Enabling audio via bluetooth headset [Closed]

Enabling audio via bluetooth headset [Closed]

Postby rodgoslin » Jun 11th, '15, 11:02

having used a bluetooth headset for listening to audio from my Android 'phone, it seemed a good idea to use same for audio . Any advice on spanning this yawning gap would be welcome. from the PC, running Mga5rc. Particularly, since the HiFi, which is the final sound source, is behind and to my left. So no stereo effectt! To this end I bought a bluetooth /USB adaptor. Using the System Settings bluetooth functions, a connect was soon made. However there's still a yawning gap in assigning this connect as an audio device. Presumably this will be through Pulse Audio, but I've no idea as to add another device to it.
Last edited by rodgoslin on Jun 26th, '15, 00:04, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Enabling audio via bluetooth headset

Postby doktor5000 » Jun 11th, '15, 11:53

Install blueman and use that instead. Works perfectly fine. Just pair your device via right-click on the systray icon => setup new device
and go through the dialog, and if the bluetooth device offers a profile for playing sound, sound will be transferred over after pairing.

If it's not, run pavucontrol, and for each stream you want to play via the headset, select the headset as output once paired.
Just tested this recently with some bluetooth speakers and it's dead easy.
It will also automatically move over sound to normal sound device if the headset is disconnected, and back to headset if it's connected again.
See also http://paul.frields.org/2015/06/04/puls ... l-awesome/
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Re: Enabling audio via bluetooth headset

Postby rodgoslin » Jun 11th, '15, 16:22

I'm no further along. I installed blueman, but cannot find it to launch it. If, indeed it is something to launch. In System Settings/Bluetooth/ the device is there (PLT_BB903+) Double clicking on that indicates that it is paired (if a green blob does so indicate). Clicking on the Bluetooth icon in the systm tray brings up (left or rihjt click), brings up a idialogue box with PLT_BB903+ as a known device. Mousing over on that brings up anather dialogue box labelled 'Connect' From that point, nothing happens. There sems to be no functionality from that point. I'm a bit new to Bluetooth. As far as I understand it, two devises are #paired' and if 'Connected' one device(in this case, the headset) becomes an inherent part of the other device (the PC, in this case) The radio connection taking the place of the connecting cable.
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Re: Enabling audio via bluetooth headset

Postby doktor5000 » Jun 11th, '15, 18:31

Please no further fiddling with the systemsettings bluetooth thingie, just leave that as it is.

blueman applet is marked for autostart, but as you did not reboot in between you need to start it manually via blueman-applet
Under KDE it's not shown in the menus for reasons unknown to me due to /usr/share/applications/blueman-manager.desktop having "NotShowIn=KDE;".
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Re: Enabling audio via bluetooth headset

Postby rodgoslin » Jun 11th, '15, 20:53

Re-booting seems to have done the trck. There's now a new blue icon, in the shape of the Bluetooth emblem, in the system tray. Right clicking on that brought up the 'Bluetooth Devices dialogue, which already had the device indicated. On the basis of starting from scratch, I deleted this, set the headset to pair and initiated a search. This found the device. Right clicking on the deviceand selecting 'Connect to...headset' brings up a black bar at the bottom of the box, which, if hovered over reveals the message 'Connection failed DBusFailedError No such fileor directory'. There's very little indication that this is actually Blueman Manager, but clicking on 'help' indicates that it really is Blueman manager. Rather hiding their light under a bushel, as the old saying goes.
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Re: Enabling audio via bluetooth headset

Postby doktor5000 » Jun 12th, '15, 00:18

If it's paired, you don't need to connect to the device explicitly, you are already connected. You only need to move audio streams over to the headset via e.g. pavucontrol as described earlier.
Although for the dbus error you should check that you are current with all the other packages, I don't get such an error here. Which version of blueman do you have? Should be 1.99.alpha3-0.git20150512.2.mga5
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Re: Enabling audio via bluetooth headset

