Why does Bluetooth suck so bad?

[DaveC426913]

TL;DR Summary

Maybe someone could let me in on the secret of how to operate it pain-free.

(Serious question here. I really do want to understand if - and possibly how - it's supposed to operate painlessly.)In the 20th century it was printers. In the 21st century it's Bluetooth devices. Every experience with Bluetooth is fraught with repeated failure that just pours gasoline onto a fire of building rage. It is all I can to do not bite these devices in half in my frustration.

This is related to the headphones I bought, mentioned elsewhere in this forum:
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B08629R268/
But that was about wiring it up to my TV. This is about Bluetooth in general.

So, my nightly ritual when wanting to watch TV is as follows (Note that this process must be repeated for EACH set):

1. Turn on the headset. It says hello and then makes a sad noise, telling me it isn't paired.
2. Press the little PAIR button (which is integrated into the On/Off button) (see pic 1).
3. Wait.
4. It does not pair.
5. Press the OTHER pair button. (between the + and - volume) (see pic 1).
6. Wait.
7. It does not pair.
8. Go up to the TV, see that the little box has no Bluetooth lights on. Press them. (see pic 2)
9. Wait.
10. Remember I have to hold the button.
11. Press and hold the button until it flashes.
12. Turn headset off and back on.
13. Press the PAIR button.
14. Sigh and press the OTHER PAIR button.
15. By now, three minutes has gone by and my blood pressue is in triple digits, but ...
16. My TV show is blasting away .... on the other TV in the room upstairs.
17. Tear the whole thing out and throw away in disgust.

OK, one thing at a time. Nevermind for the moment why it broadcasts elsewhere, at full blast, waking up the whole house. Am I really doomed to go through this stupid try and try again ritual every single night?

 

[phinds]

I empathize. I have a dinosaur-friendly dumb phone that has no WiFi but is able to take a grand total of 12 low resolution images and it keeps my contact list of phone numbers. I've tried several times to connect it to my computer via Bluetooth, which is the only way, to get a pic or more importantly to back up my contact list.

I have succeeded a grand total of one time. Bluetooth seems to have been designed to help people remember how to swear.

 

[DaveC426913]

Bluetooth seems to have been designed to help people remember how to swear.

Yoinking this.

 

[FactChecker]

Bluetooth is still a (very slowly) developing technology and many older devices do not make it simple. I have some devices (fairly new Bluetooth speakers) that seem to connect effortlessly to my PC once they have been paired the first time. The first pairing always requires some selection of devices. After that, just turning on those devices causes the PC to connect. I have another device (relatively old Bluetooth headphones) that always requires me to select it on the PC to be connected. So it is not a question of Bluetooth communication as much as a question of how different devices implement the connection logic.

 

[Rive]

...my nightly ritual...

Erm... Isn't pairing supposed to be done only once? With the devices recognizing each other as a pair 'ever after' once switched on?

The BT mouse I have for my tablet: was simple to set up and works like that.
My camera was a nightmare to hook up to my phone (and then turned out that the whole BT thing is practically useless there) but still: works like that...

 

[sbrothy]

Being from Denmark I can't help but point out that they actually named it after the Danish "King" Harald Bluetooth.

But I guess you knew that already. Also, I'm guessing that he probably had a bad habit sucking on his bad tooth. Maybe this explain the sucking? :P

 

[pbuk]

TL;DR Summary: Maybe someone could let me in on the secret of how to operate it pain-free.

Understand the difference between PAIRING and CONNECTING.

So, my nightly ritual when wanting to watch TV is as follows (Note that this process must be repeated for EACH set):

So here is how that ritual looks from the POV of the headset and the transmitter plugged in to the TV:

