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I have a car stereo that supports streaming Bluetooth audio, my MyTouch 3G Slide sounded great with Pandora (on high quality) or playing MP3's but on the MyTouch 4G there is definitely something 'wrong.'
The audio sounds slightly distorted on both Pandora and MP3s, mostly on high sounds. reducing the phone media volume does not help, it sounds like a bandwidth issue (such as an A2DP audio profile not being set to the right bandwidth or sampling rate).
Anyone else try this out yet?
EDIT: I found this could be because of the A2DP 'bitpool' setting being too low? Similar issue on the Evo.
Really, no feedback?
I have tried it but my bluetooth adapter i think is messed up I have the alpine one on my evo and my mytouch it only plays through 1 speaker
Whatnissan said:
I have tried it but my bluetooth adapter i think is messed up I have the alpine one on my evo and my mytouch it only plays through 1 speaker
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I stream daily music over bluetooth to my Madzda 2010 (built in bluetooth) and except some static crackling once in a while it sounds great. I had a N1 before and the sound is even better I think. I think there was a special issue with Pandora and other "internet radios" and the newer Android versions. I think that Google changed something to keep it compatible or so. Not an expert in that.
mine sounds as good as my vibrant did... have you tested a bluetooth headset for calling or audio to compare? maybe a hardware issue if it sounds bad there too...
I picked up a second Mytouch 4g for comparison - no change on the bluetooth audio, both have the same issue with high end audio crackling via car audio (plugging in the analog cable sounds fine on both).
Interesting side note, the LCD on Mytouch #1 had a slightly pinkish hue whereas Mytouch #2 was what I would call normal tint. The pinkish hue was particularly noticable on white fonts or backgrounds which appeared off-white, or Grays which appeared slightly pink.
So I'm keeping phone #2; the bluetooth issue is most likely software related. If that is the case, I hope it will be fixed with an eventual root mod.
I just wanted to add that the myTouch 4G I just got is working fine when using PowerAMP to my Mustang with SYNC. No crackling or other issues at any volume I could stand. I did notice that the stock music app wouldn't respond to AVRCP commands unless it was brought into focus, which was kind of lame and why I went to PowerAMP.
Cyanogenmod resolves this issue
In my particular situation, with a Nissan OEM radio supporting bluetooth streaming audio, switching to the latest Cyanogenmod Nightly build fixes my audio quality issue. No more audio that sounds bandwidth limited, something resembling a 64kbps MP3.
The OnePlus 5 has those 3 options but I do not know the difference between them or which is best to use. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you!
+1
Both the phone and Bluetooth device have to support AptX for it to work, so often your issue resolved by that.
AptX will provide better sound than SBC. SBC is the default codec used by the A2DP Bluetooth profile.
So, in short, if your headphones/speakers have AptX, use that. If they don't, SBC.
What happens if you choose aptX if your device doesn't support it?
yubimusubi said:
What happens if you choose aptX if your device doesn't support it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It will probably just switch to SBC so the connection will work, as that's the baseline standard in Bluetooth. I couldn't say with absolute certainty, as my OP5 hasn't arrived yet.
AptX is a proprietary thing - someone other than the Bluetooth consortium developed it and licenses it. That's why not everything has it - you have to pay to use it in the products you make. They created AptX because the default Bluetooth audio profile pretty much sucks when you start to examine how it butchers bit depth and sample rates just to cram audio data across a low power wireless signal.
On the flip side of that coin - yeah, AptX is better (and I'd use it if both devices supported it) but the audio quality differences are probably not going to readily apparent when listening to $20 to $50 Bluetooth devices. It's been my experience that it takes a somewhat trained ear and better-than-good equipment to be able to easily spot the difference. So, if you're an audiophile, you probably already know to stay away from Bluetooth for the best quality sound. If you're not an audiophile, try to use the best Bluetooth profile you can, but don't sweat it too much.
The A2DP profile is negociated at pairing and the best supported by both devices is picked (SBC < AptX < AptX HD). Problem is that the codec is just one link in the whole daisy chain. Other equally important aspects:
- music source quality (don't expect 128 kbps CBR mp3 to sound good)
- DAC and amplifier (each and every sound system that converts bits to sound has these!)
