Edimax BT-8500 Bluetooth 5.0 Nano USB Adapter, Supports Dual Mode BR/EDR + LE Controllers, BDR/EDR, BLE, Supports Windows 8.1/10, Linux: Kernel 2.6.32-5.3 or Above (Fedora & Ubuntu only)

I got this bluetooth adapter for my pc, since it doesn't have bluetooth built-in. The reason I chose this adapter in particular was because of the advertisement of the "plug and play" functionality and compatibility with Linux Mint machines, which I hadn't seen any of the others say. This was definitely as advertised! The bluetooth adapter was compatible with my Linux Mint 22 system out of the box. The installation was super easy, I just had to plug it in and it worked, which is refreshing to see, being a Linux user, usually there's some fiddling around with things, but not this! I looked around a little, and it turns out it DOES actually require drivers, but for Linux Mint 21 and up, the drivers are already included in the OS on-install. So yes, it is plug and play, if you have an updated Mint system, as advertised. However, in the package for the bluetooth adapter, it also includes instructions on how to download the drivers for Ubuntu systems, or if you just don't have it on your Mint system, which is nice (I THINK I remember seeing options for Debian systems on the driver download page, but don't quote me on that. I think some of the other reviewers have used other distros with this though, I would check their reviews to see). I haven't tested it on a Ubuntu OS, but I'd imagine it works, since it works on Mint and they're fairly similar. Slightly more work, but it does still seem to be possible to use this adapter for other Linux systems, even if it isn't plug and play, which is more than can be said for a lot of other bluetooth adapters on the market which don't even make an attempt to cater to the Linux-user market. Now, the actual performance of the bluetooth adapter. I'm no audiophile, in fact, I'm actually pretty tone deaf. But so far, the sound quality has been great! It just sounds like if I connected my wireless headphones to my phone, I don't notice any difference in sound quality due to the adapter. I've been using this adapter for over a month or so, now, and it's still working just the same as it did when I got it. One thing to note is that sometimes, the audio seems to kind of cut out? Like it just drops out for a second every few seconds, pretty annoying. This problem is pretty easily solved by just taking it out of the USB port and plugging it back in. I don't know if this is a problem with the bluetooth adapter or my computer, though. I do have a somewhat older, refurbished computer, so I wouldn't be surprised if it was my computer rather than the adapter itself. Other than that minor issue, I've been perfectly happy with this adapter! I totally forget it's there most of the time, my computer just runs with bluetooth like it was built-in. The little dongle itself is pretty well-built. It's small, smaller than some of the other ones on the market, which I like as I keep it plugged in to the front of my computer. It feels solid and well constructed, but overall pretty standard for a bluetooth dongle. Perfectly average, that's how I like it. It does what it does and I don't need to think about it often. Now, for the price. This adapter is priced a few dollars higher than a lot of the other really similar ones on here (about 4-5 dollars, last I checked), and I'd bet it runs about the same as those other ones too. BUT, the most notable advantage that this particular adapter has, in my opinion, is the out-of-the-box compatibility with Linux Mint. That's the main reason I chose this one over the others, and I'd be willing to guess from the other reviews that that's a major selling point for a lot of others, too. I'd say that if you have a Linux system, definitely pay a couple extra dollars to get this adapter. The Linux functionality is good, and from the other reviews, it seems like their customer support is responsive enough to get it working on your system if you have issues, which is a major, major plus for Linux users. However, if you have windows, I don't really see why you would buy this, honestly, because you could buy something incredibly similar and save a couple of bucks, to boot. TLDR; It works perfectly on Linux Mint 22, plug and play as advertised. No glaring issues with the device. I'm happy with my purchase, and would recommend this to anyone using a Linux distro, particularly Mint.

Sucessfully used this to connect 8bitdo Bluetooth controllers in both Linux Mint and Batocera.

Good bluetooth dongle.as advertised

I have several older laptops running Windows 11, Fedora, Ubuntu, and Linux Mint. When I plug in this bluetooth adapter, they recognize it right away and there is no driver installation required. I use it for bluetooth mouse and for sending audio to bluetooth speakers, and it works fine. So, I am very happy about it.

Worked out of the box What more do you need