You	The headset	The headset transmitter
1. Turn on the headset.	Yippee! Somebody wants to use me, I'll say hello.	[asleep]
It says hello	I'd better connect to my transmitter. Oh no, I can't find my transmitter, I'll make a sad noise to tell my owner I can't connect.
and then makes a sad noise, telling me it isn't paired [this is wrong of course].	[waiting]	[asleep]
2. Press the little PAIR button (which is integrated into the On/Off button) (see pic 1).	Oh, my owner wants me to pair with a new transmitter, I wonder why, I was quite happy with the existing one. Anyway I must do what I'm told so I'll stop trying to connect to the existing transmitter and look for a new one that wants to pair with me.	[asleep]
3. Wait.	I've been looking for a new transmitter for ages but I haven't found one so I'll give up.	[still asleep]
4. It does not pair.	[waiting for instruction]	[asleep]
5. Press the OTHER pair button. (between the + and - volume) (see pic 1).	Oh, my owner has now pressed my CONNECT button, he doesn't want me to pair with a new transmitter after all so I'll try again to connect to the existing one.	[asleep]
6. Wait.	[still trying to connect]	[still asleep]
7. It does not pair.	[still trying to connect]	[still asleep]
8. Go up to the TV, see that the little box has no Bluetooth lights on. Press them. (see pic 2)	[still trying to connect]	[still asleep]
9. Wait.	[still trying to connect]	[still asleep]
10. Remember I have to hold the button.	I haven't found my friend the transmitter, I'd better stop looking to save my battery for when my owner really wants me (searching for and establishing a connection takes much more power than maintaining it)	[still asleep]
11. Press and hold the button until it flashes.	[asleep]	Yippee! Somebody has woken me up, I'll try to connect to my friend the headset.
12. Turn headset off and back on.	[waking up]	[still trying to connect]
13. Press the PAIR button.	Oh, my owner wants me to pair with a new transmitter, I wonder why, I was quite happy with the existing one. Anyway I must do what I'm told so I'll stop getting ready to connect to the existing transmitter and look for a new one that wants to pair with me.	[still trying to connect]
14. Sigh and press the OTHER PAIR button.	Oh, my owner has now pressed my CONNECT button, he doesn't want me to pair with a new transmitter after all so I'll try to connect to the existing one.	[still trying to connect]
15. By now, three minutes has gone by and my blood pressue is in triple digits, but ...	Yayy, here's my friend the transmitter, we can get connected!	Yayy, here's my friend the headset, we can get connected!
16. My TV show is blasting away .... on the other TV in the room upstairs.	[still connected]	[still connected]
17. Tear the whole thing out and throw away in disgust.	Oh, no we've made our owner unhappy but we only did what we were told. I'm sorry, please don't kill me, just give me another cha...	Oh, no we've made our owner unhappy but we only did what we were told. I'm sorry, please don't kill me, just give me another cha...

And here's how it should go.

1. Go up to the TV, see that the little box has no Bluetooth lights on. Do whatever the manual says you need to to wake it up.	[asleep]	Yippee! Somebody has woken me up, I'll try to connect to my friends the headsets.
2. Turn on the headsets.	Yippee! Somebody wants to use me, I'll say hello and try and connect to my friend the transmitter. Yayy, here they are, we can get connected!	Yayy, here's my friend the headset, we can get connected!

 

[phinds]

Erm... Isn't pairing supposed to be done only once? With the devices recognizing each other as a pair 'ever after' once switched on?

Uh ... there is a difference between "supposed to do" and "actually does"

 

[OCR]

So here is how that ritual looks from the POV of the headset and the transmitter plugged in to the TV:

Lol, that is absolutely. . . golden ! .

.

 

[DaveC426913]

Understand the difference between PAIRING and CONNECTING.

That would be a good start, yes.

Your two scenarios, above don't quite make this distinction for me.

If I were to guess, pairing needs to happen first and, in theory/ideally, need only happen once, whereas connecting needs to happen each time?

And here's how it should go.

I will try that, thanks.A friend has told me that there is a gap between Bluetooth design and Bluetooth implementation by manufacturers and software developers. Apparently, much of the tears and heart ache I am experiencing might be attributable to the poor implementation of proper Bluetooth specs.

Not that really helps me here, but any tidbit that narrows the culprit has the side effect of removing the evil mystery of the whole kit-n-kaboodle. At the very least, it means that maybe I don't need to unilaterally condemn all Bluetooth-enabled devices to behave so abysmally.

 

[FactChecker]

If I were to guess, pairing needs to happen first and, in theory/ideally, need only happen once, whereas connecting needs to happen each time?

Yes.

A friend has told me that there is a gap between Bluetooth design and Bluetooth implementation by manufacturers and software developers. Apparently, much of the tears and heart ache I am experiencing might be attributable to the poor implementation of proper Bluetooth specs.

That is unlikely unless you are using very old devices. I have used Bluetooth for a long time and have not seen a problem like that. I did mention in a prior post that my Windows 10 PC treated an old device differently and needed to have it selected to connect (it was already paired). I don't know why that is happening or how your new transmitter knows what to pair with. In your case, it sounds like your Bluetooth transmitter is paired with some other TVs. That surprises me unless those TVs have separate soundbars that have paired with your new Bluetooth transmitter.

 

[DaveC426913]

That is unlikely unless you are using very old devices.

Well, or very cheaply made devices.

But you're right, it may not be the device so much as an unclear mental model of what it means to pair/connect and, more practically, what the steps are to do each.

In your case, it sounds like your Bluetooth transmitter is paired with some other TVs. That surprises me unless those TVs have separate soundbars that have paired with your new Bluetooth transmitter.

I think what's been happening is this: once I get impatient about my headphones not connecting, my M.O. is to go up to the transceiver and press and hold the button for long enough until it starts flashing red/blue. I'm sure this resets and restarts the pairing process, which is how it manages to connect to the upstairs sound system (at full blast, of course).

If the world isn't a totally horrible place, the next time I want to use the headsets, I need only tap the transceiver button once and this will simply wake it up and it will then allow the headphones to connect with no pairing shenanigans.

 

[FactChecker]

If the world isn't a totally horrible place, the next time I want to use the headsets, I need only tap the transceiver button once and this will simply wake it up and it will then allow the headphones to connect with no pairing shenanigans.

