Im a total child in terms oft Linux distros. Since im sick of Microsoft i decided to switch my gaming completely to Linux (Xbox to Tower with bazzite, switch to steamdeck). Im quite happy that i installed the distro by my self and found the place where i was able to change the keyboard layout. Because i want to play in my livingroom form the couch i got a bluetooth keyboard. The mouse i already have connected perfectly the keyboard didnt. I tried finding a solution online but soon realised that i have to learn to read the Linux lingo.
Can please someone teach me or point me in the right direction were i can learn the basics. Treat me like i know nothing about distros (because i dont) and PC (because i barely do).
This is also to try the Linux community. Show me what you got.
Edit: First of all, im very happy how this turned out. You people are very kind. I did manage to connect everything and got it running. Now i need to find out why dota 2 isnt running smothly.
Does the keyboard need to be put into pair mode first? If so, how are you then trying to connect it or pair it with your machine?
Just FYI while I am here: https://docs.bazzite.gg/ is worth bookmarking.
So a good place to start for anything is the arch wiki. It is very extensive and often helpful for people on any distro.
What keyboard do you have?
Edit: Also, just checking you’ve switched on your keyboard? Like your mouse, a wireless keyboard will have a small on/off switch somewhere.
My BT keyboard never seems to connect unless I press a few buttons while the initial connection is being attempted, after you have entered the 6 digit code and pressed enter.
Bazzite is pretty plug and play.
It will auto-update itself. So you don’t need to worry.
Install your apps from Bazaar.
I don’t think bazzite ships with Heroku, but I like it much better than Lutris for handling non-Steam games. I think you can download it from Bazaar. There are guides for how to get some apps running from it. So I’d search for those if you need to.
Your Windows games run on Linux due to a thing called Proton. It used to be a thing called Wine. Steam automagically does this for you in the background.
If you encounter issues with games in Steam, go to ProtonDB.com, search the game, and see if anyone else has run into it and provided a solution in the comments. They typically have.
One common solution is needing to change the version of Proton you’re using. You can right click on a game, go to Manage (I think that’s what it’s called), and select the Compatibility tab. Check the box and select a specific version of Proton. It might have to run some updates when you do that.
Don’t be afraid to Google whenever you encounter a program. Just type the error message in, the name of the game with problems, and you’ll probably be able to find someone else with the same problem and potential solution.
You dont need to yse the terminal/command line for this. Just open the settings app and look for the Bluetooth section. Pairing your keyboard is pretty much the same process as on a phone ir tablet.
Btw, Bazzite has different versions. Which did you install?
Can you let us know what happens when you connect the keyboard? Also potentially the model of the keyboard.
Something I haven’t seen anyone else here (that probably won’t matter if you’re just doing basic gaming) is that bazzite is what is called an atomic distro - meaning that key system files are immutable (they can’t be altered) and certain directories are also read only.
It means that installing packages with a package manager can be a little bit trickier. Setting up a dev environment can be tricky. And certain other things can be more difficult.
There’s a huge chance this won’t matter at all to you, but in the event you run into issues like “this directory is read only” or something along those lines, that’ll be why.
Again, may never matter but something to keep in mind.
How did you connect the mouse? Do same think for kb.
Also for the life of me I don’t get how beginners like you decide to go with these kinds of distros. I for one never heard of it but I also don’t game.
I use endeavor with kde on my laptop and it just works.
Bazzite is a fine pick for someone who just wants to game. It is immutable so much lower chance of screwing up the system, and is based on Fedora Silverblue.
As I understand it, Endeavour is explicitly not for new users and instead is recommended as a new step for someone already familiar with a more beginner friendly distro?
Endeavour is explicitly not for new users
There is no such thing man. It just works really. But I am not trying to sell this distro, just saying that an immutable distro for a beginner is much more of a black box than any of the “advanced” distros people are afraid of. sure if you are luck and everything works with the immutable, awesome. if it doesn’t? then you need the “advanced” stuff anyway. and by that I mean read some documentation.
While I’m a happy EndeavourOS user, I don’t think Arch-based distros are for beginners, even if they work perfect, which they are most of the time. The problem is the most part. Because a beginner can’t fix a problem, even a simple one if they have no idea about Linux. It doesn’t have problems often, but even one time is enough for beginners and it’s a deal breaker.
But is this any different than what is happening here with a supposedly beginner friendly gaming distro?
“Having a problem”-wise, probably not. However you most likely won’t see immutable distro won’t boot problem. This is not the case with Arch. To be fair, aside from gaming, I’m getting close to recommend more of the stable side of the distros to beginners, like LMDE or pure Debian.
