I have been having intermittent issues with Bluetooth audio cutting out on my Captivate while I am on a phone call over Bluetooth. I believe the problem stems from Samsung's inability to do anything right and their implementation of Bluetooth 3.0. A new feature of Bluetooth 3.0 is the ability for a Bluetooth connection to transfer data over Wifi if both Bluetooth devices support 3.0 and have compatible Wifi chips. Samsung implemented this poorly, not a real surprise, and now Wifi is causing the Bluetooth data transfers to be spotty causing streaming data, voice calls or audio streaming, to to be adversely affected.
I was able to finally narrow down the problem. I received a phone call yesterday on my cell phone and I picked up the call on my Bluetooth enabled home phone. The call sounded horrible, noise and the other caller was cutting out, but not enough that I couldn't understand the other person, so I continued the call. The person on the other end did not seem to have any idea that the call sounded so badly, so it seemed to be something limited to my end. During the call, I went over to my Captivate and turned off Wifi. Instantly, the call cleared up and the quality was good to excellent.
I use Wifi all of the time especially at home, so I wasn't going to be turning off Wifi all of the time, so I needed a workaround. Using an App called Setting Profiles, I am able to have Wifi automatically turn off anytime I am on a call and then when the call is completed it turns Wifi back on. What's even better is that the app will note the state of Wifi before a call, so if Wifi is already off before a call, it will not turn Wifi on when the call is ended. The Tasker app will allow you to do the same thing, so if you already have Tasker you won't need Setting Profiles.
This tip will probably only work on the Samsung Galaxy S line because these phones use Bluetooth 3.0, where most Android phones use 2.1 or earlier and do not support Bluetooth file transfers over Wifi. I have only experienced it on the Captivate so I can't say if it will work for any other Galaxy S phone.
Since both wi-fi and BT uses the same 2.4Ghz frequency, interference maybe anticipated although new BT hardwares are pretty good at reduce such interferences.
Did you try change your wi-fi router frequency/channel so that it won't interfere with your BT? Try that so that you may not need to turn off wi-fi on the phone at all.
I have had the issue occur in my car while not near any Wifi router. Also, the router was still on when the call quality improved. It's not like the radio waves from the router and three other Wifi devices in my house disappeared around my phone just because I turned off the Wifi on my phone.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Thanks for the tip
Related
Headset: Motorola S9-HD
ROM: Haykuro 6.0
Radio: ota-radio-2_22_19_26I
Issue: a2dp audio skips due to location of phone... or so it seemed. The audio would skip if the phone was placed across my body from the antenna or in a pocket.
Resolution: I began researching the bluez stack and found several places in the code that alluded to the hfp and a2dp being intertwined. This lead me to remember that android also attempts to switch between the hfp and a2dp for incoming calls.
I found that my headset was connected by default with both profiles active (not one at a time).
Thus after several test i found that disabling the hfp will eliminate the skipping.
Explanation: My best analysis is that the phone is keeping both profiles open at the expense of splitting the channel. Thus when the phone has gsm related events (incoming calls, tower hopping, background edge data) it is tying up the hfp by error thus causing a2dp to get reduced resources, low signal strength, and possibly packet collisions. Try for yourself. The skipping instantly stopped for me. Let me know how it goes for you! Thanks to all the devs for these great roms and info.
can i get an english translation lol jk...can u explain it in noob form
interesting, plausible explanation
where in the code do you make the change?
noob translation: turning off the headphone profile possibly frees up room for audio to stream uninterrupted...
ps. that might still confuse some... lol
alapapa said:
interesting, plausible explanation
where in the code do you make the change?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no changes were made yet... the bluez stack is written to have a bridge between a2dp and headphone profile. i think android is sending packets to the headset via hfp for gsm events. I would think android should discard the packets instead of sending them out and relying on the headset to ignore them.