Postby rodgoslin » Jun 12th, '15, 01:46

The Control Centre reports that the install is as you say, 1.99.alpha3-0.git20150512.2.mga5, but the help option in the applet says that it's alpha 2, which is likely to be incorrect. It's all become a bit academic for the while. since after re-booting, to bring up Blueman, there is no audio output at all. This has been happening for about the past two weeks. I can't pin down when, or why it stops, nor when, or why it starts again. I had a thought that the inbuilt sound card was failing, so I bought a PCI-E sound card., without affecting the situation. I then bought a couple of PC speakers. Again without success. This foray into Bluetooth , in part, was another attempt for an alternative audio output. In the meantime, I'm busy pushing all the video files on the machine onto my Drobo box, which stands a a server for all my other machines. So I can, at least watch/listen to stuff on the laptop, et al. If the audio comes back to life, I'll come back. If not, it looks as if I might be gutting and re-building the PC with a new motherboard, et al.. The audio client Clementine, BTW, shows an audio output, in the 'specrum Analyser (of sorts) on the control panel, and Pulse Audio, too shows audio output
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Re: Enabling audio via bluetooth headset

Postby doktor5000 » Jun 12th, '15, 10:39

Can't you tell that in the first place? Like "my audio is not working, I don't get any output at all and want to workaround this by getting a bluetooth headset"?
(Which obviously will only work if it's supplied with audio material from your box, if there's no output there you cannot hear anything.)

Please at least provide the outputs as normal user of
Code: Select all
pactl list
pactl list modules | grep device-manager
aplay -l
lspcidrake -v | grep -i audio
systemctl --user status pulseaudio.socket pulseaudio.service
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Re: Enabling audio via bluetooth headset

Postby rodgoslin » Jun 25th, '15, 00:53

The loss of sound was, as I suspected (eventually) a hardware problem. The line-out on the motherboard was not working, but, strangely, the earphone socket on the front of the machine was. So, for the moment, I've simply switched the hifi connection to the front of the machine.
However, back to the bluetooth problem. Since my last post, I've tried bluetooth on three separate machines. The desktop, running Mga5rc, at present. An Asus netbook running Mga5, and a lenove laptop, also running Mga5. All three machines exhibit, largely, the same situation. All of them can find a device in pairing mode. In this case, I have two headset devices, a Plantronic BB903+ and a Plantronic FIT. Both of them appear to pair, in that the pairing lights on the device go out, whilst on Blueman, a set of coloured rectangles appear on the panel for that device. However there is little or no indication that the adaptor and the device are in fact connected. In fact, the FIT device gives a voice message of "Not Connected". Switching off the device(s) and then back on again results in some action on Blueman, where the cloured rectangles re-appear, the disappear. Running sound output, Clementine, or some audio output from Firefox, normal sound output from the speakers results. Opening PAVUControl shows nothing relative to the Bluetooth connection, at any time, in any way.. The Blueman panel does not give, or, at least, not recogniseabley, any indication that a connection is made or that the connection is valid. I've been unable to locate any information relative to the working of Blueman to indicate wht is, and what is not working. The PlantronicFIT headset, on switching it on says "Power On.... Battery full....Not Connected", while the small colured rectangles in the Blueman panel appear and disappear. The Plantronic BB903+ gives much the same information but without the "Not Connected" information
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Re: Enabling audio via bluetooth headset

Postby doktor5000 » Jun 25th, '15, 20:59

The blueman applet icon will turn blue-green when a device is connected, and when you mouseover over the device icons on the right side, it will also tell you that a device is connected and the signal quality.
Example of the devices dialog
Bildschirmfoto2_162.png
Bildschirmfoto2_162.png (138.02 KiB) Viewed 4805 times

Also on the left next to that big bluetooth icon there's a small yellow star-ish icon in the bottom left corner and the key icon in the top left corner meaning trustworthy and paired if you mouseover them.
example of the systray icon when connected
Bildschirmfoto2_163.png
Bildschirmfoto2_163.png (2.08 KiB) Viewed 4805 times

