Database Info

Anyone have Bluetooth distortion issues??

Hey everyone,
Found out my company is ditching Sprint for Verizon which means I have to part with my beloved Nexus 5.
Anyway, from what I've been reading on here it seems like the M8 is really the only Verizon phone that can be rooted. I've had a few HTC phones over the years, including the M7, but they never seem to get along with my car's stereo. The phone part works fine but when I stream music via Bluetooth there is always a great deal of distortion in the high end. Especially on cymbal crashes. This makes it pretty much unlistenable. I'm curious if anyone has experienced anything like with with the M8? I've Googled it a few times and found threads about the One X and One M7 having this problem but have yet to see anything about the M8.

I don't stream to my car often, but on the handful of times I have, I didn't notice any sound issues. This was using Pandora and Google Music, on a Ford (2008 model).

sfreemanoh said:
I don't stream to my car often, but on the handful of times I have, I didn't notice any sound issues. This was using Pandora and Google Music, on a Ford (2008 model).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the info!

Just got my jaybird x's today and guess what. Filled with static. I could not be more annoyed with this particular phone right now. Three defects in one model I mean come on. Speaker crackle. Screen is creased and looks like you're pressing down on a TV and now Bluetooth has static
Sent from Tapatalk on my one m8

I can't say for certain, but I imagine bluetooth audio issues would most likely be due to whatever is actually playing the music, not the phone. Bluetooth audio, in general, is terrible - unless you're using something like the HTC Stereoclip which does not use that same audio codec that just about everything else does. You could have lossless flac files on your phone, and 9/10 times it's gonna sound like crap over bluetooth, no matter what the music is being sent from.

I stream daily over Bluetooth and it sounds amazing. Vzw.
Sent from my HTC6525LVW

Just plugged mine into my aftermarket JVC GPS stereo on a my truck which gets only occasional use these days. Have to say I was somewhat blown away when I pushed some Comfortably Numb into the 5 speakers (Inc sub) and cranked up the volume. Most impressive...
The wife gets terrific sound from her N7 to some small bluetooth speakers we got last year and has no issues unless she's using TuneIn at which point it goes from OK to awful.
I say this to simply point out that the invariable rule of YMMV seems to hold sway here but I don't think the M8 has any generic systematic failure with bluetooth audio.
Sent by Tapatalk Pro running my rooted Big Red HTC One M8

wtoj34 said:
Just got my jaybird x's today and guess what. Filled with static. I could not be more annoyed with this particular phone right now. Three defects in one model I mean come on. Speaker crackle. Screen is creased and looks like you're pressing down on a TV and now Bluetooth has static
Sent from Tapatalk on my one m8
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmmm... thats not what I want to hear.
brandogg said:
I can't say for certain, but I imagine bluetooth audio issues would most likely be due to whatever is actually playing the music, not the phone. Bluetooth audio, in general, is terrible - unless you're using something like the HTC Stereoclip which does not use that same audio codec that just about everything else does. You could have lossless flac files on your phone, and 9/10 times it's gonna sound like crap over bluetooth, no matter what the music is being sent from.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is true. But I'm talking hiss/distortion like a speaker is blown. I'm just streaming Spotify to my cars stereo and not expecting flawless audio but the issues I have with the M7 were unlistenable.
1ManWolfePack said:
I stream daily over Bluetooth and it sounds amazing. Vzw.
Sent from my HTC6525LVW
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks!
Not Enough Coffee said:
Just plugged mine into my aftermarket JVC GPS stereo on a my truck which gets only occasional use these days. Have to say I was somewhat blown away when I pushed some Comfortably Numb into the 5 speakers (Inc sub) and cranked up the volume. Most impressive...
The wife gets terrific sound from her N7 to some small bluetooth speakers we got last year and has no issues unless she's using TuneIn at which point it goes from OK to awful.
I say this to simply point out that the invariable rule of YMMV seems to hold sway here but I don't think the M8 has any generic systematic failure with bluetooth audio.
Sent by Tapatalk Pro running my rooted Big Red HTC One M8
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks!
From what I understand, it has something to do with HTC setting the bitpool value too low. Which, in itself, might not be a big deal but it might just be a issue with that value combined with my car's stereo. I just don't want to lose root when I move to Verizon.

