Bluetooth Sniffer Out Of The Box

Welcome !

Install Virtualbox, Download the Sniffer Virtualbox image, Run the Sniffer VirtualBox image and start the Wireshark Bluetooth Sniffer.

• Windows 10, 11 — x86_64
  Step 1 Download VirtualBox and install it — www.virtualbox.org

  Step 2 Download the VM image — Bluetooth Sniffer VM Image

  Step 3 Double click the VM image downloaded from Step 2 and make the VM run

  Step 4 Plug in the Bluetooth Sniffer USB Dongle into your machine

  Step 5 Click the Wireshark app within the running VM
• Linux — x86_64
  Step 1 Download VirtualBox and install it — www.virtualbox.org

  Step 2 Download the VM image — Bluetooth Sniffer VM Image

  Step 3 Double click the VM image downloaded from Step 2 and make the VM run

  Step 4 Plug in the Bluetooth Sniffer USB Dongle into your machine

  Step 5 Click the Wireshark app within the running VM
• Apple macOS — ARM (Apple Silicon)
  Step 1 Download VirtualBox 7.1.x and install it — virtualbox.org (7.1.x only)

  Step 2 Download the VM image — Bluetooth Sniffer VM Image

  Step 3 Double click the VM image downloaded from Step 2 and make the VM run

  Step 4 Plug in the Bluetooth Sniffer USB Dongle into your machine

  Step 5 Click the Wireshark app within the running VM
• Apple macOS — Intel x86_64
  Step 1 Download VirtualBox and install it — www.virtualbox.org

  Step 2 Download the VM image — Bluetooth Sniffer VM Image

  Step 3 Double click the VM image downloaded from Step 2 and make the VM run

  Step 4 Plug in the Bluetooth Sniffer USB Dongle into your machine

  Step 5 Click the Wireshark app within the running VM

Expected Machine Configuration

• Your host machine must have at least 8 GB RAM, 4 CPU cores, and 25 GB free disk space. The virtual machine will run with 4 GB RAM, 2 CPU cores, and 25 GB disk.
• Below OS & Processor architectures are supported currently
  • Windows or Linux on x86_64-bit machines.
  • Apple macOS ARM 64-bit machines.
  • Apple macOS Intel x86_64-bit machines.
• Below OS & Processor architectures are NOT supported currently
  • Windows or Linux on x86_32-bit machines.
  • Windows or Linux on ARM machines.

How to use?

• Apple macOS (ARM) users must use VirtualBox 7.1.x only, as USB sharing between host and virtual machine does not work on the latest VirtualBox 7.2.x.

  If you are on Intel x86_64-bit architecture machines with any OS (Windows, Linux or Apple macOS), install the latest VirtualBox from www.virtualbox.org.

• Download the image for your platform using the above Download button and run the image in the VirtualBox installed.
• Attach the Bluetooth Sniffer USB Dongle to your host machine.
• Inside the running virtual machine, click the Wireshark icon on the desktop. You must see the nRF sniffer dongle to choose and capture bluetooth packets.
• Voilà ! Bluetooth sniffing is working.

Do you hit any issues?

• Log your issues here.

Troubleshooting

• Downloaded image not running To isolate the problem, create a fresh Ubuntu VM and check whether its desktop works. If it does not, check VirtualBox and Ubuntu troubleshooting resources — failures are usually caused by insufficient RAM, CPU, or disk. Increase resources, confirm the fresh VM works, then retry the downloaded image.
• nRF52840 Dongle not visible in Wireshark Verify the dongle is recognised on the host first — use Device Manager on Windows or lsusb on Linux. Once confirmed, restart the virtual machine. If the dongle still does not appear inside the VM, report an issue.