Sorry but cannot really help you further then describe how it works.
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Re: Enabling audio via bluetooth headset

Postby rodgoslin » Jun 25th, '15, 22:42

Thanks, you're explanation was clear, concise and usefull. At least, now I know what I'm seeing, or not seeing.I decided to start, again, from scratch. I must hve done this more than a dozen times on the three machines. Trying it on the thinkpad, it worked. Foer the first time, the coloured rectangles appeared and stayed, whereas, before they came on and then faded away. I set both devices, and both connected and stayed connected. I could poewr off the headset(s) and power on and they would re-connect. So far, so good. Opening PUVControl, there were now two output devices, the bluetooth device and the built in sound card. Opening Clementine and playing music, the sound came from the laptop speakers. However, muting the speakers and un-muting the bluetooth device did not produce sound in the headsets, either of them, and the activity bar in PUVC, likewise showed no activity. So, further on, but still no solution. I'll try the other two machines, and see what happens. Thanks, again for your help.
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Re: Enabling audio via bluetooth headset

Postby rodgoslin » Jun 26th, '15, 00:04

I've tried the other two machines, with no good results. Both machines can find and pair with the two headsets, but within a few seconds of connecting (coloured rectangles in the right side of the display), and an interchange of data, (bottom line of the display and the two icons, bottom tight hand side) the connection is lost. On turning off the headsets, and turning them back on, connection is achieved, but only for a few seconds, again. I can't work woth something as flaky as this, so, reluctantly I shall have to accept that Mageia and bluetooth,albeit with the same USB adapter, do not work. I suppose I could try another adapter. Meanwhile I'll use the headsets with my Android 'phone, where they work first time, every time.
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Re: Enabling audio via bluetooth headset [Closed]

Postby doktor5000 » Jun 26th, '15, 18:52

Can you please stick to one machine first and try to get it working there? It won't help you otherwise, just make it more complex for others to follow.
If your headset is paired, and sound is playing on the laptop speakers, you need to move that audio stream with pavucontrol to the headset.
It will remember that preference if you disconnect and re-connect later.

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Re: Enabling audio via bluetooth headset [Closed]

Postby rodgoslin » Jun 26th, '15, 22:28

Yes, I did that. The laptop worked. It paired and when connected, it stayed connected. If I turned off the headset, and then turned it on again, it connected. At the same time PUVControl add a new instace to the output devices. I could mute the speakers play, bu mute or unmute, the headset device had no audible outpu from the headset. Even boosting the volume had no effect. Whilst unmuted the speaker output was indicated on the output display bar, but not when enabling the bluetooth device. It has ocurrd to me since that the mixer panel might have a new instance created on it, which if defaulting to zero, might be the reason why there is no sound. It was at least one step further than before.
However, when I tried exactly the same actions with the netbook and the desktop, the adapter and the device would connect, only to disconnect seconds later. Since, with graphic displays, you only seee the information that the progammer intends you to see, unlike most command line actions, there is no way to see what went wrong.
On the basis that the adapter is the only commeon link between all three machines, apart from the operating system, and the hardware, I've ordered a couple of adapters of a different manufacture, to see if that makes any difference. They should be here tomorrow (Saturday)
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Re: Enabling audio via bluetooth headset [Closed]

Postby doktor5000 » Jun 27th, '15, 11:58

You should not mute anything, please check my screenshot and the description.
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Re: Enabling audio via bluetooth headset [Closed]

