Develop Bugs

[Q] bluetooth audio issues - intermittent

Hey everyone. Gotta say, i love this phone its the android device i always wanted. However, im having issues with my car bluetooth which i have not experienced before... namely, that random phonecalls sound completely digitized.
Ive come from an htc desire and htc sensation on the same car without issue and am worried i got a bad BT antenna-or its software...
Anyone out there experiencing the same thing? Any advice (other than buying a new car)?

I am having the same issues on a Verizon Galaxy Nexus V4.02. If I turn bluetooth off mid-call the earpiece sounds fine. The static only happens during voice calls, streaming A2DP sounds fine. There are bluetooth improvements listed in the 4.03 changelog, hopefully this will be resolved.

I had some problems with my BT speaker phone. I turned off the key press sounds and the screen off sounds and that pretty much fixed it.

I have an off topic question for you guys that use bluetooth streaming. Can start the car and press play from the HU to start music? I can with my old D2, but not my TB. I have to actually start the music player on the thunderbolt, then I can control it from my HU. I would like to upgrade, but I don't see a huge advantage in upgrading if I still can't start my music without having to actually take the phone out of my pocket. (Yes, I know it's stupid, but I'm lazy.)

I have this same issue in one of my cars. I ran a number of tests and the issue only occurs on my vehicle when the phone is connected to both for telephony and a2dp music. The static occurs whether or not a2dp is actually being used to stream music or not. This particular vehicle has two separate devices for music and telephony. If I unpair or disconnect the music device, then telephony works without the audio distortion. As soon as I reconnect the music device, the static is re-introduced.
v0yeur said:
Hey everyone. Gotta say, i love this phone its the android device i always wanted. However, im having issues with my car bluetooth which i have not experienced before... namely, that random phonecalls sound completely digitized.
Ive come from an htc desire and htc sensation on the same car without issue and am worried i got a bad BT antenna-or its software...
Anyone out there experiencing the same thing? Any advice (other than buying a new car)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

I am experiencing this issue as well and have not been able to resolve it. I've tried disabling the touch sounds, screen off sounds, etc. but to no avail.
It pretty much makes handsfree unusable while driving. What have you guys done in the meantime? Have you been able to resolve the issue yet?
Here's my specific details:
Phone: Verizion LTE Galaxy Nexus v4.02 stock/unrooted
Handsfree Car System (phone audio): Stock 2007 Audi A4
Separate A2DP Module (media audio): Dension Gateway Five connected to factory Stereo
All of my previous phones (Thunderbolt, Droid X, Incredible, OG Droid) have fully supported this setup with no issues whatsoever.
On a sidenote, my A2DP streaming is also unreliable. It first has trouble connecting to the device. If/when it does, audio constantly cuts out when streaming Pandora, Slacker Radio, Google Music... pretty much any streaming over network connection. I have not tried locally stored music yet as I don't have any currently stored on my device. Are you guys experiencing this A2DP issue as well?
I wonder how widespread this is and if it warrants opening an official issue with Google.

I used to have a Blackberry Torch, and I have a Ford Mustang. When I would connect the BT to it, if the Wifi was on, it would "interfere" with the signal. Turning wifi off, fixed the issue. This was a widely known issue with the Torch. Granted that shouldn't have to be a fix, but can any of you verify whether your wifi is on? (regardless of if its connected to anything or not). I'm wondering if the Nexus is using the same BT/WIFI chip that the Torch used.

radi0chik said:
I used to have a Blackberry Torch, and I have a Ford Mustang. When I would connect the BT to it, if the Wifi was on, it would "interfere" with the signal. Turning wifi off, fixed the issue. This was a widely known issue with the Torch. Granted that shouldn't have to be a fix, but can any of you verify whether your wifi is on? (regardless of if its connected to anything or not). I'm wondering if the Nexus is using the same BT/WIFI chip that the Torch used.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I appreciate the suggestion but unfortunately, I have the issue even if WiFi is off (I never use WiFi).
I'm going to try and toggle a few of the sound and haptic feedback settings a little more to see if it's pertinent to a certain on/off configuration. It's a shot in the dark but I'll try anything at this point.

ok it was worth a shot. Maybe on a whim turn off 3g/data so basically its airplane mode except BT is on? Just to eliminate any RF interference. Other than that I dont know

Spent quite a bit of time in the car today to try and pinpoint a cause and I have had no luck.
Phone audio will sound great and then all of the sudden turn digitized and distorted for a random period of time, then revert back to sounding great. One thing to note is that the distortion is both ways - the person I'm talking to also hears it when I speak and cannot understand what I'm saying. It's very frustrating not being able to use this feature.
I am on my 2nd replacement phone and ALL of them have had this issue (returned two others to VZW due to this issue and the speaker clicking issue). I am still wondering if it is software/OS releated or if it's due to poor hardware.

