NOT SOLVED: Glitching / skipping / stuttering / popping when connected to bluetooth

[neuracnu]

Hi folks,

I'm running into a painfully frustrating problem.

I'm using the Spotify app on my Android Pixel 5 phone (running Android 11, latest updates) and connecting the phone via Bluetooth (aptx) to an Aluratek ABCD54F bluetooth receiver (within a foot or two of one another, no obstructions).

Spotify audio playback, when pushed through the Aluratek ABCD54F, has started generating sporadic glitching, skipping, stuttering, popping and micro-pauses in the resulting audio. The frequency of these errors varies, sometimes as frequently as one or two per second, sometimes one every few seconds, and sometimes only one error every 30-45 seconds. It makes the service basically impossible to listen to. I've been using this hardware setup for over a year and it seems like this only started happening in the last few months.

Listen to the attached audio file for an example of what this sounds like.

None of the other media applications on my phone have this problem when playing back audio through the Aluratek ABCD54F. Local media played back with VLC, YouTube, Bandcamp, SoundCloud, web browsers, locally-recorded video playback: these all sound fine. Spotify is the only app that's giving me this trouble. I am solidly connected to my home wifi at the time with no connection problems.

The phone's bluetooth connection to other devices works just fine (Shure bluetooth earphones and my car's bluetooth audio adapter). 

Things I've tried that DO NOT FIX THE PROBLEM:

• placing the phone next to the bluetooth receiver (they literally sit a foot apart from one another, but moving it closer does not help)
• playback from the phone via the battery
• playback from the phone plugged into power
• clearing the Spotify app cache
• reinstalling the Spotify app
• reinstalling the Spotify app (after removing cache and all local settings manually)
• turning on data-saver options
• turning off data-saver options
• turning on auto-quality-adjustments
• turning off auto-quality-adjustments
• NEW: removing the saved bluetooth connection to the Aluratek ABCD54F and re-adding it
• NEW: using a different phone to connect to the same Bluetooth receiver and speaker (on the same paid Spotify account)
• NEW: using the phone's "Reset Wi-Fi, mobile and Bluetooth" option to wipe all existing network settings
• NEW: trying a different speaker (a JBL Boombox 2)

Things that seem to work just fine:

• Connecting to the Aluratek ABCD54F and speaker and playing audio from apps besides Spotify.
• Connecting to the Aluratek ABCD54F and speaker and playing audio from other devices (laptops).
• Connecting to the Aluratec ABCD54F and speaker from a different phone, using a new (unpaid) Spotify account, but using all the same Spotify and Bluetooth configuration options as the phones that did not work (which were using paid Spotify accounts).

I've also asked Aluratek if this is a problem they've heard of, and they've said no; the bluetooth receiver is a pretty simple device, and one they rarely see problems with, and have heard no iss

Plan: Premium

Country: United States

Device: Pixel 5

Operating System: Android 11

[Alex]

Hi @neuracnu,

Thanks for reaching out about this in the Community!

And thank you for the detailed info and all the troubleshooting you've done.

A background update of the Bluetooth stack and dependent Bluetooth services might've caused this.

What you can try is resetting the Bluetooth pairing and performing a factory reset on the speaker. You should be aware that there might be some Bluetooth incompatibilities, as Spotify uses a different audio coded than most audio devices so if anything changed there recently, it could be that the speaker just doesn't support these updates.

Hope this information helps. Don't hesitate to reach out again if you have questions.

[neuracnu]

Hi Alex,

I tried deleting the Bluetooth pairing from my phone and re-pairing the device. I'm afraid that this hasn't addressed the problem. I'm still hearing crunch-ing and micro-pauses during playback, and ONLY during playback within the Spotify app.

[MafeG]

Hi @neuracnu,

Thank you for your reply.

Could you pair a different device to your Bluetooth speaker and see if the issue persists that way?

Also, can you log in with another account, such as a friend's or a family member's to see if the same thing happens? Alternatively, you can create a free account here, just make sure you're logged out of your own account before creating a new one.  

