Chromebook users still reporting Bluetooth audio issues with connected devices years down the line

Using Bluetooth with Chrome OS hasn’t exactly been a walk in the park over the years. The duo has shared a troubled relationship, and what’s worse is the fact that users continue to bump into issues.

There have also been plentiful complaints from Chromebook users about Bluetooth audio issues with connected devices recently, some of which are given below.

I have a Samsung Chromebook 4+ in good condition, but my parents bought it and I’m not sure if it’s second hand or not. At first, my Bluetooth headphones would not connect at all. Now that I’ve managed to get them to connect to my computer after twenty minutes of troubleshooting, the volume starts glitching and turning up and down by itself. The slightest movement makes my Bluetooth disconnect.
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Bluetooth Audio device connects but audio plays from Chromebook speaker? I’ve tried restarting my chromebook, plugging in a 3.5mm headset to the jack and clicking on the audio settings icon when it appeared, but nothing seems to work.
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As apparent from the above complaints, users seem to be experiencing a string of issues, that may or may not be related to each other, with the Bluetooth on their Chrome OS devices.

Several complainants state that their Bluetooth device, like for, say, a Bluetooth headset, is having a really hard time staying connected to their Chromebook.

The device keeps disconnecting from time to time or behaves like it has an extremely poor range – trying to get even a little farther from the Chromebook results in a Bluetooth disconnection.

Connectivity isn’t the sole problem though, as plenty of users have also stated that they face various issues even when connected as well. Choppy or no audio from Bluetooth audio devices seems to be a common occurrence.

It is worth noting here though, that Google is aware of the Bluetooth problems that plague its Chrome OS devices. The company had attempted a massive fix a couple of years back by building an entirely new Bluetooth stack from the ground up – NewBlue.

So, what exactly is a Bluetooth stack? Well, in simplest terms, the Bluetooth technology makes use of several protocol layers. Those layers when combined make up the Bluetooth stack.

However, things did not work out as expected with NewBlue, and Google was forced to discontinue the ambitious project. Since then, Chrome OS has reverted to the good old reliable BlueZ stack that NewBlue had replaced, or at least tried to.

Following this, Google has been vigorously adding updates to BlueZ to improve its user experience.

So, now you know the probable cause behind the Bluetooth audio issues on your Chromebook. All good things take time, and considering that the stack’s development process is still ongoing, you are bound to see improvements in its state with every new update.

With that being said, let us know about your experience with Bluetooth on your Chromebook in the comments below.

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