Hello,
I have some issue understanding and configuring the Bluetooth integration.
I have read the BT integration page many times, and yet having trouble with it.
My end goal is simple: Add a BT speaker (JBL Horizon), so I could stream music to it from HA.
I also would like to add, that I had similar issues with another BT adapter, but I saw in the integration page it was in the unsupported devices, so I thought that was the reason for the issues.
I bought a new BT adapter, which is officially supported by HA (Ugreen CM390), and all the information I will provide here is using the CM390 adapter.
I’m going to specify all the technical information I got, to help with the issue, so the post would be a long one - I apologize for it.
Part 1 - GUI:
In the devices page under Bluetooth integration, the BT adapter is shown, it is configured to “passive scanning”, and both “Enable newly added entities” and “Enable polling for changes” are set to ON.
In the “advertisement-monitor” page the JBL Horizon speaker is shown and when clicking on the a “Device Information” popup window is shown:
{"name":"JBL Horizon","address":"B8:69:C2:00:F0:F2","rssi":-72,"manufacturer_data":{},
"service_data":{},"service_uuids":
["0000110d-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb","0000110b-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb",
"0000110e-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb","0000110f-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb"],
"source":"0A:62:21:12:83:E7","connectable":true,"time":1755775132.2463033,"tx_power":4}
I see no place to add the JBL horizon as an entity, or to pair it.
What was I supposed to do now in the GUI?
Part 2 - CLI:
After I could not find the GUI way, I decided to try pairing it using SSH with the “bluetoothctl” command.
Before I write the commands I’ve tried and their outputs, I’d like to say there is a base issue (which may or may not be related):
With EVERY “bluetoothctl” command, I get a reply saying “Unable to open mgmt_socket”, I have no idea where is it coming from or how to fix it, I’ve rtied to search for it, but got no replies what were applicable.
The BT device turns on and I can also put it in scan on mode and also tried scan LE which made no difference.
Like in the GUI, the “bluetoothctl” command identifies the JBL Horizon speaker, and when trying to pair it, I get the following output:
[core-ssh ~]$ bluetoothctl pair B8:69:C2:00:f0:f2
Unable to open mgmt_socket
Attempting to pair with B8:69:C2:00:F0:F2
AdvertisementMonitor path registered
There is no success or error messages following that one, when I try to query it for information, it show the pair status as NO:
[core-ssh ~]$ bluetoothctl info B8:69:C2:00:F0:F2
Unable to open mgmt_socket
Device B8:69:C2:00:F0:F2 (public)
Name: JBL Horizon
Alias: JBL Horizon
Class: 0x00240414 (2360340)
Icon: audio-card
Paired: no
Bonded: no
Trusted: no
Blocked: no
Connected: no
LegacyPairing: no
UUID: Advanced Audio Distribu.. (0000110d-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb)
UUID: Audio Sink (0000110b-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb)
UUID: A/V Remote Control (0000110e-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb)
UUID: A/V Remote Control Cont.. (0000110f-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb)
RSSI: 0xffffffae (-82)
TxPower: 0x0004 (4)
Just to be clear: I’m using HA OS 16.1 and everything is up-to date ( Core: 2025.8.2, Supervisor: 2025.08.1, Frontend: 20250811.0)
This is actually where I am now.
Could anyone provide me with some help for the next step?
All I want is a simple BT speaker in HA… why is that so difficult?
I will, of course, be happy to provide any missing information.
Thank you for all the help.