Database Users

How is your Bluetooth

I have a new car and a new phone so it's hard to be sure.
I used the GNex for about 3 days with the new car and didn't see problems. Connected every time and sound was consistent
With the MotoX I am getting auto connected about 1/2 the time and a lot of stuttering on the bluetooth audio.
Same for others ?
Another question: When I connect bluetooth the volume always resets to about 80%. Can I change this setting anywhere ?

So it's not the car as I just had the same problems with my BT headphones. It also started playing through the speakers at one point even though the BT connection was still showing.

I use the Bluetooth calling feature with my truck. I haven't had any problems so far, but it's only been a few days. I will report back if I do have problems. I am running 4.4 with all OTAs.

My moto x after kitkat update bluetooth disconnects in middle and reconnects again in 5 seconds. Super annoying

sravanz said:
My moto x after kitkat update bluetooth disconnects in middle and reconnects again in 5 seconds. Super annoying
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Click to collapse
My HTC One did that with aosp kitkat. I haven't seen that on the X yet.
Moto X using Tapatalk

I've had pretty much the same experience with mine since the 4.4 update. I don't even bother listening to music over bluetooth now because it's so annoying with the constant stuttering. I'm hoping they fix it with the next update, whenever that comes. If not, I'll probably have to look into upgrading to a newer head unit. My GNex always worked great with this stereo's bluetooth.

I listened to Spotify Inmine yesterday, no problems. It even sent the song information to my car's display which it didn't do on my last phone.

I've been tethering my Nexus 7 using Bluetooth and had a lot of trouble getting it to connect the first time. But today was my first real use of it and the Internet connection on the Nexus 7 dropped part way through the trip. It was only being used to get traffic info for CoPilot, so I didn't notice right away when the connection was lost. A little troubleshooting got me nowhere, but then while driving the connection came back on its own.

Something happens with me
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

No issues with bluetooth here. Pandora is streaming fine and Torque is talking to my OBD2 adapter as well (even both at the same time).

homemadehitshow said:
I have a new car and a new phone so it's hard to be sure.
I used the GNex for about 3 days with the new car and didn't see problems. Connected every time and sound was consistent
With the MotoX I am getting auto connected about 1/2 the time and a lot of stuttering on the bluetooth audio.
Same for others ?
Another question: When I connect bluetooth the volume always resets to about 80%. Can I change this setting anywhere ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use bluetooth daily and haven't experienced a disconnect or even a stutter with Google Play Music on 4.4. I chose the setting to resume music when driving is detected and now I don't even take out my phone when I get in my car. Music usually starts playing within 100' of driving. There is a mod to remove the audio warning; I haven't tried it yet, but I don't really have a problem with it either.

P!X3L said:
There is a mod to remove the audio warning; I haven't tried it yet, but I don't really have a problem with it either.
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Click to collapse
Samsung has the same thing on it's firmware, and while it was a PITA to find and fix, it can be done (fairly easily).

I've had some Bluetooth issues that I described here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2562186
At least one other person mentioned their connection dropping repeatedly. My issue started with it only connecting to my hands free in my car, but but my separate A2DP audio receiver. If I tapped on the device in Bluetooth settings, it connected fine. I found an app called Bluetooth Auto Connect that has nice configuration options to do what I needed (connect to A2DP once General Motors connects), but it also plays nice with Tasker.
I did notice last night that my General Motors connection was starting and stopping repeatedly my entire drive home from work (~45 minutes). I noticed it at first when I would turn the screen on to thumb up a song on Pandora, and the "you're connected to a trusted device" message would flash. At first I thought it was just reminding me of that each time the screen came on (or manually unlocking when the screen turned on), but then noticed my radio was saying "Bluetooth Connected" every few minutes as well. I rarely actually talk on the phone, so it's not a huge deal, but as described in my post linked above, on Monday I got a call when I (thought I) was connected to my General Motors, but it wasn't. I answered the call and was talking on the handset when it connected to Bluetooth and then I was hands free.
I did also notice yesterday when I was listening to Pandora with wired headphones at my desk at work that it got started sputtering pretty bad after I got a text message and Active Display was "breathing". Not sure if the two are related, but it happened. I did get a few texts while driving home and didn't notice any skipping over Bluetooth then.

