Smartwatch bluetooth music control - Audio keeps playing through watch

[Ryan K2]

Have a Galaxy S7 with headphones plugged into the audio jack, plays music fine. When I try to control the music with my smartwatch, or other bluetooth controllers, it will skip a song forward or back just fine, but if I press pause, then play, the audio switches from my headphones to the smartwatch. The only way I can switch the audio output back to my headphones is by going into the Audio Output quick setting and selecting the headphones.

I've found the Separate App Sound in the settings which prevents the audio from switching to the smartwatch, but this only lets me select 1 app at a time. So if I switch from Pandora to Amazon Music, I have to go into the Separate App Sound settings and change the app listed each time.

What is the simple solution to make it so the audio always plays through my headphones, regardless of using my phone or smartwatch to pause/play/skip music?

 

[hallux]

Which watch? Is the watch connecting with a full BT connection or just the BTLE connection?

I have a Huawei Watch - I don't do the full BT connection between the watch and phone, I just use the BTLE (which does no change the BT icon in my system notifications to indicate a connected device) and it works fine. If I were to connect it with a full media connection, I imagine it would behave as yours does.

 

[Ryan K2]

It's just a cheap knockoff watch that I bought for the sole purpose of controlling music in my headphones when I'm riding my motorcycle. My GPS unit on my bike has a bluetooth control as well (no audio output features), and it can skip forward or backward songs, but if I press pause, then play on the GPS unit, same thing happens where the phone tries to play the audio through the GPS and I cannot get the audio back to my headphones unless I switch the Audio Output in my phone settings.

What is BTLE?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...ag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUacUvbUpU6337762

 

[hallux]

Bluetooth Low Energy. It's a "lightweight" connection between the phone and the watch and does not trigger the "connected" BT icon. I have a feeling yours is using a full connection of some kind...

Does the watch use an app that you had to install on the phone in order to interface? That app may be getting in the way.

Wow, that is quite the knockoff of the Apple Watch. I find it interesting that the camera (or what I presume is the camera) is in different places on different colors in the Amazon listing.

 

[Ryan K2]

No app needed, just connects via bluetooth as it would for a speaker or car radio. I bought it just for the ability to control music, nothing else.

For my GPS here is what I have. It interacts the same way, can display text messages, show my phone book, and control music but I have the same problem if I press pause then play

https://www.trailtech.net/voyagerpro

 

[hallux]

It's the way it's connecting. In the Bluetooth settings on your phone, can you disable the audio options and still maintain the other functionalities?

 

[Ryan K2]

For the smart watch I have Call Audio, Media Audio, Contact Access. Only one I have turned on is Media Audio. Without that one on, it's not able to find the media player. For the GPS I have the same 3, plus Message Access. Media and Messages are turned on and it's the same results.

 

[hallux]

Only one I have turned on is Media Audio. Without that one on, it's not able to find the media player.

I think this is the issue. My watch doesn't need this on in order to control audio. With that option on, the watch is seen as a media output device so when you interact with the watch to control audio it forces the phone to use it for the output.

 

[Ryan K2]

What ones do you have on then in order to control the music but not the audio? Of course I forgot my watch at home so I'll have to try it later tonight.

 

[hallux]

Mine just connects through the Wear OS app, the phone doesn't TECHNICALLY see the watch as connected through Bluetooth, it just works...

I don't use it often, I just tested with Bluetooth headphones connected and was able to pause and play from the watch. I'll upload a couple screenshots in another reply...

 

[hallux]

The promised screenshots.

You can see the phone does see the watch as connected but it does not have the same connectivity options, unless I tap connect on the second screen.

The last image is from the watch, showing the media controls but I haven't changed any settings for the watch connectivity from the previous 2 images..

I have no idea why one screenshot is so much larger than the other, they were taken the same way...

 

[Ryan K2]

I thought the Wear OS app was for specific watches that are partnered with Android or Google, didn't even think to try it to see if it would work. Will do that this evening for sure and let you know the outcome.

 

[hallux]

The wear os app is for devices running wear os. If yours is not, I don't think it will work.

 

[Ryan K2]

Well can now confirm that it's not Wear OS compatible, and have even more issues when I try to use the watch with my work iphone. From what you're saying though if I have the Wear OS app and a watch that is compatible with the app, that should solve my issues though?

 

[hallux]

I believe so, if they all work like mine does.