Quick Update (kind of):
I messed around with more settings last night. I am happy to report that after I disabled NFC last night, I made several handsfree calls in my car with perfect clarity and no issues. Also, A2DP streaming Pandora worked flawlessly! I was happy that I thought I pinpointed the issue - NFC interference.
BUT this morning, I made a handfree call and it was immediately distorted. Frownie face! A2DP Streaming Pandora still worked great. I am now trying to determine if my success last night was a fluke or if something is different with the phone this morning. The only difference from last night to this morning, that I have been able to identify so far, is I now have the extended battery in the phone. Last night's success had the standard battery. I'll switch them back at lunch and re-test.

Stowegy said:
Quick Update (kind of):
I messed around with more settings last night. I am happy to report that after I disabled NFC last night, I made several handsfree calls in my car with perfect clarity and no issues. Also, A2DP streaming Pandora worked flawlessly! I was happy that I thought I pinpointed the issue - NFC interference.
BUT this morning, I made a handfree call and it was immediately distorted. Frownie face! A2DP Streaming Pandora still worked great. I am now trying to determine if my success last night was a fluke or if something is different with the phone this morning. The only difference from last night to this morning, that I have been able to identify so far, is I now have the extended battery in the phone. Last night's success had the standard battery. I'll switch them back at lunch and re-test.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've got the same issue. Even with NFC disabled. Makes listening to Pandora in the car unbearable. I've gone through the same steps as you, but hasn't exchanged the phone yet. I've had previous Androids and it was a hit/miss with the distortion, but with an iPhone or BB never had this issue. Go figure.

thanks to all the replies, will update to 4.0.3 and try out some more options.
- unplugging my music dongle had no effect on call quality
- NFC on or off had no effect
I also find that the music adapter never auto-connects and needs me to go in to the BT settings page and manually select it.
thanks all.

Hello again. So I have an update that adds to the flakiness ...
Updated to the Bugless Beast ROM and Franco's kernel. My intent was to completely reset the phone and hopefully get a new Bluetooth stack in the process.
Initially everything paired OK, but after a while my audio randomly disconnects after about 20minutes and then reconnects depending on its mood.
My phone connection is more controllable now: if the BT is enabled on my phone when I turn on the car, the sound quality is entirely digitized and unusable. If I turn on the car and THEN enable my phone, the sound quality is flawless every time.
Still not ideal, but manageable. For the music audio part, I lay the blame entirely on the Audi Music Interface BT adapter: the thing is crap and always in pair mode even with the car turned off! The telephone BT in the car head unit has seen several phones pair with it without any issues (I do mobile development so I get to play with many phones) so in that case, I can't blame anything but the Nexus.
I really hope someone at Google or Samsung reads these threads since it would be tough to troubleshoot, but there's no doubt an issue exists with general BT compatibility.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

Anyone have an update on this issue? Does anyone know of a ROM with a different Bluetooth stack than AOKP? I love everything else about AOKP. I have had the same garbled bluetooth audio from stock - 4.03 with franco and faux kernels with the same result. I had similar problems with Cyanogen 7 ROM I was using on my Incredible the week before I bought the Nexus.

Update - I experimented with a couple of additional devices, and the multiple connections problem with my Nexus is limited to A2DP only devices.
I am now using a Garmin BlueTrip with "phone audio" deselected in bluetooth options. As long as the additional bluetooth device is handsfree profile capable, the A2DP functions perfectly, calls are clear, and the device reconnects after a power cycle consistently. I'm glad this appears to be a software issue and not something we will have to live with for the life of the phone. I'm sure a future update will correct this issue.

I'm also having a problem with Bluetooth calls sounding very digitized and/or choppy. It is bad enough that it can be extremely difficult to make out what the caller is saying. A2DP, on the other hand, has performed pretty flawlessly and the device consistently reconnects each time I get in the car (although it can take up to 30 seconds or so).
I'll have to do a little experimenting with some of the settings mentioned in this thread to see if they have any affect.
On a related note, I feel like sometimes calls made/recieved on the handset can sound digitized as well (although not nearly as bad as over bluetooth). Has anyone else experienced this?
My hardware is:
Verizon GNex (4.0.2)
Parrot MKi9000