Interesting theory on the active display... I've often wondered if that was partially responsible for the stuttering issue I'm having, but I was under the impression that it is automatically disabled when the phone is in your pocket, or face down. I guess I have some more experimenting to do while I wait for the next update.

At least for me it would not be face down in the car so I'll keep an eye on that.
Can someone point me to where I can take care of the volume issue ?

OK figured it out and learned about Xpose. Very cool.
I'll see if this is what was actually my problem. My problem was that bluetooth audio level is always reset to 80% (or so) each time I use it.

Bluetooth in my car is awesome.
ATT kitkat with Toyota Venza
Before the update music streaming took 20 seconds to load, but now it works instantly.

Bluetooth has had half second "pauses" at random times... sometimes seems too coincide with the screen on or off, other times when the phone is doing nothing. Also before kit Kat Google music would show track number (but nothing else) now I've lost that too. Unrooted
Sent from my KFTHWI using Tapatalk 2

I experienced the pauses today when I overrode the volume warning. They kept occurring even after the volume was turned back down below 80%. I rebooted and started up some music without going over the volume suggestion and the skips were gone. If you're having trouble with the music or Bluetooth connection "skipping" try it out. Definitely tied to that volume warning somehow.

Interesting theory, I'll have to test it out. I have noticed that mine seems to do it at the same locations while I'm driving, and am starting to wonder if it is related to the handoff between towers.
Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk

UE Boom and Galaxy S5

Taking a shot in the dark here, but hoping someone out there has experienced this and may have an idea what is happening. I have a new Galaxy S5 and a Logitech UE Boom bluetooth speaker. The speaker worked completely fine with my S3, but with the S5 after about 5 minutes of listening the audio begins to stutter and sound as if it is going to cut out. After about 15 seconds of this it returns to normal. It will then do this again after about another 5 minutes, and so on and so forth. I have tried all basic troubleshooting I could think of. Restarting both devices, unpairing the device, completely resetting the boom to unpair it from any device, trying multiple sources of audio (locally stored music and streaming music). Nothing seems to change. I have a Logitech Bluetooth adapter in my bedroom that works great with no stuttering issues. I also updated the UE Boom to the latest firmware. Not sure if this did it or not, but I also have a UE Mini Boom that has the same issue with the S5 and that hasn't been updated. Anyone out there have an issue like this? Thanks for any advice!

UE Boom cuts out drops out
YES!!! It is so aggravating. They know about the issue but deny it until the end. Mine does the same thing. Cuts out drops out every few minutes or seconds. Everyone hates it.
AlphaXray said:
Taking a shot in the dark here, but hoping someone out there has experienced this and may have an idea what is happening. I have a new Galaxy S5 and a Logitech UE Boom bluetooth speaker. The speaker worked completely fine with my S3, but with the S5 after about 5 minutes of listening the audio begins to stutter and sound as if it is going to cut out. After about 15 seconds of this it returns to normal. It will then do this again after about another 5 minutes, and so on and so forth. I have tried all basic troubleshooting I could think of. Restarting both devices, unpairing the device, completely resetting the boom to unpair it from any device, trying multiple sources of audio (locally stored music and streaming music). Nothing seems to change. I have a Logitech Bluetooth adapter in my bedroom that works great with no stuttering issues. I also updated the UE Boom to the latest firmware. Not sure if this did it or not, but I also have a UE Mini Boom that has the same issue with the S5 and that hasn't been updated. Anyone out there have an issue like this? Thanks for any advice!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

thinkdifferent25 said:
YES!!! It is so aggravating. They know about the issue but deny it until the end. Mine does the same thing. Cuts out drops out every few minutes or seconds. Everyone hates it.
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Click to collapse
I have the beats pill and no problems like this. I also use bluetooth audio in my car without issue

UE Boom and iPhone 5 -sound cuts out
So I just purchased the UE Boom and am also having trouble with sound cutting out, basically on a random basis. Like the person above, I used every possible combination of powering up the device, pairing, streaming, using recorded audio on my iPhone, etc. and nothing seems to work to stop this. I can go for an hour with no cut offs, and then have them regularly for the next hour. Reading the posts above, I am wondering if this might be a serious design flaw. Is there anyone out there with a UE Boom who has not experienced this problem? If that is the case, I am considering returning the two that I just bought and trying out different ones until I get ones that work. I totally love the sound, or I just wouldn't bother and would return them. But for small speakers I think they are great.

