Bluetooth headphone controls no longer working (desktop)
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Hi,
I’ve been using the new version of the desktop app on Windows for a few hours and the Bluetooth controls (Play/Pause/Next) seem to be broken. They worked well on the previous version of the desktop app.
Anybody else having this issue?
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I have the exact same Bluetooth pause / resume problem described above that began when I installed the new desktop app 2.0 on my windows 10 PC. I have confirmed that the Bluetooth controls still work on other websites including other podcasting sites. It’s a real nuisance to have to walk back to my PC and pause/resume using the mouse – please fix!!!
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To add to my comments above, I did uninstall & reinstall the new app a couple of times, and the Bluetooth problem persisted. I also tried another Bluetooth device (ear pods this time, previous device was a Bluetooth speaker) and the same problem occurred with them.
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Hi! Thanks for reporting this!
We’re still investigating this issue. We’ll be in touch as soon as we have updates to share.
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To add some more info, neither is picking up pause/play/forward/rewind commands directly from the keyboard for me, apart from the bluetooth controls. Happening since the last update for me in two different computers (Win 10 and 11).
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To add some more info, neither is picking up pause/play/forward/rewind commands directly from the keyboard for me
@wingtwz We’ve created a separate bug report for this problem. It will likely take some time to address these issues, which unfortunately I don’t have an exact timeframe on.
Thanks for your patience and understanding in the meantime! -
Hi @wingtwz!
Could you please help us to debug this issue by checking if Pocket Casts is running in “Administrator” mode?
You can check that by following these steps:
- Press the Windows key to open the Start menu and search for the Pocket Casts app shortcut
- Right click the shortcut and click “Open file location”
- Right click again the file that’s shown and click “Properties”
- In the “Shortcut” tab click on “Advanced”
- Check if the “Run as administrator” checkbox is ticked or not
There’s a possibility this is a permissions problem, and we’re investigating if that’s the root cause.
Thanks a lot for your help.
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@staff-manuel Hi, I wasn’t running the app as admin, no. I just tried to run as admin anyway since you mentioned it, but same result; the app won’t pick up media keys inputs.
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@justin The Bluetooth controls do NOT start working after I click play manually (by that I assume you mean using the computer keyboard) the first time. I have noticed recently that sometimes it will start once if I try using the Bluetooth pause/resume to start it for the first time, it usually takes several tries to get it to work, but it doesn’t work again after that first start. Also the Bluetooth volume controls DO work and I can raise and lower the volume remotely so some Bluetooth commands are working. There’s one thing I noticed that may indicate an installation problem. In Settings / Apps site the installed version is listed as Pocket Casts version 2.0.1 with a date 7/1/2024, on the app itself it is listed as Pocket Casts Web Player version 4.3.1 with a date of 10 July 2024 (which is 7/10/2024). FYI, I’m running Windows 10 fully updated.
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We have just released version 2.0.2 of the Windows desktop app and version 4.4.0 of the Web Player. These updates include fixes that should help resolve playback and control issues.
If you installed the app via the Microsoft Store, please update it through the store. If you downloaded the app directly, press the Alt key and navigate to Pocket Casts > Check for Updates.
Once you’ve updated, could you please let us know if this resolves the issue for you?
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@justin Web player was already updated to v. 4.4.0 when I opened it this morning. There was no change to Bluetooth operation, pause/resume still doesn’t work and raise/lower volume still does. To test further I decided to uninstall the web player and try installing it from the Microsoft store to see if that made any difference, it didn’t. I tried two different Bluetooth audio devices, a Soundcore Bluetooth speaker and a pair of Earfun ear buds, same results with both devices. Also, it still doesn’t work if I click on the keyboard first to start it manually.
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@cof922 Just to double check, what is the full version string that you see when you go to Profile > Settings > About? It should read
Web Player Version 4.4.0 - Desktop Version 2.0.2 (Windows)If the about page returns that exact string, can you please go to Settings > Help > Send Feedback > Bug Report and make sure the “include debug logs” setting is enabled. In the message, you can just link to this forum thread. I want to get a better look at your logs.
Thank you!
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@cof922 thanks for sharing that with us. If you received a message from our bot and the reply did not help, you can reply to it to have it escalated to our team.
Didn’t know how to link the message to the forum thread so that didn’t happen, how do I that in case there’s a next time?
You won’t be able to link the ticket here, but if you use the thread URL (https://forums.pocketcasts.com/forums/topic/bluetooth-headphone-controls-no-longer-working-desktop/) in the ticket, it will help us locate this thread.
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@staff-joey8 Justin and other staff before him have been working on this issue since early July so it seemed the suggestion in the bot email to escalate it to the team was unnecessary and confusing. The subject thread is https://forums.pocketcasts.com/forums/topic/bluetooth-headphone-controls-no-longer-working-desktop/. Also the bot email implied that if I didn’t respond to the bot affirming that the issue was persisting, it wouldn’t be worked on any more. Finally, when I first saw the bot email the strange name “Happy Bot” and some wording in the message made me think the email was spam. I finally decided it probably wasn’t, so I did respond.
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Also the bot email implied that if I didn’t respond to the bot affirming that the issue was persisting, it wouldn’t be worked on any more.
If it’s a known issue that has been reported elsewhere, such as in the forums, our developers will continue working on the issue even if you aren’t able to reply. If you have more information to share after the Happy Bot reply or if you want to make sure our support team sees the message, you’ll want to reply to the email. :)
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We released version 2.0.3 yesterday, which contains additional fixes addressing Bluetooth control and playback issues. If you are experiencing issues with an earlier version, please upgrade to the latest version.
Pocket Casts Forum 