Virtualbox does not work with USB Bluetooth devices

Discussions related to using VirtualBox on Mac OS X hosts.
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rockts
Posts: 3
Joined: 17. Mar 2020, 13:06

Virtualbox does not work with USB Bluetooth devices

Post by rockts »

host: os x 10.15.3
virtual machine: kali (kali-rolling)

The problem is that you cannot assign a Bluetooth device, neither the Bluetooth included with the MacBookPro or the USB Bluetooth device. Changing host to win10 works fine. (Find a win10 system to install Virtualbox) The test is normal.

All other virtual machine systems installed on MacBookPro are also normal, and (VMware Fusion 11.5.2) tests are normal.

Now it is determined that MacOS is using Virtualbox. Who knows what's going on?
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mpack
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Posts: 39156
Joined: 4. Sep 2008, 17:09
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Mostly XP

Re: Virtualbox does not work with USB Bluetooth devices

Post by mpack »

Relating to your Mac testing: there is not really any such thing as a Bluetooth device on a PC. What you have are USB devices, one of which is a Bluetooth controller. As with all USB devices, it cannot be directly shared between PCs. Long story short, the USB/Bluetooth controller is not available to the VM because the host is already using it.

Win10 testing: I'm not quite sure what you are saying here: if that was with an external USB bluebooth adapter then it isn't a comparable test, because the Win10 host isn't using the Bluetooth adapter for anything else.

OTOH, if you used an external Bluetooth adapter on your Mac, and you plugged it in after the guest has booted up, then I do believe it should be possible for the guest to use Bluetooth.
rockts
Posts: 3
Joined: 17. Mar 2020, 13:06

Re: Virtualbox does not work with USB Bluetooth devices

Post by rockts »

mpack wrote:Relating to your Mac testing: there is not really any such thing as a Bluetooth device on a PC. What you have are USB devices, one of which is a Bluetooth controller. As with all USB devices, it cannot be directly shared between PCs. Long story short, the USB/Bluetooth controller is not available to the VM because the host is already using it.

Win10 testing: I'm not quite sure what you are saying here: if that was with an external USB bluebooth adapter then it isn't a comparable test, because the Win10 host isn't using the Bluetooth adapter for anything else.

OTOH, if you used an external Bluetooth adapter on your Mac, and you plugged it in after the guest has booted up, then I do believe it should be possible for the guest to use Bluetooth.
After the virtual machine is started, restarting and inserting the USB Bluetooth adapter still does not work.
This problem only occurs on a Mac as a host, and win10 does not have this problem.
In addition, other virtual machine systems such as VMware Fusion do not have this problem.
scottgus1
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Joined: 30. Dec 2009, 20:14
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Windows, Linux

Re: Virtualbox does not work with USB Bluetooth devices

Post by scottgus1 »

USB 2 & 3 require the Extension Pack. Do you have the EP installed in Virtualbox?

Not being a Mac guru, I don't know if this is necessary. But I recall that MacOS may be a descendant of Linux, and for Linux hosts:
the manual wrote:On supported Linux hosts, Oracle VM VirtualBox accesses USB devices through special files in the file system. When Oracle VM VirtualBox is installed, these are made available to all users in the vboxusers system group. In order to be able to access USB from guest systems, make sure that you are a member of this group.
Also see USB basics and troubleshooting
rockts
Posts: 3
Joined: 17. Mar 2020, 13:06

Re: Virtualbox does not work with USB Bluetooth devices

Post by rockts »

Both ExtPack hosts and virtual machines are installed.
I had previously suspected a permissions issue, but the Mac does not have the user group vboxusers
scottgus1
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Joined: 30. Dec 2009, 20:14
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
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Re: Virtualbox does not work with USB Bluetooth devices

Post by scottgus1 »

See the last sentence in my post. What does that link do for you?
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