Bluetooth Headset mic records static sound only

To follow up, I had the following email from plantronics.

plantronics wrote:
Thank you for your email. The quick fix would be to actually purchase the Plantronics Bluetooth Voice Dongle; this unit is our Bluetooth adapter for computers and will work with MAC OSX 10 or above. In fact this device is seen by the computer as a USB audio device which should auto install as soon as you plug it in although you may need to change your system properties in order to make the Plantronics BT adapter the default audio device.

Bluetooth Voice Dongle - Plantronics Part Number 38395-01

This costs around 40GBP in the UK but may be preferable to waiting for a fix from apple.

lix wrote:
I don't want to disappoint you astrobadger, but judging on what the guy at Apple told you, specifically to check "the headset manufacturer's websites to see if they release updated drivers to fix the problem" indicate that he is clueless. There are no drivers you need to install with a BT headset on a Mac. As far as I know, there is NO Bluetooth headset that properly operates with the new Macbooks + Leopard. The fault resides entirely with the Macbook.

I agree with your point - the driver in question is the one that tells the Macbook how to talk to the bluetooth hardware. I don't know how open the OSX code is, but I presumed the guy was suggesting a third party could develop a fixed driver.

Again, for me, at least...a bluetooth dongle only prolonged the static from appearing, but did not stop it from happening. No idea where the problem lies, but if you use bootcamp for Windows (I'm using a Windows 7 beta right now), the bluetooth headset works fine, with no static. This clearly indicates it's not a hardware issue (I'm on an iMac, not a macbook, and still have this problem).
Hopefully they release that patch soon.

*Can someone clarify if anyone ever succeed with using ANY Bluetooth headset with ANY intel MacBook or MacBook Pro?*

Is there any positive experience at all? Can you guys report this issue to Apple as regular bugreport, please?

I've recently tested my headset (Jabra BT350) with Tiger, which I installed on macbook (MB402LL/B) and quality was unacceptable. It just won't work, and it did worked OK with G4 iBook. Sad, bad news for apple.

Add me to the list of users who purchased a headset (and a skype number) expecting to be able to use my Motorola HT820 with my new MacBook Pro. I, too, get the cyclical static after a minute or so of use on a fresh reboot.

Apple needs to fix this. This is well within users' expectations when they purchase a computer with bluetooth. I have a USB bluetooth dongle at home which I'll try out later.

I've done a little troubleshooting. If I start up the MacBook and only use the Bluetooth "Headset" Service, it appears to be okay. I do get four errors in the Console at the end of every call:

1/15/09 12:40:19 PM kernel E:[AppleUSBBluetoothHCIController][IsochInReadHandler] error e00002eb isoch pipe
1/15/09 12:40:19 PM kernel [AppleUSBHCIController][HandleIsochData] Got error - e00002eb
1/15/09 12:40:19 PM kernel E:[AppleUSBBluetoothHCIController][IsochInReadHandler] error e00002eb isoch pipe
1/15/09 12:40:19 PM kernel [AppleUSBHCIController][HandleIsochData] Got error - e00002eb
1/15/09 12:40:19 PM kernel [AppleUSBHCIController][HandleIsochData] Got error - e00002eb

But, when I switch over to the Bluetooth "Headphones" service, for listening to music, and then place a call, I immediately get the cyclical static. As soon as I switch to headphones (before the call), I get the following Console errors:

1/15/09 12:44:57 PM /usr/sbin/ocspd[285] starting
1/15/09 12:44:57 PM /usr/sbin/ocspd[285] starting
1/15/09 12:45:17 PM System Preferences[289] Can't open input server /Library/InputManagers/Smart Crash Reports.bundle
1/15/09 12:45:23 PM kernel E:[AppleUSBBluetoothHCIController][IsochInReadHandler] error e00002eb isoch pipe
1/15/09 12:45:23 PM kernel [AppleUSBHCIController][HandleIsochData] Got error - e00002eb
1/15/09 12:45:23 PM kernel E:[AppleUSBBluetoothHCIController][IsochInReadHandler] error e00002eb isoch pipe
1/15/09 12:45:23 PM kernel [AppleUSBHCIController][HandleIsochData] Got error - e00002eb
1/15/09 12:45:23 PM kernel [AppleUSBHCIController][HandleIsochData] Got error - e00002eb
1/15/09 12:45:23 PM BluetoothAudioAgent[291] Can't open input server /Library/InputManagers/Smart Crash Reports.bundle
1/15/09 12:45:23 PM BluetoothAudioAgent[291] Can't open input server /Library/InputManagers/Smart Crash Reports.bundle
1/15/09 12:45:23 PM com.apple.launchd[114] ([0x0-0x36036].com.apple.BluetoothAudioAgent[291]) Check-in of Mach service failed. PID 291 is not privileged: com.apple.BluetoothAudioAgentDOServer
1/15/09 12:45:23 PM com.apple.launchd[114] ([0x0-0x36036].com.apple.BluetoothAudioAgent[291]) Check-in of Mach service failed. PID 291 is not privileged: com.apple.BluetoothAudioAgentDOServer
1/15/09 12:45:32 PM BluetoothAudioAgent[294] Can't open input server /Library/InputManagers/Smart Crash Reports.bundle
1/15/09 12:45:32 PM BluetoothAudioAgent[294] Can't open input server /Library/InputManagers/Smart Crash Reports.bundle
1/15/09 12:45:37 PM AVRCPAgent[298] Can't open input server /Library/InputManagers/Smart Crash Reports.bundle
1/15/09 12:47:46 PM BluetoothAudioAgent[302] Can't open input server /Library/InputManagers/Smart Crash Reports.bundle
1/15/09 12:47:46 PM com.apple.launchd[114] ([0x0-0x3a03a].com.apple.BluetoothAudioAgent[302]) Check-in of Mach service failed. PID 302 is not privileged: com.apple.BluetoothAudioAgentDOServer
1/15/09 12:47:46 PM com.apple.launchd[114] ([0x0-0x3a03a].com.apple.BluetoothAudioAgent[302]) Check-in of Mach service failed. PID 302 is not privileged: com.apple.BluetoothAudioAgentDOServer