- speakers (from those in IEM's to those in BT boom boxes - they are all speakers)
So just that you're using AptX doesn't imply you are listening to high quality sound and probably implementing AptX and putting its logo on the product is the cheapest and least development intensive way to raise the price of a product.
Just my two (euro) cents...
Hi,
The question here is how the phone behaves when a higher quality codec has been selected (eg aptX) and a standard bluetooth headset (SBC - only )has been connected?
So far it seems to work (but then the question is why there is a selection available)
Best Regards
Joerg
My wild guess is that tis setting acts like a low-pass filter threshold. The phone will negotiate the highest available option without going above setting.
If the setting is AptX, the phone and speaker support AptX HD, the connection will be made at AptX quality. If the speaker only supports SBC, the connection will be made with SBC.
Honestly I don't see the point in such a setting. 99% of the people would want the best quality available anyway.
Is there a power consumption difference?
Sent from my ONEPLUS A5000 using Tapatalk
daniel_loft said:
My wild guess is that tis setting acts like a low-pass filter threshold. The phone will negotiate the highest available option without going above setting.
If the setting is AptX, the phone and speaker support AptX HD, the connection will be made at AptX quality. If the speaker only supports SBC, the connection will be made with SBC.
Honestly I don't see the point in such a setting. 99% of the people would want the best quality available anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It makes sense to have the setting *if* for some reason you want to force SBC or the non-HD aptX. I have it set to aptX HD right now and it seems to work with my car (I'm about 95% sure it doesn't support aptX).
The real question is, if it fails back appropriately, why on Earth would OnePlus set the *default* to SBC?
@aa_chow: There surely is a consumption difference. SBC was designed decades ago with low computational complexity in mind (among others). On the current smartphone hardware (which is probably on par with a medium desktop from 5-6 years ago) the difference would be so small that measurements are impossible (you might see a difference on the battery life of the speakers, but I wouldn't loose my time there) .
@yubimusubi: I cannot even find the reason why that setting is even there! It only limits the best usable codec, which makes no sense to me. Maybe you can find more answers on the oneplus forums.
lag
with the sb, i experience music lag from when i have played in 1 minute and it continues, is it low power consumption or something on sbc? I'm gonna try the apex option when i get home to check if its better.
I'm suffering micro breaks on HD audio (320 bitrate MP3) from aptX HD, aptX or SBC.
Is there a way to correct it?
All my files are stored at 320 and I doesn't have time to convert to a bitrate of 128
Edit: No issues with iPhone 7+ and Huawei P10 using the same BT headset and MP3 files
bartito said:
I'm suffering micro breaks on HD audio (320 bitrate MP3) from aptX HD, aptX or SBC.
Is there a way to correct it?
All my files are stored at 320 and I doesn't have time to convert to a bitrate of 128
Edit: No issues with iPhone 7+ and Huawei P10 using the same BT headset and MP3 files
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have an issue on my International LG G6 where it sounds like the 24 bit lossless tracks are essentially dropping frames to borrow a gaming term. Then it will correct itself. It happened on my VW and the problem persists in my wife's new Subaru.
The LG G6 sports Aptx HD. Any ideas?
i prefer aptX but then again ive been using it quite a while now
APTX-HD do not work on One Plus 5. The music hacks constant.
Hi folks, wondering if anyone has dealt with this issue before.
I have a Kenwood KDC-X701 headunit in my Jeep which supports APT-X. I have never had an issue with any of my android phones connecting to the headunit, specifically my Galaxy S5 running LOS 14 nightlies. Always auto-connects and displays APT-X on the headunit (NOT AAC)
I broke the screen on the S5 so I bought an LG V20 (LS997) knowing full well that development has ceased on the V20, with the assumption that a stock ROM will at least be fairly stable.
Enter the issues I am having with my new V20, latest Sprint build 100% stock.
When I let the headunit auto-connect to the V20, it displays APT-X but no audio comes through the head unit unless I initiate a call (no music regardless of application, no google maps audio, etc). After disconnecting the call, it goes back to not passing audio.