i would think the code can't be changed without making LOTS of other changes... i would be essentially rewriting how android handles the two profiles at the same time. (ALOT of work)
if this ends up fixing it for everyone... then i might look into trying to increase a2dp's priority in transmitting or some other solutions...
crushsuitandtie said:
no changes were made yet... the bluez stack is written to have a bridge between a2dp and headphone profile. i think android is sending packets to the headset via hfp for gsm events. I would think android should discard the packets instead of sending them out and relying on the headset to ignore them.
i would think the code can't be changed without making LOTS of other changes... i would be essentially rewriting how android handles the two profiles at the same time. (ALOT of work)
if this ends up fixing it for everyone... then i might look into trying to increase a2dp's priority in transmitting or some other solutions...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i think I gotcha...you just killed the hfp profile on your PC or w/e...?
Menu button>Settings>Wireless Controls>Bluetooth Settings>(long press) Your headset name>Options...>uncheck phone....
thanks for that tip. i was cutting my grass the other day. g1 in rear pocket. stereo bluetooth headphones on. signal kept cutting out on me. i'm gonna try this and see if it helps.
crazythunder said:
thanks for that tip. i was cutting my grass the other day. g1 in rear pocket. stereo bluetooth headphones on. signal kept cutting out on me. i'm gonna try this and see if it helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problem. I'm just trying to add something constructive around here. I'm still not even close to some of these guys.
Hey you're right! I just connected my S9 to "media" only (disabling the phone connection in bluetooth settings) and it doesn't skip anymore, even with wifi on! I'm going to give this a try on my sony head unit in my car when I get the chance and I'll report back.
DOHCtor said:
Hey you're right! I just connected my S9 to "media" only (disabling the phone connection in bluetooth settings) and it doesn't skip anymore, even with wifi on! I'm going to give this a try on my sony head unit in my car when I get the chance and I'll report back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad to hear that! im back at work and its heavily laced with wifi and the building gets poor edge/3G signal.So if you walk out the entrance toward the parking lot, the phone would connect to the cell towers (plus the wifi antennas are strong here) and my headphones would skip almost non-stop. This no longer happens. I'm quite happy.
Interresting hypothesis. I have my phone relatively close to my headphones so it hasnt been a big problem. Wifi had to be off or it didnt matter how close.
Eventhough it defeats the purpose of my S9's I'm going to give it a try.
atoy74 said:
Interresting hypothesis. I have my phone relatively close to my headphones so it hasnt been a big problem. Wifi had to be off or it didnt matter how close.
Eventhough it defeats the purpose of my S9's I'm going to give it a try.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i kept wi-fi off because I was in the gym or walking to my car... it would skip an absurd amount and i would nearly throw my phone and headset 8 blocks from pure frustration. The crazy part is BT is easily strong enough to transmit from a pocket to a headset on my head. I like to think i am tall but not that tall and disproportionate that my pocket is over 30 feet from my head! lol.
any skipping from that short of a distance is actually indicative of a problem to me. Thats like putting on a normal earpiece and getting nothing but static from that distance.
1) tests with my Sony Ericcson K850i showed it wasn't the headset....
2) i sat the phone on the floor directly under me when i was benchpressing, and simply because i layed down and partially covered the back of the headset the music started skipping non-stop. covering the antenna can cause some interferance but honestly with the phone that close it really shouldnt matter...
Tried the same test with my K850... no skipping. Tried with hfp disabled.... no skipping. Turn on hfp and a2dp... skips heavily.
thats the short version of how i came up with the split bandwidth part of my theory.
crushsuitandtie said:
no changes were made yet... the bluez stack is written to have a bridge between a2dp and headphone profile. i think android is sending packets to the headset via hfp for gsm events. I would think android should discard the packets instead of sending them out and relying on the headset to ignore them.
i would think the code can't be changed without making LOTS of other changes... i would be essentially rewriting how android handles the two profiles at the same time. (ALOT of work)
if this ends up fixing it for everyone... then i might look into trying to increase a2dp's priority in transmitting or some other solutions...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The handsfree profile will periodically send out "indicators" for things such as battery status and signal strength. These are small packets, which in a well designed Bluetooth stack, should not cause any disruption in the A2DP stream. The thing to look for would be how data transmission is prioritized. If, for example, BlueZ simply sends data in a "round robin" style, then sending a small data packet may delay the transmission of an A2DP streaming packet just enough to cause the problems you are describing.