brandogg said:
I can't say for certain, but I imagine bluetooth audio issues would most likely be due to whatever is actually playing the music, not the phone. Bluetooth audio, in general, is terrible - unless you're using something like the HTC Stereoclip which does not use that same audio codec that just about everything else does. You could have lossless flac files on your phone, and 9/10 times it's gonna sound like crap over bluetooth, no matter what the music is being sent from.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe the stereo in your car just sucks? Streaming Pandora over BT in my car usually sounds great. I mean granted it's not as good as using headphones, but it sounds pretty damn good.
Also, I streamed some more over this last weekend, and while the quality was still good, it did disconnect once for no apparent reason. And once it happened, I remembered that it happened a few weeks ago as well. Same thing, I was just driving along both times, and my BT just seemed to shut off. I turned BT back on, reconnected Sync (it's damned annoying how Sync never automatically reconnects), and it worked again for the rest of the weekend.

sfreemanoh said:
Maybe the stereo in your car just sucks? Streaming Pandora over BT in my car usually sounds great. I mean granted it's not as good as using headphones, but it sounds pretty damn good.
Also, I streamed some more over this last weekend, and while the quality was still good, it did disconnect once for no apparent reason. And once it happened, I remembered that it happened a few weeks ago as well. Same thing, I was just driving along both times, and my BT just seemed to shut off. I turned BT back on, reconnected Sync (it's damned annoying how Sync never automatically reconnects), and it worked again for the rest of the weekend.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the info.
I saw that an OTA for the M8 pushed out today (I think) that was supposed to fix some Bluetooth issues. I won't if the disconnects were addressed.
I'm M8 should be here on Monday. I really hope it works out OK. I don't want to send it back for an iPhone. :crying:

Another OTA? Has anyone else heard this? I am having a really rough time with bluetooth headset outgoing voice quality so some sort of fix would be awesome.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk

If the phone volume is at max it will distort. When I turn the volume to max while streaming Bluetooth to my car stereo it sounds crackling and distorted. Turning volume down 2 clicks to about 85% on the phone fixes it
Sent from my HTC6525LVW using Tapatalk

AustinML71 said:
Another OTA? Has anyone else heard this? I am having a really rough time with bluetooth headset outgoing voice quality so some sort of fix would be awesome.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, I should have checked the date. The thread is fromm the 18th. This is the one I was referring too.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2722817
Evocm7 said:
If the phone volume is at max it will distort. When I turn the volume to max while streaming Bluetooth to my car stereo it sounds crackling and distorted. Turning volume down 2 clicks to about 85% on the phone fixes it
Sent from my HTC6525LVW using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not a volume thing. I've tried turning it down when I had the M7 and it sounded the same.

Evocm7 said:
If the phone volume is at max it will distort. When I turn the volume to max while streaming Bluetooth to my car stereo it sounds crackling and distorted. Turning volume down 2 clicks to about 85% on the phone fixes it
Sent from my HTC6525LVW using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Again, sorry, but it may just be your stereo. When Bluetooth streaming to my car I always have my phones media volume maxed and I control the listening volume via the car volume, and it sounds fine.

sfreemanoh said:
Again, sorry, but it may just be your stereo. When Bluetooth streaming to my car I always have my phones media volume maxed and I control the listening volume via the car volume, and it sounds fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have an aftermarket stereo? I've had 4 different head units on my car, all high end Sony and clarion and all had same thing with max volume all my previous 3 phones ( rezound, s4, and m8). Just curious if it's just aftermarket decks that have this issue which I really don't consider an issue. I prefer to have the volume lower on the source and let my deck and equalizer provide the output anyway.
Sent from my HTC6525LVW using Tapatalk

Evocm7 said:
Do you have an aftermarket stereo? I've had 4 different head units on my car, all high end Sony and clarion and all had same thing with max volume all my previous 3 phones ( rezound, s4, and m8). Just curious if it's just aftermarket decks that have this issue which I really don't consider an issue. I prefer to have the volume lower on the source and let my deck and equalizer provide the output anyway.
Sent from my HTC6525LVW using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, it's a factory Ford stereo. If you know someone with a factory BT compatible stereo, maybe try pairing your phone to their car and see if streams with or without distortion?
I mean, it's possible your particular phone itself could be bad. I just don't think it's all M8's since I don't have a problem, and because I imagine we would have seen a lot more complaints.

For six months I have been playing music in my car with a one (M7) via Bluetooth, with very annoying vibrations that eventually damaged my car stereo. I just found out that if I launch the media app via the "HTC car" app, the volume is much louder and I don't have those vibrations anymore. By default the HTC car app in the M7 only includes the default "Music" app, but other media apps may be added.
Hope this may help for the M8 too.
By these vibrations detroyed my car stereo, and I had to change it. I am pretty annoyed that HTC doesn't mention this anywhere, and leaves it to the user to find out.

