Ubuntu
bluez package

  1. Bug #327284
  2. Comment #29

Comment 29 for bug 327284

Revision history for this message
thefluxster (buy-ikentech) wrote : Re: [Jaunty Alpha4] Bluetooth Headset pairs but freezes the system when used

Ok, after some further hunting, I found the .deb packaged with Kharmic. I installed it on Jaunty and now I've got it working. Sort of. It's still a bit buggy. For instance, if I close Rhythmbox and then try to reopen and play something again, it may or may not work without reinitializing the bluetooth connection using:
pactl load-module module-bluetooth-device address=00:0D:3C:BC:56:D9 sink_name="CardoS2" profile="a2dp"

Here is how I got it working:

1. Upgrade PulseAudio to version 0.915 by adding the following PPA resource to Synaptic Package Sources:
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/themuso/ppa/ubuntu jaunty main
(Note that you need to add the gpg key found on https://launchpad.net/~themuso/+archive/ppa as well)

Check for software updates and install any "pulse" related packages that upgrade to .915 versions.

2. Download the Bluez 4.37 .deb package for Kharmic from here:
https://edge.launchpad.net/ubuntu/karmic/i386/bluez/4.37-0ubuntu1
Install with dpkg -i <package_name>
This effectively backports the package, I think... Someone with more experience should probably confirm this. I'm fairly new to Ubuntu/desktop *nix.

3. Switch your audio settings to "PulseAudio" in your system Sound settings - leave Sound Capture set to HDA <type>.

4. Find the MAC address of your bluetooth device (do a quick google search for "ubuntu bluetooth MAC address" if you're not sure how to do this)

5. Pair your bluetooth headset through your bluetooth settings.

6. Launch your PulseAudio Device Chooser application (Applications -> Sound & Video)

7. On the commandline, initialize your bluetooth headset as a sink for PulseAudio:
pactl load-module module-bluetooth-device address=XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX sink_name="BTHeadset" profile="a2dp"

8. You may or may not need to set the newly added device as the default audio sink. If you're not hearing audio, this is a possible reason. Set "BTHeadset" as your default sink by clicking the PulseAudio Device Chooser icon in your top panel and changing the Default Sink -> Other... to BTHeadset.

If that doesn't work, I'm not sure what else it could be... I'm very happy that this solution fixed the audio for me. Now I can watch TV on the bus again! :)