Bluetooth headphone issues (it connects but sounds distorted at times)

General system Gaming, sound and video
1

I’ve been trying to find a solution to the issue I’ve been having with my bluetooth headphones but I keep finding people who are having different problems. My issue is that my headphones connect but the audio sounds bad. It’ll even seem okay for a little bit and then it starts sounding distorted for a short period before going back to normal.

This problem has been present for a while (as in multiple months) so I don’t think it’s due to an update, or at least not a recent one. I’ve also updated my system and then tried my headphones again only for the problem to keep appearing. I also know it isn’t a problem with my headphones because they work perfectly fine with my phone.

I’m not fully sure what info to provide, but here’s a copy and paste from the ‘about this system’ part of the info center:

Operating System: EndeavourOS
KDE Plasma Version: 6.6.3
KDE Frameworks Version: 6.24.0
Qt Version: 6.11.0
Kernel Version: 6.19.10-arch1-1 (64-bit)
Graphics Platform: Wayland
Processors: 4 × Intel® Core™ i5-4300U CPU @ 1.90GHz
Memory: 8 GiB of RAM (7.6 GiB usable)
Graphics Processor: Mesa Intel® HD Graphics 4400
Manufacturer: LENOVO
Product Name: 20B7S3JN04
System Version: ThinkPad T440

If there’s any other info I should provide that will help I’ll likely be happy to provide it. I’ve tried uninstalling bluetooth and reinstalling it but it doesn’t seem to help. Being able to fix this issue will mean a lot to me so any input is greatly appreciated.

2

I have been experiencing something similar for a couple weeks now. It is more recent for me "(not months as you have mentioned) but i think maybe a pipewire or bluez update might have caused something. I am also using easyeffects, that one could be the culprit also. The problem is not constant, it is dependent on the connection. If i reconnect, the issue might go away.

3

I’m no expert but I had similar problems with my previous desktop build. In my case, the bluetooth on the motherboard was either crap, or it was getting getting too much interference. I solved the problem by getting an external bluetooth adapter and turning of the internal bluetooth on the bios. You can get USB bluetooth adapters pretty cheap (usd 10-20$ on amazon). It might be worth picking one up, or borrowing one, to see if the problem is hardware-related.

4

That’s a solid point about the interference. I’ve run into similar issues where the onboard Bluetooth just couldn’t handle the signal properly. Checking for driver updates or even trying a different USB port for an adapter (if using one) sometimes helps clear up that distortion too.

5

i was really hoping the issue wasn’t hardware but that is pretty likely considering how old my laptop is. thanks so much for the input!