Bluetooth Streaming Issues

Having some very annoying BT issues. Phone pairs fine with pretty much anything. But when streaming audio it cuts in and out pretty frequently but never lost its connection. Called ATT and they sent me a new one. Phone does they same thing. This one actually looses its connection periodically, some days are worse than others. Main issue is in my 2013 Subaru Outback. Does it sometimes with my Phillips BT speaker but not as consistently.
I'm not rooted and have tried both ART and dalvik and the issue is present no matter what.
Since this has happened with two phones I figured I can't be the only one. Anybody else have this problem?

I drive a semi all day, I connect my phone via BT to the stereo and listen to audiobooks/slacker radio for 12 hours a day and have never had this issue. In the BT menu there is an option to 'Turn on Audio Channel Mode' have you tried that? I don't have it on but perhaps it will help? Also I know this phone supports some new BT standards for low power, perhaps this is causing an issue with you devices, I don't know if you can turn that off, or if it's something that is just not very backwards compatible?

i have a similar connect/disconnect issue but only if its not in use it seems. like when its just connected but not streaming i'll notice my car will say it disconnected and reconnected. sometimes when i'm on the phone it gets all staticky and robot sounding...but only with my cars bluetooth. never had an issue with my og pro on 4.4 so i dont think its 4.4. havent done a factory reset yet, hopefully thats all it is cuz there are some other little quirks too

I don't experience audio cut outs, but I do experience severe cracking no matter what tweaks/adjustments I make.
Another problem is that it doesn't read my texts to me while connected to my car. Works fine with my Nokia Lumia 1520 and HTC One x. Its pretty annoying.

You guys should post details on the bluetooth devices you're connecting to. I had a white G3 and now have a black one and both did nothing you guys are talking about when connected to Pyle, Klipsch, Logitech or Chrysler Uconnect bluetooth audio devices. I use Spotify, Car Home Ultra, Google Maps Navigation, make calls via the phone and the Uconnect system will pick up the activity and play the audio correctly, initiate and receive calls in UConnect, Send/Receive Texts via UConnect, control audio volume and tracks. None of that causes disconnects or static for me.
I do have serious problems when playing music with the stock music app over bluetooth. If I try to rewind or ff the G3 starts freaking out and will begin playing the music slower despite not having touched the advanced audio controls. It really sucks. Luckily it doesn't do that with Poweramp or Subsonic clients. Doesn't happen with headphones directly connected either.
If this is not a problem with the G3 when paired to certain devices I think your bluetooth radios are defective. There would be way more complaints if this was prevalent.
---------- Post added at 03:58 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:51 AM ----------
absinthex said:
I don't experience audio cut outs, but I do experience severe cracking no matter what tweaks/adjustments I make.
Another problem is that it doesn't read my texts to me while connected to my car. Works fine with my Nokia Lumia 1520 and HTC One x. Its pretty annoying.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Text reading will depend on your device and your car's bluetooth stack compatibility. My GS5 could do everything but call out in my car. It worked good for a month then an update broke it. iPhone 5S could do everything but read and send texts. My G3 does everything great. If you research your car radio model and the G3 I'd bet you'd see that nobody has it working with the AT&T G3. You may see people with variants have it working especially international. Sometimes there are weird tricks to get things working. I had to disconnect and reconnect my GS5 a few times in order for it to work.

GorillaPimp said:
You guys should post details on the bluetooth devices you're connecting to. I had a white G3 and now have a black one and both did nothing you guys are talking about when connected to Pyle, Klipsch, Logitech or Chrysler Uconnect bluetooth audio devices. I use Spotify, Car Home Ultra, Google Maps Navigation, make calls via the phone and the Uconnect system will pick up the activity and play the audio correctly, initiate and receive calls in UConnect, Send/Receive Texts via UConnect, control audio volume and tracks. None of that causes disconnects or static for me.
I do have serious problems when playing music with the stock music app over bluetooth. If I try to rewind or ff the G3 starts freaking out and will begin playing the music slower despite not having touched the advanced audio controls. It really sucks. Luckily it doesn't do that with Poweramp or Subsonic clients. Doesn't happen with headphones directly connected either.
If this is not a problem with the G3 when paired to certain devices I think your bluetooth radios are defective. There would be way more complaints if this was prevalent.
---------- Post added at 03:58 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:51 AM ----------
Text reading will depend on your device and your car's bluetooth stack compatibility. My GS5 could do everything but call out in my car. It worked good for a month then an update broke it. iPhone 5S could do everything but read and send texts. My G3 does everything great. If you research your car radio model and the G3 I'd bet you'd see that nobody has it working with the AT&T G3. You may see people with variants have it working especially international. Sometimes there are weird tricks to get things working. I had to disconnect and reconnect my GS5 a few times in order for it to work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I found this, but my 2014 FJ Cruiser isn't on the list, neither is my G3.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&so...woHcO6CgPFvWsEew&sig2=QZyBxl51eRFrONj056uGBg
Still looking.

