Headset buttons not working when phone is locked, Nexus 6P

[Noah Evans]

Hey Gang, I recently purchased a Nexus 6P and I absolutely love it. However, I frequently use a headset with inline buttons while working around my house and the 6P has an issue with my Samsung earbuds (came with Note 5). When the screen is on, everything (volumn +/- and play/pause) works flawlessly. However, when the screen is off, none of the buttons work at all. If audio is playing, the main button can not pause it and the volume buttons have no effect. When audio is off, the main button can not resume playback. Even holding down the main button does not initiate voice search. Obviously this renders the functionality basically useless because if the screen is on, I hardly need the buttons. Does anyone else have this specific problem and if not, what headset are you using? Does anyone know a workaround?

 

[Noah Evans]

I have some additional information. I figured out by accident that there are two kinds of behaviors when the screen is turned off. Under scenario 1 below, my headset buttons will not work. Under scenario 2 below, my headset buttons do work. Basically, I have set the lock timer on my phone to zero seconds and my headset buttons now work when the screen is off because the device is locked. However, when the screen is simply off and not locked, the buttons will not work. This is really strange behavior. I even tested the following: I set the "automatically lock" timer to 5 seconds. Immediately after pressing the power button to turn off the display (within the 5 second unlocked window) I pressed the headset button but audio did not begin playing. I pressed the button again after 5 seconds (device is now locked) and audio began playing. Anyone have any thoughts on what is going on?

1: Pressing the power button turns the screen off but pressing it again instantly resumes without first going through the lock screen. There is no need to "swipe up" to operate the phone.
2: Pressing the power button turns off the screen but when the power button is pressed again to unlock, you are greeted by the standard lock screen and must swipe up to unlock. Depending on current security settings and smart lock locations/devices nearby, you may also need to enter a pin or use the fingerprint reader.

 

[TrekkieMonster]

I find this post very interesting. I have not had exactly the same experience as you describe, as I do not have headphones with in-line controls, but have noticed that since the March OS update the volume rocker does not work when the screen is off. Before that, the volume rocker always functioned when the screen was off - regardless of whether the screen was locked or merely off - and I find this change very annoying. I'm can only assume that it must be the same issue. I haven't experimented with the screen lock element that you mentioned, but will do so just to find out for myself. If anyone has a work around, I'd love to hear it, and I am hopeful that Google will restore this feature with a future OS update (the April update did not fix the issue). Best of luck.

 

[Noah Evans]

Just tested and I have the same problem you have. When I am playing music on my device with the screen off, the volume buttons (standard ones on the side of the phone) do not change the playback volume unless the phone is actually locked. I performed the same test as before, set the "automatically lock" timer to 5 seconds. The volume buttons began working 5 seconds after I pressed the power button.