Bluetooth trubs

Brody

I recently got a new pair of wireless earbuds, and playing around with them this weekend they were doing great. This morning though, I went to connect them to my PC so I could watch stuff while I work, and found that they either won't connect, or if they do connect the sound is very broken, almost like they are swapping sound between buds constantly? I looked up the issue, and it appears they are almost intentionally designed to only work with mobile devices...

Is there a way to run a dummy Android instance inside windows, connecting through that, so I can listen to something through that while still using a normal sized monitor? Or some other similar extended connection to/through the phone? It'd be nice if I could use the phone to control volume/skip videos/pick new videos in YT for instance, similar to how Spotify allows you to control the listening device from any other device signed into the same account.

Naphtali

Your best bet is probably to just get a USB bluetooth antenna for PC, and pair them to that. Bluetooth on PC is invariably fraught with pitfalls, mostly due to how sometimes they will try to pair to both the headphones & the microphone even if it isn't in use (which forces the audio headphones into mono-mode, which causes playback issues) or will sometimes flutter between both connections (which could explain what you're seeing there).

That_Guy

Windows doesn't play nice with wireless earbuds. Bluetooth in general isn't reliable. There's a limitation in the windows Bluetooth stack that means you're restricted to stereo sound with no mic or mono sound with mic. Basically Windows can't handle more than 2 audio channels at once. I spent a good couple of months trying to several computers and hardware loadouts at work (laptops, desktop, USB BT adapters, PCI-E BT adapters) to work reliably and never could.

My recommendation for wireless audio for your PC is 2.4ghz RF.

Naphtali

FWIW, I bought one of these about a year ago to circumvent the terrible bluetooth in my work laptop, and it works more-or less. I don't try to do any audio calls with it though, only music listening.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0881X4MB2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Brody

I mean, I mostly got them because I want to be able to use them around the house listening to music/podcasts/etc, and they are great for that. And honestly, with how well they work with their charging case and you plop them in there and they turn off, and you pull them out and they connect to the phone, its not the end of the world to just switch to set of desktop headphones when I need to. I just wasn't sure if there would be an easy workaround.

I guess, considering how much you have tried to find a workaround, is there anything I can try and build with the BT-enabled Pi I have sitting in a closet some where? Sort of an audio/BT processing device that I can then plug into the PC and have windows treat as just a wired connection? I realize that most of this is probably technically possible with enough skill and determination, but considering how little my feeble attempts at googling has returned, I expect nothing resembling a mostly complete linux package or anything.

Mugsley

If you're willing to go that far, look into a BT enabled USB sound card instead. Better sound and fewer jumps. Plus you get the advantage of a proper audio processor.

Brody

Mugsley wrote: »

If you're willing to go that far, look into a BT enabled USB sound card instead. Better sound and fewer jumps. Plus you get the advantage of a proper audio processor.

I forgot sound cards were a thing.

Xaquin

I can't really help, but I wanted you to know that I kept reading this and thinking it say 'bluetooth tubs' and thought 'what a world to live in'

Burtletoy

Brody wrote: »

Mugsley wrote: »

If you're willing to go that far, look into a BT enabled USB sound card instead. Better sound and fewer jumps. Plus you get the advantage of a proper audio processor.

I forgot sound cards were a thing.

I believe what @That_Guy is saying is the issue with Bluetooth on Windows is a Windows issue. It won't matter which sound card you use, if you are using Windows it will have that issue.

That_Guy

Burtletoy wrote: »

Brody wrote: »

Mugsley wrote: »

If you're willing to go that far, look into a BT enabled USB sound card instead. Better sound and fewer jumps. Plus you get the advantage of a proper audio processor.

I forgot sound cards were a thing.

I believe what @That_Guy is saying is the issue with Bluetooth on Windows is a Windows issue. It won't matter which sound card you use, if you are using Windows it will have that issue.

Yes, that is correct. The Windows Bluetooth audio stack can only handle 2 channels of sound at once. So you can either have mono and mic or stereo. I have seen a USB dongle on amazon that claims to be a bluetooth audio card. It seemed like it was supposed to connect directly to your BT Audio device and skip the Windows stack altogether. Just present a USB audio device to windows. However I really didn't trust it and it seemed a bit of a jankey solution. I ended up going with a Steelseries Arctis 7 after spending a month trying to get my Galaxy Buds working.

Brody

That_Guy wrote: »

Burtletoy wrote: »

Brody wrote: »

Mugsley wrote: »

If you're willing to go that far, look into a BT enabled USB sound card instead. Better sound and fewer jumps. Plus you get the advantage of a proper audio processor.

I forgot sound cards were a thing.

I believe what That_Guy is saying is the issue with Bluetooth on Windows is a Windows issue. It won't matter which sound card you use, if you are using Windows it will have that issue.

Yes, that is correct. The Windows Bluetooth audio stack can only handle 2 channels of sound at once. So you can either have mono and mic or stereo. I have seen a USB dongle on amazon that claims to be a bluetooth audio card. It seemed like it was supposed to connect directly to your BT Audio device and skip the Windows stack altogether. Just present a USB audio device to windows. However I really didn't trust it and it seemed a bit of a jankey solution. I ended up going with a Steelseries Arctis 7 after spending a month trying to get my Galaxy Buds working.

That makes sense. I'm not at the point right now where I'm that worried about solving it, I have a different pair of over the ear BT headphones that work well enough, and if in the future I ever find myself motivated enough, I at least have a better understanding of the problem. It does at least answer why I couldn't ever seem to get the mic on my headphones to work with discord though.

Mugsley

Yes, that is what I was referring to. Use a third party to handle BT connection and let the computer handle the audio. But I may be making too many assumptions about device handling in Windows.