Tag: Bluetooth

Resolve Bluetooth audio connectivity issue with Samsung Galaxy S7/S7 Flat

My Samsung Galaxy S7 Flat (G930F) does not get along with my Jaybird Bluebuds X Bluetooth headphones since updating to Android 7.0 (Nougat). I’ve tried the common fix lists, re-paired Bluetooth devices, cleared the “Bluetooth share” App data, reset network settings, even nuked the cache partition from recovery. Same issue, less than 30 seconds of Spotify playing to my Bluetooth wireless headphones then nothing, silence, not even a “command received” tone when using the media controls on my headphones, nothing then after a while it decides to play before again giving me the silent treatment.

Here’s how to fix the Bluetooth audio connectivity issue affecting the Samsung Galaxy S7/S7 Flat, there are three components as well as a list of common troubleshooting steps at the bottom. I found Bluetooth scanning was the culprit for me but suspect both Samsung Connect and Trusted devices were involved.

Update: After a brief period of stability the dropouts returned, I suspect the Android 7.1 release will fix this as it is a widely known issue with Android 7.0.

Uninstall Android Wear

The Android Wear App is known to conflict with some Bluetooth headphones (Jaybird Bluebuds X), I don’t understand whether it’s the App or the Bluetooth device at this point.

  1. Open the Apps menu
  2. Drag Android Wear into the bin
  3. Restart the phone

Turn off Bluetooth scanning in Location screen

  1. Open the Apps menu
  2. Open Settings > Connections > Location > Improve accuracy
  3. Turn off Bluetooth scanning
  4. Jump back to the Home screen

Turn off the Samsung Connect panel

  1. Open the Apps menu
  2. Open Samsung Connect (a new App that has been installed by Samsung alongside the Android Nougat release)
  3. Open Settings from the top-right menu (three dots)
  4. Ensure Samsung Connect Panel is set to On
  5. Turn your Bluetooth headphones on and wait for your Samsung Galaxy S7 to establish the connection
  6. Pull down the status menu by sliding from the top of the screen
  7. You should see a “Samsung Connect” listing below the device feature icons, click the Settings icon within that panel listing (looks like two circles with horizontal lines attached)
  8. From the Samsung Connect Panel screen first untick your Bluetooth devices and “Audio output”, finally change the first option from On to Off
  9. Jump back to the Home screen

Turn off Trusted Devices

If you have configured your Bluetooth device as a Trusted device to bypass the lock screen try removing it.

  1. Open the Apps menu
  2. Open Settings > Lock screen and security > Secure lock settings > Smart lock
  3. Enter your device PIN and press Next
  4. Open Trusted devices
  5. Remove your Bluetooth audio device
  6. Jump back to the Home screen

Common Bluetooth troubleshooting tips

  • Delete the Bluetooth connection and re-pair with the Bluetooth device
  • Clear the Bluetooth App cache via Settings > Apps > Show system apps (via three dots menu) > Bluetooth share > Clear cache
  • Open Settings > General management > Reset > Reset settings
  • Open Settings > General management > Reset > Reset network settings
  • Clear the system cache from Recovery mode

Try establishing a connection from your Samsung Galaxy S7 if it has been disconnected and playing audio. That’s it! 🙂

Resolve Bluetooth connection issues on Dell XPS 15

My Dell XPS 15 and Nexus 5 just don’t get along. Updating to the latest Bluetooth drivers for the Broadcom-enabled embedded chipset resolved this.

Here’s how to update your Broadcom-based Bluetooth drivers in Windows 10:

  1. Visit the Bluetooth section of the Broadcom website
  2. Expand the WIDCOMM® Bluetooth Windows® Software for Windows 10 & 8, 64-Bit section
  3. Click on the Download button to the left of the WIDCOMM® Bluetooth Windows® Software for Windows 10 & 8, 64-Bit header
  4. Open the downloaded ZIP archive (e.g. BTW_12.0.1.940_win8_10_x64.zip)
  5. Run Setup.exe within the Retail Package directory of the ZIP archive
  6. You may be prompted by Windows SmartScreen, click the More info link and the Run Anyway button within this dialog
  7. Click the Upgrade option within the WIDCOMM Bluetooth Software dialog
  8. Restart the computer when prompted

That’s it. 🙂

Fix for stuttering, lag in Bluetooth mouse on Windows 10

Here’s how I fixed the stuttering and lag issue with my Logitech MX Master working with Windows 10 Home and Pro:

  1. Open up the System screen within the Control Panel (keyboard shortcut: Win+Pause/Break)
  2. Open Device Manager from the list of links on the left panel
  3. Expand the Network adapters section to list your network adapters (e.g. WiFi, Bluetooth, VPN, etc.)
  4. Double click your WiFi network adapter to open the Device Properties dialog (in my case this is a Dell Wireless 1830 802.11ac)
  5. Switch to the Advanced tab (if you cannot see an Advanced tab then close this dialog and double click the other Network Adapters until you find one that has it)
  6. Within the Property list select Bluetooth Collaboration
  7. Change the Value of the dropdown list from Auto to Disabled
  8. Click OK to save changes

That’s it!

The WiFi network adapter will restart the device so expect to lose network access for a moment before network access is restored. Happy days.

Update 1: Yeah the above helped but didn’t fix it entirely, somehow unticking the Enable pointer shadow option within the Mouse Properties dialog (open Start then type in Mouse) makes a big difference, I do still notice some stutter when copying files or using Google Photos.

Update 2: Uninstalling the Realtek AC’97 software from Add/Remove Software and restarting did wonders on-top of the above steps. No more stutter!