Yes. It happens with my pair of EU speakers as well. And, cannot get any info on whether or when will be fixed yet. If anyone knows, please share.
thanks

How about adding on top of this. Double up doesn't work? Anyone have the same issue?

I have the same issue. All of my bluetooth devices work fine with the UE Boom (1st gen). Every other speaker works fine with the S5 mini. There has to be a compatability problem between these two instances. I have not downloaded any updates for the UE Boom. Most others say it has no effect so I didn't bother. My S5 mini is through US Cellular but I doubt if that has any impact after reading most others posts. This is a bummer!

@#!!#@ ! .... i bought 2 pieces UE BOOM 2 STONE GREY kosting euro 180 total and i have S5+ ( SM G901F) and have almost exactly the same problem !
When i pair them in stereo-mode than the stutter begins....
I have a asus tablet and no problem with UE, i have my old samsung i900 ( S2 ) and also here no problem. But the S5 G901F has troubles

Another Bluetooth issue thread.

Poor Audio over Bluetooth, Poor overall BT reception.
I thought it was my device and sent it back to google, they sent me a replacement and it has the same issue, if im streaming music to any device (Headphones, Speaker, Car Stereo) and cover the top of my phone its like im almost going out of range and the audio goes choppy or off, remove my hand and the audio returns to normal. Google said they have never heard of this issue before and are convinced a third device will solve the issue, i doubt it unless they have a revision 2 model.
Its not just audio, i have a watch that gets notification on the go, same thing, if the top gets covered my watch often says disconnected, take the phone out and within 20 seconds it reconnects.
Clearly there is an issue with BT on this phone, no software update (inc. N preview) addresses it, google seems unaware or uninterested in the problem, i would have addressed it a long time ago but i have been holding out for a fix before i realised how easy it is to replicate the problem.

I also have issue with it. I pair my headphones Phillips Tapster and all I hear is non-stop choppy sound(every few seconds a spike). In the beginning I thought my headphones were giving problems, but it is not the case, becase I have a few other Androids and all work fine. So it is the 6P.
Unfortunately I couldn't find a solution which I can share. I only can share what won't work in my experience:
- Factory reset(wipe);
- Return to stock if custom ROM is used;
- Changing ROMs;
- Killing all other apps except the one which uses the device currently;
- Switching off other communication services like wi-fi;

DJorgio said:
Poor Audio over Bluetooth, Poor overall BT reception.
I thought it was my device and sent it back to google, they sent me a replacement and it has the same issue, if im streaming music to any device (Headphones, Speaker, Car Stereo) and cover the top of my phone its like im almost going out of range and the audio goes choppy or off, remove my hand and the audio returns to normal. Google said they have never heard of this issue before and are convinced a third device will solve the issue, i doubt it unless they have a revision 2 model.
Its not just audio, i have a watch that gets notification on the go, same thing, if the top gets covered my watch often says disconnected, take the phone out and within 20 seconds it reconnects.
Clearly there is an issue with BT on this phone, no software update (inc. N preview) addresses it, google seems unaware or uninterested in the problem, i would have addressed it a long time ago but i have been holding out for a fix before i realised how easy it is to replicate the problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can confirm this.

I get this as well. I can't put the phone in my pocket if I use Bluetooth headphones. I've tried different headphones, both factory M and N preview.

