Bluetooth audio; LM17.3 & LM18

[netikras]

Okay, here's the thing. I have a wireless headset Bluedio R+. I also have two computers: a PC running LM17.3 and a laptop (Dell xps13 (hi-end with skylake)).

PC:
netikras-PC ~ # inxi -Fxz
System: Host: netikras-PC Kernel: 3.13.0-37-generic x86_64 (64 bit, gcc: 4.8.2)
           Console: tty 5 Distro: Linux Mint 17.1 Rebecca
Machine: System: ASUS product: All Series
           Mobo: ASUSTeK model: Z97M-PLUS version: Rev X.0x Bios: American Megatrends version: 2605 date: 02/15/2015
CPU: Quad core Intel Core i7-4790S CPU (-HT-MCP-) cache: 8192 KB flags: (lm nx sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx) bmips: 25585.6
           Clock Speeds: 1: 800.00 MHz 2: 800.00 MHz 3: 800.00 MHz 4: 800.00 MHz 5: 800.00 MHz 6: 800.00 MHz 7: 800.00 MHz 8: 800.00 MHz
Graphics: Card-1: Intel Xeon E3-1200 v3/4th Gen Core Processor Integrated Graphics Controller bus-ID: 00:02.0
           Card-2: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD/ATI] Curacao XT [Radeon R7 370 / R9 270X/370 OEM] bus-ID: 01:00.0
           X.org: 1.15.1 drivers: (unloaded: fbdev,vesa) FAILED: intel tty size: 159x92 Advanced Data: N/A for root out of X
Audio: Card-1: Intel 9 Series Chipset Family HD Audio Controller driver: snd_hda_intel bus-ID: 00:1b.0
           Card-2: Intel Xeon E3-1200 v3/4th Gen Core Processor HD Audio Controller driver: snd_hda_intel bus-ID: 00:03.0
           Card-3: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD/ATI] Cape Verde/Pitcairn HDMI Audio [Radeon HD 7700/7800 Series] driver: snd_hda_intel bus-ID: 01:00.1
           Card-4: Creative driver: USB Audio usb-ID: 041e:30df
           Sound: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture ver: k3.13.0-37-generic
Network: Card: Intel Ethernet Connection (2) I218-V driver: e1000e ver: 2.3.2-k port: f080 bus-ID: 00:19.0
           IF: eth0 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter>
Drives: HDD Total Size: 3120.6GB (35.6% used) 1: id: /dev/sda model: INTEL_SSDSC2BW12 size: 120.0GB temp: 0C
           2: id: /dev/sdb model: WDC_WD30EFRX size: 3000.6GB temp: 32C
Partition: ID: / size: 23G used: 18G (84%) fs: ext4 ID: /home size: 1.2T used: 975G (87%) fs: ext4
           ID: swap-1 size: 10.03GB used: 0.00GB (0%) fs: swap
RAID: No RAID devices detected - /proc/mdstat and md_mod kernel raid module present
Sensors: System Temperatures: cpu: 29.8C mobo: 27.8C
           Fan Speeds (in rpm): cpu: N/A
Info: Processes: 322 Uptime: 44 days Memory: 9146.1/32116.0MB Runlevel: 2 Gcc sys: 4.9.3 Client: Shell inxi: 1.8.4
netikras-PC ~ # lsusb
Bus 002 Device 002: ID 8087:8001 Intel Corp.
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 8087:8009 Intel Corp.
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 004 Device 004: ID 05e3:0612 Genesys Logic, Inc.
Bus 004 Device 002: ID 05e3:0612 Genesys Logic, Inc.
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
Bus 003 Device 022: ID 041e:30df Creative Technology, Ltd
Bus 003 Device 021: ID 1908:0226 GEMBIRD
Bus 003 Device 024: ID 045e:00db Microsoft Corp. Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 V1.0
Bus 003 Device 023: ID 093a:2521 Pixart Imaging, Inc. Optical Mouse
Bus 003 Device 020: ID 0424:2514 Standard Microsystems Corp. USB 2.0 Hub
Bus 003 Device 019: ID 05e3:0610 Genesys Logic, Inc. 4-port hub
Bus 003 Device 004: ID 0a12:0001 Cambridge Silicon Radio, Ltd Bluetooth Dongle (HCI mode)
Bus 003 Device 003: ID 05e3:0610 Genesys Logic, Inc. 4-port hub
Bus 003 Device 002: ID 046d:c52b Logitech, Inc. Unifying Receiver
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
netikras-PC ~ #

