Bluetooth audio device connected but not showing up in audio devices

Question

Ubuntu 15.04 Dell XPS-13

I can connect my audio devices via Bluetooth, but I can not use them as they don't show up in sounds settings as an output option (or input option).

How do I fix this?

Answer 1

I tried to load the module first but I got a Failure: Module initialization failed so you have to unload the module first:

pactl unload-module module-bluetooth-discover

and then load it again:

pactl load-module module-bluetooth-discover

After that I was able to see the audio device in audio settings.

Answer 2

I had the same issue here with Ubuntu Gnome 15.10 and 16.04. What helped me was adding read permissions for the gdm user on the pulseaudio bin.

sudo setfacl -m u:gdm:r /usr/bin/pulseaudio

after that restart pulseaudio (or restart your system)

pulseaudio -k

your bluetooth device should now be listed in the audio device list.

Answer 3

Blueman has a bug that will unload module-bluetooth-discover if it is loaded during boot so that you will likely need to unpair the audio device and then

pactl load-module module-bluetooth-discover

Then pair your device and see if it appears in sound settings

Answer 4

After successful connecting of the bluetooth headset, try
sudo -i pactl load-module module-bluetooth-discover

If that then allows you to select the headset as an output device, you can make the following changes:

nano /etc/pulse/default.pa

Comment out the following lines:

#.ifexists module-bluetooth-discover.so
#load-module module-bluetooth-discover
#.endif

Then in:

nano /usr/bin/start-pulseaudio-x11

Find the following lines and add after them:

if [ x”$SESSION_MANAGER” != x ] ; then
/usr/bin/pactl load-module module-x11-xsmp “display=$DISPLAY session_manager=$SESSION_MANAGER” > /dev/null
fi

# Add the following lines:
/usr/bin/pactl load-module module-bluetooth-discover
# /usr/bin/pactl load-module module-switch-on-connect #<-- Uncomment to automatically select headset on connection