Intel 7260 Bluetooth not working on Pop!_OS — works fine in Windows after deep discharge

[ridanul]

Hi everyone,

I’m running Pop!_OS [include version here, e.g., 22.04 LTS] with kernel uname -r output: 6.9.3-76060903-generic, on a laptop with an Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 combo card (Wi-Fi + Bluetooth).

Wi-Fi (iwlwifi) works perfectly, but Bluetooth doesn’t show up in Linux until I do a deep discharge or boot into Windows first.
After that, Bluetooth appears normally as 8087:07dc and works fine — until the next cold boot.

What I’ve found so far
Wi-Fi driver: iwlwifi loads firmware 7260-17.ucode successfully.
Bluetooth device sometimes missing from lsusb (8087:07dc doesn’t appear).
When it does appear, the driver (btusb) loads but often no hci0 device is created.
Windows always restores it after a deep power cycle — so it’s not hardware failure.
BIOS shows Bluetooth enabled.

Tried adding:
options btusb enable_autosuspend=0 reset=1
in /etc/modprobe.d/btusb.conf
Still inconsistent.
I suspect it’s an ACPI or power-gating issue with Intel hubs (8087:8001).

What I’m asking

1. Has anyone fixed persistent Bluetooth power-up issues on Intel 7260 in Pop!_OS or Ubuntu?
2. Is there a kernel quirk, ACPI patch, or DKMS workaround (e.g., adding msleep(200) in Intel setup) that reliably initializes the device?
3. Would disabling intel_iommu or creating a udev rebind rule for 8087:8001 be a safe long-term solution?

System info

lspci -nn | grep -i 7260
lsusb | grep -i 8087
uname -r
sudo dmesg | grep -i -E 'btusb|Bluetooth|hci0'

03:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Intel Corporation Wireless 7260 [8086:08b1] (rev bb)
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 8087:8001 Intel Corp. Integrated Hub
6.9.3-76060903-generic
[sudo] password for ridanul:
[ 846.212193] Bluetooth: Core ver 2.22
[ 846.212228] NET: Registered PF_BLUETOOTH protocol family
[ 846.212230] Bluetooth: HCI device and connection manager initialized
[ 846.212235] Bluetooth: HCI socket layer initialized
[ 846.212238] Bluetooth: L2CAP socket layer initialized
[ 846.212262] Bluetooth: SCO socket layer initialized
[ 1090.157963] usbcore: registered new interface driver btusb
[ 1468.116143] usbcore: deregistering interface driver btusb
[ 1468.274475] usbcore: registered new interface driver btusb

Thanks
Any insights or stable fixes would be greatly appreciated — I’d love to make Bluetooth work on every boot without relying on a full power drain.

 

[theLegionWithin]

some options, if you have not already tried them: https://www.google.com/search?clien...SDeBLWebYIDtPxJ1Y9n4dGTNvzXEKly-u3aLo&csuir=1

a bit more poking around with other queries results in problems with 8087:07dc over 9 years ago. of the options presented in the linked query, I'd go with the udev rule as it's more granular.

hope that helps!

 

[ridanul]

some options, if you have not already tried them: https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=persistent+powerup+issues+for+bluetooth+8087:07dc+in+debian+derived+linux+distributions?&udm=50&fbs=AIIjpHxU7SXXniUZfeShr2fp4giZud1z6kQpMfoEdCJxnpm_3W-pLdZZVzNY_L9_ftx08kwv-_tUbRt8pOUS8_MjaceHuSAD6YvWZ0rfFzwmtmaBgLepZn2IJkVH-w3cPU5sPVz9l1Pp06apNShUnFfpGUJOF8p91U6HxH3ukND0OVTTVy0CGuHNdViLZqynGb0mLSRGeGVO46qnJ_2yk3F0uV6R6BW9rQ&ved=2ahUKEwjWs7iE4deQAxUKIzQIHX4XBWkQ0NsOegQIAxAB&aep=10&ntc=1&mstk=AUtExfDcwF6tHTAhK2eWV-wB7r4rTVHfCBl1fuKMGwy_rcdBfLOVhH3srNmutZkx10kfXlz8AgRVdr3AAN8ppzT7x3N3g55pnVPhHUEd8ZyszIyZn5TvX1E_VHD4hyimBzSDeBLWebYIDtPxJ1Y9n4dGTNvzXEKly-u3aLo&csuir=1

a bit more poking around with other queries results in problems with 8087:07dc over 9 years ago. of the options presented in the linked query, I'd go with the udev rule as it's more granular.

hope that helps!

Thanks for your suggestion but It didn't work.

 

[KGIII]

That distro is heavily modified and meant to work with System76's hardware. It may not function properly on other hardware, and getting it to function on other hardware may be difficult.

 

[ridanul]

That distro is heavily modified and meant to work with System76's hardware. It may not function properly on other hardware, and getting it to function on other hardware may be difficult.

I tried ZorinOS and Linux Mint also. But they also do not able to turn on bluetooth.

 

[KGIII]

I tried ZorinOS and Linux Mint also. But they also do not able to turn on bluetooth.