I'm going to keep troubleshooting. I'll post my findings here. I'll be calling Apple tomorrow.

_*Partial Solution*_

I have been able to successfully use my Plantronics discovery 925 headset with my macbook air, but only after buying the Plantronics BUA-100 USB adapter for 40GBP.

http://www.plantronics.com/northamerica/enUS/products/mobile/mobile-headset-accessories/bua-100

This completely fixes (or rather, avoids) the problem because the BUA-100 connects to the headset via bluetooth, but appears to the macbook as a standard USB headset, so no bluetooth software or hardware on the mac is used. I recorded myself for an hour and had no issues with the pulsing static that we've all been having.

Note that this is not a standard bluetooth dongle - I tried one of those first and like other here it did not help me. This is a bluetooth to usb audio adapter. I don't know if it is compatible with non-plantronics headsets.

I'm not happy to have to buy an extra piece of hardware, but this is the only solution I am aware of. Hopefully some will find this helpful until Apple gets a fix out. I too am very disappointed that Apple have allowed this serious bug to get through and remain unfixed.

Thanks for this workaround...I'm pretty miffed that I'll need to buy a new piece of equipment, and maybe a new headset, for this work, especially after already buying a regular bluetooth dongle to try and fix the problem. But our company has switched our phone system to Skype, and as the only Mac User here, I've gotta make something work.
Thanks.

A quick and dirty workaround (as I already mentioned) is to select in Skype preferences for audio output the bluetooth headset and for audio input the internal MacBook microphone.

If you have an Intel iMac then of course you have the same problem, it's the same bluetooth hardware. Only the old PowerMacs would work OK with Leopard and bluetooth. All Intel Macs are apparently affected.

I am sure Apple is aware of the issue, but if they did not come up with a solution after so many Leopard updates it seems to me obvious that they have none, the only alternative would be to recall so many computers to correct the problem. To make the matters worse, the new MacBooks (maybe the older too?) have the bluetooth module deeply burried into the LCD screen, so to replace it would mean to replace the whole screen. It's a real mess, I would surely not want to be in the skin of the engineer who designed this...

lix wrote:
A quick and dirty workaround (as I already mentioned) is to select in Skype preferences for audio output the bluetooth headset and for audio input the internal MacBook microphone.

Absolutely. However, I needed the freedom to move away from the computer as I was recording myself give a lecture, and like to walk around while I talk.

For anyone interested in judging the audio quality of my set up, the 45 minute long video is available here:
http://www.star.bris.ac.uk/bjm/lectures/astech/
The link is in lecture 3.

The video was recorded using screenflow and the audio input was a plantronics discovery 925 bluetooth headset paired with the plantronics UAB-100 USB audio adapter. The audio remains clear throughout, with none of the distortion and beating noises we've been discussing. The quality is not incredible, but it is certainly good enough for my purposes.

A final point of information for anyone considering buying a bluetooth headset is that the plantronics voyager 510-usb appears to come bundled with the required USB audio dongle to avoid the bluetooth problem. BTW I don't work for plantronics - I just bought one of their headsets and then had to find a way of getting it to work, and found a few things out along the way!

If anyone has specific questions on my set up and experience, feel free to ask.

This is a terrible problem. I will confirm the same static issue on the microphone (or no reception at all sometimes) for the Plantronics 925 running 10.5.6 on a mac pro.

The same headset is having problems with a new iphone 3G as well which is even more frustrating. The strange thing is that the phone does work with my car bluetooth which (I bet) is an older version.

Very very frustrating.

Wiggling

I have been experiencing the same issues wih a Plantronics Discovery 925. I only purchased my MacBook a week ago and was a bit disappointed. I called the Apple sales department and convinced them to give me a $40 refund to cover part of the cost of the Plantronics USB Audio to Bluetooth adapter.

I tried a Jawbone2 with my MacBook and could never get it to pair, even though it paired flawlessly with my phone. Another strange thing is that neither headset nor the phone are discovered through the Setup Bluetooth Device wizard. I always have to find the devices through Bluetooth > Browse Device. I Select the found device and mark it as a favorite. From there i can locate the device in the Bluetooth System Preferences and perform the pairing.

I'm utterly frustrated now that I've waited for over a week for my headset to arrive and then all i get is this silly static noise on the microphone.

I've rebooted, repaired, deleted all my bluetooth devices, it's just the same on any of my macs aswell, all running 10.5.6 😟

The headset is a Philips SHB6110.

Message was edited by: Stefan Ernst

how did you make them refund you part of BT dongle costs? I bought my new macbook 2 months ago, so I would like to do the same...