Bluetooth headset

This article describes the setup of a bluetooth headset.

Prerequisites
A Bluetooth installation must be done first. If you use simple-agent, no GUI programs or applets are needed. Here is how to setup ALSA sound.

ALSA configuration
Edit /etc/asound.conf (systemwide) or ~/.asoundrc (user level). Add one of the following code snippets, and replace the MAC address with the one of your bluetooth device.

Restart ALSA.

Testing
Play a sound file. When it works, please add your device to our Hall of Fame.

Audio socket
Some setups (non-PulseAudio) need Socket enabled, if there's no sound.

Can't open input device
Compile and load the uinput kernel module, when things don't work, and the logs show this error: Output of Syslog

No audio service is available
After updating to -4.97 it might happen, that a Bluetooth headset is connected, but ALSA / PulseAudio fails to pick up the connected device.

An error message like this might be shown in the output of PulseAudio: Debug output of PulseAudio

To fix this, the following needs to be done:
 * 1) Enable the audio socket of bluetoothd


 * 1) Restart bluetoothd by doing one of the following things:
 * 2) * Turn the software wireless kill switch off and on again


 * 1) * Turn the hardware wireless kill switch off and on again
 * 2) * Reboot the computer
 * 3) Reconnect the Bluetooth headset

List of working devices

 * Dell BH200 - works as headphones - microphone not yet tested
 * HFBLU-ST6 - works as headphones - microphone doesn't seem to work with preliminary testing
 * Nokia BH-214 - works as headphones - microphone doesn't seem to work with preliminary testing
 * HBH-DS200 - works as headphones - microphone not yet tested
 * Plantronics BackBeat GO - works as headphones - microphone not yet tested