ICS Bluetooth Media Woes

I feel like I'm the only one who's been struggling with Bluetooth media since the ICS leaks started rolling out and as it seems like we're getting closer to a final build I'm getting worried.
So I often stream audiobooks and music via Bluetooth from my phone to my Sony XPLOD BT3900 aftermarket head unit. This worked just great on the GB ROM. However, on the ICS ROMs, my phone will randomly hot reboot in the middle of playing something. This includes the stock player, Power Amp, Mort Audiobook Player and Google Music. The audio cuts out, Bluetooth disconnects and the screen goes to the Sprint bootanimation screen with no sound, then quickly reloads the OS. I have to toggle Bluetooth off then on again on both the stereo and the phone in order to get it to reconnect.
If I turn off Media audio in the Bluetooth settings, just using Phone audio, and connect to the stereo via the Aux port, it works just fine with no reboots, so this is definitely a software issue (worked fine on GB) involving Bluetooth media (phone audio is fine) that may or may not be isolated to my particular stereo.
So I have to ask ... is anyone else experiencing anything the same or similar? Or does anyone have any suggestions as to what the cause may be other than simple incompatibility? It's been bumming me out as I hate having to plug a cable in every time I get behind the wheel.

Had the EXACT same thing happen to me at work today as my phone was linked to a Monster Micro Bluetooth Speaker . . . thought it was my ROM or recent flash that did it but I guess not. It does not happen to me in my car when I have my phone linked to my Motorola bluetooth car received and then my audio linked to my bluetooth jack . . . only seems to happen if both are linked to the same unit. Maybe FD02 will change all that.

I have the same problem and I am looking for a solution!!!

I stream music via Bluetooth in my truck everytime I drive. I connect it to a car dock. I have noticed that the phone seems hot when I pull it out but haven't really tried to figure out why. I thought maybe it was the sun going thru the windshield heating it up bit now I may not buy that.
I've done this with every ics build and am currently on cm9 a2. Never had a reboot though.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA

MrDowntown12 said:
I stream music via Bluetooth in my truck everytime I drive. I connect it to a car dock. I have noticed that the phone seems hot when I pull it out but haven't really tried to figure out why. I thought maybe it was the sun going thru the windshield heating it up bit now I may not buy that.
I've done this with every ics build and am currently on cm9 a2. Never had a reboot though.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your feedback, I don't know why you are able to stream music through bluetooth! I have read a lot of threads about this issue and nobody can solve it until now.

Jabra Clip Won't Pair with E4GT
I had no problem using this device on GB based ROMs but once i switched over to the ICS Leaks completely lost the ability to pair with my Device, I hope there is a resolutions to this issue, I can confirm this is still an issue as of FD02.

Running calks 1.4 and have no issues with Bluetooth streaming to Ford sync or my Bluetooth receiver listening to music with subsonic or tune in radio just fyi not trying to be a **** i feel your pain
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk

Yup, works great with Ford's Sync. Picked up a 2012 Ford Focus the other day, and it's great.

Cm9 a2 working flawlessly. Had trouble with almost every other ics rom though.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

what ics bluetooth problems as of now?

The problem is that when my gs2 is paired by bluetooth with my Sony MEX-BT3900U, it reboots every about fifteen minutes. It has been happened since I have updated my phone to ICS and not with Gingerbread.
If I just switch on bluetooth, it doesn't happen.

I know this is an older thread but I am having the same issue and I'm trying to search for a fix. It only started happening when I switched from GB to ICS. I also have a sony head unit. Anyone find a fix yet?

beni26 said:
I know this is an older thread but I am having the same issue and I'm trying to search for a fix. It only started happening when I switched from GB to ICS. I also have a sony head unit. Anyone find a fix yet?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I switched to a JB rom and all is good. Must have been an ICS problem.

Different bluetooth stack?

Hi everyone,
The bluetooth on my GSIII has been a complete failure. You can follow the saga here (http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w245-b-class/1662643-2009-w245-samsung-galaxy-s-iii.html), but basically it connects to my car and has no sound with the stock ROM and refuses to connect to the car at all with the AOKP JB build. It suggests an android problem, so I'm wondering if the bluetooth stack can be reloaded to reflashed with something different. If anyone has any ideas, I'm all ears. Thank you!

I have a problem with one of my Bluetooth devices dropping and reconnecting. Not sure why is just one. It works fine on an iPhone. I'm guessing your GS3 isn't the international version?
Sent from my SGH-I747M using xda premium

Nope not international, SGH-I747M from Bell.

I'm trying this. Will report back.

evilmonkey1987 said:
I'm trying this. Will report back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sweet! please let us know!
I'm having a different issue. it connects and stays connected, plays music but it doesn't list the song/artist info on my eclipse screen but the SG2 will..