If I disable auto-connect on the headunit and manually connect my V20, it connects and displays "AAC" and will play audio without issues.
Now, normally I would say "screw it, I found a workaround", but I tested my S5 and V20 side-by-side with some Modest Mouse FLAC files (through PowerAmp), and APT-X makes a noticeable difference in clarity. The mids/highs sound muddy on the V20 (AAC), and super clear on the S5 (APT-X). Enough so that I spent quite some time debugging it to see if I could figure out what the source of the issue was.
Is this something related to the APT-X HD codec? I spent an hour just now messing with it and I can NOT get the V20 to pass audio when connected via APT-X, but it passes audio just fine via AAC. 100% sure this is the V20 because every other Android I have tried (even my friend's S7, stock VZW), and none of them have this issue!
TL;DR
My V20 won't pass audio using the APT-X codec, but will pass audio using the AAC codec. My head-unit always auto-negotiates APT-X and I have to manually disconnect/reconnect through my V20 to get it to negotiate AAC and pass audio.
Any help/feedback would be greatly appreciated
EDIT:
Here are some pics I took of the actual display
AAC https://photos.app.goo.gl/6urGBAmHOSGTy1Cn1
APT-X https://photos.app.goo.gl/VwgCoSkySW57iVSr1
Driving me mad because I like to just get in the car, hit play on the headunit, and not need to take my phone out of my pocket
Same problem here
This could have just as easily been my post word for word. I got a V20 over the weekend, replaced my old stereo with a x501 so that I could have bluetooth. Took me about a day to figure out that I have to disconnect and reconnect in order to get sound, even thou it is clearly connected via bluetooth and I can see what song is playing on the stereo. I too noticed that this is happening when its using APTX codec, when I disconnect and reconnect it for some reason switches to AAC and works perfectly. Yep, and it's very annoying because I do have to get into you phone and disconnect/reconnect every time I start my car. After that everything works as expected.
investinwaffles said:
My V20 won't pass audio using the APT-X codec, but will pass audio using the AAC codec. My head-unit always auto-negotiates APT-X and I have to manually disconnect/reconnect through my V20 to get it to negotiate AAC and pass audio.
Any help/feedback would be greatly appreciated
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you checked online for a firmware update for the radio? I have the kdc-x599 and mine had an update specifically for Bluetooth related issues and mine streams just fine over the aptx codec.
Thanks for the advice! I was actually on a much older firmware version so I went ahead and updated my head unit (from v.109 to v.116) but unfortunately there was no change
I am going to try a full factory reset on the head-unit this weekend but it's not looking promising unfortunately
It is pretty annoying to have to initiate the connection from the phone, especially when you hop in/out of your car like at a gas station and end up not remembering till you are on the road. I was looking for a widget or something that could auto-initiate a specific bluetooth connection instead of having to go into the settings (or toggle bluetooth on/off) but haven't found one.
I really like the concept of the phone and the hardware, but LG is just "not good" at Android. My best advice is for them to run just pure AOSP and fire their OS development team, but hopefully Google will force their hand with Project Treble.
Compounding things further I dug out my S5 with Lineage OS to set it up as a garage phone and remembered how much I miss just pure AOSP (and root access, and no bloatware, and stability)...
I wonder if the KDC-X702 and latest models have the same issue, but confirmed that it was an issue specific to the V20 and it seems futile to change the whole head unit because of the shoddy bluetooth stack in the V20.
So, I will grudgingly deal with the issue and try to push it from my mind every single time I get into my car until I can find a suitable replacement for the V20, but the damn headphone amp has spoiled me which makes it hard. Maybe someone will come out with a nice streamlined Type-C DAC/AMP combo but I am not holding my breath
EDIT:
Last ditch effort - I am going to send an email to both Kenwood and LG tech support to try and get some engineering assistance.
I know LG is going to write me off, but Kenwood seems actively engaged in development (last firmware update for the KDC-X701 was March 15th, just days ago). It's not on their end of the equations so I am not sure what they can do anyways
@investinwaffles
Is your phone rooted? That sounds kinda similar to the issue of using certain audio mods or tweaks on the V20. I use Viper and to activate the mod over Bluetooth I have to use an app created by WETA that basically forces a phone call so it can activate the effects. My TMobile version doesn't have any problem playing over aptx on mine regardless of audio mod though but it sounds kinda similar.
