Android Not Keeping Audio Enabled for Bluetooth Devices

[joshhumble]

I have a pair of Bluetooth headphones. Every time I connect them and I start playing like a YouTube video or a song nothing comes out because the audio is not enabled in Android and I manually go into the Bluetooth settings and check this audio box. I've tried to unpairing and repairing it, but android never keeps audio enabled, every single time I have to manually do it is there a way to force android to have it stay enabled?

I have s22.

 

[UmerFaroooq]

If you're facing the issue of your Bluetooth headphones not automatically enabling audio output on your Android device, there are a few troubleshooting steps you can try:

1. Forget and reconnect the headphones: Start by unpairing your Bluetooth headphones from your Android device. Go to the Bluetooth settings, find your headphones in the paired devices list, and select "Forget" or "Unpair." Then, put your headphones into pairing mode again and reconnect them to your Android device.
2. Clear Bluetooth cache: Sometimes, Bluetooth-related issues can be resolved by clearing the Bluetooth cache on your Android device. Go to the Settings app, navigate to "Apps" or "Applications," find "Bluetooth" in the list of apps, and tap on it. From there, choose the option to clear the cache.
3. Reset network settings: Resetting the network settings on your Android device can help resolve connectivity issues, including problems with Bluetooth. Note that this will also reset your Wi-Fi networks and passwords. To perform this reset, go to the Settings app, select "System" or "General Management," find "Reset" or "Reset options," and choose the option to reset network settings.
4. Check for software updates: Make sure your Android device is running the latest available software updates. Manufacturers often release updates that address Bluetooth connectivity and compatibility issues. Go to the Settings app, navigate to "System" or "About Phone," and look for "Software updates" or "System updates" to check for any available updates.
5. Test with another device: To isolate the issue, try connecting your Bluetooth headphones to another Android device or a different Bluetooth device (such as a tablet or computer) to see if the problem persists. If the headphones work fine with other devices, it indicates that the issue may be specific to your Android device.

 

[joshhumble]

If you're facing the issue of your Bluetooth headphones not automatically enabling audio output on your Android device, there are a few troubleshooting steps you can try:

1. Forget and reconnect the headphones: Start by unpairing your Bluetooth headphones from your Android device. Go to the Bluetooth settings, find your headphones in the paired devices list, and select "Forget" or "Unpair." Then, put your headphones into pairing mode again and reconnect them to your Android device.
2. Clear Bluetooth cache: Sometimes, Bluetooth-related issues can be resolved by clearing the Bluetooth cache on your Android device. Go to the Settings app, navigate to "Apps" or "Applications," find "Bluetooth" in the list of apps, and tap on it. From there, choose the option to clear the cache.
3. Reset network settings: Resetting the network settings on your Android device can help resolve connectivity issues, including problems with Bluetooth. Note that this will also reset your Wi-Fi networks and passwords. To perform this reset, go to the Settings app, select "System" or "General Management," find "Reset" or "Reset options," and choose the option to reset network settings.
4. Check for software updates: Make sure your Android device is running the latest available software updates. Manufacturers often release updates that address Bluetooth connectivity and compatibility issues. Go to the Settings app, navigate to "System" or "About Phone," and look for "Software updates" or "System updates" to check for any available updates.
5. Test with another device: To isolate the issue, try connecting your Bluetooth headphones to another Android device or a different Bluetooth device (such as a tablet or computer) to see if the problem persists. If the headphones work fine with other devices, it indicates that the issue may be specific to your Android device.

Hi

So the only one I have not tried is your suggestion to clear the Bluetooth cache. But I cannot clear it it is grayed out the button to clear cache you cannot click it

 

[Hadron]

So what happened when you tried suggestion number 5? Did the headphones work with other devices (which would suggest that the problem is in how your phone connects with those headphones), or did they have the same problem (which would put the problem unambiguously with the headphones themselves, or at least between those headphones and this particular phone)?

I've never had a problem with Android failing to switch the output to a bluetooth audio device when it connects, so this is not normal android behaviour (and I'm using an s21 on the latest update, so the software should be very similar to your phone). It feels like either a misconfiguration of the headphones or a miscommunication between them and the phone when they connect. Do these headphones have a companion app (some do)? If so maybe check its settings, or clear its cache or data.

Maybe also check in your sound settings: in the sound settings there's a "Separate app sound" option that allows you to tell some apps to always play through a different audio device. I've never used it, but maybe check that there's nothing set there that might interfere with this connection.

As for clearing the bluetooth cache, normally when "clear cache" is greyed-out for an app that means that the cache is already empty - though in my case it's greyed-out even though it isn't empty (not quite: there are 14kB in there), so obviously Samsung just don't want you doing that.

 

[joshhumble]

So what happened when you tried suggestion number 5? Did the headphones work with other devices (which would suggest that the problem is in how your phone connects with those headphones), or did they have the same problem (which would put the problem unambiguously with the headphones themselves, or at least between those headphones and this particular phone)?

I've never had a problem with Android failing to switch the output to a bluetooth audio device when it connects, so this is not normal android behaviour (and I'm using an s21 on the latest update, so the software should be very similar to your phone). It feels like either a misconfiguration of the headphones or a miscommunication between them and the phone when they connect. Do these headphones have a companion app (some do)? If so maybe check its settings, or clear its cache or data.

Maybe also check in your sound settings: in the sound settings there's a "Separate app sound" option that allows you to tell some apps to always play through a different audio device. I've never used it, but maybe check that there's nothing set there that might interfere with this connection.

As for clearing the bluetooth cache, normally when "clear cache" is greyed-out for an app that means that the cache is already empty - though in my case it's greyed-out even though it isn't empty (not quite: there are 14kB in there), so obviously Samsung just don't want you doing that.

I tried it on a friend's pixel phone and same result, audio has to be manually enabled. So it's clearly the Bluetooth headphones themselves but still I was hoping there was a way to change that in Android to default to audio enabled every time. Guess not.

The headphone does not have a dedicated app.

I found the separate app sound setting thing you're talking about, I'll try tinkering with that tomorrow.

 

[Hadron]

If there's nothing already set in there it's probably not the cause. I don't know whether it can be used as a workaround though (as I've never used it).

Good luck.