Enable Intel NUC Internal Bluetooth for Home Assistant in Proxmox

This guide shows how to enable and pass through the internal Intel Bluetooth on an Intel NUC running Proxmox to a Home Assistant VM, making it usable for BLE devices.

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Check Bluetooth Hardware in Proxmox

• SSH into your Proxmox host.
• Verify USB devices:

lsusb

• Look for something like:

Bus 001 Device 003: ID 8087:0aaa Intel Corp. Bluetooth 9460/9560 Jefferson Peak

• Check PCI wireless controller:

lspci | grep -i wireless

• Check kernel logs:

dmesg | grep -i bluetooth

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Install Bluetooth Support on Proxmox

• Install packages:

apt update
apt install bluetooth bluez

• Enable and start the Bluetooth service:

systemctl enable bluetooth
systemctl start bluetooth

• Confirm the controller is detected:

bluetoothctl list

Expected output:

Controller D8:F2:CA:C3:C8:59 MAINFRAME [default]

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Pass Bluetooth to Home Assistant VM

• Go to VM → Hardware → Add → USB Device.
• Select Intel Corp. Bluetooth 9460/9560 Jefferson Peak.
• Click Add and reboot the VM.

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Verify Bluetooth Inside Home Assistant

• SSH into Home Assistant OS / VM

• Check Bluetooth controller:

bluetoothctl list

Expected output:

Controller D8:F2:CA:C3:C8:59 homeassistant [default]

• Optional: Test scanning nearby devices:

bluetoothctl
scan on

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Add Bluetooth Integration in Home Assistant

• Go to Settings → Devices & Services → Add Integration → Bluetooth.
• Confirm hci0 adapter appears.
• Pair BLE devices as needed.

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✅ Completion Note

• Intel NUC internal Bluetooth detected and firmware loaded.
• Bluetooth service installed and active in Proxmox.
• Bluetooth device passed through to Home Assistant VM.
• hci0 adapter verified inside Home Assistant.
• BLE devices can now be paired and used.