Chromebook R-13 : Bluetooth audio works on everything EXCEPT earbuds!

IvorTollah

Hey, I have a couple of different sets of Bluetooth headphones and they work fine with my Acer Chromebook R-13. I can also connect other bluetooth devices to it like my phone and bluetooth speakers etc. I got a set of Xiaomi Dots earbuds a little while ago and paired them up with my Chromebook, they connected fine but the audio would fade in and out, stopping and restarting but not disconnecting at any time, this wasn't happening with any other bluetooth audio devices. The earbuds worked fine on other computers and my phone, they only did this on the Chromebook. 

So thinking it was just a problem with the earbuds I tried an older pair that I had in my drawer. These connected but no audio would play. Again, they worked fine when connected to a different device they only had a problem with the Chromebook.

So then I ordered another new set of earbuds and tried those out on the Chromebook, again the same result. They would connect but not play any audio - and this was after putting the Chromebook through a powerwash. They work fine on any other device. 
Given that this problem only occurs with earbuds I'm guessing its a signal issue - the earbuds are not putting out a strong enough signal for the audio to be played effectively. If anyone has a fix for this then I'd love to hear it.  Thanks.

  

JackE

>>>I have a couple of different sets of Bluetooth headphones and they work fine with my Acer Chromebook R-13.>>>

>>>So thinking it was just a problem with the [Xioami] earbuds I tried an older pair that I had in my drawer. These connected but no audio would play.>>>

Please explain?  Jack E/NJ

IvorTollah

Sorry if I was unclear,

I have 2 sets of over-the-head, ear-covering bluetooth headphones, these connect to my Chromebook and play audio no problem.

I also just recently bought a set of Xiaomi Dot bluetooth earbuds. When I connected these earbuds they connected fine but the audio would fade in and out and would play very slowly.

Then I tried another set of older bluetooth earbuds and they successfully connected to the Chromebook but this time no audio at all.  I then connected a 3rd set of earbuds - brand new this time (but a different brand to the Xiaomi Dots), and the same result - i.e. connects via bluetooth but no audio coming through them at all. 

So I can connect bluetooth headphones and listen to audio successfully, but I can't hear anything through 3 different pairs of earbuds - even though they connect successfully via bluetooth.

All 3 sets of earbuds also work successfully on devices other than my Chromebook, so I think it's an issue with the bluetooth receiver on the Chromebook and not a problem with the earbuds themselves. 

I hope this clarifies.

JackE

If the  earbuds paired OK, their signal strength seems fine. They're simply not automatically switching output from the internal speakers like the headphones do. So the output must be manually changed in speaker settings. Jack E/NJ

IvorTollah

Yes, but the problem is there is no option to change the speaker settings. 

JackE

Those are BT device settings. You want audio device settings that also controls the laptop's speakers which aren't BT devices. Press menu, apps, settings, sound, then output.  Jack E/NJ

IvorTollah

Yes, but there is no sound option in the settings menu:

IvorTollah

And nothing in the Advanced menu either:

JackE

Do you have a speaker icon in the bottom tray ? If yes, click on it. Does a volume slider appear? If yes, select right arrow. Can you change sound output to BT earbuds? Jack E/NJ

IvorTollah

There is a speaker icon but no "right arrow" and no option to change the sound output to anything else.

JackE

The right arrow should appear next to the slider when external audio output devices are connected. Are you sure they're connected/paired? Jack E/NJ

IvorTollah

It shows when my bluetooth headphones are connected (1st image) , but not when my earbuds are connected (2nd image). 

Image 1 - with bluetooth headphones:


Image 2 - With earbuds connected

JackE

>>>The earbuds worked fine on other computers and my phone, they only did this on the Chromebook. >>>

Other computers? Are they compatible with other chromebooks or other Win10 notebooks?  Jack E/NJ

IvorTollah

I have tested them on another Win 10 desktop and an Android phone. The new (Bluetooth 5) earbuds do not connect at all to the Windows machine. The older (Bluetooth 4) earbuds do connect and work fine on the Windows machine. Both pairs work fine on my android phone.

I have tried to connect both sets of earbuds to a different (HP) Chromebook, the same problem on that machine happens as well.

I suspect this has something to do with the bluetooth version of the BT receiver in the Chromebook, it is clearly not picking up the frequency the earbuds are on. 

JackE

>>>I suspect this has something to do with the bluetooth version of the BT receiver in the Chromebook, it is clearly not picking up the frequency the earbuds are on.  >>>

I suspect this has something to do with the bluetooth version of the BT transmitter in the earbuds, it is clearly not transmitting the frequency the Chromebooks are on.    Seriously though, Xiaomi earbuds are reported to have audio synching issues  and not recommended for BT music in some reviews.  Jack E/NJ

IvorTollah

After trying 3 different pairs of earbuds its hard to see how the problem could be present in all 3, but I suppose anything is possible. Thanks for your help. 

JackE

Sorry. If you haven't done so already, might be worth giving the chromebook community a shot at it. https://support.google.com/chromebook/community?hl=en    Seems like a common BT audio issue that sometimes gets fixed by following a pairing/then-unpairing/then re-pairing protocol that doesn't make much sense to me. Jack E/NJ

IvorTollah

Great,thanks for the hint.