34

0

In Ubuntu 22.04, the following GUI option allows renaming in the Bluetooth Manager:

Bluetooth Manager
Right click on BT device
Rename device
Enter new name

edited Jan 14 '24 at 12:34

moo

878

answered Jan 13 '24 at 15:35

dbt

21
4

score 0 · Answer 11 · answered Mar 17 '16 at 17:09

0

sudo apt-get update; sudo apt-get install -y nano
sudo nano /var/lib/bluetooth/*/config
sudo service bluetooth restart

Update the value for “name”. In my case, it was: Ubuntu-0

answered Mar 17 '16 at 17:09

Alireza Jalilii

1

2

This answer provides the same solution as many others, but with much less detail. – TheWanderer Mar 17 '16 at 18:12

How to change Bluetooth broadcast device name?

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