Just surprised with how well this works for me. PnP auto configured with no setup. Can reach the 2nd floor from the basement. I use a USB extension cord (10ft / 3m). Not sure if that helps or hurts it.
ZEXMTE USB Bluetooth Adapter for PC 5.1, Long Range Bluetooth USB Adapter for Windows 11/10,492FT/150M Bluetooth Dongle 5.1 EDR,Plug & Play for Desktop, Laptop, Printers,Mouse, Headsets, Speakers
The main thing to keep in mind with adapters you get is the device limit per adapter some have a limit of 7 per so you may need another adapter to have more BT based gear connected in your setup.
I vote we get this added to the list of known working devices. Literally was just searching for a new adapter…now I’m set. Do we know if this uses the RTL8761B chip?
May I ask in which OS you are running the antenna?
On Amazon they say it is not compatible with Linux; since I’m running HA on Debian, I would like to know on which OS you are.
Thanks
@GitWally I am using Linux. The qcow2 from Linux - Home Assistant I am using it with a virt pass through. My host is Debian. I don’t think I installed anything, just PnP and it worked. I know it says no Linux support but it workes fine with no issues so far.
In my configuration ZEXMTE 5.3 was not working, initially: had problem with Realteck firmware. So the bluetooth was switching off every time I tried to enable it in Debian.
In HA the integration was always “initializing” and then “failed …”
With
sudo dmesg | grep Bluetooth
found error messages about firmware, like these:
[ 5.897790] bluetooth hci0: Direct firmware load for rtl_bt/rtl8761bu_fw.bin failed with error -2
[ 5.897795] Bluetooth: hci0: RTL: firmware file rtl_bt/rtl8761bu_fw.bin not found
Found step by step solution here.
Now it is working.
I read this could happen again due to updates.
Bye