KUSOsan said:
@investinwaffles
Is your phone rooted? That sounds kinda similar to the issue of using certain audio mods or tweaks on the V20. I use Viper and to activate the mod over Bluetooth I have to use an app created by WETA that basically forces a phone call so it can activate the effects. My TMobile version doesn't have any problem playing over aptx on mine regardless of audio mod though but it sounds kinda similar.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, I am 100% stock, Sprint ZVD firmware (latest update)
Mine is stock and I did update the firmware on the headunit(x501) to 116, this is what Kenwood told me which I tried with no luck...
I recommend that you initialize the Bluetooth settings, reset the unit, and verify the firmware is up to date. Simply press the volume knob to enter FUNCTION, turn the knob and select BT MODE, INITIALIZE, and YES. You may then remove the faceplate and press the small button on the radio with a paper clip or ball point pen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once i told them this did not work they asked me this...
I recommend that you pair and connect a different device to confirm if you are experiencing a compatibility issue or if the unit needs to be serviced. For testing purposes try a phone manufactured by a different brand or one listed on the Bluetooth compatibility list.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
None of the phones on their list support aptx, they are all very old phones. What I don't understand is why does it try to use aptx only when the headunit boots, then it will switch to AAC when I disconnect and reconnect bluetooth from the phone. If the phone is setup to use aptx, wouldn't try to negotiate aptx everytime it connects? Anyway, AAC works but its a hassle every time I jump in and out of the car. Is this just an issue with the LG V20 or Kenwood? I dont' have any other bluetooth devices that use aptx to test with... and since other phone I have only use aac I can verify the headunit either.
On a side note, I also have issues with hand mode. when I connect the phone via usb it will only provide power. I have spent no time troubleshooting this so it could be as simple as a cable issues. I was curious if you have connected the LG V20 via usb and been able to use hand mode?
@G2T
Do you have a Sprint variant as well?
I have a T-Mobile variant and a Kenwood unit and I have no issues with using aptx. Mine doesn't display the codec on the unit but I have used logcat to verify that it doesn't switch back to aac as I've had Bluetooth issues before on a certain TMobile firmware
I have AT&T
Hi Guys.
I've seen a number of posts on this subject so here's my story and my experience thus far.
I've been using an iPhone 7 since it came out. I've been very happy playing music in my car (Fiesta with SYNC2 system) all this time. My significant other has been using an S8 for some time, and her music always sounded 'crackly' (for lack of a better word) in the car. I thought this was just her Spotify or something.
2 Days ago I bought my own S8 and I had exactly the same issue.
Now from some research I've been able to deduce that this is down to the Bluetooth Codec the phone uses. I changed mine to aptX yesterday and the music quality was great. Didn't sound like a 200KB MP3 downloaded in the early 2000's anymore.
However...
Last night I had to reboot my phone for reasons, and the developer options reset completely, which I believe is normal behavior. But now I can't set my Bluetooth Codec anymore? I change it, the moment I close the menu, it reverts back to SBC. I tried this with Bluetooth off, Bluetooth on and not connected, Bluetooth on and connected, no joy. It keeps reverting. Same goes for all the other Bluetooth settings (i.e bitrate).
So gentleman I ask you humbly, wtf? Why does the settings not stick and is this normal behavior? Is there a way I can force it to use AAC or aptX once more? I really have come to enjoy this phone but playing music in my car is a very very big factor and since AUX and USB (can't seem to play Apple Music/Google Music via USB) isn't an option, I'm stuck with Bluetooth.
Thanks in advance,
Have you made sure dual audio is disabled???
If not, go to Bluetooth, turn it on, hit the tripple dots in the top right and tap on "Dual Audio"
Make sure it's off and now try changing to AptX or whatever codec works best for you.
Disable / re-enable Buetooth and see if it sticks. (Try rebooting too)
Also, Bluetooth codecs will automatically change if the device you're connecting to doesn't support your choice of codec.