That sounds right. You probably need to make sure that the headphones are on and ready to connect. For the correct initial pairing, you might also need to make sure that the transmitter is not still paired with the upstairs sound system and is paired with the headphones. Once that is done, you should not need to do it again.

 

[pbuk]

If I were to guess, pairing needs to happen first and, in theory/ideally, need only happen once, whereas connecting needs to happen each time?

That's about right.

Bear in mind that in order to stop e.g. your neighbours from evesdropping on your telephone conversations, Bluetooth connections are always encrypted. Pairing is (mainly) the process of setting up the encryption between two devices before connecting them securely for the first time.

A friend has told me that there is a gap between Bluetooth design and Bluetooth implementation by manufacturers and software developers.

Not really, but the word "Bluetooth" covers many different protocols including both the way devices communicate in the radio spectrum and the way different types of data (e.g. audio, video, binary data) are encoded.

Not all protocols are implemented by any one device (there is no point in your headphones being able to decode the movements of a wireless mouse for instance), and so there is scope for confusion. Also Bluetooth has been around for 30 years and there have been some changes in the technology along the way breaking compatibility between older and some newer devices.

But in 2023 the technology is pretty mature, and any problems you are getting now are likely user error. I am particularly impressed by the way I can be listening to music on a streaming service on my noise cancelling headphones on a flight to a country I have never visited before, hire a car when I land and hook up my phone to the car which picks up the playlist where I left off, and then interrupts the music when I get a call from home to take it handsfree in the car.

Apparently, much of the tears and heart ache I am experiencing might be attributable to the poor implementation of proper Bluetooth specs.

As you are trying to connect headphones with the transmitter they were supplied with, this is unlikely.

 

[DaveC426913]

I am particularly impressed by the way I can be listening to music on a streaming service on my noise cancelling headphones on a flight to a country I have never visited before, hire a car when I land and hook up my phone to the car which picks up the playlist where I left off, and then interrupts the music when I get a call from home to take it handsfree in the car.

You taunt me... Actually, the Bluetooth in my car works astonishingly well too - how I would expect a mature technology to behave.

 

[DaveC426913]

OK, the tears and heartache have returned. Revisiting this one last time before I bin this $160 investement and try again.

I don't know why, but one headset seems to have the problem way more than the other. My wife's set never seems to get forgotten. It's always mine. But, frankly, I am more likely to put that down to the order in which they get processed. i.e. my set goes first and soaks up all the trouble, leaving hers, second, a clear connection.

Here's one of the things that leads me to suspect this:

The reason mine can't seem to connect has a lot to do with the apparent affinity that the transmitter has for a bluetooth speaker elsewhere in the house (about ten yards away through at least one wall). Whenever the transmitter is set to try to connect, it will, more often than not, connect to that speaker on the other side of the house over the head set on the angry doofus right next to it. (Whoch makes for some alarming cursing from my son who is trying to watch TV.)

What I don't understand is how this transmitter knows what to connect to. As my son points out, BT devices that connect to my computer or phone have an interface where I can tell them what to connect to and what not to connect to. How does that work for this tiny box that has no such interface?

 

[DaveC426913]

I have engaged a chat agent who has given me a procedure that should "lock" the connnection. Apparently, there are various "flavours" of connectedness; some are one-off, some are permanent.

1. Please turn the 2 headphones off.
2. Long the + and the - buttons on the transmitter until buttons 1 and 2 turn solid PINK. Then unplug the USB power cable from the transmitter, do not just turn it off, you need to unplug the cord. Ten seconds later, plug the cable back into the transmitter and turn the transmitter on. Press button 1 to get it into pairing mode, should flash red and blue.
3. On the black headphones, turn it on, slide the switch to the Bluetooth/PAIR position, and wait until the headphones flash red and blue then let go of the button.
4. Once the transmitter and the black headphones are connected, press button 1 on the transmitter for 10 seconds, until you find the Bluetooth close to button 1 flashes RED and BLUE at the same time ( looks like PINK) for 5 seconds. Now, they are locked.
5. On the red headphones, turn it on, slide the switch to the Bluetooth/PAIR position, and wait until the headphones flash red and blue then let go of the button. Then hold down button 2 on the transmitter and release it when it flashes red and blue. Wait until both the transmitter and the red headphones turn to solid blue.

< rant >

My Industrial Design training is reminding me that the probability of user error and confusion in operating/configuring any device is proportional to the number of functions the device has divided by the number of controls and indicators (buttons and/or status telltales).

Device with 12 distinct functions but only four buttons (digital alarm clock anyone?)...
"The smiley-face button means 'Return to Home' - unless you hold it down for three seconds, in which case it means 'Erase all data and reset to factory settings'.

Device has sixteen status modes, but only two LED indicators...
The yellow light slow-flashing means 'All systems nominal'.
The yellow light rapid-flashing means 'Retreat to a safe distance and alert the authorities.'

< /rant >