#972·bettercap

ble.enum fails with "ble.recon connection timeout" on bettercap 2.32.0

Author: kadin2048Created Jun 24, 2022Updated Feb 8, 2026

Bettercap 2.32.0 seems to consistently fail enumerating BLE devices on my machine, which is running a clean install of Debian Bullseye

Environment

  • Bettercap version you are using ( bettercap -version ). bettercap v2.32.0 (built for linux amd64 with go1.15.15)
  • OS version and architecture you are using. Debian 11 "Bullseye" with all updates as of 2022-06-24 Kernel info: Linux thinkpad 5.10.0-15-amd64 #1 SMP Debian 5.10.120-1 (2022-06-09) x86_64 GNU/Linux I also tested using the Docker version (bettercap/bettercap which is also 2.32.0) and got the same result Hardware is a Lenovo T430s with onboard OEM Bluetooth, reports as 0a5c:21e6 Broadcom Corp. BCM20702 Bluetooth 4.0 [ThinkPad]
  • Go version if building from sources. go1.15.15 (packaged with Debian, apt install golang)
  • Command line arguments you are using. Running sudo bettercap -debug and also tested using web UI, got the same results
  • Caplet code you are using or the interactive session commands. See debug log or Steps to Reproduce, below, for interactive commands.
  • Full debug output while reproducing the issue ( bettercap -debug ... ). Debug output available in this Gist: https://gist.github.com/kadin2048/a72b2d5c0c41dbfd2c8c046438e21863

Steps to Reproduce

  1. ble.recon on
  2. wait a while for devices to populate
  3. ble.recon off
  4. ble.show
  5. ble.enum [MAC address]
  6. usually a 10s pause or so, on the first run
  7. error message ble.recon connection timeout is displayed alongside debug output

Expected behavior: Would have expected enum output for the device specified by the MAC address.

Actual behavior: Receive message [sys.log] [war] ble.recon connection timeout Issue is repeatable, and appears to happen faster on subsequent tries after the initial one

Happy to provide additional information that might help with resolving the issue.