Update: no change with the new kernel. The phones pairs but there's no sound, just as was the case before.

evilmonkey1987 said:
Update: no change with the new kernel. The phones pairs but there's no sound, just as was the case before.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try CM9. Bluetooth works much better with it. CM10 should have it fixed as well in a day or two.

Here's a 'six months later' update. My phone went through various android updates and I'm now on Android 4.1.1 (up from 4.0.4). The problem was still not solved, but instead of no audio, I now have one way audio, where people hear me but I don't hear them through bluetooth. I have also gone through a number of custom ROMs and kernels for my phone (including CM9/10 and AOKP) and nothing helped with the issue.
A couple of days ago, my girlfriend's HTC One X (finally!) got its Android update, also from 4.0.4 to 4.1.1. Her phone now works like a charm with the in-car bluetooth.
The solution I ended up with was a car cradle and a couple of NFC tags to control my phone in the car. My NFC tag that's stuck to my car cradle turns off WiFi, starts car mode, starts a car home app and turns my volume to max. All I have to do after that is connect the 3.5mm audio cable and I use my phone in place of the car's infotainment system. That way the phone integrates into the car as well and the only thing I lose are the steering wheel controls (they still work for volume).
My less technologically inclined girlfriend now has everything work auto-magicallly with bluetooth. So I guess all's well that ends well, but to anyone considering a US-spec Galaxy S III, watch out: the bluetooth issue is still not fixed. If bluetooth is critical, consider the HTC One X (but be warned: it has awful battery life!)

I have no issues with stereo Bluetooth and mono Bluetooth. Everything and everyone hears and plays fine. It might be an issue with your headset.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

colbynmeghan said:
I have no issues with stereo Bluetooth and mono Bluetooth. Everything and everyone hears and plays fine. It might be an issue with your headset.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Colby. What version of android, kernel / rom combo are you using?? There's SOOO many people having problems with JB and bluetooth, regardless of rom or kernel setup.
If you're on stock... just nm then.

luncht1me said:
Colby. What version of android, kernel / rom combo are you using?? There's SOOO many people having problems with JB and bluetooth, regardless of rom or kernel setup.
If you're on stock... just nm then.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What's wrong with stock? I have no major issues with streaming BT from my phone to my Mazda 3 head unit, or to my Sony MW600 earphones. Even track titles work (the only thing that doesn't work is time display). In my experience, Bluetooth works best on the stock ROM.
Stock Rogers ROM (DLK4 - JB 4.1.1), rooted
KT747 (1/9/2013) kernel
CWM Recovery 6.0.2.3
PlayerPro Music Player
On my old Xperia X10, I had CM7 and had no end of issues with BT:
- Sometimes it would connect and there would be no sound
- Sometimes it wouldn't connect at all
- Sometimes it would cut out after switching songs
- It would stutter a lot whenever Wi-Fi was enabled (but I think that was a problem with the Xperia).
When I tried CM10.0 on my S3 I had similar connection issues, just not as bad. Also, the volume gain over BT was much lower, so I had to turn the car speakers way up. Stock 4.1.1 doesn't have any of these problems. The only problem I had was the audio switching over to speaker after turning off the car, but I fixed it.
Also, BT is apparently broken in 4.2.1 in general, not just CM10.1. Google confirmed a BT patch that works on the Nexus 7, due for release with 4.2.2: http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/smar...confirms-android-4-2-bluetooth-streaming-flaw
TIP: Don't forget to turn up the volume on your phone. I don't know how many times I accidentally turned down the volume and thought that it wasn't working. Now I have Tasker do it for me whenever I connect. :good:

4.1.2 has Bluetooth working use it everyday. (Stock and ROM.) Can't tell u which combo I use at a time. I flash a different ROM everyday. As 4.2.1bluetooth is broken expect for task's AOKP. He has it workingish.
Now as connecting to a car. Depends on what it connects as. And I've learned going to and from ROMs when u connect a source hit the volume up 9/10 times it works
Sent from my SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

Bluetooth calling issues with Android 4.1.* Builds both Stock and Custom

Has anyone experienced issues using the Note 2 with bluetooth headsets or car kits.
Basically what happens is you are on a call and within a few minutes the audio mutes and you cannot hear the reciepent.
Solution is to toogle the bluetooth headset icon in the dialer and the audio is back.
I have tried this with several car kits and headsets all new and even the Appradio 2.
It seems as though it could be a bug in 4.1.1 and 4.1.2 as I have tried nearly all the custom roms for 4.1.2 and the same thing happens and also the same with stock 4.1.1 and 4.1.2
It is kinda dangerous whilst driving as the whole point of handsfree is gone as toogle icons on the phone etc is a bit dodgy.
I have a friend also who has an S2 and it seems he gets the exact same issues on root and stock 4.1.2 roms.
Anyone experience this ?