Keep me posted
CoreyOS said:
Have you made sure dual audio is disabled???
If not, go to Bluetooth, turn it on, hit the tripple dots in the top right and tap on "Dual Audio"
Make sure it's off and now try changing to AptX or whatever codec works best for you.
Disable / re-enable Buetooth and see if it sticks. (Try rebooting too)
Also, Bluetooth codecs will automatically change if the device you're connecting to doesn't support your choice of codec.
Keep me posted
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Corey,
Thanks for the response. Unfortunately, the above didn't work Dual audio was disabled, I enabled it and disabled it again. I tried changing the codec and bit rate but the result is the same, the moment I close the menu or turn on Bluetooth, it reverts back to SBC and Best Effort bitrate. I should mention that when I turn on the Bluetooth, it doesn't connect to anything, the only paired device at this point is my car.
Interestingly enough, if I don't close the menu but just hit the middle button, the settings will stay as is and the audio is great. What I haven't tried yet is closing the menu after a 'good' connection is made to the car. It may be that the setting sticks but the menu says otherwise. But I can definitely confirm that if I close the menu and then connect, the audio is garbage.
As for the compatibility of the car's Bluetooth, well it's a Ford SYNC2 system which from what I can see is actually quite basic. I am starting to this the problem isn't as much the codec, but rather the bitrate at which the phone is playing/sending music across the Bluetooth.
dxcza said:
Hi Corey,
Thanks for the response. Unfortunately, the above didn't work Dual audio was disabled, I enabled it and disabled it again. I tried changing the codec and bit rate but the result is the same, the moment I close the menu or turn on Bluetooth, it reverts back to SBC and Best Effort bitrate. I should mention that when I turn on the Bluetooth, it doesn't connect to anything, the only paired device at this point is my car.
Interestingly enough, if I don't close the menu but just hit the middle button, the settings will stay as is and the audio is great. What I haven't tried yet is closing the menu after a 'good' connection is made to the car. It may be that the setting sticks but the menu says otherwise. But I can definitely confirm that if I close the menu and then connect, the audio is garbage.
As for the compatibility of the car's Bluetooth, well it's a Ford SYNC2 system which from what I can see is actually quite basic. I am starting to this the problem isn't as much the codec, but rather the bitrate at which the phone is playing/sending music across the Bluetooth.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not gonna' lie, I'm not very impressed by the Bluetooth on the S8... or Bluetooth in general.
It's lousy most of the time, mine always distorts and especially around emergency vehicles... (Could be interference from their coms???)
If possible, just stick to good 'ol copper wire
I can't imagine wireless audio not ever being interfered with and will always stay wired.
Also, try a music app called Poweramp.
It has many settings involving latency etc. It has a trial for 2 weeks and is worth EVERY penny if you decide to buy IMHO.
Try the build version first, if that doesn't have settings that you need, try the alpha version.
It has lots of latency settings etc
I'm guessing higher latency = better results as it has more time to be pushed over BT before the sound is reproduced.
I'm probably wrong though.
Can't beat lots of settings tho aye.
CoreyOS said:
I'm not gonna' lie, I'm not very impressed by the Bluetooth on the S8... or Bluetooth in general.
It's lousy most of the time, mine always distorts and especially around emergency vehicles... (Could be interference from their coms???)
If possible, just stick to good 'ol copper wire
I can't imagine wireless audio not ever being interfered with and will always stay wired.
Also, try a music app called Poweramp.
It has many settings involving latency etc. It has a trial for 2 weeks and is worth EVERY penny if you decide to buy IMHO.
Try the build version first, if that doesn't have settings that you need, try the alpha version.
It has lots of latency settings etc
I'm guessing higher latency = better results as it has more time to be pushed over BT before the sound is reproduced.
I'm probably wrong though.
Can't beat lots of settings tho aye.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Morning Corey,
Yeah so my situation at the moment is to have my old iPhone in the car at all times as a glorified bluetooth player. I've also gone out and bought an auxiliary cable for when the iPhone's battery dies on me (happens more often than one would think). And to have a charger for the iPhone, charger for the Samsung and aux cable for the Samsung all plugged in becomes really messy.