Don’t know man, my two cents are to go with a distro that has good established documentation. Also if you want to learn you have to break your system. You are probably right, I had a different path ending up with endeavor.
Also, if op managed to get the Bluetooth mouse going there is no reason why his Bluetooth keyboard is not working.
I think Bazzite is a good distro for a beginner wanting specifically something to game on, but going for something common works too. I probably wouldn’t suggested Ubuntu to anyone these days but you can’t deny the long history of forum posts that come up whenever you search your problem.
Also, if op managed to get the Bluetooth mouse going there is no reason why his Bluetooth keyboard is not working.
It’s a nice thought, but his mouse is working and his keyboard is not, that’s why he’s asking.
I keep reading their documentation and wow oh wow! This is from their FAQ:
Is this another fringe Linux distribution?¶ Bazzite is not a Linux distribution in the traditional sense. Yes, it is a Linux operating system that is distributed for the public to use however it is a custom Fedora Atomic Desktop image with a recipe on top of it. Universal Blue images are a proof of concept of using containerized workflows with transactional and in-place operating system updates, and Bazzite exists by being gaming focused with inspiration from SteamOS. Bazzite is a Fedora Atomic Desktop installation, but with the aid of Universal Blue's tooling, adds packages, services, drivers, etc. to the base image of it. Bazzite is using a new "container-native" approach that Fedora has been testing, and we are taking full advantage of it. The team is utilizing the Open Container Initiative (OCI) to build the images, and are adding packages, services, and kernel modules to existing Fedora operating systems. Unlike traditional Linux distributions, most of the maintenance and security updates are done upstream by Fedora and Universal Blue contributors while the primary Bazzite maintainers only have to focus on creating a great experience for an OS geared towards playing video games. Bazzite provides several images that all get the same additions and fixes through updates at the same time unless specified otherwise. There can be a hypothetical scenario where everyone involved with Bazzite could stop maintaining the project at once and it will still continue to receive updates directly from upstream until the scheduled builds are broken. The purpose of Bazzite is to be Fedora Linux, but provide a great gaming experience out of the box while also being an alternative operating system for the Steam Deck and other handheld devices.This screams beginner distro to me!
ok OP what model keyboard do you have? maybe I should have started with this.
my point i was trying to make is: these days if you want to use linux and game, just install a “normal” distro without fear of what you read online. 99% of the stuff about arch based distros (except for maybe arch itself, i don’t have experience with pure arch) is simply fearmongering. stuff just works. Want to connect a mouse? Done. Keyboard? No problem. Same can be said about distros like mint and such. I wouldn’t bother with ubuntu these days.
i keep seeing so many comments about stuff that breaks and doesn’t work in linux but this is just not the case! unless you break it. in windows stuff would work, or not depending on how old the equipment was. there wasn’t much you could do about it. in linux you have options provided you don’t jump feet first into an immutable distro intended mostly for gaming.
my extra point is: ditch bazite and switch to a saner distro!
A lot of guides can get overly technical but keyboards usually have a pretty standardised BT connection and all keyboards I’ve used have worked. Did you look up the manual and see if you need to put it into pairing mode/make it discoverable/reset it to connect to another device?
If yes, you should provide the keyboard model so people here can help you with it.
The best way for me when i was learning the basics was to have a separate device to experiment and test things on, and not worry about having to wipe and lose anything, and any time I got something working right I would make the changes to my “main”. But that’s was a while ago and things improved since then, and also everyone learns different.
So I would recommend trying to follow any linux communities on lemmy or reddit to absorb new info (a lot might be wrong or outdated), maybe follow some youtubers ( a few popular tech ones are making the shift to linux and learning from scratch too), and honestly even just memes will help. Just keep in mind that a lot of people state outdated opinions as facts, or repeat wrong info they heard from someone else.
For more accurate but less hand-holding info, start trying to find good actual forums for Linux, like a disto’s (spin or flavor of linux) forum or “discourse”. As long as you read or search for things before posting, people will generally be nice and willing to help out. Just try to provide any info you can when you post, and don’t have any attitude.
Advanced and more technical info can be found on an apps or distros website or github.
If you have specific questions about the Bluetooth keyboard, let me know in the reply and I’ll try to help!
P.S ignore all distro recommendations till you get more experience, in the beginning the biggest hurdles will be switching from windows to Linux, difference between distros do matter but are much smaller than people sometimes make them out to be. You should stick with one, preferably whatever a buddy or favorite YouTube is using, and save distro hopping till later.
