Man, I hate Bluetooth

[DaveC426913]

TL;DR Summary

Few other bits of technology can be as infuriating as Bluetooth - a rant

I hate, hate, hate Magical Technology. That's the kind of technology that works without human intervention - until it doesn't. There's no way to tell it what to do. There are few things so rage-inducing than devices that have no manual controls.

I am trying to connect my headset to my laptop - like I do every single day - like I have done every day for the last year. And then one time it just doesn't.

When I activate Bluetooth, the headset connects, and then I hear about five seconds of sound (though it is very tinny - suspiciously so - as if the pipeline is squeezed), and then the sound stops. If I turn off Bluetooth, or power off the headset, I hear my speakers again.

It would make more sense if I didnlt hear anything from my headset, but that five seconds of sounds is telling.


If I turn them off, I immediately hear sound on my laptop's speakers. I've tried Spotify as well as a 'test my speakers' site. So I've ruled out any app-specific problem.

I've checked the volume control on my headset, the volume control on my laptop, the volume control on the apps I'm testing with.
I've ensured the laptop is, in fact, producing sound.
I've verified in the sound mixer, that, even though I hear nothing, the laptop thinks it is playing sound. (wcoh pretty much means it's a Bluetooth thnig or a headset thing.)
I've charged my headset (full charge).
I've rebooted my system.
I've rebooted my router.
I've disconnected from and reconnected to my network.
Everything I can think of to give it the best chance.

It will start working again tomorrow. It always does. This happens once a week or so.

I guess I can only conclude that my headphones really are suffering from old age.

 

[DaveC426913]

[UPDATE] The logical next step is to try a different audio device.
I borrowed a pair of ear buds to try.
My laptop saw them but couldn't connect to them. It gave up after 20 seconds.
That's not good.

 

[jedishrfu]

Yeah, Bluetooth is one of those fidgety technologies.

One funny thing happens when I work on my wife's car. She might be talking on her phone, and when I turn on the car, her phone redirects the call to the car speakers. However, she's in the house, so I have to shut the car off quickly, which means I also have to open the car door to break the connection and apologize to the caller.

I have issues with my hearing aids, which require me to turn them off and then reconnect. They can connect to at most two devices, so cycling them off/on resets that and allows me to connect them. However, the two devices are sometimes near my laptop, and the hearing aids connect to the phone and iPad before I can connect them to the laptop. My solution is to turn Bluetooth off on one of the devices and try again.

You might have an issue similar to that. Other possible causes are timeouts, where the laptop or headphones drop the connection when there's no sound. Low batteries can also cause that; maybe it's time for new headphones.

I also encountered issues with my Logitech mouse on a laptop. It worked for the Windows boot but not the Linux boot, which was frustrating. The solution for Linux was to use a service driver called Solaar, but it never functioned for me, so I gave up and switched to a wired mouse.

Reading your update, it seems like Bluetooth interference from another nearby device. I'm not sure how to identify it. Perhaps the computer can show what other devices are around in your Bluetooth device search list.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

+1, I have a Bose BT speaker that I always struggle to pair with my phone.

 

[DaveC426913]

Yeah, Bluetooth is one of those fidgety technologies.

One funny thing happens when I work on my wife's car. She might be talking on her phone, and when I turn on the car, her phone redirects the call to the car speakers. However, she's in the house, so I have to shut the car off quickly, which means I also have to open the car door to break the connection and apologize to the caller.

I have issues with my hearing aids, which require me to turn them off and then reconnect. They can connect to at most two devices, so cycling them off/on resets that and allows me to connect them. However, the two devices are sometimes near my laptop, and the hearing aids connect to the phone and iPad before I can connect them to the laptop. My solution is to turn Bluetooth off on one of the devices and try again.

Yeah, I know it might try to connect to a different device. For example, my Mac work lappie, or my phone. I verified that it was, indeed connecting to my PC. MY PC is smart enough to disconnect my speakers when the headset is engaged, so I know it sees them.

You might have an issue similar to that. Other possible causes are timeouts, where the laptop or headphones drop the connection when there's no sound.

Yeah. I'm familiar with that from the other bane of my existence - my Bluetooth TV headphone pairs. It's the same kind of dance: Try steps A,B,C. No? Then try B,A,C. No? Then unplug everything and start fresh. They will be the undoing of my marriage.

Low batteries can also cause that; maybe it's time for new headphones.

Yes. I know it gets fidgety if the batteries are low. I charged it up. But it does seem like they spend a lot of time low these days (Of course, I use them 8h/day, 5d/week, so it's not surprising if I have to charge them regular-like).

Do these kinds of devices not have replaceable batteries?

Reading your update, it seems like Bluetooth interference from another nearby device. I'm not sure how to identify it. Perhaps the computer can show what other devices are around in your Bluetooth device search list.

Only one or two other devices nearby.

 

[jedishrfu]

Many modern devices have embedded non-replaceable batteries, which may seem like a bad idea at first. However, the alternative—having replaceable batteries that leak everywhere—can make the device unusable until you can clean it out.

 

[phinds]

Few other bits of technology can be as infuriating as Bluetooth

+1 on that ! I hate it.

 

[russ_watters]

+3 for my B&O earbuds. Highly reliably unreliable.

 

[DaveC426913]

Y'all are hugely validating.

When I kvetched to my gaming group and my IT go-to guy in particular, his response was " I use it all the time and never have any trouble."

My usual response to this "Yes, well - for me, this machine is supposed to be a tool, not a hobby."