It must be something to do with the Bluetooth 5 feature. I don't know what version the iPhone is (cba to check) but it works like a dream.
Wish we had some form of backwards compatibility or a feature to force an older version with Samsung. Just sucks buying a phone which is really not cheap in ZA just to have the music sound like a 300kb MP3 played on Winamp with the treble bars turned up all the way.
I'll try out the app you suggested mate, thanks!
dxcza said:
Morning Corey,
Yeah so my situation at the moment is to have my old iPhone in the car at all times as a glorified bluetooth player. I've also gone out and bought an auxiliary cable for when the iPhone's battery dies on me (happens more often than one would think). And to have a charger for the iPhone, charger for the Samsung and aux cable for the Samsung all plugged in becomes really messy.
It must be something to do with the Bluetooth 5 feature. I don't know what version the iPhone is (cba to check) but it works like a dream.
Wish we had some form of backwards compatibility or a feature to force an older version with Samsung. Just sucks buying a phone which is really not cheap in ZA just to have the music sound like a 300kb MP3 played on Winamp with the treble bars turned up all the way.
I'll try out the app you suggested mate, thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No worries and if you are referring to a USB cigarette lighter charger/USB charger then try the multi-cables.
Try one of these: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Poweradd-L...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=59QBSADVWM0NKGZGTQ4K
sorry to drag up an old thread, i have the same problem ( sync2 too) and it is same issues. I have noticed that even though its bad its tolerable bad. then i add my samsung watch and becomes awful.
did you ever figure the issue out? i feel its the sync2 causing some kind of problem
ninjatiger26 said:
sorry to drag up an old thread, i have the same problem ( sync2 too) and it is same issues. I have noticed that even though its bad its tolerable bad. then i add my samsung watch and becomes awful.
did you ever figure the issue out? i feel its the sync2 causing some kind of problem
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I dont know yet I have been using my s8 and bluetooth audio for watch speakers controllers everything and today for the first time my speaker was crackling under bluetooth
I will most def be trying to recreate this and figure it out cause it was very iratating...
EDIT: Tried a couple, none work - results in bluetooth instability and crashing.
I'd like to try a different bluetooth library. Essential has broken this one for well over a year and ignores my support/findings. SBC bluetooth is not routing audio correctly under certain circumstances.
I'd like to try an AOSP-based ROM's libbluetooth.so file to see if it's any different, but preferrably LineageOS 17's version. And for the hell of it, I'd like to see if a Pixel 2 or 3's will break the phone - I'm asking for Pixel because this phone closely resembles a Pixel 2, and Google can't replicate my findings per their official issue tracker. But it may break the phone since it's not built for the Essential.
File MUST come from an Android 10 ROM, but again, nothing built based on the Essential stock ROM.
-----------------------
Background
At least since Android 8, bluetooth audio using the SBC bluetooth codec won't properly route audio. Essential won't take this issue seriously, from my experience. This is dangerous as it affects being hands-free when I drive.
Steps to replicate:
1. Connect to Bluetooth device that defaults to SBC bluetooth. You can check what Bluetooth codec is being used in the developer settings -- it'll list the Bluetooth codec rather than saying "use default" or something similar. You can change the codec here, too, as long as the device supports other codecs.
2. Open Google Maps and enter any location, then start navigation
Results: No audio
3. Pause, stop, exit, etc. Navigation. Now Initiate Google Assistant -- say a command.
Results: No audio
4. Receive a text message
5. Ask Google Assistant to read your message(s)
Result: No audio
Now repeat the tests while playing music:
#2 Results: Navigation works as it should, presumably being routed over Media since music is using the Media audio channel.
Sadly, Google Assistant steps cause music to be paused, resulting in still no audio.
I have repeated these tests using every selectable audio codec for Bluetooth in the developer settings and EVERYTHING works as it should using any other codec. Once SBC is selected, the problem above exists.
