DESCRIPTION: I never managed to have my PC playing music through blutooth to a bluetooth loudspeaker. (I'm using Xbuntu, playing mp3s with mpv.) I think it could be because the audio system seems messy: should I have jackd enabled? What is it? So maybe the headline should be to cleanup audio system, specially its routes.
1. install the pulseaudio-bluetooth-module, if you didn't
2. follow the procedure below
BT in Ubuntu is in an embarrassing state, and I'm not exaggerating. After they've upgraded bluez to version 5, the workflow for connecting BT audio peripherals is:
- connect the peripheral (takes a few attempts...)
- disable the profile (set to off)
- disconnect the peripheral
- re-connect the peripheral (takes a few attempts again...)
- set the profile to a2dp
this mad workflow has been consistent across multiple machines and audio peripherals.
Before the v5, the BT stack was still garbage, requiring changes (again, verified on multiple machines and peripherals) to obscure parameters in the bluez configuration.
So "please Ubuntu devs", try to produce a working BT stack, and stick with it.
I follow a nearly identical flow several times a day to connect bluetooth headphones to my laptop.
- Turn on headphones
* Laptop connects immediately and uses the HSP/HFP mode (works!)
* Trying to select A2DP appears to work, but no audio will play
- Disconnect the headphones using the Bluetooth manager
- Reconnect the headphones using the Bluetooth manager
- Select A2DP, this now works.
OK, well, this had to be released before or later ;-)
Here you can find a script which automates the connection to bluetooth headphones, executing (in ruby) the steps outlined above, using the bluez commandline tool (including: retry until the connection is established...):
As usual, you need to give execution permissions, or pass it to the ruby interpreter. It's designed to executed via terminal, call it from GUI has undefined behavior.
There is also currently a bug where you can't connect to an amazon echo via bluetooth [0]. I suspect it is a bluez issue or pulseaudio, as it happens across distros, but it does make me feel quite sad that it is this difficult.
Reminds me of how much of a pain printers could be and scanners can still be..
That's a super important one. Audio on Linux/Ubuntu is okay, but when you run into serious troubles you're screwed. Nobody can help you unless you pay someone, other options: get a new computer, install a different Ubuntu, distribution or switch to Open Sound System. The only thing that always worked through all the years but it has obvious drawbacks.
Hmm, I've done well enough (on Debian testing) by enabling dmix in alsa and sending sound through alsa by default and letting pulseaudio start on demand for the applications that insist on it: mainly, this setup lets mpd continue playing after my graphical session ends.
> Bluetooth not working isn't necessarily Ubuntu's fault.
Yet, Bluetooth works seamlessly in MANY other contexts. I can connect my phone to bluetooth headsets and bluetooth-enabled car stereos. I've used PS3 and PS4 controllers for years with no connection issues. I've used bluetooth dongles, bluetooth keyboards and mice on Windows machines and it just works.
Bluetooth may be "complicated, cluttered, and crumby" but it is not broken. Ubuntu is the odd one out here.
the guilt is both in Ubuntu (which updated the bluez version and broke things which were previously working) and the bluez programmer[s], which are described as "cowboy coders".
I personally believe both are accurate accusations.
I wonder if Ubuntu felt pressured for some reason[s] to upgrade to v5 (eg. support for v4 was going to cease), or if it was just "upgrading for the sake of upgrading". I have the suspect it's been the latter, since it's not that v4 had insufficient features or that the BT protocol would change in the meanwhile - not to mention that they actually did the exact same thing long ago when moving to v4.
HEADLINE: Bluetooh that works
DESCRIPTION: I never managed to have my PC playing music through blutooth to a bluetooth loudspeaker. (I'm using Xbuntu, playing mp3s with mpv.) I think it could be because the audio system seems messy: should I have jackd enabled? What is it? So maybe the headline should be to cleanup audio system, specially its routes.