Mines not that bad. It used to stutter every minute or so but I turned off Bluetooth/WiFi scanning and fixed that problem. But now it just decided to start getting all staticy when the screen is turned on. Either by me text or phone calls. Haven't figured out why it's only happening at that time

r1nstang said:
Mines not that bad. It used to stutter every minute or so but I turned off Bluetooth/WiFi scanning and fixed that problem. But now it just decided to start getting all staticy when the screen is turned on. Either by me text or phone calls. Haven't figured out why it's only happening at that time
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What happens when you cover the top of your phone with your hands, does the audio start cutting out?

DJorgio said:
What happens when you cover the top of your phone with your hands, does the audio start cutting out?
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Click to collapse
nothing happens at all. no change in sounds, no stuttering in play.
I did another FDR the other day. got everything installed again turned off wifi/bluetooth scanning and wifi itself (since im not at home) and works perfect. no skipping or stuttering at all. even the 5 seconds of stutter is gone when the screen turns on. hopefully it stays this way
running Ressurection remix m 5.6.9-20160614

I have the same problem on my car sound system (mazda 2 2016). I found a solution. I turn on the N6P bluetooth before turning on the car system (in my car it turns on when I turn on the car at the same time). When I have the N6P's bluetooth on before turning on the car I have a good conection at 100% of the times. When I forget to turn on the N6P's bluetooth before turning on the car I have a bad conection at 50% of the times.
I hope this could work on your sound systems.

DJorgio said:
Poor Audio over Bluetooth, Poor overall BT reception.
I thought it was my device and sent it back to google, they sent me a replacement and it has the same issue, if im streaming music to any device (Headphones, Speaker, Car Stereo) and cover the top of my phone its like im almost going out of range and the audio goes choppy or off, remove my hand and the audio returns to normal. Google said they have never heard of this issue before and are convinced a third device will solve the issue, i doubt it unless they have a revision 2 model.
Its not just audio, i have a watch that gets notification on the go, same thing, if the top gets covered my watch often says disconnected, take the phone out and within 20 seconds it reconnects.
Clearly there is an issue with BT on this phone, no software update (inc. N preview) addresses it, google seems unaware or uninterested in the problem, i would have addressed it a long time ago but i have been holding out for a fix before i realised how easy it is to replicate the problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have tried 3 replacement phones and each time I speak with Google they inform me that they are not aware of any BT issue. Bull****! I can't wait to get rid of this phone. I have the same issues you have related to BT.

r1nstang said:
nothing happens at all. no change in sounds, no stuttering in play.
I did another FDR the other day. got everything installed again turned off wifi/bluetooth scanning and wifi itself (since im not at home) and works perfect. no skipping or stuttering at all. even the 5 seconds of stutter is gone when the screen turns on. hopefully it stays this way
running Ressurection remix m 5.6.9-20160614
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, i tried fresh install of mentioned ROM and disabled scanning and the issue remains but glad to hear yours is ok now.
caalca said:
I have the same problem on my car sound system (mazda 2 2016). I found a solution. I turn on the N6P bluetooth before turning on the car system (in my car it turns on when I turn on the car at the same time). When I have the N6P's bluetooth on before turning on the car I have a good conection at 100% of the times. When I forget to turn on the N6P's bluetooth before turning on the car I have a bad conection at 50% of the times.
I hope this could work on your sound systems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks but i rarely turn off BT, its always available but i did go and try combinations of having it off or on pre connection and no difference, still my phone acts like the BT signal is too weak if i move around.
V4cc4r0 said:
I have tried 3 replacement phones and each time I speak with Google they inform me that they are not aware of any BT issue. Bull****! I can't wait to get rid of this phone. I have the same issues you have related to BT.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for confirming, im not holding any hope on the 3rd replacement either, I have had a lot of nexus devices over the years and this BT issue is unique and driving me nuts and really making me think twice about the new upcoming replacement in Q4, especially if its made by Huawei. Ive also noticed the chassis has started to buckle near the volume buttons.

well for some unknown reason the stutter when screen comes on came back. worked fine on bluetooth all weekend. then this morning i go to use my LG 850 BT headphones...and bam...stuttering. maybe LG pissed off Hauwei and they decided to cause issues with all LG items hahahaha

r1nstang said:
well for some unknown reason the stutter when screen comes on came back. worked fine on bluetooth all weekend. then this morning i go to use my LG 850 BT headphones...and bam...stuttering. maybe LG pissed off Hauwei and they decided to cause issues with all LG items hahahaha
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Apparently all CM based ROMs has the stutter issue when screen is turned on when streaming, something to do with the AudioFX, im back on AOSP ROM, no issue with screen on but still have issue when covering the top of my phone or putting in my pocket. sux.