LAPTOP

netikras-xps ~ # inxi -Fxz
System: Host: netikras-xps Kernel: 4.4.0-21-generic x86_64 (64 bit gcc: 5.3.1) Desktop: N/A
           Distro: Linux Mint 18 Sarah
Machine: System: Dell (portable) product: XPS 13 9350
           Mobo: Dell model: 0VM5NC v: A01 Bios: Dell v: 1.2.3 date: 01/08/2016
CPU: Dual core Intel Core i7-6500U (-HT-MCP-) cache: 4096 KB
           flags: (lm nx sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx) bmips: 10367
           clock speeds: max: 3100 MHz 1: 972 MHz 2: 864 MHz 3: 862 MHz 4: 972 MHz
Graphics: Card: Intel Sky Lake Integrated Graphics bus-ID: 00:02.0
           Display Server: X.org 1.18.3 drivers: intel (unloaded: fbdev,vesa)
           tty size: 159x92 Advanced Data: N/A for root
Audio: Card Intel Sunrise Point-LP HD Audio driver: snd_hda_intel bus-ID: 00:1f.3
           Sound: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture v: k4.4.0-21-generic
Network: Card: Broadcom BCM4350 802.11ac Wireless Network Adapter driver: brcmfmac bus-ID: 3a:00.0
           IF: wlp58s0 state: up mac: <filter>
Drives: HDD Total Size: NA (-) ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 model: N/A size: 512.1GB
Partition: ID-1: / size: 21G used: 9.2G (49%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/nvme0n1p7
           ID-2: /home size: 190G used: 90G (50%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/nvme0n1p8
           ID-3: swap-1 size: 10.24GB used: 0.00GB (0%) fs: swap dev: /dev/nvme0n1p6
RAID: No RAID devices: /proc/mdstat, md_mod kernel module present
Sensors: System Temperatures: cpu: 25.0C mobo: N/A
           Fan Speeds (in rpm): cpu: N/A
Info: Processes: 244 Uptime: 1 day Memory: 3301.1/15909.9MB Init: systemd runlevel: 5 Gcc sys: 5.4.0
           Client: Shell (bash 4.3.421) inxi: 2.2.35
netikras-xps ~ # dmesg | grep -i bluet
[ 4.584981] Bluetooth: Core ver 2.21
[ 4.584995] Bluetooth: HCI device and connection manager initialized
[ 4.584998] Bluetooth: HCI socket layer initialized
[ 4.585000] Bluetooth: L2CAP socket layer initialized
[ 4.585005] Bluetooth: SCO socket layer initialized
[ 4.591365] Bluetooth: HCI UART driver ver 2.3
[ 4.591368] Bluetooth: HCI UART protocol H4 registered
[ 4.591369] Bluetooth: HCI UART protocol BCSP registered
[ 4.591370] Bluetooth: HCI UART protocol LL registered
[ 4.591371] Bluetooth: HCI UART protocol ATH3K registered
[ 4.591372] Bluetooth: HCI UART protocol Three-wire (H5) registered
[ 4.591404] Bluetooth: HCI UART protocol Intel registered
[ 4.591417] Bluetooth: HCI UART protocol BCM registered
[ 4.591418] Bluetooth: HCI UART protocol QCA registered
[ 4.709248] Bluetooth: hci0: BCM: chip id 110
[ 4.725255] Bluetooth: hci0: netikras-xps
[ 4.726245] Bluetooth: hci0: BCM (003.006.007) build 0000
[ 4.752788] bluetooth hci0: Direct firmware load for brcm/BCM-0a5c-6412.hcd failed with error -2
[ 4.752793] Bluetooth: hci0: BCM: Patch brcm/BCM-0a5c-6412.hcd not found
[ 5.753705] Bluetooth: BNEP (Ethernet Emulation) ver 1.3
[ 5.753708] Bluetooth: BNEP filters: protocol multicast
[ 5.753712] Bluetooth: BNEP socket layer initialized
[ 77.868109] Bluetooth: RFCOMM TTY layer initialized
[ 77.868124] Bluetooth: RFCOMM socket layer initialized
[ 77.868130] Bluetooth: RFCOMM ver 1.11
[30898.147920] Bluetooth: hci0: BCM: chip id 110
[30898.163929] Bluetooth: hci0: BCM4350C5
[30898.164934] Bluetooth: hci0: BCM (003.006.007) build 0000
[30898.186272] bluetooth hci0: Direct firmware load for brcm/BCM-0a5c-6412.hcd failed with error -2
[30898.186282] Bluetooth: hci0: BCM: Patch brcm/BCM-0a5c-6412.hcd not found
netikras-xps ~ #

There are a few bugs I'd like to report.

BUG #1:

It takes too much effort to connect to my BT headset - I have to have pavucontrol launched as well as native LM audio settings as well as Blueman installed. I can pair my computers to the headset easily, but when it comes to setting AD2P and making it work is where the fun begins. In Blueman devices manager I pair the device and attempt to connect to it as to an audio device (so that I could use AD2P). Most likely I'll get a warning saying that device has been paired but could not be connected to. Next step: power headset off and power it back on and try to connect again. There is a chance it will connect this time but won't allow select AD2P. Next step: restart pulseaudio -- ps -ef | grep pulsea; pulseaudio -k; ps -ef | grep pulsea . Sometimes it happens that PA gets stuck after connecting BT headset and the process does not restart. Then I must manually "kill -9 <pid>" (yes, SIGKILL - others do not help at all). Once PA restarts I can try to connect to headset again and hope I'll be able to select AD2P. If it doesn't work -- start from the very beginning (restarting the headset). If it does - most likely everything will work from there on.

This bug affects both my computers and is really annoying.

