Bluetooth audio issues on Huawei Ascend Y520 (4.4.2)

[Plato the Cave]

I recently bought an Ascend and I've had issues with the audio output (primarily through Bluetooth headphones, but I'm not totally sure there aren't issues with the output in general). When playing music via Bluetooth headphones, there is a noticeable static/crackling sound, and quite often cut-outs even when the phone is close. This is rather annoying seeing as this is a major function for the phone for me, while older phones give better sound quality with the same headphones.

I've Googled this issue and read a number of threads here and elsewhere, and it seems like Bluetooth audio issues are very common with Kitkat, with no consensus on any fix in the threads I read. I've tried a number of the ideas, like turning off Wifi, re-pairing the headphones, re-naming the phone, looking in developer options, all without any noticeable success (maybe Wifi helps a tiny bit, but I'm streaming via Wifi a lot). However, a lot of the threads I looked up were a number of months old, so I'm hoping maybe some kind of fix may have arisen since.

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! I would think that the issue would be more device-specific, rather than Android version-specific. Are you able to test out more than one Bluetooth device with the phone?

 

[Plato the Cave]

I don't have any other Bluetooth audio devices. I can connect via Bluetooth via a laptop if that matters. I have tried wired headphones and they seem to stop the noise.

It may be worth noting that the static doesn't appear persistent. For instance, it is barely noticeable when playing a podcast, but very noticeable with treble-y music.

 

[B. Diddy]

It's difficult to pinpoint the issue, since it could be a problem with the Bluetooth headphones rather than the phone or the system. Try bringing the phone to an electronics store like Best Buy, and see if you can test out some Bluetooth headphones or speakers there.

 

[Plato the Cave]

I have tried the headphones on other phones (with earlier Android versions) and they work fine.

 

[B. Diddy]

So either your phone's Bluetooth is bad (either due to a hardware or firmware issue), or there's some compatibility issue with these specific headphones (which is why I was suggesting trying other Bluetooth headphones on the same phone).

 

[Plato the Cave]

So I tried the headphones on another KitKat phone (albeit only briefly, playing one of the pre-loaded tracks on a store phone) and there didn't appear to be any issues. Also, I tried connecting my phone to some Bluetooth speakers and that also didn't appear to have any issues.

 

[sarapatrick1980]

you can try your OS re-installation and your problem will be solved most likely.

 

[B. Diddy]

Hmm. Sorry, I'm stuck. Bluetooth speakers might act differently, since they don't have the ability to send remote commands like Pause/Play. This might be contributing to the problem, although when you say that the sound cuts out, I assume the track doesn't actually pause, right?

 

[Plato the Cave]

I'm thinking that the cutouts may not be a Bluetooth issue, as I've noticed (at least for Google Play Music) the music stuttering even through the phone's speakers. I tried playing Google Play Music through my laptop (via Bluetooth headphones) and there were no issues.

Do you think a factory reset is worth a try? I haven't had the phone very long and noticed the issue pretty early on, so I'm doubtful, but it may be better than nothing.

 

[B. Diddy]

Ah, so the Bluetooth was a bit of a red herring! Does this happen with both locally stored music, streamed music, or both? And does it happen with different music apps?

 

[Plato the Cave]

I wouldn't say that - there are two distinct issues. One is the crackle/static, the other is the cutouts. The crackling appears with everything (I think - it's more noticeable with treble-y, symphonic-like music). The cutouts seem by far more frequent streaming Google Play Music, though I think they occur a little in other ways.

 

[B. Diddy]

Argh!

 

[Plato the Cave]

I tried a factory reset and nothing's changed.