Hmm... Assuming that you're using a modern distro, it seems like it should work. See:

Linux* Support for Intel® Wireless Adapters

Information on Linux* driver support for Intel® wireless products including Wi-Fi adapters.

www.intel.com

Though, to be fair, that only mentions the wireless.

You mention that it works in Windows 'after a deep discharge'. Is that the only time it works in Windows?

Additionally, just to be clear, is this a dual-boot system? If it is a dual-boot system, try going into Windows to disable quick boot, or at least try doing a full shutdown and then reboot the system.

Those are some things you can try and your answers to those questions may help us notice something else that's amiss.

 

[ridanul]

Hmm... Assuming that you're using a modern distro, it seems like it should work. See:

Linux* Support for Intel® Wireless Adapters

Information on Linux* driver support for Intel® wireless products including Wi-Fi adapters.

www.intel.com

Though, to be fair, that only mentions the wireless.

You mention that it works in Windows 'after a deep discharge'. Is that the only time it works in Windows?

Additionally, just to be clear, is this a dual-boot system? If it is a dual-boot system, try going into Windows to disable quick boot, or at least try doing a full shutdown and then reboot the system.

Those are some things you can try and your answers to those questions may help us notice something else that's amiss.

I checked that site but didn’t find anything helpful about Bluetooth.

My PC is a dual-boot system. Whenever I boot into Linux (Pop!_OS), Bluetooth isn’t detected. After that, Windows also fails to recognize it and shows “This device is not connected.”

If I do a deep discharge (unplug the battery and AC power, wait about 30 seconds, or hold the power button), Bluetooth works again in Windows — but only until I boot into Linux. Then it disappears from both systems until I repeat the process.

That’s the only workaround I’ve found so far.

Now, I repeated that cycle, booted into Windows, and disabled Fast Startup (Quick Boot) from the Control Panel. After shutting down and booting into Pop!_OS again, Bluetooth still failed to work.

I’m happy to share any technical details you need.
Thanks for your time and help!

 

[KGIII]

Now, I repeated that cycle, booted into Windows, and disabled Fast Startup (Quick Boot) from the Control Panel. After shutting down and booting into Pop!_OS again, Bluetooth still failed to work.

Thanks for your reply.

Uff... That's what I was not hoping for. It's as though one OS is setting a power state to off/sleep.

I have one more crazy idea that's only good for testing. Depending on the results of this test, someone else may be able to chime in with a solution.

Do what you need to do to get Bluetooth working properly again. Then, instead of using the shutdown mechanism like normal, press and hold the power button until the computer powers off. Don't do any of the shutdown processes you'd normally do. You want to bypass that to completely shut the system down. Let the device sit for a couple of minutes and then boot into the other operating system. (This won't break either OS.)

The reason you'd try this is to make absolutely sure that the PC is shutting itself off at the hardware level. What we sort of hope to see is that Bluetooth continues to work in the other OS after it worked in the OS you had previously booted. This should tell us, with some degree of certainty, if it's the OS setting the power state to off, sleep, or hibernate.

From there, we can maybe do some additional research. As of this moment in time, it sounds like Windows is setting the power state and then this state is being retained between boots.

Also, just to make sure, there is no separate button (perhaps an Fn combination) that controls Bluetooth, correct?

 

[f33dm3bits]

I tried ZorinOS and Linux Mint also. But they also do not able to turn on bluetooth.

Try booting CachyOS or EndeavourOS live cd and see if you can do it there, you can just open the bluetooth app from the live environment. ZorinOS has an old kernel because it's based on Ubuntu LTS so you might have better luck with a distribution with up-to-date kernels.

 

[Trml]

I did a search too and saw an old superuser thread with a number of users of the card having issues. One said they fixed it with a bios update. Since it appears to be linked to a power issue, it could be a bios bug.

 

[ridanul]

Do what you need to do to get Bluetooth working properly again. Then, instead of using the shutdown mechanism like normal, press and hold the power button until the computer powers off. Don't do any of the shutdown processes you'd normally do. You want to bypass that to completely shut the system down. Let the device sit for a couple of minutes and then boot into the other operating system. (This won't break either OS.)

Did not work.

Also, just to make sure, there is no separate button (perhaps an Fn combination) that controls Bluetooth, correct?

My device has no additional Fn key or other keys to toggle bluetooth on and off.

 

[ridanul]

Try booting CachyOS or EndeavourOS live cd and see if you can do it there, you can just open the bluetooth app from the live environment. ZorinOS has an old kernel because it's based on Ubuntu LTS so you might have better luck with a distribution with up-to-date kernels.

I’ve tried several OSes from live CDs, including Fedora, Lubuntu, and ElementaryOS. I also have Arch Linux in my dual-boot setup. Unfortunately, my Bluetooth has never worked on any of them. I believe the kernel version 6.9.3-76060903-generic should be new enough to support my old Intel 7260 card, but it still doesn’t seem to work.

 

[ridanul]

I did a search too and saw an old superuser thread with a number of users of the card having issues. One said they fixed it with a bios update. Since it appears to be linked to a power issue, it could be a bios bug.

My BIOS is already up to date, and everything works perfectly in Windows. The problem only occurs when I use a Linux distribution.