BUG #2:

This only affects LM18 on my notebook. If I pray the devil enough and somehow manage to bypass BUG #1 on my notebook I might be lucky enough to connect to my headset. Back when I still had LM17.3 installed on laptop I could play local media, stream it from youtube and download stuff to my computer at the same time if I wanted. Hell, I could even leave my laptop on my desk and go to restroom w/o to enjoy music from the headset even there. Now since I installed LM18 I had to forget this luxury. If I lauch VLC and open some audio file it plays mostly allright. Somewhere in the middle of the song it might start glitching a little bit. And if I decide to adjust volume the glitching goes even worse. Not if I fire up Chrome, go to youtube and open up a random video it's even more terrible... Not only the audio is glitching, but the video as well. Sometimes it stops for entire 2-3 seconds before it plays another half a second. This is terrible. I can no longer use my headset with LM18. None of that happens if I switch audio output device to integrated audio card. But that is no fun... and I cannot play my favourite playlists at work any more :(

I'd like to stress again that this only happens in LM18 - on LM17.3 it used to work really nice (except BUG #1 - it was always there), so it's definitelly not a hardware issue.

Also as these glitches happen I get a syslog entry:

Jul 14 16:55:53 netikras-xps pulseaudio[1461]: [bluetooth] module-bluez5-device.c: Skipping 256320 us (= 45212 bytes) in audio stream
Jul 14 16:55:58 netikras-xps pulseaudio[1461]: [bluetooth] module-bluez5-device.c: Skipping 83150 us (= 14664 bytes) in audio stream
Jul 14 16:55:58 netikras-xps pulseaudio[1461]: [bluetooth] module-bluez5-device.c: Skipping 149215 us (= 26320 bytes) in audio stream
Jul 14 16:55:59 netikras-xps pulseaudio[1461]: [bluetooth] module-bluez5-device.c: Skipping 343263 us (= 60548 bytes) in audio stream
Jul 14 16:55:59 netikras-xps pulseaudio[1461]: [bluetooth] module-bluez5-device.c: Skipping 40931 us (= 7220 bytes) in audio stream
Jul 14 16:55:59 netikras-xps pulseaudio[1461]: [bluetooth] module-bluez5-device.c: Skipping 140364 us (= 24760 bytes) in audio stream
Jul 14 16:55:59 netikras-xps pulseaudio[1461]: [bluetooth] module-bluez5-device.c: Skipping 1130 us (= 196 bytes) in audio stream
Jul 14 16:56:00 netikras-xps pulseaudio[1461]: [bluetooth] module-bluez5-device.c: Skipping 74634 us (= 13164 bytes) in audio stream
Jul 14 16:56:01 netikras-xps pulseaudio[1461]: [bluetooth] module-bluez5-device.c: Skipping 207998 us (= 36688 bytes) in audio stream
Jul 14 16:56:01 netikras-xps pulseaudio[1461]: [bluetooth] module-bluez5-device.c: Skipping 243217 us (= 42900 bytes) in audio stream
Jul 14 16:56:01 netikras-xps pulseaudio[1461]: [bluetooth] module-bluez5-device.c: Skipping 45226 us (= 7976 bytes) in audio stream
Jul 14 16:56:01 netikras-xps pulseaudio[1461]: [bluetooth] module-bluez5-device.c: Skipping 246976 us (= 43564 bytes) in audio stream
Jul 14 16:56:01 netikras-xps pulseaudio[1461]: [bluetooth] module-bluez5-device.c: Skipping 139029 us (= 24524 bytes) in audio stream
Jul 14 16:56:02 netikras-xps pulseaudio[1461]: [bluetooth] module-bluez5-device.c: Skipping 37361 us (= 6588 bytes) in audio stream
Jul 14 16:56:02 netikras-xps pulseaudio[1461]: [bluetooth] module-bluez5-device.c: Skipping 41085 us (= 7244 bytes) in audio stream
Jul 14 16:56:02 netikras-xps pulseaudio[1461]: [bluetooth] module-bluez5-device.c: Skipping 310155 us (= 54708 bytes) in audio stream
Jul 14 16:56:02 netikras-xps pulseaudio[1461]: [bluetooth] module-bluez5-device.c: Skipping 104049 us (= 18352 bytes) in audio stream
Jul 14 16:56:02 netikras-xps pulseaudio[1461]: [bluetooth] module-bluez5-device.c: Skipping 142155 us (= 25076 bytes) in audio stream
Jul 14 16:56:03 netikras-xps pulseaudio[1461]: [bluetooth] module-bluez5-device.c: Skipping 439200 us (= 77472 bytes) in audio stream
Jul 14 16:56:03 netikras-xps pulseaudio[1461]: [bluetooth] module-bluez5-device.c: Skipping 44333 us (= 7820 bytes) in audio stream
Jul 14 16:56:03 netikras-xps pulseaudio[1461]: [bluetooth] module-bluez5-device.c: Skipping 107904 us (= 19032 bytes) in audio stream
Jul 14 16:56:05 netikras-xps pulseaudio[1461]: [bluetooth] module-bluez5-device.c: Skipping 432915 us (= 76364 bytes) in audio stream

I'd like to get those fixed. Especially the BUG #2, because it cuts me completely off using my headset.