This will help us narrow down the root of this issue and assist you better.

Keep us posted.

[neuracnu]

"Could you pair a different device to your Bluetooth speaker and see if the issue persists that way?"

Yes, the issue persists when I connect my partner's Google Pixel 3XL to the same speaker system (also using our paid Spotify account).

"Alternatively, you can create a free account here, just make sure you're logged out of your own account before creating a new one. "

So something new happened when I tried this. Using my phone for work (a Google Pixel 3), I downloaded a new copy of Spotify, used it to create a free account and connected this via Bluetooth to the same speaker setup. This seemed to work just fine -- smooth playback through the speakers, no jittering or glitching or other problems. Going back to my personal phone (the Google Pixel 5), the problems started back up again.

Does this help with troubleshooting? Could the problem be with the phone itself? Why would this issue be happening to both a Google Pixel 3XL and a Google Pixel 5, but not a Google Pixel 3? Thanks for all your help!

[MafeG]

Hi @neuracnu,

Thank you for your reply and sending this detailed info.

We'd like to check the Pixel 3XL and 5's Bluetooth settings as the issue may be generated there.

To start, please open the phone's Settings, in the search bar look for "Reset Bluetooth Settings", and follow the steps to reset them. Then test the Spotify app again.

If this doesn't do the trick, you may need to check the Bluetooth's codecs. Take into account you need to enable the Developer Mode first. Then, open your phone's Settings and look for "Bluetooth Codecs" 

In this step, we suggest you compare the Codec settings you use on the Pixel 3, and select them on your other phones. 

Let us know how this goes. 

[neuracnu]

"To start, please open the phone's Settings, in the search bar look for "Reset Bluetooth Settings", and follow the steps to reset them. Then test the Spotify app again."

I don't have access to the Pixel 3XL right now, but I was able to try this on my Pixel 5. The settings don't have an option to reset Bluetooth settings alone, but there is option in the settings for "Reset Wi-Fi, mobile & Bluetooth". I tried this (without resetting the software SIMs) on the Pixel 5. I re-setup my Wifi and Bluetooth connections and I'm still having the same trouble.

"If this doesn't do the trick, you may need to check the Bluetooth's codecs. Take into account you need to enable the Developer Mode first. Then, open your phone's Settings and look for "Bluetooth Codecs". In this step, we suggest you compare the Codec settings you use on the Pixel 3, and select them on your other phones."

Both phones have the same Bluetooth settings under "Developer options" (while in Developer mode), none of which have been modified from their default settings:

• HD audio is enabled
• Bluetooth Audio Codec: Streaming: Qualcomm aptX audio
• Bluetooth Audio Sample Rate: Streaming: 48.0 kHz
• Bluetooth Audio Bits Per Sample: Streaming: 16 bits/sample
• Bluetooth Audio Channel Mode: Streaming: Stereo
• Maximum connected Bluetooth audio de...: Use System Default: 5

[neuracnu]

FYI, I just uploaded an audio sample of the behavior and attached it to the original (top) post. Here's the link: https://community.spotify.com/spotify/attachments/spotify/spotifyandroid/180426/1/bluetooth-pixel5-s...

[Ver]

Hey @neuracnu,

Thanks for keeping us in the loop 🙂

Just to double-check-does the issue persist when you're using the new account on the Pixel 5? That way we can check if this is an account-related issue.

Keep us posted.

[neuracnu]

Hi @Ver,

I've been performing a number of tests on my end, mostly by switching between accounts and phones, and distances between by Bluetooth receiver and WiFi router.

It seems that my problems are being considerably improved by moving the device AWAY from my Bluetooth receiver and closer in the direction of the WiFi router. This may be some kind of strange problem with WiFi interference rather than Bluetooth.

I'll post additional details as I gather them. Thanks!

[Alex]

Hey @neuracnu,

Thanks for the post.

