[HN Gopher] Solaar is a Linux manager for many Logitech keyboard...
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Solaar is a Linux manager for many Logitech keyboards, mice, and
other devices
Author : teekert
Score : 121 points
Date : 2024-12-18 19:57 UTC (3 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (github.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (github.com)
| s2l wrote:
| This has been part of standard ubuntu repos for sometime. (apt
| install solaar)
| loufe wrote:
| I've had an MX Master mouse (the "2" for maybe 8-9 years then the
| "3" for 2-3 years now) and love it. Great performance, great
| battery life, fantastic design and feel. On Windows I definitely
| do not love the 150Mb program to manage it (surely sending a
| torrent of unnecessary telemetry data back to Logitech.
|
| I found Solaar a couple months ago after getting repeatedly
| frustrated with bluetooth connection issues. It really is exactly
| what it needs to be. Better interface than Logitech's, simple,
| lightweight. Devs have my thanks; what a great show of the
| goodness of open source software.
| hnuser123456 wrote:
| Logitech's might be a large download, but their Windows
| software still seems far more optimized than Corsair's. After a
| few days of uptime, Corsair's processes would have nearly an
| hour of CPU time. Logitech's would have a couple minutes at
| most. I replaced all my Corsair equipment with Logitech or
| others after seeing that.
| myself248 wrote:
| Why does a mouse need an app, again?
| dmonitor wrote:
| reprogrammable buttons, adjustable dpi, customizeable
| lights, etc
| Phlebsy wrote:
| Personally, I can understand that for initial setup but
| hate that the way they're implemented means that it has
| to always be running, and it frequently has to be
| restarted to recognize the mouse correctly and apply
| those settings. Many keyboards have figured this out and
| don't require anything to be running to keep their
| settings across multiple devices so it feels like
| logitech will never improve in this area for the sake of
| keeping their bloat/spyware on your machine.
| egypturnash wrote:
| One big thing your keyboards probably aren't doing that
| mouse drivers are: different settings for different apps.
| m463 wrote:
| some mice can have the config saved onboard, then don't
| require a driver.
| Brian_K_White wrote:
| we need qmk for mice
| bloopernova wrote:
| The ploopy mouse has QMK. Layers on a mouse are very
| useful!
|
| https://ploopy.co/mouse/
| eikenberry wrote:
| All of those should be state changes in the mouse.. IE.
| the software should run to make the settings then exit.
| There should be no reason for it to keep running.
| db48x wrote:
| They are.
| jsheard wrote:
| Logitech's best kept secret is they do make a lightweight
| version of their software for exactly that, it edits the
| settings saved on the mouse and does absolutely nothing
| else. It's only available for Windows though.
|
| https://support.logi.com/hc/en-
| ca/articles/360059641133-Onbo...
| LeoPanthera wrote:
| > surely sending a torrent of unnecessary telemetry data back
| to Logitech
|
| To give Logitech some credit, there's an off switch for
| "diagnostic data" right there in the settings.
| bigfishrunning wrote:
| If they want more credit, they should make it an _on_ switch
| ghjfrdghibt wrote:
| I think it's implicit that a switch has to be on/off. Do
| you mean opt-in rather than opt-out?
| ziddoap wrote:
| Not parent, but yes.
|
| A switch that must be turned on (opt-in), rather than a
| switch that must be turned off (opt-out).
| orev wrote:
| This says it's for Linux, and a search doesn't find a Windows
| version. Are you using this on Windows?
| bayindirh wrote:
| I never had Bluetooth connection issues with my Logitech
| hardware, but I wanted mine to work without an OS (i.e. with a
| Bolt receiver).
|
| Solaar handled the pairing in 30 seconds flat, and I can't be
| happier. The only thing is, since Bolt doesn't look like proper
| BT to the OS, battery levels can only be monitored from Solaar
| itself.
| adgjlsfhk1 wrote:
| My one gripe with Logitech mice is that none of their "office"
| mice support high refresh rate polling.
| jsheard wrote:
| Also they've been very slow to adopt optical switches, a
| handful of their high end gaming mice have them, but the vast
| majority of their range still uses the same old mechanical
| switches that tend to start erroneously double clicking after
| a few years of heavy use.
| nextos wrote:
| With the Linux kernel, USB power savings are also annoying on
| Logitech devices. If you set everything on USB bus to
| powersave, their mice and keyboards will go to sleep every
| few seconds unless there's continuous activity.
|
| I have experience with Dell and Apple keyboards on Linux, and
| they don't suffer from this issue. The problem is not
| terrible, but requires a special udev rule to exclude them
| from powersaving, which is annoying.
| schainks wrote:
| Been using this for years, works exactly as advertised, no
| issues. Thank you Solaar team for your work and dedication to
| this useful project!
