Hi, I’ve done some troubleshooting and can probably explain why some users are reporting the bug as fixed, while others still have issues.
- The FP4.SP21.B.048.20230215 update does indeed fix aptX HD.
- It does NOT fix aptX or aptX Adaptive.
- LDAC works but does NOT get automatically used, see workarounds 2 and 3 below.
- Bluetooth devices that support aptX or aptX Adaptive will automatically use these over AAC or aptX HD because the FP4 lists these broken ones as higher priority in the bluetooth audio codec list.
Current state of codecs, as of update FP4.SP21.B.048.20230215:
Confirmed working by me:
SBC, AAC, aptX HD, LDAC
Confirmed BROKEN by me:
aptX, aptX Adaptive
Confirmed working before the bug was introduced:
SBC, AAC, aptX, aptX HD, aptX Adaptive, LDAC.
Workarounds?
If your bluetooth device still can’t play sound with the FP4.SP21.B.048.20230215 update there are 3 workarounds you can try.
Workaround 1:
Free, Automatic each time it connects, Safe
Simply disable “HD audio” like this:
- Go to “Settings > Connected Devices”
- Click the Gear-icon (
) next to your device. - Untick “HD audio”.
- You should now have working bluetooth audio.
The drawback of this is that you’ll be stuck with SBC (the lowest quality bluetooth codec) until the bug is fixed and you can re-enable “HD audio”.
If you want an option that retains “HD audio” quality with a working codec see Workaround 2.
Workaround 2:
Freemium, Manual switching each time is Free, Automatic switching each time Costs $3.13 USD or €3.49 Euro, Safe
The app “Bluetooth Codec Changer” on the Google Play Store can make the process of switching codec quick and painless, or even automatic if you pay for Premium in the app.
You can get the app here:
You can manually change codec in the app, setup a widget on the home screen, or use the notification to trigger a switch.
If you buy Premium you can setup automatic switching following these steps:
- Connect your bluetooth device and confirm it shows up in “Bluetooth Codec Changer”.
- Go to “Bluetooth Codec Changer” Settings.
- Turn on “Auto Switch”.
- Turn on “Background Service”.
- Click “Default Codec” and select your desired working codec for this bluetooth device.
- Notice that you now have an entry with your selection for this device under “Device Control” which you can delete if you need to remove it or redo it.
- You may want to change “Execution Delay” if it doesn’t work reliably, I suggest raising it by 1 second each time until you find a delay that works.
- You should now have automatic bluetooth codec switching to whichever codec works best for you, probably aptX HD, LDAC, or AAC, depending on your device.
Don’t forget to remove the devices from “Device Control” in the app once this bug is properly fixed. If you want you can also remove the app once the bug is fixed.
Workaround 3:
Free, Manual each time it connects, Potentially dangerous
You can manually switch the bluetooth codec of your device by using the hidden “Developer options” menu.
WARNING: DO NOT TOUCH OTHER DEVELOPER OPTIONS. THESE CAN CAUSE ISSUES!
To access the “Developer options” menu and do this follow these steps:
- Connect your bluetooth device.
- Go to “Settings > About phone”.
- Scroll down to “Build number” at the bottom and press “Build number” 7 times in a row.
- Enter your Pin/Password/Authentication if asked.
- You now have “Developer options” available if you go to to “Settings > System > Developer options”.
- In “Developer options” search/scroll to “Bluetooth audio codec” and select your desired codec, likely aptX HD, LDAC, or AAC.
- You should now have some kind of working “HD audio”.
- Repeat this from step 5 EVERY TIME you connect your device again, this setting is NOT remembered between bluetooth uses.
Once the bug is fixed you probably want to go to “Settings > System > Developer options” again and Untick “Use developer options” to re-hide this menu.
Which Bluetooth audio codec is the best? Which should I use?
For reference here is a link with a list of all current Bluetooth audio codecs and their technical performance:
If you want my opinion I would rank the FP4 supported options like this, from “best” to “worst”. My ranking is purely based on sound quality and I don’t care about “latency” which might be important for gaming for example:
LDAC, aptX HD, aptX Adaptive, aptX, AAC, SBC.