absinthex said:
I found this, but my 2014 FJ Cruiser isn't on the list, neither is my G3.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&so...woHcO6CgPFvWsEew&sig2=QZyBxl51eRFrONj056uGBg
Still looking.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm guessing you don't have the JBL radio. http://www.toyota.com/fjcruiser/features.html#!/interior I love FJCs especially for offroading. They're beasts.
I can't find the model info for your radio. You can check Toyota parts for it. Should be the only one besides the JBL. The notes on that interior page reference needing to have a compatible bluetooth stack. I went through similar crap with my 2013 Durango. Nothing past the Galaxy S 2 from Samsung on CDMA (Verizon or Sprint) works with UConnect stereos for placing calls which can suck really bad if you're moving around during the day. No texts read aloud on my radio will say the number or name because of some issue with the was texts in the US are sent as opposed to international ones.
The G2 works well with the Entune Toyota radios so it looks like you just got screwed with that FJC radio. Those Fj radios have always been kinda outdated and more durable looking if not in function. It's kinda like Wrangler radio systems. They don't want a little mud or water to break em or something.
You could try a work around. You could just toggle Settings >Sound> Message/call voice notifications. It's at the bottom of the Sound page. When it's on its supposed to read the texts for you. If the stereo can pause music during a song to allow navigation commands to be heard it may announce the texts for you. Some radios and phones have problems with that too.
If that works maybe use a shortcut to the Sound settings in an app like Car Home Ultra or use something like Tasker to switch it on when bluetooth connects to your car. That second option would be pretty seamless.


GorillaPimp said:
I'm guessing you don't have the JBL radio. http://www.toyota.com/fjcruiser/features.html#!/interior I love FJCs especially for offroading. They're beasts.
I can't find the model info for your radio. You can check Toyota parts for it. Should be the only one besides the JBL. The notes on that interior page reference needing to have a compatible bluetooth stack. I went through similar crap with my 2013 Durango. Nothing past the Galaxy S 2 from Samsung on CDMA (Verizon or Sprint) works with UConnect stereos for placing calls which can suck really bad if you're moving around during the day. No texts read aloud on my radio will say the number or name because of some issue with the was texts in the US are sent as opposed to international ones.
The G2 works well with the Entune Toyota radios so it looks like you just got screwed with that FJC radio. Those Fj radios have always been kinda outdated and more durable looking if not in function. It's kinda like Wrangler radio systems. They don't want a little mud or water to break em or something.
You could try a work around. You could just toggle Settings >Sound> Message/call voice notifications. It's at the bottom of the Sound page. When it's on its supposed to read the texts for you. If the stereo can pause music during a song to allow navigation commands to be heard it may announce the texts for you. Some radios and phones have problems with that too.
If that works maybe use a shortcut to the Sound settings in an app like Car Home Ultra or use something like Tasker to switch it on when bluetooth connects to your car. That second option would be pretty seamless.

Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, they are! That's the main reason for purchasing one; and that it's the last year that they are being sold in the US, so I thought I'd pull the trigger on one.
But, no, I don't have the JBL head unit. I have the stock FJammer unit, but at least it's an upgraded model of those that were being sold in prior years.
I tried that work around when I first got my phone. Didn't work. I've gone through all Google, Google Now and all LG settings that have anything to do with Bluetooth and TTS. The nagivation works, but when it wants to. Sometimes, it will pause music, whether the music is playing through a CD or Bluetooth, and sometimes it won't pause the music, and it's barely audible. Even though I can hear it, it doesn't mean it's working how it should. When I should be hearing, "In a quarter mile, make a left turn at blah blah..." I really end up hearing, "ake left turn at bla..."
I think I'm just gonna live with it. Hopefully there will be a Bluetooth fix for this when LG releases an update.
Thanks for the replies.