I'm using JF1.51 and am not experiencing any of the audio problems you describe, even with WiFi and Handsfree connections enabled. I ran some tests and used a Bluetooth sniffer to capture the data traffic. One time I did hear an audio dropout at about the same time that the phone sent a signal strength indicator, which doesn't exactly validate your theory, but does make me wonder. However, I only saw 5 indicators sent by the phone over a 30 minute session.
Does using this method affect you from using the headset for calls?
Am I understanding that you would use this to listen to music... and if a call comes in would would talk over the handset normal?
What I've found is using A2DP indoors works perfectly (with our without HFP.) The explanation I've read is that the 2.4GHz waves bounce off the walls enhancing reception. Once outside is when I see degradation of quality/drops which would support the theory.
You might be on to something. If the bandwidth is being cut to share data over two profiles then, once you step outside, you'll have less distance before data packets drop.
paesano said:
I'm using JF1.51 and am not experiencing any of the audio problems you describe, even with WiFi and Handsfree connections enabled. I ran some tests and used a Bluetooth sniffer to capture the data traffic. One time I did hear an audio dropout at about the same time that the phone sent a signal strength indicator, which doesn't exactly validate your theory, but does make me wonder. However, I only saw 5 indicators sent by the phone over a 30 minute session.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you might have misread one of my posts... what you descrribed is exactly what i was saying... gsm events are possibly clogging bandwidth for a2dp. the one time you heard it is what i am experiencing constantly in some areas.
it appears to be a combination of several factors that are somehow hitting some people all at once....
1)"gsm or phone events being broadcasted"
2) possible split BT channel for HFP and A2dp
3) weak overall BT signal strength from g1 (dialed down in drivers to save power?)
4) interference from other wifi sources (enterprise access points aka "High gain antennas")
P.S. I guess its obvious i'm a systems analyst... lol
this really does work!!!!
if you guys remember windows mobile , the BT stack by default is set with the bit pool min and max @ 31 ,it works great but the sound quality sucks.. if you use a registry editor and increase the max bit pool sound quality gets better, but if you go to high you would get the cliping that we now get . i used to do this with my wing , using this same S9 headphone ,the trick was not to go to high with max bitpool and to lower min to 12 and this worked great,, max was @ 46 min was @ 12 ,, no skipping at all.. and great sound . WE need to find a way to get these adjusted on android , this should fix
now i do believe the wing and G1 both use Broadcom stacks ,could be wrong>>
remember Schap's tools - Advanced Configuration this did the trick
crushsuitandtie said:
you might have misread one of my posts... what you descrribed is exactly what i was saying... gsm events are possibly clogging bandwidth for a2dp. the one time you heard it is what i am experiencing constantly in some areas.
it appears to be a combination of several factors that are somehow hitting some people all at once....
1)"gsm or phone events being broadcasted"
2) possible split BT channel for HFP and A2dp
3) weak overall BT signal strength from g1 (dialed down in drivers to save power?)
4) interference from other wifi sources (enterprise access points aka "High gain antennas")
P.S. I guess its obvious i'm a systems analyst... lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, I must not have been very clear. I did understand what you were saying, and I confirmed seeing what you saw in the one dropout I heard. However, in my case, there were only 5 "GSM Events" during the duration of my test. Not really enough to cause a lot of trouble. I can see that if a lot of GSM events occur (The spec calls them indicators), then there could be a lot of errors. Perhaps this happens when the GSM signal is weak and constantly changing.