Postby rodgoslin » Jun 27th, '15, 23:34

I've tried out the new adaptors, with mixed results. The laptop came out the best. Both new adaptors worked. The headsets would pair and connect through both new adaptors. They fared less well on the desktop and the netbook. Neither would pair with either of the devices, in much the same way as the earlier adaptor. So total fail;ure to pair/connect any devices and any adaptores on the two machines, although searches always found devices in pairing mode. The laptop, however behaved better. It found both devices and would pair and connect. On turning off the device, it would re-connect on being switched on again. When connected, in PSVC, an istance of the device would appear in the "output devices" tab. . The gui for blueman appears to show activity between the adaptor and the device, although I've bbeen unsuccessful in finding any explanation or interpretation of the icons and symbols on the display. Data appears to be exchanged, according to the box at the bottom of the display, and the two icons at the right hand bottom corner pulse. But, and it's a big BUT. I've yet to hear anything via the headsets. I would have expected, as in the case of the mobile 'phone, that connecting a bluetooth audiodevice wouls automatically swith audio output to that device, since logically, there would be no point in having audio output on both simulaneously. And turning off the bluetooth device would restore output to the normal sound device (speaker, etc). As is the case with the mobile 'phone (and MS Windows, I might add). I've taken a snapshot of the screen, with Blueman and Pulse Audio Volume Control on the screen. You can see that the normal ouput is there by the output power display, but nothing on the bluetooth device. Whils switching from the one to the other, manually would be a lesser considered option, but I've no idea how this may be done. I did open the "Mixer" panel from the system tray, and that had an instace for the bluetooth device, and in it's case the volume was set to max.
I've never tried posting a graphics file to this forum, so I apologise if it does not work.
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Re: Enabling audio via bluetooth headset [Closed]

Postby rodgoslin » Jul 2nd, '15, 00:51

I'm still no further on with this. Illogically, I can pair and connect my two bluetooth headsets, with my Lenovo laptop, running Mga5. But not always. Often the connection will be made, only to drop out within a few seconds. Running the same procedure on an Asus netbook and my desktop machine, I always get failure. Up to the present, I've bought five adaptors, three broadcomm based and two Cambridge Silicon Radio. Oddly the CSR ones both have the same MAC address. I thought MAC adresses were supposed to be unique to the device) Blueman have got me nowhere, so I thought I'd try a CLI route. At least, this should give me some feedback on failure. A google search on pairing bluetooth device led me to the following
Code: Select all
[rod@down ~]$ bluetoothctl
[NEW] Controller 00:1A:7D:DA:71:13 down [default]
[bluetooth]# pair F0:65:DD:BD:78:bA
Device F0:65:DD:BD:78:bA not available
[bluetooth]# pair F0:65:DD:BD:78:BA
Device F0:65:DD:BD:78:BA not available
[CHG] Controller 00:1A:7D:DA:71:13 Discovering: yes
[NEW] Device F0:65:DD:8D:78:BA PLT_BB903+
[CHG] Device F0:65:DD:8D:78:BA RSSI is nil
[CHG] Controller 00:1A:7D:DA:71:13 Discovering: no
[DEL] Device F0:65:DD:8D:78:BA PLT_BB903+
[bluetooth]#


I'd ascertained that the adaptor MAC address was 00:1A:7D:DA:71:13, and through Blueman that the device (headset) was F0:65:DD:BD:78:BA. Theresult is as you see. The first command (pair <mac address>, failed Not Available. Repeating the command and more lines were added, but the net result was not a pairing. Blueman will pair the devices (apparently. Blueman says they are paired, the pairing lights on the headsets indicate otherwise. i.e. the pairing light do not go out) Any help out there?
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Re: Enabling audio via bluetooth headset [Closed]

Postby rodgoslin » Jul 3rd, '15, 18:22

I think that I've taken this thread about as far as I can. The problem is reproduced exactly in any combination of three PC's running Mga5, five Bluetooth adaptors, and three bluetooth headsets. The headsets have been shown to work without problems in an Android 'phone, and in MS Windows ver 7. So, I've raised the matter in a bug report as https://bugs.mageia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=16276
Last edited by doktor5000 on Jul 3rd, '15, 18:36, edited 1 time in total.
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