absinthex said:
Yes, they are! That's the main reason for purchasing one; and that it's the last year that they are being sold in the US, so I thought I'd pull the trigger on one.
But, no, I don't have the JBL head unit. I have the stock FJammer unit, but at least it's an upgraded model of those that were being sold in prior years.
I tried that work around when I first got my phone. Didn't work. I've gone through all Google, Google Now and all LG settings that have anything to do with Bluetooth and TTS. The nagivation works, but when it wants to. Sometimes, it will pause music, whether the music is playing through a CD or Bluetooth, and sometimes it won't pause the music, and it's barely audible. Even though I can hear it, it doesn't mean it's working how it should. When I should be hearing, "In a quarter mile, make a left turn at blah blah..." I really end up hearing, "ake left turn at bla..."
I think I'm just gonna live with it. Hopefully there will be a Bluetooth fix for this when LG releases an update.
Thanks for the replies.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I read about it being the last year. If I had it to burn I'd buy one and import a 2014 rereleased 70 Land Cruiser.
Damn that sucks. My Nexus 4 wouldn't make those pauses in music or other audio apps for navigation at all. It really sucked after having it with HTC and Samsung phones for a few years.
There's always those Jabra Freeway & Tour units. Not the best builtin option but a lot cheaper than an upgrade of radio. In my experience counting on a manufacturer fix for stuff like that hasn't worked out for me. That's why I am cancelling my Sprint account this week. I got stuck with a phone that wouldn't work and they wouldn't cut me any slack at all. It's probably because I just moved over from T-Mo.
I hope it works when ATT finally updates us. Rock climbing in that FJ should take your mind off things.

GorillaPimp said:
Yeah I read about it being the last year. If I had it to burn I'd buy one and import a 2014 rereleased 70 Land Cruiser.
Damn that sucks. My Nexus 4 wouldn't make those pauses in music or other audio apps for navigation at all. It really sucked after having it with HTC and Samsung phones for a few years.
There's always those Jabra Freeway & Tour units. Not the best builtin option but a lot cheaper than an upgrade of radio. In my experience counting on a manufacturer fix for stuff like that hasn't worked out for me. That's why I am cancelling my Sprint account this week. I got stuck with a phone that wouldn't work and they wouldn't cut me any slack at all. It's probably because I just moved over from T-Mo.
I hope it works when ATT finally updates us. Rock climbing in that FJ should take your mind off things.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's a damn blast!! Sucks it's my daily driver; I want to mod it out more and more. Thanks for the help. If I ever get this resolved I'll let you know.

Poor Bluetooth audio quality

I just got the tmobile variant s6 and immediately went to test the Bluetooth audio stream on my 2015 gs350. I noticed a crackle in the audio. It is minimal but quite noticeable at high volume. This is disappointing as my Sony Z3 had excellent BT audio quality on my gs. Anyone else notice this?

neles86 said:
I just got the tmobile variant s6 and immediately went to test the Bluetooth audio stream on my 2015 gs350. I noticed a crackle in the audio. It is minimal but quite noticeable at high volume. This is disappointing as my Sony Z3 had excellent BT audio quality on my gs. Anyone else notice this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do not seem to have that issue over my car's bluetooth. T-mobile also.

I'm getting good audio quality via my Sony SBH80 aptx BT headset. Perhaps you can play on the Sound Alive equalizer.

Just wanted to let you know that I am having this same problem. When streaming music in high quality from Google Play, the treble is all crackly and distorted. It's really disappointing. I'm going to do some testing today against my old m8 and using non-streaming music. But never had this issue before.

It's probably the fact you are streaming audio. Try some high quality downloaded music, like from Spotify. I've no issues at all.

I am also having the same issue with the Verizon version of the S6. It sounds terrible over my car Bluetooth when streaming but sounds good through my bluetooth Bose headphones. I didn't have any trouble with my car Bluetooth with my iPhone 6. I really hope Samsung gets this sorted out with a software update.

I too am having issues with streaming bluetooth. I think that my issue with it is amplified, because I normally listen to music only on my Magnavox Turntable, and the sound from that console is unbeatable by any electronic streaming or mini-speaker. My son bought me a bluetooth speaker for my birthday last year, which was very nice of him, but the sound just does not compare to the 1970's technology.
Maybe I'm just old.

Do you happen to have any bluetooth le devices, like a fitbit, attached at the same time? I tried disconnecting my garmin vivosmart and there's a dramatic improvement.

evanl81 said:
Just wanted to let you know that I am having this same problem. When streaming music in high quality from Google Play, the treble is all crackly and distorted. It's really disappointing. I'm going to do some testing today against my old m8 and using non-streaming music. But never had this issue before.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here. Lowering the treble help a tiny bit but what's music without treble . I've tried disconnecting my pebble watch but no dice. I really don't want to go back to aux.

