Bluetooth audio is my least favorite part of using Linux and it seems like my coworkers agree. I hear a lot of praise for pipewire, but it doesn’t match what I experience. Does any system work well for anyone?
To clarify, it can work. But it’s a harsh experience compared to say Android. I’ve used Ubuntu, Fedora, and PopOS. I’ve tried a few different headphones, using Galaxy Buds 2 current. Pulseaudio tends to “do as it’s told” but doesn’t automatically switch to the right (confusingly named) profile. With Ubuntu 23.10, using pipewire, it does automatic switch profiles. Sometimes this works great. But very often, it gets stuck on on a profile or just stops working. I have to reconnect bluetooth to fix it.
Is there some magic combination of things that works or is this just how it is for everyone?
Pipewire and debian stable here
BT audio works like 99% of the time. Then there’s that 1% it just stops working for no apparent reason and you spend an hour googling why without finding any answers. And in the end, unpairing, forgetting the device and the re-adding it fixes the problem in 2 mins
Overall very happy once i remember the quick fix
Bluetooth works great. Debian w/ XFCE (pulseaudio). But, there is some config on a fresh install:
# apt install blueman pulseaudio-module-bluetooth # nano /etc/pulse/default.pa add: load-module module-switch-on-connect # nano /etc/bluetooth/input.conf change: IdleTimeout=0Pretty good. I use Nothing ear 2s with a lenovo thinkpad on arch linux and it works just as well as with my ipad and my android smartphone.
Only bad thing, it set the codec to a worse sounding one once for some reason, but changing it back solved it.
This usually happens when you use the earphones’ microphone. It lowers the audio quality to be able to send the microphone’s data.
exactly. I disabled mono profile in bluez config and I could recomend that to everyone else as well
Wait, you can keep the audio quality while using the microphone?
Fedora Kinoite, working just as well as on Android (GrapheneOS)
Using Pipewire. The issue really is the shitty firmware of my headphones.
Bluetooth sucks on all platforms. It may be worse on Linux, but given how often my coworkers on Mac and Windows have audio issues it meetings, not by much.
Get a good set of RF wireless headphones and only use Bluetooth when you’re traveling.
I haven’t had any issue with Bluetooth audio on Fedora.
Gentoo and Pipewire kinda just works.
I expected a battle, like on my work Ubuntu laptop with pulse audio, but holy cow… Pipewire ftw.
No problem here with Opensuse slowroll (Sway WM) and a Realtek bluetootth radio, I’m using blueman for managing enabling/managing bluetooth connections.
Vanilla Arch Linux, AirPods work better than on Android (which was super unreliable), but I also don’t care about automatic profile switching as I actually prefer to switch manually to whatever I need at the given moment.
On Debian Unstable and Arch (both with pipewire) it just worked out of the box for me with no issues.
I haven’t had any issues.
But it’s not uncommon to a problem somewhere in the Bluetooth stack. It’s important you report any bugs you come across to the respective projects, because of how diverse Bluetooth devices are it’s hard to get perfect support for everything.For me, Bluetooth in general is a problematic technology that’s been trustworthy only when the device comes with a pre-paired Bluetooth emitter.
Now that I know what to do (switch audio codecs on sound icon in menu bar depending on being in a call or listening to music) it works better for me on Linux Feroda than on Windoge.
Built-in Bluetooth modules tend to “just work” for the most part, but external adapters are a whole other story. They are a pain and it’s best to buy them from somewhere that won’t ask questions if you try to return it.
I installed fedora 38 on my lenovo thinkpad t14 (now running fedora 39) and aside from one easily fixed issue bluetooth works perfectly. My gaming pc running windows can use my laptop as an audio device via bluetooth which is pretty cool.