| brocket wrote:
| This saved my butt when I lost my mouse dongle and only had an
| Ubuntu instance available at the time. I was able to pair my
| mouse to the same dongle my keyboard used and have been using the
| software ever since without issue. Thank you!
| Joel_Mckay wrote:
| The mouse buttons tend to go long before the keyboard, but
| wireless HID devices tend to be a consumable for most people
| that use their computer a lot.
|
| We issue the wireless keyboards/mice kit as it is cheaper than
| swapping a proprietary keyboard in your laptop, and less likely
| to give users an RSI (really not funny if you are a Jr and have
| to learn this the painful way.) =3
| nemomarx wrote:
| why not a corded one, if you'll always be using it with a
| laptop?
| Joel_Mckay wrote:
| In general, for mobile these can get broken up rather
| quickly, and increase probability of pulling a laptop off a
| table.
|
| For servers and desktop towers, a cabled solution is more
| secure... and never runs out of batteries. YMMV =3
| gessha wrote:
| Yooo, I've been so frustrated with Logitech! I have an MX
| Mechanical Mini keyboard and MX Ergo mouse. For some reason
| they don't pair to the same dongle because the dongles are
| different and not interchangeable. In addition, whatever dongle
| is plugged into the right USB-A port of my laptop always lags
| for some reason. Does Solaar solve those issues?
| tecleandor wrote:
| Solaar mostly changes configuration and helps pairing
| devices, but it's not part of the drovers, so it might not
| help you. Anyway I dump some info about dongles here just in
| case, if you find your devices are compatible you might use
| Solaar to reset the pairings.
|
| IIRC, there are three types of dongles: the old basic ones,
| that only work with one particular device, the not-that-old
| "unifying" dongles (they have a red logo with a star or ray
| of light), and the new ones that are called "bolt" (green
| logo with a bolt in it).
|
| I have mostly experience with the "unifying" receivers. Those
| can pair to any "unifying" compatible device, and keep
| connections with up to 6 devices. Bolt dongles work similarly
| but with better encryption.
| jerkstate wrote:
| I've found that using a short usb extension cable with those
| wireless dongles, rather than plugging them directly into the
| computer, works loads better and fixed "lag" issues for me.
| Maybe some kind of EMF interference?
| prmoustache wrote:
| Pardon my ignorance but why would you need an app to manage
| keyboards and mice in the first place? Aren't they supported out
| of the box by generic drivers?
| dandellion wrote:
| I used to have a Logitech mouse that allowed you to reconfigure
| some buttons to use shortcuts and things like that. Plus it
| lets you see if the battery is running low, which I don't think
| the out of the box drivers do. But for basic mouse use you
| don't need it.
| Hemospectrum wrote:
| Some of them have software controls for hardware behavior (like
| optical sensor polling rate and scroll wheel clutch mode) that
| no OS has built-in support for, because these features are not
| part of the USB HID standard.
| pknomad wrote:
| Fair question.
|
| In general, custom configuration on both mice (DPI, refresh
| rate, etc) and keyboards (tactile response settings [See
| https://wooting.io/], hot binds, etc).
|
| It's a nice to have (almost to the point of necessity)
| especially when you go to LANs and need a consistent way to
| load your settings on a computer that's not yours.
| Joel_Mckay wrote:
| In most cases, most usb wireless hid-devices auto-bind on most
| linux distros, but some models of mice/keyboards do require
| wireless pairing after a battery change (they may or may not be
| Bluetooth.)
|
| It is an "install if needed" utility if your mouse seems dead
| after a battery change or wireless power cycle. =)
| rostigerpudel wrote:
| Most Logitech devices have settings for particular parameters
| that are not covered by generic drivers. E.g on my MX Master, I
| can set what events the buttons (it has 6) will generate. My
| K810 has borked function keys (they trigger special events
| instead of just being good old F1). You can switch these back
| to standard function using software. Edit: typos
| rostigerpudel wrote:
| Also, working Linux software to pair new devices with unifying
| receivers is great to have.
| dmm wrote:
| You can attach multiple devices to a single dongle using this
| app.
| skyyler wrote:
| They are supported out of the box by generic drivers!
|
| But most Logitech devices have settings that can be changed.
| This allows you to change them.
|
| Using this software, I disabled tap to click on my K400 Plus's
| trackpad. Super useful.
| p_l wrote:
| Essentially Solaar is open source interface to few _extra_
| features (exposed as application custom hid use pages) of the
| Logitech "HID++" stack (aka Logitech "dongle", sometimes also
| combined with bluetooth support on the actual device).
|
| Consider this screenshot[1] of additional options on Logitech
| trackball + ofc pairing control
|
| [1] https://usercontent.irccloud-
| cdn.com/file/2cZcZiNk/image.png
| CoastalCoder wrote:
| Since we're on the topic of Logitech keyboards, does anyone know
| of a _wired-only_ keyboard that has the same feel as the
| "Logitech MX Keys S Wireless"?