If you want to look at making changes to the Bluetooth software, here's my analysis of the 4 points above:
1) If a lot of indicators are being sent by the G1, then I can see that a Bluetooth stack implementation could have streaming audio problems if not properly implemented. Unfortunately, the only way to fix this problem is in software by only sending indicators (and any other data) "in between" the A2DP streaming packets. Streaming packets should never get delayed. It would be better to toss the streaming packet than to delay it.
2) When both HF and A2DP are connected, the signal is not actually split. They both have access to the full bandwidth of the Bluetooth stack. The only time that there would be a problem is when both are sending at the same time, which could cause an audio packet to get delayed in a transmit queue, causing a dropout (as described above). Perhaps BlueZ doesn't do a very good job of prioritizing data, so that audio data is never delayed by other data packets. In my opinion, #1 and #2 are the same problem.
3) A week BT signal would definitely cause this. I can reliably listen to stereo audio with my Sony headset at around 10-15 ft. Outside that range, I start to hear dropouts. Also, If I put my hands over the headset, I can cause dropouts at even 2 ft. So, your body will definitely cause problems if it gets in the way of the signal. Finally, the sensitivity of the radio on the headset will affect the range as well. It may or may not be possible to increase the TX power by sending the Bluetooth controller a command in the software. The only other solution is to try and not get in the way.
4) WiFi certainly can cause interference, as can a microwave oven. However, adaptive frequency hopping (AFH) should mitigate most problems. Perhaps AFH is not turned on for some reason, or there are multiple WiFi networks around, making it very difficult for the Bluetooth controller to find any reliable frequencies. AFH is turned on by sending the Bluetooth controller the command.
I had a similar problem on CM ROM's on Mt4G, but that was because of poor strength of WiFi in CM kernel - it would disconnect the WiFi.
With G2X, it stays connected, and the Bluetooth is connected when on WiFi calling, but sound only on the device - not through the bluetooth. Calling on Network - Bluetooth works fine.
I am in home office, so use WiFi most of time.
Another issue - but probably not the G2x- Google voice dialing really sucks. Also was the case on MT4G - used Dragon Diction/Genus App - much better. Trying a market app, but not as good as D&G.
Works for me. I turned Bluetooth on first, and then Wi-Fi calling.
i syned my earpiece to BT had to restart the phone now it wont pair or find the device when i hit scan
BarryH_GEG said:
Works for me. I turned Bluetooth on first, and then Wi-Fi calling.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
May not have tried it that way yet - will give it a whirl.
I have a similar issue relating to bluetooth and wifi...here is my issue:
If I have both BT and wifi tether on it works, but as soon as i turn off WiFi tethering none of my BT devices will connect untill I reboot
I am also having trouble with my blue tooth. I use a handsfree device in my car. It syncs the blue tooth but seems to mute the sound. It doesnt work.
Issue on my HOX. 1.85, rooted. When streaming via BT to and A2DP speaker or headphones, the WiFi becomes unmanageably slow. Meaning I sometimes can't even get enough wifi speed to stream a 192k file. If I go to speedtest while playing music through BT I get less than 500kbps. Turn the BT off, and bam ~20-30mbps. This is all when sitting within 10 feet of my router.
I know that BT and wifi conflict due to same frequency, etc....but is there any setting hiding anywhere in a DB or something that can help?
I had the same issue with my HTC Titan (Windows Phone 7) but I never found a solution for it (except to disable the bluetooth when I needed good wireless but that is not really a solution).
At least I can confirm the issue on the HOX. I tried making a phone call using my bluetooth headset and then while on the phone ran a speed test over the wireless. It jumped around (very erratically) under 100k then failed due to a communication issue. Immediately disabled the bluetooth on the HOX and then ran the same speed test and I got 7277kbps down and 5229kbps up on the phone using wireless and the speed was much smoother.