Since Google can't replicate this problem, my assumption is Pixel devices don't exhibit this problem... or Google failed to test specifically using the SBC codec. Essential is ignoring this problem, so I'm stuck. Essential builds based on AOSP, I assume, so I'm skeptical an AOSP lib file will make a difference, but I can hope. It's unclear how much Essential modifies in the code. However, LineageOS has made significant changes to bluetooth, particularly enhancing SBC bluetooth for dual channel audio, increasing the bitrate significantly. So not only might this resolve the problem, but it would also improve audio quality.
EDIT: Tried a couple, none work - results in bluetooth instability and crashing.
gk1984 said:
I'd like to try a different bluetooth library. Essential has broken this one for well over a year and ignores my support/findings. SBC bluetooth is not routing audio correctly under certain circumstances.
I'd like to try an AOSP-based ROM's libbluetooth.so file to see if it's any different, but preferrably LineageOS 17's version. And for the hell of it, I'd like to see if a Pixel 2 or 3's will break the phone - I'm asking for Pixel because this phone closely resembles a Pixel 2, and Google can't replicate my findings per their official issue tracker. But it may break the phone since it's not built for the Essential.
File MUST come from an Android 10 ROM, but again, nothing built based on the Essential stock ROM.
-----------------------
Background
At least since Android 8, bluetooth audio using the SBC bluetooth codec won't properly route audio. Essential won't take this issue seriously, from my experience. This is dangerous as it affects being hands-free when I drive.
Steps to replicate:
1. Connect to Bluetooth device that defaults to SBC bluetooth. You can check what Bluetooth codec is being used in the developer settings -- it'll list the Bluetooth codec rather than saying "use default" or something similar. You can change the codec here, too, as long as the device supports other codecs.
2. Open Google Maps and enter any location, then start navigation
Results: No audio
3. Pause, stop, exit, etc. Navigation. Now Initiate Google Assistant -- say a command.
Results: No audio
4. Receive a text message
5. Ask Google Assistant to read your message(s)
Result: No audio
Now repeat the tests while playing music:
#2 Results: Navigation works as it should, presumably being routed over Media since music is using the Media audio channel.
Sadly, Google Assistant steps cause music to be paused, resulting in still no audio.
I have repeated these tests using every selectable audio codec for Bluetooth in the developer settings and EVERYTHING works as it should using any other codec. Once SBC is selected, the problem above exists.
Since Google can't replicate this problem, my assumption is Pixel devices don't exhibit this problem... or Google failed to test specifically using the SBC codec. Essential is ignoring this problem, so I'm stuck. Essential builds based on AOSP, I assume, so I'm skeptical an AOSP lib file will make a difference, but I can hope. It's unclear how much Essential modifies in the code. However, LineageOS has made significant changes to bluetooth, particularly enhancing SBC bluetooth for dual channel audio, increasing the bitrate significantly. So not only might this resolve the problem, but it would also improve audio quality.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First...
I use all of the features you describe as being an issue... Without issue... Are you using Viper?
Second...
Pixel2 is the one that would most likely work the best... If you grab the factory image... There is a tool... Probably in the forum somewhere... That'll let you break the image...
Third...
I wouldn't gamble on this working... Based on what I've seen with the Custom ROM scene... Bluetooth on this device is just funky
EDIT:
What Bluetooth version is your car audio doodad?
rignfool said:
First...
I use all of the features you describe as being an issue... Without issue... Are you using Viper?
Second...
Pixel2 is the one that would most likely work the best... If you grab the factory image... There is a tool... Probably in the forum somewhere... That'll let you break the image...
Third...
I wouldn't gamble on this working... Based on what I've seen with the Custom ROM scene... Bluetooth on this device is just funky
EDIT:
What Bluetooth version is your car audio doodad?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you confirmed everything works with the SBC bluetooth codec? Not all cars/audio devices use the same codec. Everything works just fine on the other supported codecs on this phone. It's JUST the SBC codec that's problematic. I've replicated it with my car, a knock-off Chinese bluetooth speaker that only supports SBC audio, and Marshall Major bluetooth headphones by forcing the SBC codec. I've tried both with a factory reset and zero modifications as well as with Viper4Android and JamesDSP. Even fully stock, the problem exists.
Many people comment that there is no problem, but none confirm the codec they're using.