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?

  • onlinepersona@programming.devEnglish
    252·
    11 months ago

    Fuck Bluetooth. I’ve seen it multiple times this week that wireless headphones have failed on Linux, Mac, and Windows. “Shit, let me reconnect my headphones”. Also the switching from “high quality audio” to bullshit mono audio when calling.

    Fuck bluetooth.

  • outbound@lemmy.ca
    10·
    11 months ago

    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=0
  • 9488fcea02a9@sh.itjust.works
    10·
    11 months ago

    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

  • FQQD@feddit.deEnglish
    8·
    11 months ago

    Pretty 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.

  • ScottE@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    6·
    11 months ago

    Gentoo and Pipewire kinda just works.

    I expected a battle, like on my work Ubuntu laptop with pulse audio, but holy cow… Pipewire ftw.

  • dark_stang@beehaw.orgEnglish
    6·
    11 months ago

    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.

  • meteokr@community.adiquaints.moe
    4·
    11 months ago

    I use NixOS, but before that I was on openSuse. I have not thought about Bluetooth in at all in the last few years. Zero issues. I pair it in KDE’s default bluetooth manager and then never really touched it since. Media keys all work, I control it over WiFi from my phone with kdeconnect no problem.

    I think a few months ago I had to turn my headphones off and on again when the quality got really low for a second. Reading this thread I guess I’m extremely lucky? I don’t produce music or anything like that, so I might not be taking advantage I’d some its more exotic features.

    EDIT: I am using a basic USB Bluetooth dongle I bought at least 8 years ago for my desktop, and my laptop just uses the built in Bluetooth. If that’s any consolation.

  • KISSmyOS@lemmy.world
    4·
    11 months ago

    On Debian Unstable and Arch (both with pipewire) it just worked out of the box for me with no issues.

  • azvasKvklenko@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    3·
    11 months ago

    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.

  • mhz@lemm.ee
    3·
    11 months ago

    No problem here with Opensuse slowroll (Sway WM) and a Realtek bluetootth radio, I’m using blueman for managing enabling/managing bluetooth connections.

  • UntouchedWagons@lemmy.caEnglish
    2·
    11 months ago

    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.

  • Hominine@lemmy.worldEnglish
    2·
    11 months ago

    So I’ve recently moved over to using my Pixel buds pro almost full time and am hoping you stoke a convo here to revisit.

    KDE Connect affords us the ability to fire off commands from a phone to do any number of things. One use case of mine is to disconnect/reconnect Bluetooth devices from the desktop since it is greedy and tends to bogart my earbuds when playback stops on other connections. This has worked pretty well so far but with that in mind, I have only just started playing around with things and so I look forward to refining the experience with other utilities.

    That said, I find Bluetooth is buggy on almost every OS out there (Android is constantly in what feels like a state of repair…)
    Best of luck!

  • Rustmilian@lemmy.worldEnglish
    2·
    11 months ago

    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.