In one of the previous articles, we highlighted the necessity of easy-to-remember names and version numbering for techs targeting the masses.
Talking about wireless LAN aka Wi-Fi, even the certificating organization (Wi-Fi Alliance) recognizes this requirement and renamed the Wi-Fi standards.
Bluetooth is another similar wireless radio technology as Wi-Fi. The The protocol is managed by Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), who are smart enough to use simple numerical version numbering from the beginning. ?
As a matter of fact, most of the hardware vendors now manufacture combo solutions where both the Wi-Fi chip and Bluetooth radio reside on the same module.
Unlike Wi-Fi, Bluetooth is intended for low data rate compatible scenarios. The protocol itself was designed to consume negligible amount of energy, which was further enhanced with the introduction of Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE).
In contrast to Classic Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) is designed to provide significantly lower power consumption. This allows Android apps to communicate with BLE devices that have stricter power requirements, such as proximity sensors, heart rate monitors, and fitness devices.
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Besides the BLE powered smart wearable devices like the above mentioned heart rate monitors, traditional Bluetooth peripherals can be found everywhere nowadays. The fifth generation of Bluetooth tech further optimized the energy consumption as well as increased the range.
Major operating systems support Bluetooth devices out of the box. However, we have seen considerable amount of compatibility problems reported after the release of Android 9.0 Pie.
Ever since the update to Android Pie 9, I have not been able to sync my Fitbit Versa or use my Bluetooth Media Button. These are the only two Bluetooth LE devices I currently have. Every other Bluetooth device I have works fine, car, headphones, speakers, gamepads, mice and keyboards.
Is there anything being done to fix this? I am worried since I can’t upgrade for a while yet and need my Pixel 1 to keep working fine for a while.
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Since the update to Pie, my 6.1 has been struggling. The GPS has stopped working, bluetooth connections to my Garmin Watch, Chromebook (smart unlock) have also stopped working.
I’ve tried rebooting, turning BT on/off and removing the pairing with my watch. I now cannot repair the connection to the watch.
I’ve also experienced issues connecting with BT in the car, specifically it reconnects to BT mid-call when I’ve changed from BT to handset.
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As readers may notice, the issues are widespread and not limited to any particular brand or BT enabled device.
In fact, we reported some isolated incidents earlier where OnePlus phones couldn’t connect with select Tile trackers after Pie update or Samsung Galaxy S8 users started to face Bluetooth issues after upgrading to Pie based One UI.
It is known fact that Google made some serious changes inside the core network stack in Android 9 Pie. Readers should remember that we were the first publication to report Wi-Fi connection issues after Pie OTA update, which boiled down to MTU size and packet fragmentation.
To tell the truth, Google actually acknowledged the existence of the Wi-Fi glitch in Android Pie.
Those who are affected by the Bluetooth related glitches after Android Pie update started a thread under Google Issue Tracker. The Mountain View giant assigned an employee who marked the issue as generic P2 level.
P2: An issue that needs to be addressed on a reasonable timescale.
Fortunately, the status of the aforementioned issue was changed back in March 2019. They marked it as fixed.
The development team has fixed the issue that you have reported and it will be available in a future build.
No ETA has been given, so it is tough to speculate anything about the exact timeframe of the bug fix rollout. However, Essential has recently rolled out the May 2019 OTA update for Essential PH-1, which specifically mentioned Bluetooth related fixes.
According to user feedback, this update is really effective to resolve the long-standing BT connection issues with in-car audio peripherals and other components.
Well for my Camry I can now make calls through car without getting stuck in ” handset mode” routing of Bluetooth from BT headset to car BT works!!
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Although it is too early to assume anything, looks like Google has finally pushed the necessary firmware/code changes to squash out Bluetooth (and BLE) connectivity bugs present in Android Pie. PiunikaWeb is gathering more user reports to determine the actual status of the fix(es).
But my Satchi Bluetooth Media Button works just fine now and reconnects without rebooting either device. It didn’t work from the release of Android 9 till the May 5th patch. So I think Google has fixed the Bluetooth LE problem in my opinion.
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How many of you are facing Bluetooth pairing/streaming issue on Android 9 Pie? Comment below.
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Kingshuk De
896 Posts
I came from a mixed background of Statistics and Computer Science. My research domains included embedded computer systems, mobile computing and delay tolerant networks in post-disaster scenarios. Apart from tinkering with gadgets or building hackintosh, I like to hop on various subreddits and forums like MyDigitalLife and XDA.
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