DJorgio said:
Apparently all CM based ROMs has the stutter issue when screen is turned on when streaming, something to do with the AudioFX, im back on AOSP ROM, no issue with screen on but still have issue when covering the top of my phone or putting in my pocket. sux.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for that. i hadnt heard it was a CM issue. gonna install PA6.0 within the next couple days

S8 Bluetooth audio distortion

UPDATE NOT fully solved.
Audio still really distorted and staticy in car (Honda Civic 2016, link to thread). For the JBL FLip3 speaker, here's my fix: In the S8 paired devices list, click the settings icon next to JBL Flip 3. Turn "Call audio" off. Test out music - it should sound clear now. Turn "Call audio" back on, the music still sounds clear.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi guys,
I am using an Australian Galaxy S8 SM-G950F, and a JBL Flip 3 portable bluetooth speaker.
I have noticed that when using the S8 with my speaker, the sound is distorted as if the treble frequencies are too high.
I can confirm portable speaker works fine with great sound using my previous phone (Galaxy S5). i paired both phones to the portable speaker and compared them together to see which caused the problem. I tested the exact same song, same quality, same app (Google Play Music) on the S8 and then the S5 and noticed the S8 sounded really bad and the S5 sounded great.
On my galaxy S8 I have not done any EQ or sound effects, I am really not sure why it is like this. I do use volume sync so my S8 volume controls the portable speaker volume.
Anyone else experiencing this? I also have the S8 inbuilt speaker fading/cutting out so I am definitely taking my phone back to get replaced. I just hope my replacement phone will not have the same bluetooth audio issue.

Same issue here. Specially when move away few meters from the speaker.
I guess it should be a software issue, due to Bluetooth 5 backward compatibility.

Australian here too. Havent noticed any bluetooth sound quality issues since coming from the s7 edge. I use BT in my car at least twice a day almost every single day so I think I'd notice.
I've got the same speaker at home though that I've yet to pair with this phone so I'll give it a go and compare the s7, s8 and maybe my laptop and see if I notice anything.
I work late so I'll have to check in a few hours when I finish. I'll keep you posted.
Edit: also don't forget that you can adjust and fine tune your equalizer to your liking in settings. Search for "Sound quality and effects". Might want to see if that helps at all.

xeathpk said:
Australian here too. Havent noticed any bluetooth sound quality issues since coming from the s7 edge. I use BT in my car at least twice a day almost every single day so I think I'd notice.
I've got the same speaker at home though that I've yet to pair with this phone so I'll give it a go and compare the s7, s8 and maybe my laptop and see if I notice anything.
I work late so I'll have to check in a few hours when I finish. I'll keep you posted.
Edit: also don't forget that you can adjust and fine tune your equalizer to your liking in settings. Search for "Sound quality and effects". Might want to see if that helps at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cheers mate I look forward to your test!
I haven't adjusted EQ, I'm trying to avoid that - my S5 with flat EQ sounds great on the portable speaker so I'd like the S8 to do the same

Just in the meantime, have you tried to unpair and restart the pairing process? (Just for the sake of absolute clarity, I'm not talking about turning Bluetooth off and then back on again.) Go to your Bluetooth connection menu, click the setting gear icon next the JBL flip 3 and select Unpair and then try again. Worth a shot perhaps?

xeathpk said:
Just in the meantime, have you tried to unpair and restart the pairing process? (Just for the sake of absolute clarity, I'm not talking about turning Bluetooth off and then back on again.) Go to your Bluetooth connection menu, click the setting gear icon next the JBL flip 3 and select Unpair and then try again. Worth a shot perhaps?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just unpaired and re paired now, no improvement
Also turned off media volume sync (so the phone volume and JBL volume are separate), also no improvement