Any info is welcome, as it might help other users facing this issue 🙂

Cheers.

[neuracnu]

OK folks, here's the situation.

Remarkably, I found that moving the player devices AWAY from the Bluetooth receiver was having a net positive effect overall, specifically when moving them away from the receiver and into the direction of the WiFi router. 

Signal strength on the WiFi network was always average (between -80 dBm and -70 dBm RSSI, noise: -92 dBm), so I never presumed this was a problem. The closer the phone got to the router, the fewer glitches I would hear, though I would need to be basically in the same room as the router (better than -50 dBm) to get Spotify to play music with NO errors. But that's a ridiculously good signal for Spotify to require for error-less playback.

Another interesting note: when turning Wifi off (and using each phone's mobile data connection), playback would work perfectly, from wherever in the house I was playing it from.  Really really weird findings.

So here's what I did and where I am today:

• Reconnected the wifi antennas directly to the router (which had been being run out with cables to various points in the home to extend signal). Maybe this was causing some kind of RF interference that wasn't being picked up as signal noise (again: signal strength and noise metrics all looked pretty good).
• Added a cheap-o Netgear EX3700 Wifi range extender that sits between the router and the intended audio playback location (with phones connecting exclusively to the range extender). RSSI: -59 dBm, Noise: -95 dBm.
• RESULT: Playback is better, but not perfect. At the start of about half the tracks, I'm hear some jittering within the first few seconds, but not after that. 

At this point, I think this is all I can do. This really seems like some kind of brittle error handling issue in the Spotify app to require all the above mitigations to get it only mostly woking. That's nutty.

[Jeremy]

Hi there @neuracnu,

Thank you for your reply.

It's really nice of you to share your solution 🙂

Let us know if we can help you with anything else.

Take care!

[ForArnheim]

Have you had any better luck since this last post??

I'm experiencing the exact same thing and it's making me insane: skipping ONLY when 1. On the Spotify app on my Pixel 3, 2. Listening via Bluetooth, and 3. on WiFi. If I change any of those variables the problem goes away, but unfortunately this is how I use Spotify 90% of the time. At this point I just disconnect from WiFi if I want to listen to music.

What's really weird is that even if I set the audio quality to the lowest setting, heck even if I download the song, it still skips. I'm convinced this is specific to the Spotify app, as I can use the same phone to play Netflix in HD from across the house using the same WiFi and Bluetooth and it won't miss a beat. Very crazy stuff.

[MoseMusic]

Same here. Clearly it's a problem with the combination of Spotify /wifi/pixel. Other apps work fine. 

[MafeG]

Hi folks,

Thank you for your posts.

We'd like to clarify a few things and know if you're also experiencing this issue with the Aluratek audio device. 

If you are, could you try to connect your phone to a different Bluetooth device and check how it behaves? 

Throughout this thread there are also multiple troubleshooting steps. Let us know if you've tried performing them since they've worked for other users.

Let us know how this goes.

[MoseMusic]

I am not using that speaker. It happens with my sony wireless headphones
and my bose bluetooth speaker.

[CarlosE]

Hey @MoseMusic,

Thanks for the clarification.

Can you list all the troubleshooting steps mentioned in this thread that you've already tried?

We'll be on the lookout.

[tkil]

I experienced exactly this problem: glitching on any bluetooth audio device when streaming Spotify over wifi, on a Pixel 3a XL). Wired headphones are fine; bluetooth audio + cellular is fine.

This seems to have fixed it for me:

https://support.google.com/pixelphone/thread/71338593/issues-with-audio-and-bluetooth-since-installi...

TL/DR:

1. Enable Developer Mode, then go into Developer Settings.

2. Set "Bluetooth AVRCP-Version" to 1.6

3. Set "Bluetooth MAP-Version" to 1.4

4. Restart the phone

I've been listening for about an hour, no glitches whatsoever.

[tkil]

Just wanted to give @neuracnu a huge +1 for their impressive bug report in the first place. Well done!