Bluetooth/Headphones-HOWTO

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Revision as of 15:09, 27 January 2009

Setup bluetooth headphones for openSUSE 11.1. HOWTO

Introduction.

We are going to setup the Bluetooth (BT) headset for openSUSE 11.1. In this system the PulseAudio (PA) 0.9.12 is the default sound system. There is no easy way to setup the BT headset with the PA 0.9.12 now, so we will use the BT headset with the ALSA sound-system while preserve the coexistence with the PA as the default sound-system. The BT headset in this case can be used only with the applications that can direct the sound output to the specific ALSA device.

First we will pair the BT headset. Then we will prepare the configuration file ~/.asoundrc for the ALSA sound-system and then we will test the sound output to the BT headset. If something goes wrong please refer to the troubleshooting section and check that all packages are installed.

Unfortunately there is an annoying issue which you can observe if you try to use the BT headset together with other BT devices, typically with BT keyboard and mouse. In this case the sound in the BT headset is being interrupted when the BT mouse is moved or when you type the keyboard. This problem is not solved yet.

Find the BT headset address.

It is a good idea to store the BT address of the BT headset in a text-file, so we can cut&paste the address in the future, when we need it. To do it, we put BT headset into the pairing mode. This is device specific, so we refer to the device user's guide for instructions how to do it. Then we open a terminal and as a root issue the command:

       # hcitool scan       
       Scanning ...                                
       00:1F:3A:FB:96:B2       linux-8hlf-0
       00:1E:4C:D5:E2:92       linux-09eo-0
       00:13:17:72:CD:FF       Jabra BT620s

Here we see the BT headset "Jabra BT620s" with the BT address 00:13:17:72:CD:FF. To store the addresses in a text file we can cut&paste the output from the screen. We can also use the command:

       # hcitool scan > bt.devices

Pairing the BT headset.

The BT headset pairing was tested in KDE and Gnome, but generally the usage of the BT headset does not depend on the display manager used.

As of this writing there is a problem with the kbluetooth4 which is broken and does not do the pairing for KDE. In this case install the bluez-gnome package and start the bluetooth-applet which works well also in KDE.

If the bluetooth-applet is running and the BT adapter is switched on there is a BT icon in the KDE/Gnome panel, which invokes the interface to the BT applet. This BT applet enables the user to control and to communicate with the BT subsystem. To setup the new device, we set the new device into the pairing mode. This is device specific, so please refer to the device user's guide for instructions how to do it. Then we click the BT applet icon and select the "Setup new device" item. After reading the Introduction we click the Forward button. Then we wait till all devices are discovered and the symbolic names appears. Then we select the new device from the list. In the case of the BT headset the PIN is 0000 by default and we shall see in the Summary the message "Successfully configured new device". We click the Close button.

Configuration of the ALSA sound-system.

Sound output which is sent to the ALSA can be redirected to the Pulse Audio (PA) by the following setting in the configuration file /etc/asound.conf or ~/.asoundrc.

       # cat ~/.asoundrc
       pcm.!default {
               type pulse
       }
       ctl.!default {
               type pulse
       }

Now we can test the sound system with the command:

       # aplay /usr/share/sounds/startup3.wav

and we should hear the sound from the speaker of the computer.

Configuration of the BT headset with the ALSA sound-system.

To use the BT headset we add the following section to the file ~/.asoundrc:

       pcm.btheadset {
               type bluetooth
               device "00:13:17:72:CD:FF"
       }

In this case we used the BT address "00:13:17:72:CD:FF" of the "Jabra BT620s" which we found in the section before. Please replace the address with the one of your specific BT headset. Then we test the BT headset with the command:

       # aplay -D btheadset /usr/share/sounds/startup3.wav

and we should hear the sound from the BT headset.

So by default the audio output of the applications which use the ALSA sound-system is redirected to the PA. Then we can set the PA volume and mix the sound with the "Volume control" in the Gnome panel. But we can not set the volume of the BT headset with the "Volume control" in the Gnome panel. Instead we use volume control on the BT headset.

For a list of supported players please refer to the wiki: http://wiki.bluez.org/wiki/HOWTO/AudioDevices#SupportedPlayers Please note that the BT headset in this web page is named "bluetooth". We use the symbolic name "btheadset" in our examples instead.

For example to use the BT headset with the mplayer we can use the command:

       # mplayer -ao alsa:device=btheadset /usr/share/sounds/startup3.wav

Troubleshooting.

(a) check if all packages are installed

       - bluez-alsa

(b) check your BT controller.

       # hciconfig -a
       hci0:   Type: USB
       BD Address: 00:1E:3D:F7:74:C4 ACL MTU: 1021:8 SCO MTU: 64:1
       UP RUNNING PSCAN
       RX bytes:205947 acl:9945 sco:0 events:3989 errors:0
       TX bytes:4958866 acl:6221 sco:0 commands:102 errors:0
       Features: 0xff 0xff 0x8f 0xfe 0x9b 0xff 0x79 0x83
       Packet type: DM1 DM3 DM5 DH1 DH3 DH5 HV1 HV2 HV3
       Link policy: RSWITCH HOLD SNIFF PARK
       Link mode: SLAVE ACCEPT
       Name: 'linux-h4dc-0'
       Class: 0x0a010c
       Service Classes: Networking, Capturing
       Device Class: Computer, Laptop
       HCI Ver: 2.1 (0x4) HCI Rev: 0xda LMP Ver: 2.1 (0x4) LMP Subver: 0x2192
       Manufacturer: Broadcom Corporation (15)

(c) check your alsa configuration file

       # cat ~/.asoundrc
       pcm.!default {
               type pulse
       }
       ctl.!default {
               type pulse
       }
       pcm.btheadset {
               type bluetooth
               device "00:13:17:72:CD:FF"
       }

(d) about chipset. If you can choose "Cambridge silicon radio".