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In System Settings > Bluetooth, the Bose QC 35 is visible when searching for devices but pairing fails.

After multiple attempts and playing with the PIN options I managed to pair it but once selected in System Settings > Sound, it would fail and fall back to Built-in Audio or playback some garbled sound.

Victor
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  • Likely an issue with this bug – Jeremy31 Oct 05 '16 at 10:36
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    About the garbled sound: I had this too but just needed to go to pavucontrol -> "Configuration" (tab), and then for the Bose QuietComfort 35 profile select "High Fidelity Playback (A2DP Sink)". Hope this helps! – sunyata Nov 30 '16 at 16:28
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    The issue I have with "A2DP sink" is that you cannot use the microphone (it defaults back to the other) – Martin Marconcini Mar 09 '19 at 00:40
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    I don't have enough rep to answer this question but this other question worked like a charm: https://askubuntu.com/a/1243890/1113068

    In a terminal:

    mv ~/.config/pulse/ ~/.config/pulse.old;

    systemctl --user restart pulseaudio

     – Sofía Feb 08 '21 at 13:29

5 Answers5

186

It seems the Bose Quiet Comfort 35 does has issues with pairing with Bluetooth LE (Low Energy).

Get back to a clean state

I would recommend to clean up you past attempts to pair:

  • On Ubuntu, remove the headphones from the Bluetooth paired list.
  • On the headphones, hold the switch in Bluetooth pairing position for 10 seconds to delete all paired devices (You'll get a voice confirmation).
  • If you can, deactivate Bluetooth on other surrounding devices to make sure they won't interact.

Deactivate Bluetooth LE

Edit Bluetooth configuration file:

sudo nano /etc/bluetooth/main.conf

Replace:

#ControllerMode = dual

with:

ControllerMode = bredr

Restart Bluetooth:

sudo service bluetooth restart

Pair

  1. Make sure the headphones are in pairing mode.
  2. Pair with System Settings > Bluetooth
  3. Select & test the headphones in System Settings > Sound. You may want to choose High Fidelity Playback (A2DP Sink) for high playback quality.

Reactivate Bluetooth LE (optional)

As it is only the pairing that has to be done without Bluetooth LE, once it is paired you can go back to the original configuration:

sudo nano /etc/bluetooth/main.conf

Replace:

ControllerMode = bredr

with:

#ControllerMode = dual

Restart Bluetooth:

sudo service bluetooth restart

Troubleshooting

If you have issues connecting back after disconnecting/rebooting:

  • Make sure you have the computer and Bluetooth turned on before the headphones.
  • If Connection is grayed out in System Settings > Bluetooth, you can use the Bluetooth menu in the menu bar (next to the clock) to do Connection On/Off.
Victor
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  • This helped me a lot, thank you @Victor ! I also needed to run sudo apt-get install pulseaudio-module-bluetooth and afterward start from a clean slate by removing the paired headphones from the bluetooth manager and then adding them again – sunyata Nov 30 '16 at 01:38
  • @marty331 reported that this works under 16.10 as well – Elder Geek Dec 07 '16 at 22:43
  • This actually worked! I had been struggling to pair them for awhile now, I am very excited to have my headphones work now with my workstation. Thank you for your detailed instructions! – Loran Dec 13 '16 at 20:38
  • Apparently, the high fidelity playback doesn't work when Ubuntu is connected as "second device" (the voice talks about "call from" every time you plat sound on your Ubuntu device). – Merlijn Sebrechts Dec 29 '16 at 13:11
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    @Galgalesh You have to choose High Fidelity Playback (A2DP Sink) in System Settings > Sound. – Victor Dec 29 '16 at 18:20
  • @victor That doesn't work when Ubuntu is connected as "second device". The option is available but doesn't work; changing it, closing settings and opening again and it's back to the other one. – Merlijn Sebrechts Jan 03 '17 at 14:34
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    For me the solution worked once. After two weeks i removed all my Bluetooth devices. Now when i am try to connect the Bose headphones like described in the solution, but every times 'setting up "Bosequietcomfort 35" failed' shows up. Over terminal bluetoothctl shows me the device connected, but in the Bluetooth UI not and even the sound settings. What can i additionally try? – sepplhans Jan 24 '17 at 07:44
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    Worked on my Bose AE2 Soundlink :) – Nick Feb 15 '17 at 12:52
  • I have the same problem but can't seem to fix it using these steps. Could you please take a look? http://askubuntu.com/questions/887171/cant-pair-bose-qc35-with-ubuntu-16-10 – dorsh Feb 25 '17 at 13:34
  • This worked for my Bose QC 35's on Linux Mint. Thanks! – David Graham Jun 07 '17 at 18:02
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    This worked with my Base QuietControl 30's on Ubuntu 16.04.10. – Sean Glover Aug 23 '17 at 19:32
  • This issue is fixed in the daily image of Ubuntu 17.10 – Merlijn Sebrechts Sep 22 '17 at 16:50
  • Everyone who is having the same problem as @Galgalesh in 17.04 or earlier can try this: https://askubuntu.com/questions/863930/bluetooth-headset-cant-set-a2dp-high-fidelity-playback-poor-sound-quality it worked for me. – Franziskus Karsunke Dec 21 '17 at 14:45
  • Worked on 16.04 but not on 14.04. – Kevin Brotcke Jan 08 '18 at 21:25
  • I am on ubuntu 14.04 and it is not working :( I get the error: setting up XXXXX failed when trying to pair – desmond13 Feb 06 '18 at 16:53
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    For me, the additional steps outlined in this answer (modifying /etc/pulse/default.pa) made it work. – sunside May 24 '18 at 09:20
  • Works with my Bose QC35 on both ubuntu 16.04 and 18.04! – Timmah Jun 12 '18 at 08:21
  • I had given up on pairing my Sony XM3 with my Ubuntu 16.04 laptop until I stumbled upon this! – Priyath Gregory Aug 19 '19 at 04:30
  • This partially worked for my QC35 II on Ubuntu 16.04. If I go back to LE mode they stop working, and in the bluetooth window the device keeps switching the name between Bose QC35 II and LE Bose QC35 II. Any suggestion on how to go back to LE mode? – Javi Jan 21 '20 at 09:22
  • worked with my speaker Bose Revolve+ SoundLink on ubuntu 16.04 – Jacquot Mar 15 '20 at 18:25
  • Same problem with Bose NC Headphones 700, but none of this solutions works for me. On the other hand (without changing any configuration) the single first point of the solution pointed by @sunside solve my issue:$ sudo apt install pulseaudio-module-bluetooth $ pulseaudio -k $ pulseaudio --start – Corrado May 22 '20 at 05:35
  • Worked for me. In my case I also needed to: apt install libsbc1 – nathan Mar 19 '23 at 04:29
  • Switching to "ControllerMode = bredr" for pairing Nothing Ear(2) headphones was necessary to prevent "Bluetooth: hci0: Opcode 0x 401 failed: -16" error. Ear(2) pairs fine with LE, but they don't work. This gets resolved when pairing without LE. – Lari Hotari Jul 29 '23 at 10:04
  • @Victor YOU DA MAN!! I've literally spent MONTHS on this problem. Thank you so much for the solution, where all others failed! I put a bounty on this question. Please post your solution on my page so I can credit you. – FractalBob Nov 30 '23 at 14:11
54