After running the test multiple times, the best that I got with the bluetooth enabled and in use was 374kbps down and 819kbps up...and again the speeds are very up and down with the bluetooth enabled and in use.
If I find any kind of solution I'll post back here.
Bt and WiFi run on the same2.4 GHz band. Typically, Bt chip set has circuit too detect WiFi and use a frequency less interference with WiFi. Sounds like this is not the case with the bt 4.0 chip inside HOX. Try change the WiFi channel on your router to see if it helps.
Sent from my HTC One X using XDA
Good idea! My router was on channel 7 and I changed it to channel 1. My test results are much better...2000+kbps down and 3000+kbps up - but still not very smooth (much up and down and stuttering). My results are still much higher with the bluetooth off but changing the wifi channel made a difference for me. Thanks again.
While driving bluetooth stops or some time lag voice if wifi is on. same issue noticed without wifi enable also but very less.
It seems whenever wifi changes to different network or connects or disconnects bluetooth is loosing or lagging voice.
Where as if i put it on speaker i can hear sound from speaker. I tried 5-6 different bluetooth and having same issue. i got replacement of phone also but same issue with new phone also. I could verify with older phone and it seems issue is only with Idol 3. Is any one else facing similar issue?
I tested this using a Bluetooth headset, and I am unable to replicate it. Turning WiFi on and off has no noticeable effect on playback via a the Bluetooth headset. Unfortunately , I have no way to test this while driving .
stl1859 said:
I tested this using a Bluetooth headset, and I am unable to replicate it. Turning WiFi on and off has no noticeable effect on playback via a the Bluetooth headset. Unfortunately , I have no way to test this while driving .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This issue is mainly happening while driving. It seems like while driving phone tries to goes from LTE to different modes and same with wifi as it tries to connect to different wifi. In this process it starts to lags voice on bluetooth and in few cases sound get disconnected.
Are you listening to music on your phone or streaming?
I haven't had any issues while driving using both Google music and slacker. Those are the only two streaming apps i use tho. I leave my Wi-Fi on all day. My deck is a Bluetooth pioneer unit, though the model number escapes me at the moment. I'm on T-Mobile BTW.
I don't drive anymore but I stream Rhapsody overnight onto my BT speakers and it never has conked out on me yet. There was one time I did lose the BT connection to the speakers before I did the factory reset but no issues with the BT since.
Issue is not with listenting music, it is during call through bluetooth while driving and having wifi and bluetooth both on.
OK I'll test that later on today. How often/with what frequency does it happen to you?
psu2fan said:
OK I'll test that later on today. How often/with what frequency does it happen to you?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Almost 2 out of 3 attempts i am having this issue. even now in home i started call on bluetooth when wifi was off, then just put wifi one during call and voice from bluetooth started to get blurry and then other party could not hear me. and i had to disable wifi and then disable bluetooth and then on bluetooth again in phone.
Seems like issue is happening when phone is trying to connect to wifi and call is on bluetooth...
airplane mode on, wifi and blutooth on, LG HBS700 oem + netflix = audio lag. firmware update did not help. not ready to switch from s4 just too many quirks.
pepper454 said:
airplane mode on, wifi and blutooth on, LG HBS700 oem + netflix = audio lag. firmware update did not help. not ready to switch from s4 just too many quirks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do not have Netflix - but I tested with HBO Go - and YouTube - with airplane mode , WiFi and Bluetooth - And I am not seeing any audio lag - or audio interruption when switching from speakers to Bluetooth mid session. I am using Arctic P253BT headphones.
Alright I did a call today. It was only 5 minutes long but didn't notice anything. I'll try doing what you did starting a call in my driveway and turn WiFi on/off repeatedly at various time intervals.