4.1.1 & 4.1.2 both work just fine on my ioPlay hands free kit. I can even play music through it, no worries.

Woody_XDA said:
Has anyone experienced issues using the Note 2 with bluetooth headsets or car kits.
Basically what happens is you are on a call and within a few minutes the audio mutes and you cannot hear the reciepent.
Solution is to toogle the bluetooth headset icon in the dialer and the audio is back.
I have tried this with several car kits and headsets all new and even the Appradio 2.
It seems as though it could be a bug in 4.1.1 and 4.1.2 as I have tried nearly all the custom roms for 4.1.2 and the same thing happens and also the same with stock 4.1.1 and 4.1.2
It is kinda dangerous whilst driving as the whole point of handsfree is gone as toogle icons on the phone etc is a bit dodgy.
I have a friend also who has an S2 and it seems he gets the exact same issues on root and stock 4.1.2 roms.
Anyone experience this ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm having the exact same issues with my Samsung Note. First I thought it was my new bluetooth headset. I used Platronics Marque 2 and then the M55. Both gave me the audio dropouts that Woody_XDA described. I thought that it might be a Plantronics issue so I exchanged the M55 yesterday for a Jawbone ERA. Since I'm having the same dropouts I'm sure now that it has to do with the 4.1.2 update, because that's when they started.
Does anyone have an idea how to fix this?
Best regards
André

[Q] No sound from any device output, other than bluetooth-connected device

Having an issue with no sound emitting from any audio output on the phone, but sound will play through Bluetooth-connected device. No sound from front speaker (phone calls, dial pad), no sound from rear speaker (notifications, ringer, alarm, media) and no sound from wired earpiece/headphones. Seems like it's stuck in Bluetooth/headset mode, but turning off Bluetooth doesn't restore sound. Problem is intermittent, haven't determined pattern to the behavior.
Phone was rooted long ago but kept stock ROM. Flashed Paranoid Android 3.99 RC2 about a month ago, and problem seems to have started shortly thereafter, but not sure if related. Haven't tried to reflash.
Any suggestions? Tried searches, but didn't locate this specific issue.
SGH-T999 (US/T-Mobile Galaxy S3)

Is it a T999 or a T959? And flash back to stock.using Odin. If it still is a problem it's likely hardware related.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk

Sorry, phone is T999.....got rid of the T959 long ago, but must have been stuck in my head.
Will reflash this weekend and hope the sound issue is resolved. Thanks.

yardsale said:
Sorry, phone is T999.....got rid of the T959 long ago, but must have been stuck in my head.
Will reflash this weekend and hope the sound issue is resolved. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did some more investigating last weekend before flashing ROM (never did the reflash).....seems that often, not always, if I turn off the car ('13 VW) while still connected to phone Bluetooth, the phone's sound quits working (all sound). Rebooting phone and turning off Bluetooth does not restore sound. The only solution I've found is to reconnect to car's Bluetooth, then turn Bluetooth off before shutting down car, and that only works about half the time, but sound is instantly restored. My estimation is that this wouldn't be hardware related, is that a fair assumption?
I also have a Tasker profile set up on phone to disable PIN lock when phone is connected to Bluetooth device (enables Sena Bluetooth headset used with motorcycle helmet to function properly), could that be causing the problem? Anyone else experience this issue?

Please try another Rom. Some of the Custom Roms may not be uptodate with CM Checkins. This issue was reported a bit back. There were CM Code Fixes that may not have been incorporated in that rom.
I am using Slimbean 2.0 (Android 4.3.1) and have seriously tested its bluetooth capabilities.

its also been reported thst msny car manufacturers did not bother to put any time or money into their BT capable systems. they just threw it together so they could add to feature lists.
Lots of peopke have problems with BT in the car, especially on cm roms. but those are notorious for BT issues to begin with.
Sent from my T-Mobile MyTouch 3G Slide(HTC Espresso) using Tapatalk 2

Thanks for the replies. I flashed to Paranoid Android 3.99.1 RC1 but the problem still exists. I never had this issue with any of our vehicles, until switching to PA from stock ROM. If problem becomes unbearable, may go back to stock. Thanks again.

@yardsale
I should have mentioned in the previously. Please read this post of mine. Yes its a different Rom. However, here primarily the issue is that of hardware antenna of the T999 talking to the Car's antenna. Doc is 100 % correct, the manufacturers do use substandard Antenna. On that thread, someone else reported issues with two '13 VW for themselves and their brother's.