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

IvorTollah
IvorTollah Member Posts: 22 Troubleshooter
edited November 2023 in 2019 Archives
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.

  

Answers

  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,330 Trailblazer
    >>>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





    Jack E/NJ

  • IvorTollah
    IvorTollah Member Posts: 22 Troubleshooter
    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
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,330 Trailblazer
    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

    Jack E/NJ

  • IvorTollah
    IvorTollah Member Posts: 22 Troubleshooter
    Yes, but the problem is there is no option to change the speaker settings. 


  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,330 Trailblazer
    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

    Jack E/NJ

  • IvorTollah
    IvorTollah Member Posts: 22 Troubleshooter
    Yes, but there is no sound option in the settings menu:


  • IvorTollah
    IvorTollah Member Posts: 22 Troubleshooter
    And nothing in the Advanced menu either:

  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,330 Trailblazer
    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

    Jack E/NJ

  • IvorTollah
    IvorTollah Member Posts: 22 Troubleshooter
    There is a speaker icon but no "right arrow" and no option to change the sound output to anything else.


  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,330 Trailblazer
    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


    Jack E/NJ

  • IvorTollah
    IvorTollah Member Posts: 22 Troubleshooter
    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
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,330 Trailblazer
    >>>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

    Jack E/NJ

  • IvorTollah
    IvorTollah Member Posts: 22 Troubleshooter
    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
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,330 Trailblazer
    >>>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

    Jack E/NJ

  • IvorTollah
    IvorTollah Member Posts: 22 Troubleshooter
    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
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,330 Trailblazer
    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


    Jack E/NJ

  • IvorTollah
    IvorTollah Member Posts: 22 Troubleshooter
    Great,thanks for the hint.