I got replacement, but i can still see the issue with new phone also...
attitude_it7 said:
I got replacement, but i can still see the issue with new phone also...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, my testing is put on hold as I had to send the device in to get a new screen (cracked). I couldn't get it done before because my wife kept stealing my car
I'm having kinda' the same problem. The thing is everytime I connect/disconnect there's a general lag in the phone! after one minute or so, it starts working ok
jcipactli said:
I'm having kinda' the same problem. The thing is everytime I connect/disconnect there's a general lag in the phone! after one minute or so, it starts working ok
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's possible the bluetooth is unreliable because the phone gets busy as you indicated...I posted a couple of apps in the idol 3 apps section that help reduce lag and may help this...
Something I've done has made my bluetooth totally unreliable....whether linked to car or home phone system I can answer...talk for a few seconds and then it transfers the call back to the cell instead of the bluetooth device. I'll have to go back through my backups and find a version that doesn't do this.
I have demonstrated the same effect with my bt device (lg). When switching wifi networks bt microphone stop receiving so other party cannot hear me and the audio begins to break up and lag. I can switch off bt then back on and am fine till next wifi switchover. I was hoping the update from Alcatel would address this, was not the case. ;(
I also had the same kind of issue while listening music in car using Bluetooth, strangely it is happening when the WiFi try to connect to open WiFi available. And when that open WiFi is not able give internet accesses, then the phone just get stuck for some time. I have these issues frequently I need to restart my phone
I just purchase Alcatel Onetouch Idol 3 and and am having similar problem. I had a Plantronics M50 connected and people complained that I was breaking up and they couldn't hear me and it happened on my end sometimes too. When I'm calling someone, the ring will be normal at the beginning of the ring and then it will fad out at the end of the ring. Store rep told me this was normal. Has never done it with any of my other phones. Bought another bluetooth to try to determine if it was the bluetooth or the phone. Bought the Plantronics E50 and the same thing happens. Alcatel says it's the bluetooth and Plantronics says it's the phone. Betty at Alcatel also says the Plantronics bluetooth are not compatible with the Alcatel, however, the store sells the Plantronics Marque II to use with the Alcatel. Anyone have any suggestions or having the same problem?
I'm having the problem in car on bluetooth where the caller sounds like they are underwater and garbled and I'm told I do too. It comes and goes, very frustrating. I tested another Android and no problem.
skisom said:
I just purchase Alcatel Onetouch Idol 3 and and am having similar problem. I had a Plantronics M50 connected and people complained that I was breaking up and they couldn't hear me and it happened on my end sometimes too. When I'm calling someone, the ring will be normal at the beginning of the ring and then it will fad out at the end of the ring. Store rep told me this was normal. Has never done it with any of my other phones. Bought another bluetooth to try to determine if it was the bluetooth or the phone. Bought the Plantronics E50 and the same thing happens. Alcatel says it's the bluetooth and Plantronics says it's the phone. Betty at Alcatel also says the Plantronics bluetooth are not compatible with the Alcatel, however, the store sells the Plantronics Marque II to use with the Alcatel. Anyone have any suggestions or having the same problem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's a problem with the phone. It happened after the last Android update. My bluetooth was fine until marshmallow. It's so bad I went back to my Galaxy S4. I loved the Idol for just about everything, but horrible bluetooth. People can't hear you, it's a deal breaker.
I'm not sure when this issue started exactly but I've noticed that when using bluetooth both at home (I have a set of cordless phones with bluetooth link) and when linked to my two automobiles both receiving and initiating calls after a few seconds of conversation the phone suddenly switches to using the microphone and earphone instead of the bluetooth connection. This has occured with wifi on and off...in 3g and 2g areas....while tethering and not....etc....seems to be consistant with the device and I don't recall it doing it in the past so I'm wondering if the most recent 6045i update to ue40 might be part of the problem....in any case I'm looking for suggestions of apps or settings changes that might help with the bluetooth. I should mention I've also had music playing in the car drop at random intervals or at least I stop being able to hear it. This was playing local content so it wasn't a streaming issue.