←back to thread

Show HN: Bluetooth USB Peripheral Relay – Bridge Bluetooth Devices to USB

(github.com)
233 points bahaaador | 3 comments | 13 Nov 24 13:24 UTC | HN request time: 0.232s | source

Hi HN! I built Bluetooth USB Peripheral Relay, a tool that lets Bluetooth devices (like keyboards and mice) connect to USB-only hosts using a Raspberry Pi Zero W.

Why? My friend needed a way to use his Bluetooth mouse and keyboard on a PC with Bluetooth disabled due to policy restrictions. This tool acts as a bridge, relaying Bluetooth input over USB. It also lets you use Bluetooth peripherals with older devices that only support USB input.

Tech: Written in Go, optimized for Raspberry Pi Zero W.

I love HN’s community and often lurk here—I’m hoping this project is useful or at least sparks some interesting discussions. Feedback and contributions are welcome!

Show context
reeddavid ◴[13 Nov 24 17:23 UTC] No.42128036[source]▶
This solves a huge annoyance I've had: swap a Bluetooth keyboard/mouse between multiple laptops, without manually un0paring / re-pairing. I have a personal "hot desk" at home. I want to be able to plug in any laptop to the large monitor, and have the wireless keyboard/mouse on that desk instantly work. And when I leave the desk with my laptop, I don't want that keyboard/mouse connected anymore.

This has been impossible so far, because even USB bluetooth dongles still require each host computer to pair (and un-pair) with the keyboard/mouse.

I am going to try your solution, and I will plug the USB input into the large monitor on my desk. Then any laptop that plugs into that monitor should have access to the wireless keyboard/mouse. Thank you for creating and sharing this!

replies(6): >>42128135 #>>42128230 #>>42128587 #>>42128744 #>>42129328 #>>42130139 #
mmh0000 ◴[13 Nov 24 17:34 UTC] No.42128135[source]▶
All of this is being insanely overcomplicated.

Throwing more complexity at a simple problem might be "fun" from a nerd's POV, and, TBH, building this USB device sounds fun. But entirely unneeded while introducing more points of failure.

A simple solution to your problem:

1. Get a monitor with a built-in USB hub (nearly all of them?). Consider getting a USB-C monitor to reduce the number of cables to 1.

2. Don't use Bluetooth (for a keyboard, for multiple reasons, like needing the keyboard available in early boot). Get a keyboard/mouse with an external USB dongle like Logitech's Unify or Bolt, Corsair's SLIPSTREAM, or any of the other billion options that exist.

3. Plug keyboard/mouse into monitor, plug random computers into monitor. Bam. Unified mouse and keyboard without any pairing.

replies(2): >>42128204 #>>42128710 #
1. FredFS456 ◴[13 Nov 24 17:40 UTC] No.42128204[source]▶
A cheap USB switch would also work, that would reduce the switching to switching monitor inputs and pressing the button the USB switch
replies(2): >>42129744 #>>42129964 #
2. seiferteric ◴[13 Nov 24 20:40 UTC] No.42129744[source]▶
I did this for a while but was a bit annoyed with the delay since it "unplugs" and "plugs" in the mouse/keyboard each time you hit the button. What I ended up doing is buying a used KVM switch with DDM (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_device_mapping) which allows pretty much instant switching.
3. jwells89 ◴[13 Nov 24 21:01 UTC] No.42129964[source]▶
Be careful with these though, a lot of USB switches (most readily available ones, even) aren't wired correctly and can result in current flowing from one computer to the other.