Alright I've had a good play around with the speaker for a bit now and I've tried swapping between my S7, Laptop and this S8+. I played the same song through Spotify on each.
Between s7 and s8 the difference is negligible if not non existent. The s8 and laptop are indistinguishable from each other, as in they're 100% identical to my ears. I was able to instantly swap devices with Spotify as well so I was able to do a lot of fast A-B testing on different parts of the track and there was no distinguishable difference.
The s8 BT sounds fine to my ears. No complaints.
That leads me to consider that;
1. Your phone may in fact be faulty
2. It could be the speaker itself causing issues, or
3. The s5 is actually the one that objectively "worse" or otherwise different. Perhaps you grew accustomed to the sound of the s5 and anything else would sound slightly off by comparison.
Also remember that the JBL flip 3, while nice, isn't a particularly high-end speaker. Its not exactly the best system to get a solid reference from. You might want to try some other BT peripherals such as a home theater system or headset or w/e other BT stuff you have on hand.

zammi said:
Same issue here. Specially when move away few meters from the speaker.
I guess it should be a software issue, due to Bluetooth 5 backward compatibility.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same problem with my Bose QC30
Problem is solved when I reboot the phone, but appears again a few hours later. Very annoying

Wearable perhaps?
RKN_ said:
Just unpaired and re paired now, no improvement
Also turned off media volume sync (so the phone volume and JBL volume are separate), also no improvement
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you using a gear or another wearable or smartwatch at the same time you are testing with your s8? If it is..that's your problem rigth there!!
Its a known issue..so we are out of luck!

jmartesc said:
Are you using a gear or another wearable or smartwatch at the same time you are testing with your s8? If it is..that's your problem rigth there!!
Its a known issue..so we are out of luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually I do have a wearable paired! Completely forgot. Will delete all and try.

Yea, a wearable will cause treble distortion. Quite annoying actually.
Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

Wow that's interesting. Never knew that was even a thing. Were you able to fix the sound after unpairing your other peripheral?

Hi guys, no improvement I'm afraid
First I unpaired my fitness band (Xiaomi mi band 2)
No improvement
Then I uninstalled xiaomi mi fit app (it was watching my notifications)
No improvement
Then I unpaired all my Bluetooth devices (1 car and 1 laptop) so only JBL Flip 3 remains
Still no improvement. I am still hearing this distorted shrill treble sound which I don't hear from S5.
I will try the sound experience of my car via Bluetooth too.

hey guys I think I got a fix
I turned off "Call Audio" in paired device settings for the JBL then tested music
The shrill sound is gone, the music sounds the same as my S5!
I then turned Call Audio back on and music is still sounding good.
I made a phonecall, sounded normal, ended the phonecall and music still sounds good. Hope this lasts!
I am just going to investigate the JBL App because I remember I once switched the button settings there to get Google assistant working. I wonder if that's what caused the problem back then?
EDIT: I also paired my fitness band back and music is still good

RKN_ said:
I am just going to investigate the JBL App because I remember I once switched the button settings there to get Google assistant working. I wonder if that's what caused the problem back then?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Changed the JBL button function to voice assistant, music still good
Changed the button function back to play pause, music still good

RKN_ said:
hey guys I think I got a fix
I turned off "Call Audio" in paired device settings for the JBL then tested music
The shrill sound is gone, the music sounds the same as my S5!
I then turned Call Audio back on and music is still sounding good.
I made a phonecall, sounded normal, ended the phonecall and music still sounds good. Hope this lasts!
I am just going to investigate the JBL App because I remember I once switched the button settings there to get Google assistant working. I wonder if that's what caused the problem back then?
EDIT: I also paired my fitness band back and music is still good
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you so much. The muffly sound was driving me crazy. This is the only thing that worked for me.

