linux-drivers/
drivers/bluetooth

Bluetooth HCI transport and adapter drivers

The drivers that let Linux talk to Bluetooth radios over USB, UART, SDIO, PCIe, and virtio, covering chips from Intel, Qualcomm, MediaTek, Broadcom, Realtek, Marvell, NXP, and others. They power Bluetooth in modern laptops, retail USB dongles, embedded boards, and a few legacy PCMCIA cards, spanning hardware from the early 2000s to devices shipping new today.

keep conf=0.97 deploy=high replacement=none subsystem=bluetooth category=networking-other
97%

recommendation

It should stay in the kernel because this is the umbrella subtree that makes virtually every Bluetooth radio work on Linux, from cheap USB dongles to the chips built into laptops, phones, and embedded boards. Active maintenance is obvious: patches landed in 2026 to fix MediaTek MT7925 audio handling and to add IDs for Realtek's RTL8922AE, and vendors like MERCUSYS are still shipping new Bluetooth 5.3/5.4 USB adapters in 2025. There is no replacement; removing it would simply mean no Bluetooth on Linux.

repository signals

51 files
47,292 source lines
788 commits, 5y
+22,511 / −7,007 lines added / removed, 5y
245 authors, 5y
monthly commits · 2021-04-21 → 2026-04-21 · 788 total · active in 60/61 months
2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2021-04: 6 commits · +35 −11 2021-05: 16 commits · +249 −87 2021-06: 6 commits · +31 −10 2021-07: 15 commits · +190 −86 2021-08: 24 commits · +1,740 −1,385 2021-09: 28 commits · +322 −43 2021-10: 23 commits · +874 −647 2021-11: 9 commits · +56 −15 2021-12: 18 commits · +246 −15 2022-01: 24 commits · +380 −79 2022-02: 9 commits · +178 −27 2022-03: 17 commits · +213 −209 2022-04: 7 commits · +36 −4 2022-05: 7 commits · +60 −25 2022-06: 8 commits · +49 −81 2022-07: 11 commits · +28 −3 2022-08: 9 commits · +42 −10 2022-09: 2 commits · +11 −9 2022-10: 14 commits · +252 −23 2022-11: 7 commits · +2,557 −4 2022-12: 15 commits · +60 −31 2023-01: 1 commit · +2 −2 2023-02: 10 commits · +263 −55 2023-03: 28 commits · +1,893 −68 2023-04: 14 commits · +938 −142 2023-05: 7 commits · +37 −15 2023-06: 14 commits · +590 −157 2023-07: 13 commits · +142 −93 2023-08: 16 commits · +516 −267 2023-09: 5 commits · +92 −1 2023-10: 5 commits · +51 −13 2023-11: 3 commits · +15 −5 2023-12: 9 commits · +75 −24 2024-01: 7 commits · +31 −18 2024-02: 10 commits · +154 −25 2024-03: 13 commits · +96 −40 2024-04: 20 commits · +229 −81 2024-05: 39 commits · +2,177 −300 2024-06: 12 commits · +296 −79 2024-07: 33 commits · +1,646 −888 2024-08: 13 commits · +925 −182 2024-09: 18 commits · +92 −67 2024-10: 22 commits · +584 −130 2024-11: 3 commits · +16 −17 2024-12: 9 commits · +61 −13 2025-01: 22 commits · +248 −125 2025-02: 14 commits · +684 −56 2025-03: 13 commits · +796 −81 2025-04: 24 commits · +494 −205 2025-05: 8 commits · +64 −79 2025-06: 11 commits · +356 −74 2025-07: 27 commits · +545 −292 2025-08: 7 commits · +149 −324 2025-09: 7 commits · +83 −12 2025-10: 11 commits · +191 −79 2025-11: 11 commits · +122 −26 2025-12: 8 commits · +64 −25 2026-01: 16 commits · +70 −65 2026-02: 3 commits · +75 −71 2026-03: 5 commits · +16 −7 2026-04: 0 commits · +0 −0

sources

  1. lore.kernel.org

    April 2026 patch updates `drivers/bluetooth/btusb.c` for MediaTek MT7925 invalid ISO RX packets, showing active bug-fix maintenance for current hardware.

  2. lore.kernel.org

    April 2026 patch adds a new Realtek RTL8922AE VID/PID to `btusb.c`, showing ongoing enablement for newly shipping Bluetooth hardware.

  3. mercusys.com

    MERCUSYS markets the MA530 as a Bluetooth 5.3/5.4 nano USB adapter, evidence that USB Bluetooth adapters covered by this subtree are still sold new in 2025/2026.

  4. cateee.net

    LKDDb shows `CONFIG_BT_HCIBTUSB` remains present in current kernel series and maps `btusb` to a large set of supported USB Bluetooth devices.

codex reasoning notes (technical)

Real driver subtree, not a helper library: local `drivers/bluetooth/Kconfig` and file list show transport/vendor drivers across USB/UART/SDIO/PCIe/virtio (Intel, Qualcomm, MediaTek, Broadcom, Realtek, Marvell, NXP, legacy PCMCIA). Lore evidence was obtained with `lore_activity(file=drivers/bluetooth/btusb.c)`, which returned fresh 2026 fixes and new-device-ID patches; that strongly argues against deprecation or removal. Deployment evidence was obtained with one web search call, yielding the official MERCUSYS MA530 product page and LKDDb entry. No natural replacement driver exists for the subtree as a whole; it is the in-tree family of Bluetooth HCI transport drivers for widely deployed consumer, laptop, embedded, and some virtualized use cases.