Issues with Bluetooth Audio

English Hardware
1

First off I am comparing my Bluetooth experience to my MacBook Pro, which may or may not be a fair comparison. I have Sony M6, which has worked well with my MacBook, except that MacOS will randomly decide to be unable to play/pause through Bluetooth. Using them on my Linux PC feels like a no go.

MacBook experience: Works over a good distance - one side of the house to the other, audio playback is smooth.

My OpenSUSE PC: Distance wise is poor. I have to be right next to the PC and cannot turn my head or lean back. Audio playback is smooth unless I move.

I have read suggestions that it might be Wifi interference on 2.4Ghz, but then I would point to my MacBook having no problems.

The Bluetooth is built onto the motherboard. It is a Realtek RTL8125.

Any help would be appreciated.

2

Yes, Wifi interference on 2.4GHz could well be the issue. WLAN-BT-coexistence is something that when implemented correctly works fine but for that effort is needed and a shared medium control between WLAN and BT that is possible for Apple controlling both devices. So no surprise for me that your MacBook is working much better in that respect.

That does not look optimal to me, the metal case is a (poor) faraday cage that still can attenuate the signal considerably and the noise generated on the motherboard can impact the BT receiver.

You could try a USB BT-stick and USB cable to move BT-stick away from the case preferable to a place where you can see it see it from every you want to use it. BT works best if there is line of sight connection between the two sides.

3

That is a LAN controller, not a BT controller?
The motherboard might provide a connector for an external BT antenna?

4

That’s related to hardware not software. Note that there are different classes of output power defined for bluetooth with class 2/3 basically being within a single room. Your PC might only support these classes (or implementation might be poor).

If the onboard Bluetooth is not satisfactory, you can try a bluetooth usb-dongle which work well in my experience (most are supported, but check compatibility before buying).

5

Ah I saw Realtek and just assumed. The Wifi-BT module is Realtek RTL8922AE.

It says it has a Wifi antenna, which I didn’t plug in because I don’t need wifi. I will give that a go and see if that helps. If not I will look into a USB BT-stick.

Thanks everyone for the help so far.

6

Since 802.11b/g WiFi use the same 2.4 GHz band as BT, it is likely that the BT module is wired to that connector as well.

7

To the op, the DIY trick using the smallest aluminum tray to use for baking helps when the signal is poor or you bork your wifi antenae. :grinning:

8

Plugged in the antenna and it works amazingly. Today I learned.

Thanks all for your help.

9

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