Hi everyone, I'm having the exact same issue and unfortunately, none of the solutions here worked for me (tried disabling and re-enabling "call audio", tried unpairing my wearable, even tried unpairing everything else except for my car audio). I also just updated to Android Oreo hoping for a fix, but it didn't solve it...

guaycuru said:
Hi everyone, I'm having the exact same issue and unfortunately, none of the solutions here worked for me (tried disabling and re-enabling "call audio", tried unpairing my wearable, even tried unpairing everything else except for my car audio). I also just updated to Android Oreo hoping for a fix, but it didn't solve it...
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Click to collapse
Just updated to Oreo the other day and that's actually when I started having the problems. I've had this S8 Plus almost a year now, and everything sounded great until the update a few days ago.
The best way I can explain it is the audio, to me, sounds over saturated.
I mainly stream Spotify via bluetooth in my car - JVC head unit, JL in-doors, 1000w Kenwood amp and 2 Alpine SWS D12s. This setup used to sound pretty damn sweet, but post-update, it sounds like garbage and I can't figure it out.

This has been an issue with many newer phones and is related to the newer bluetooth protocols in the 2017+ flagship phones, it seems. I haven't been able to figure out a solution, yet, and I've been trying for over a year. I think that most car stereos and bluetooth speakers are still on the older bluetooth protocols, and that seems to be the underlying disconnect in all of this. If one uses the latest high end bluetooth headphones with support for aptx hd and such the sound is on a whole different level unlike it is paired with my sync based Ford entertainment system or similar.

This is a weird issue that I've also experienced. To me it seems like Samsung prioritises Apt-X bandwidth over the older bluetooth audio codecs, such as SBC - which is what a lot Bluetooth devices still use. In theory SBC is capable of 'sufficiently' good sound quality, but in my experience my S8 just sounds like garbage whenever there's any other than one device connected. I did a Bluetooth HCI log and confirmed that whenever the SBC procotol was being used, my phone would just set the quality to medium despite everything I tried.
What's odd now that is post-Oreo my sound has improved and a new HCI log shows that the majority of the time I'm getting the higher quality mode. Not sure if it's coincidental that I also reset my phone completely after Oreo, or whether Samsung has fixed something... who knows.
My advice is that if you're after good quality audio, either stay away from Bluetooth or buy Apt-X or even LDAC enabled equipment. It works flawlessly with the S8. Great in principle, but not exactly an option if you have an in-built stereo!

Why is Bluetooth so screwey on Pixel 2 XL?

I thought Pie would fix this, but it's roughly the same BS, only now each device gets its own volume.. eventually.
I regularly have trouble getting BT to see a device and connect to it. It seems 10 seconds is about the fastest it will connect in a way that I can play media out of some earbuds or shower speaker.. sometimes it never completes the connection. Pretty much EVERY time, it does this strange thing where it connects with BT phone quickly, then Android jacks the volume up to 100%, THEN connects to BT media. If I'm playing something while that happens, it suddenly BLASTS OUT OF MY PHONE SPEAKERS FOR A split second or two, then comes out of my BT device.
WTF is this all about? Is anyone else seeing this? I actually see the volume slider popup, go to MAX volume, then drop back down if and when it connects media to the BT device. I don't have any "Bluetooth manager apps" installed, though it's tempting but i doubt they would fix this an likely make it twice as crazy.
Google store Pixel 2 XL 128 here on Pie, but this was also happening in Oreo.

Yea, BT on Android is a mess. Has been since 8.0 came out. They fix it with an update for some people and that update breaks it for other people. I am about done with it.

It's not much but you could use tasker plus an app like (or even as) "volume profile for tasker" ( https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jp.meridiani.apps.volumeprofile )

I honestly don't have issues with any of my Bluetooth speakers or cars. Connects just fine and remembers the volume per device just as advertised.
Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

EeZeEpEe said:
I honestly don't have issues with any of my Bluetooth speakers or cars. Connects just fine and remembers the volume per device just as advertised.
Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk
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Same here. Bluetooth connects to my car instantly, same for my headphones.

Mine is working fine with all my devices (car, speakers, headphones).
Pie stock, no hacks.

arturiu said:
Mine is working fine with all my devices (car, speakers, headphones).
Pie stock, no hacks.
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Same here. No issues what so ever. It connects to my car, home speakers, watch and two different sets of headphones.