In my car, before I disconnected the Garmin, I found that adjusting the toggles in Play Music - edging the first dial two toward Treble and the other dial three toward Instrument helped a bit.

I noticed the crackling on treble as well. As evanl81 suggested, I disconnected my Moto 360 (switched it to airplane mode), toggled the phone's bluetooth to have a fresh connection to the car, and the crackling is gone by at least 90%!
Very disappointing. Didn't have this problem with my Nexus 5. I'd very much prefer to not have to disconnect my watch every time I get in the car

palmboy5 said:
I noticed the crackling on treble as well. As evanl81 suggested, I disconnected my Moto 360 (switched it to airplane mode), toggled the phone's bluetooth to have a fresh connection to the car, and the crackling is gone by at least 90%!
Very disappointing. Didn't have this problem with my Nexus 5. I'd very much prefer to not have to disconnect my watch every time I get in the car
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That would be a problem. I'm starting to think that we are wirelessly connected to too many things!!

So it looks like my pebble watch was the problem. Seems i can't have other BT devices connected while connected to my car. Once I put my pebble in airplane mode, then off/on the BT radio and all is good! Sucks but at least it's a workaround.

I'm trying to use AutoInput and Tasker to automate the disconnection and reconnection of my watch when connected to the car bluetooth right now, still working out the kinks though. :\ Endless little things and inconsistent behavior.
It would be fantastic if this gets fixed by Samsung at some point!

stureiney said:
That would be a problem. I'm starting to think that we are wirelessly connected to too many things!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, I have a Nexus 4 with 5.0 and now with 5.1 and its connect to LG g watch, a parrot ck3100 and auki bluetooth reciber and the quality is perfect. With S6 I only connected to my LG g watch and auki and the audio quiality is a ****.

i don't know about bad audio quality for bt but i get audio cut outs and choppiness when using my jaybird bluebuds. it gets really annoying. i noticed it happens in wide open spaces too like when i'm outside but not near any walls or enclosed areas. if i'm indoors, it works perfectly fine. i remember reading about the way bt works and the signal needs to bounce off other surfaces or something like that in order to work properly. i had this same issue way back in my OG Droid days and there was a build.prop edit to boost the signal by giving bt higher priority.
anyone else have this problem? i'm on VZW variant btw.
other than this issue, bt audio sounds perfect. i also use Viper to give the audio volume a major boost.

I'm having the same issue on my car audio.
It was perfect with the Nexus 5, very disappointed to have this with the S6.

I just got my sg6 have a samsung gear live and bluebuds x I get crackling sounding high end, very annoying, coming from an HTC one m7 with the same setup and had zero problems, really hope they are able to fix this!
OK so I enabled the tube amp setting and nothing else, it seems to have made a huge difference. I can now listen to music without cringing. Hope this helps.

Ok, I made a few findings about the issue. I also have a moto 360 connected to the S6 and the crackling is so high that is imposible to hear music with a minimum of quality.So i tried with the watch off or in airplane mode and the crackling is still there but sometimes it dissapears after connect and disconnect the bt devices but not always. Now, the elephant in the room:
I have a Samsung Hs3000 bt stereo headset and the music quality is superb even with te moto 360 connected. The magic is that this particular device has aptx codec included. So if you have an aptx bt device the quality its going to be there. For no aptx devices i'm trying an experiment: i remember from the nexus 7 2013 and other android phones that bluetooth audio quality was bad since kitkat and the problem was bluetooth compression was too high. There are two files that control this behaviour: audio.a2dp.default.so and bluetooth.default.so. If we could edit this two files maybe we could fix this. If someone can help me and tell me what program can i use to edit this files on my computer i'll try to fix it myself.
Enviado desde mi SM-G920F mediante Tapatalk

Just wanted to follow up on this thread - I recently switched to the Note 5 (which I love) and also got a Huawei Watch. When the watch is connected to the phone and the phone is connected to bluetooth, the sound quality is really horrendous. So I'm guessing it's something with the BT smart implementation in Samsung phones or something? It's really annoying. I too tried to work out some stuff with AutoInput, but it's a huge pain. The only real workarounds are to put the watch in Airplane Mode or just disconnect through the Android Wear app. And unfortunately there are no shortcuts through AutoWear. Oh well.

