I ordered myself a new keyboard this morning! A purple Wobkey Crush 80 Reboot Pro, which I decided that I would like to connect it to my computer with Bluetooth. This would allow me to switch between my home computer and work computer more easily on work-from-home days without switching keyboards.
Since I use an older Dell tower from 2019, it does not have Bluetooth built into it, and it was off to the store to purchase a little USB Bluetooth adapter.
Why the heck would I do that when I have a Model M that is serving me well? One of the major reasons is that it's not pretty and ever since Kathleen purchased herself a Ducky One with a very cute set of rainbow keycaps, the theoretically-superior typing experience of the Model M just doesn't quite have the same shine for me. Another reason is that my Model M is from Spring 1993 and lacks the
Windows key, err Super key. Since I'm looking to get myself into using Sway for my window management needs, I'd prefer not to have to set ornate key combinations that require superhuman levels of dexterity and memory.
While I wait for the keyboard to arrive, I figured that I would get Bluetooth set up in anticipation. My mouse has Bluetooth, and that's how I used it with my Mac until I went over the Linux, so I know it should work just fine.
After installing the requisite drivers, I was able to connect the mouse to the computer by Bluetooth, but, well, it certainly does not seem willing to stay connected.
- The connection drops when I'm not using it.
- The connection drops when I'm moving it around.
- The connection seems to drop when I'm thinking about it dropping.
It seems to be a common problem and I've tried a number of things that I found online. Various power management things, different bluetooth panels, forgetting and re-adding, logging out, restarting, etc. And just when it seems that it wants to stay up, it finds a way to disconnect.
I'm sure I'll figure it out eventually, or perhaps things will just work on a reboot or a later update. Still, it's a bit irritating that something as basic as connecting a Bluetooth mouse isn't just working without a fuss.
Update: I booted up elementaryOS 8.1 from a USB and spent about 20 minutes in there moving the mouse around, and it seemed to work flawlessly. So there something out of sorts with something in my Debian install...
January 5, 2026