Mine works a treat, Much Better than Oreo...

Mine will connect with cars, but if you take a call, it drops Bluetooth music playback. The phone stays connected but no audio.
I then have to cycle Bluetooth off and on so it reconnects or reboot the radio.
It's not consistent either. Sometimes it resumes after a call and sometimes it won't. Completely random.
Also, won't connect to my car if already connected to any other device like a headphone. No way to make it favor one over the other.
Android auto has the same issues. Sometimes it works and sometimes it won't at all.
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My Bluetooth connects fine, eventually, to a dozen devices. My issue wasn't with BT working or not. It's with the volume jumping up before connecting. I guess I will have to record it happening with audio so you can see how bad it is if something is playing at 50 percent vol and it jumps to full blast before switching ovrer (at which point it readjusts to the devices precious volume).

4 different BT headphones and a cheap chinese car stereo. All work perfect on Pie with individual volumes. My personal opinion is BT is much improved in Pie.

My P2XL gets ahead of itself. I just tried something: started music in my media app (GONEmad Music Player), turned on BT, on my Mac I opened BT preferences, on phone I tapped Pair New Device, and on Mac tapped on Pixel 2 XL when it showed up. Before I even entered the PIN displayed on the screen, the volume jumped up to 100%. On the phone. While playing music at 15%. I denied the pairing, but something maxed out my volume as soon as BT started ATTEMPTING to pair..... wtf!?
I'm able to re-attempt the connection, and get a new PIN presented, along with MAXED out volume each time I do that. Even without music playing the volume slider appears on the screen. I can stay in BT settings and attempt to repair to the same device, and each time (before the PIN even pops up for me to verify), the media volume maxes out, even if I jump in and change it before it disappears (meaning there's no pseudo-device which it is remembering volume for).

Here's a video of the volume jumping prior to connection (or in this case even prior to pairing happens)

The only thing is noticed is that you're connecting connecting to computers when this happens. Just tried my headphones and no such jump I'm volume.
CPngN said:
Here's a video of the volume jumping prior to connection (or in this case even prior to pairing happens)
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EeZeEpEe said:
The only thing is noticed is that you're connecting connecting to computers when this happens. Just tried my headphones and no such jump I'm volume.
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Computers, BT shower speakers, 1 year old BT4.1 Anker ear buds, doesn't matter, same thing happens.

I just unpaired my Anker SoundBuds Curve, had music playing low, re-paired the buds, and no volume fluctuations. Can't replicate it on my end.
CPngN said:
Computers, BT shower speakers, 1 year old BT4.1 Anker ear buds, doesn't matter, same thing happens.
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Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

It works perfectly for me after the September update. Now I can call over Bluetooth again. The previous updates somehow messed the routing of incoming/outgoing calls for me. All good now. Hopefully the next security update doesn't break anything.

EeZeEpEe said:
I just unpaired my Anker SoundBuds Curve, had music playing low, re-paired the buds, and no volume fluctuations. Can't replicate it on my end.
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Ugh, thx for checking. It's like I have a service watching for Bluetooth activity and trying to outthink the OS. I disabled Tasker but same result.

i've been having some bluetooth weirdness as well. my huawei watch works fine, until i jump in my truck and my phone connects to the bluetooth in my head unit. Then it takes forever to get my watch to resync with my phone. I've reset my watch and reconnected it twice but it still seems to do the exact same thing.

Hmm ok... so I have my volume turned down on my ear buds today. Well, up on the buds, but down on the phone (disabled that BT fullblast option in Developer Options). Now I see that it's setting the volume not necessarily to MAX volume, but to the volume saved for that BT device, but it does it early... before the point where the media being played is rerouted by a few seconds. If you DO have your BT device going full-volume, then you get this few seconds of NICE LOUD MUSIC/SHOW out of the phone before switching actually routing audio to the device. It's worse if I have both Media and phone going to the BT device, as it connects the phone stream first, and thus adjusts volume immediately, then connects and routes Media a few seconds later.
I guess I just need to get in the habbit of pausing whatever I'm listening to when I switch...