|
| I love this keyboard's feel, but I need to switch to wired-only
| for $reasons.
| bluGill wrote:
| If you can find mechanical switches you like that is your best
| option. Lacking that, nothing stops you from ripping out the
| electronics and putting in the controller from a mechanical
| keyboard. It would be a lot of work to trace the circuit board
| and figure out where to jump in (and what to cut out), but any
| mechanical keyboard controller should work (QMK seems to be the
| most popular today)
| Dennip wrote:
| Razer and Cherry both have low profile switches, apparently
| Kailh are also low profile.
| jdhawk wrote:
| It has PerfectStroke keys, so maybe the K740?
| CoastalCoder wrote:
| Thanks for the tip. There might be two issues with that
| particular model:
|
| (1) It's out of production AFAICT, and (2) one thing I really
| appreciate about the MX Keys is the indented key caps.
|
| IIUC, if I'm willing to put together my own keyboard, I can
| ensure it's wired-only and I can have the key caps that I
| like.
|
| The only remaining challenge at that point (I think) is
| finding switches with a similar feel. This is the part that's
| tripped me up in the past:
|
| I've bought a few switch testers (e.g., [0]), but all of the
| switches I tried were _way_ more clicky than I wanted. I
| really like the travel-distance, gentle landing, and
| relatively quiet action of the MX Keys.
|
| [0] https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07ZK6LKZL
| CoastalCoder wrote:
| Thanks for the tip about PerfectStroke keys, btw.
|
| Based on [0], it sounds like what I'm looking for is
| something like "fake PerfectStroke" keys.
|
| [0] https://deskthority.net/wiki/Logitech_PerfectStroke
| ZeWaka wrote:
| Could you just disable the bluetooth chip? Depends on the
| specific reason, I suppose.
| CoastalCoder wrote:
| Interesting idea.
|
| If a keyboard has both wired-USB _and_ some wireless
| technology, it 's conceivable that physically disabling the
| wireless module(s) would be allowable.
|
| I guess there are two possible hurdles: (1) getting
| permission, and (2) finding a keyboard in which I can disable
| the wireless module without causing too much havoc with the
| rest of the electronics and/or with the firmware.
| xuhu wrote:
| AFAIK the keyboard in question only uses USB for charging. It
| can't send keys over the wire.
|
| That said, before getting the MX keys I bought a Dell 7440
| keyboard on ebay for $20, fastened it on top of a 6mm clear
| acrylic plate with M3 screws, along with a Teensy chip
| running kbd firmware:
|
| https://www.instructables.com/How-to-Make-a-USB-Laptop-
| Keybo...
| talldayo wrote:
| I've been configuring my MX Master 3 with Piper on Linux as well:
| https://github.com/libratbag/piper
| bnycum wrote:
| Been using Solaar for a few years with a Logitech K400 keyboard
| with the built-in touchpad. Running on a Raspberry Pi connected
| to my TV. No issues and works very well. Have never even
| connected to Logitech's software on a Mac or Windows.
| mastazi wrote:
| Thanks to Solaar I hot my F1-F12 keys back on a Logitech keyboard
| that defaults to requiring Fn to use those (on Mac/Win you can
| change this using an app by Logitech). It's been working well for
| a long time. I suggest getting it from their own ppa because the
| version in your Linux distro might be pretty old
| sys_64738 wrote:
| Does anybody install the Logitech SW on their computer? Does it
| phone home?
| tecleandor wrote:
| Yep. I installed it in my work Mac and it's terrible. It phones
| home. It's huge. It tries to convince you to install other
| stuff. Off it goes.
| SlackingOff123 wrote:
| I haven't found a way to reconfigure the side buttons on my
| Logitech Lift Vertical without that bloated software
| permanently running in the background on Windows. I'm honestly
| afraid to check how much it phones home.
|
| I wish Solaar got ported to Windows.
| jklinger410 wrote:
| Flathub version here:
| https://flathub.org/apps/io.github.pwr_solaar.solaar
| whalesalad wrote:
| Been using this for years on my Debian 12 install and it's been
| very solid. Why it's on the homepage though is perplexing.
| qmr wrote:
| Please port to Windows, I don't want 500mb of shitware to change
| settings on my mouse.
| jsheard wrote:
| Logitech's own OMM is probably what you want
|
| https://support.logi.com/hc/en-ca/articles/360059641133-Onbo...
| rez9x wrote:
| I tried to get this to work a couple of times and gave up. I was
| trying to rebind a mouse button (back) to a macro and just gave
| up after a while. I ended up using the G Hub on a Mac and
| applying settings to the onboard config. I like the idea of
| Solaar, but the initial learning curve was more effort than I
| wanted to put in to rebind a single key.
| shlomo_z wrote:
| But does it have AI like Logitech's other products?
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(page generated 2024-12-18 23:00 UTC)