Bluetooth Audio Streaming Stuttering

I would like to share my experience with my S7 G930 and the problem I have with BT audio.
I have a helmet with BT N-com from Nolan that let you use your phone and play music via BT. It works very well with my S4 Lollipop but has problem with my new S7 (stock Rom Android 6.0.1).
When you try to play media stream the sound is very choppy and stuttering.
I tried to use my helmet with many other devices and it works good. I tried to use S7 with other BT speakers or audio receivers and it also works good!
So I have finally discovered the difference between all the successfully tests and the one that fails when I try the S7 + Helmet combination.
The helmet offers both headset service (for phone calls) and the A2DP service (for music streaming). The problem is there when both the services are in use at the same time if the headset service is started first. Since headset is faster to connect than A2DP this is always the case. If I disconnect the BT and activate manually the services in the opposite order (first A2DP and then Headset) everything start to work fine.
Since the S4 works good without problem I think this is a problem with S7 or Android 6.0.1.
I hope this will help someone else with my same problem and I hope to have some feedback of your experiences with BT peripherals that use both the services (usually it should be the case with car hi-fi). I would be happy to report this issue to

Since this is a helmet you're talking about, I assume this is outdoor experience?
My Sennheiser Momentum 2 Wireless - MSRP $500, so it's about as premium as you can get for a Bluetooth, noise-canceling headphone - gets slightly choppy outside, under a few different scenarios...
* If the phone is in my back pocket, and I had my hand in that pocket covering the phone, audio is choppy and awful
* Weekday mornings as I exit NY Penn Station to walk to work, the audio gets choppy for a few seconds before stabilizing for the rest of the walk.
* On the walk back to Penn Station at 6, as soon as I get to the corner of 33rd and 8th Ave (opposite the building), audio gets awful again until I get outside the front of the station.
I'm on my second pair of headphones, with this one functioning better than the first pair. But it has me wondering whether the problem is with the headphones or with the S7. Sennheiser says it's due to all the other Bluetooth and wireless signals in the area, and I can understand that. But my previous pair, Sony MDRXB950BT, didn't have these issues. One user on Head-Fi wondered if it's the power management of the headphones, since they have great battery life and the noise cancelling kicks in automatically with Bluetooth.
I tested the first pair of the Momentums with an iPhone 6 Plus, while the drops and hiccups weren't as bad as with the S7, they were still there. So I'm leaning more towards a headphone problem than a handset problem.

I'm definitely experiencing similar issues. BUT, I'm streaming to my receiver which worked amazing until after the last update. I'm on 6.0.1. Works perfect in my car right now (fingers crossed). But it has done it a few times, thought it was my case which was aluminum.
Either way a patch or minor update needed. Tired if the random choppiness. Sad that I have to keep the phone plugged into a wireless receiver. .???

Note 8 + Bluetooth Earphones issue (Echo/Crackle) on certain apps***

Well, as the title says... I was commonly using my note (barely a week old) and I came to notice that my wireless BOSE SoundSport works perfectly with certain apps and not with others... Pandora/Netflix and other streaming apps works find, with equalizer settings on and normal (off)... I've notice that crackle/echo sound mainly with games, games tested were CoC/Need for Speed No Limits/Real Racing 3/TWD: Season 1, 2/ and GoT: Season 1. So, to rule out any other doubts and try to see what's not working properly, I borrowed a random Apple wired earphones and everything worked perfectly. I tried a friend's BEAT's and got the same issue... so, it's definitely a BT issue... I have another BOSE set (wired) in the car that I could use in the meantime...
So, I did my extensive search before bugging you all, I did the unpair/re-pair... reset all of my network settings, tried different devices as mentioned above, rebooting the phone while paired and unpaired... so, I'm at a loss right now and baffled a bit... the earphones are about 2 months old and the phone was purchased last friday.... so both fairly new. I read that the S8's and S8+'s have similar issues, any insight from you all about this matter?

Bluetooth audio sucks. It's never worked well. I've had similar issues with every phone I've ever owned.

ShrekOpher said:
Bluetooth audio sucks. It's never worked well. I've had similar issues with every phone I've ever owned.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, that doesn't sound promising... heh, I initially purchased the wireless BOSE because I was considering purchasing the iPhone X since they don't have the 3.5 mini jack. In light of that decision, iOS (Apple) has been screwing us jailbreakers since iOS 9.3.5 and I had an iPhone 6+ on iOS 8.4 JB, when I destroyed my iPhone because of obvious dated software and loss of connection "due to it", AT&T sent me a new one through the insurance program and it came with iOS 11... *shiver*... needless to say, hated the stock iPhone OS... couldn't do crap!... which ultimately forced me to move onto Android and decided to go to the Note 8. I see that the Note 8 is also a pain to root but as is, it does a lot that the iPhone doesn't. Just minor stuff that I'm use to with the iPhone that the Note isn't doing.
I do have a pair of wired BOSE earphones, so it's not like it's the end of the world, sort of got use to being without a wire tugging at me if it snags. How far does this dates with ****ty BT audio? I mean the audio is great on Pandora and other streaming service apps, it's just game apps sound terrible... I don't see why the audio chipset isn't capable to switch over without issue.

