Bluetooth headset crackling
 

I've got a N800 running OS2008 and a Motorola H500 bluetooth headset , eventually got them paired and working together fine (after a firmware reflash).

The trouble is the sound quality isn't so hot , I can hear crackling on the incoming audio although outbound is fine.

It happens in RTComm , Gizmo , Skype and Media Player so its not a specific application.

I have tried the headset on a Nokia 6021 cellular phone and it sounded perfect with no crackles at all.

Is this normal ?
Anyone else having these kinds of audio issues ?
Problem with the bluetooth software / device in the N800 ?

Thanks
Mark

Re: Bluetooth headset crackling
 

I don't know what to expect from BT headsets, but mine has some mild crackle, nothing that would be a problem for VoIP, but a little annoying for music.

I wear it on my right ear, and the crackle seems to be minimized when I put the N800 in a right coat pocket vs. left.

Haven't done any serious A-B testing of this, because it's not been enough nuisance to bother me.

Re: Bluetooth headset crackling
 

I just tried a Jaybird headset and the crackling was pretty bad (high treble, too, not enough bass). it sounds fine w/my iPod, so it's not the headset. the crackling may not interfere (too much) w/wi-fi calls, but it pretty much rules out listening to music. anyway, if anyone finds a solution, let me know, and I'll do same.

scott

Re: Bluetooth headset crackling
 

I thought this said Bluetooth headset cracking!

My Motorola BT headset sounds poor no matter what I pair it with. The wired headsets usually sound better. Of course you will likely find your mileage varies dependent upon the quality of your headset.

Re: Bluetooth headset crackling
 

Hey Mark,

This is due to WiFi and Bluetooth using adjacent / overlapping radio frequencies. :(

This had me really stumped when I first got my headset. I almost broke the thing trying to "fix" it!

What gave it away was the perfect sound quality when I tested it in my car, even though I was actually much closer (~2 meters) to my WiFi router. (I guess this was due to the car acting like a Faraday cage shielding most of the WiFi.)

Odd thing is the bluetooth VoIP phone supplied with my Acer laptop works just fine, with Bluetooth & WiFi in active use of course. I imagine this is where it comes down to the quality of the radio transceivers used, i.e. A decent transmitter won't cause interference on neighbouring frequencies (harmonics) and a good receiver would filter these to a degree.

Re: Bluetooth headset crackling
 

Thanks Guys

It looks like its not this headset or just me having problems then , well its kind of a relief.

Do you think the problem is in the bluetooth stack of the Nokia N800 and fixable with later updates or just a hardware problem we are stuck with ?

Re: Bluetooth headset crackling
 

Please, does anyone know which Bluetooth headsets have good quality with the n800 with Skype. I have 3 different headsets and all of them are horrible with Skype or Gizmo. I have a motorola hs850, a nokia BH-200, and a ThinkGeek Retro handset. I very much wanted to use the Retro but its the worst on my nokia. works great on my PC. Does anyone know if there are plans to fix this in the community or from Nokia? I do not want to buy another headset.

Re: Bluetooth headset crackling
 

I tend to agree about the BT & WiFI conflict. You might test the theory by turning off WiFI and seeing if local file playing sounds better. Some headsets might work better than others but the N8* itself suffers with the two radios being that close physically. My latop has an internal BT module and it is physically at the far corner from where the internal WiFI is located.

Can't guess at which headset might work better than another as I am less than impressed with BT in general and find most BT pretty crappy compared to a cable.

Re: Bluetooth headset crackling
 

Thanks for the handy thread. Same crackly issue here with a Sony PS3 bluetooth headset (usually a pretty good one).

I can confirm that it (along with somewhat muffled audio) seems to come and go as I am connected to a wifi network. Curious...

Re: Bluetooth headset crackling
 

I've heard that breaking up/crackling on the N800 over bluetooth headphones but I always thought it was due to CPU taxing, since it usually kicks in when there's a bunch of work going on.. but then, most of that time it was when I was syncing podcasts or updating RSS feeds or something, so maybe you're onto something.