The accepted answer did not work for me. This blog entry worked: http://erikdubois.be/installing-bose-quietcomfort-35-linux-mint-18/

  1. Create /etc/bluetooth/audio.conf

    [General]
Disable=Socket
Disable=Headset
Enable=Media,Source,Sink,Gateway
AutoConnect=true
load-module module-switch-on-connect

  2. In /etc/bluetooth/main.conf set

    ControllerMode = bredr
AutoEnable=true

  3. Restart bluetooth

    sudo service bluetooth restart
  4. Connect your headphones
  5. Choose High Fidelity Playback (A2DP sink)-mode in sound options
Michael Noguera
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Ohjeah
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  • Mine worked here too and I was even able to change the ControllerMode back to dual once the setup was complete. – RexFuzzle Jun 07 '17 at 07:11
  • Worked for me. My QC35 was not connecting, until I follow the exact path: Dont start QC35 yet, Open System Settings > Bluetooth, click +, then start QC35 and you will see the name added. – SM Adnan Jun 15 '17 at 23:57
  • This was helpful for me. In addition, I had to update the Broadcom WiFi driver to the latest version following the instruction here to resolve an issue with stuttering audio playback. – mikkola Sep 18 '17 at 19:51
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    This worked for me. Steps:

    Unpair qc35 from previous attempt (bletoothctrl, then delete device).

    start scan for new device.

    Trigger new pairing in bose companion app.

     – heeen Oct 27 '17 at 09:55
  • Does not work on Mint 19.3. – CoderGuy123 Dec 03 '20 at 01:46
  • Worked for me on Ubuntu 20.04 – Abensur Feb 02 '21 at 19:45
10

I have the Bose Quietcomfort 35 II on Linux Mint 19.2. None of the solutions here worked for me. The only thing that worked was downloading the Bose Connect app on my Android phone and:

  1. Connect your headphones to the phone
  2. Connect your headphones to the Bose app
  3. Go to "Connections" and make your headphones ready to connect
  4. Pair with blueman or blueberry
  5. Now both your phone and your computer will be connected. You can now disconnect your phone.

You won't have to do this again because the devices will be paired.

Zerquix18
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1

The solution above didn't work for me. I got it to work, but you need to set it up manually every time you reboot.

  1. First close bluetooth and bluez by effectively stopping them (not restarting), then starting them again using systemctl start bluetooth and sudo /etc/init.d/bluetooth start.
  2. Start bluez manager and connect the device using setup with the audio sink profile.
  3. Manually change sound to the headphones.

I am a newbie with scripts, maybe someone more experienced than me can make a script that does all these actions at boot.

Ale763
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0

Similar headphones, Bose SoundLink AE2. Year 2024, Debian 12 Bookworm, can't pair. Tried every tip online, nothing worked.

Ended up disabling the motherboard Bluetooth and plugging in a cheap USB Bluetooth adapter instead (LogiLink BT0015 with Qualcomm CSR8510 A10 chipset), and it works perfectly with that one.

Andrew
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