}{yBr!D^ said:
Well, that doesn't sound promising... heh, I initially purchased the wireless BOSE because I was considering purchasing the iPhone X since they don't have the 3.5 mini jack. In light of that decision, iOS (Apple) has been screwing us jailbreakers since iOS 9.3.5 and I had an iPhone 6+ on iOS 8.4 JB, when I destroyed my iPhone because of obvious dated software and loss of connection "due to it", AT&T sent me a new one through the insurance program and it came with iOS 11... *shiver*... needless to say, hated the stock iPhone OS... couldn't do crap!... which ultimately forced me to move onto Android and decided to go to the Note 8. I see that the Note 8 is also a pain to root but as is, it does a lot that the iPhone doesn't. Just minor stuff that I'm use to with the iPhone that the Note isn't doing.
I do have a pair of wired BOSE earphones, so it's not like it's the end of the world, sort of got use to being without a wire tugging at me if it snags. How far does this dates with ****ty BT audio? I mean the audio is great on Pandora and other streaming service apps, it's just game apps sound terrible... I don't see why the audio chipset isn't capable to switch over without issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bluetooth audio in general is just lower quality that wired, even on iPhone.
If it's only having issues during the games you might want to adjust the phones performance settings to be on the highest.
Use game tuner to adjust it.

ShrekOpher said:
Bluetooth audio in general is just lower quality that wired, even on iPhone.
If it's only having issues during the games you might want to adjust the phones performance settings to be on the highest.
Use game tuner to adjust it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not complaining about the overall audio quality of the earphones while using a wireless setting. The echo/crackle is unbearable while running a game while music streaming or movie/tv streaming apps worked flawlessly... good quality sound via BT. Looking at your attachment I don't see that option on my phone. I know there is a performance option but not like yours .

Nevermind found it in the play store. I'll mess with GameTuner and BT tomorrow.

So, I used that Game Tuner app and the stock performance mode options on the phone and still does the same thing with BT connection... funny thing is I just now let pandora playing in the background and started up a game and well, pandora played normally while the game stuttered/echoed and crackled... The game apps just dont function with BT well as far as transmitting sound... the bandwidth is probably too slow for that much information to travel over the air...?? hmmm... thought it had BT 5.0 which this wouldn't have happened... I was happy Samsung had Qualcomm do their network chip because of their quality.... don't know wtf happened there.

}{yBr!D^ said:
So, I used that Game Tuner app and the stock performance mode options on the phone and still does the same thing with BT connection... funny thing is I just now let pandora playing in the background and started up a game and well, pandora played normally while the game stuttered/echoed and crackled... The game apps just dont function with BT well as far as transmitting sound... the bandwidth is probably too slow for that much information to travel over the air...?? hmmm... thought it had BT 5.0 which this wouldn't have happened... I was happy Samsung had Qualcomm do their network chip because of their quality.... don't know wtf happened there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That sounds like a game issue not a BT issue. Does it happen with all games. I have not had the same issue playing a few games I play.

ShrekOpher said:
That sounds like a game issue not a BT issue. Does it happen with all games. I have not had the same issue playing a few games I play.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Happens with the games I have installed currently. This only happens when the BT earphones are connected not with the 3.5mm jack. Even on a BT Samsung speaker it does the same noises... What's a game you have that runs well for you?
But for sure it has to do with the gaming apps and BT together... only happens when both are working.

Ok, thread's over.... apparently something happened during the first install which caused the apps to run a muck and sound crappy.. reinstalled them and they're working after installing other random games to see if I'll get the same defective sound and they worked perfectly... and now my other games that I actually play as I'm re-installing them are working... so far. thanks

HA! not a fix, some of those games still have that issue... either wait for Samsung or used wired earphones for those games

Hello there. I've the same problem as yours. My note8 + razer hammerhead bt have cracking sound when playing need for speed no limits. How did you fix this game? Only a simple reinstall? I've reinstalled but still the same.
I've my hammerhead bt with other android phone + no limit and it worked fine! So im guessing this is a samsung problem