Pair Bose QuietComfort 35 with Ubuntu over Bluetooth

Question

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.

Solution 1

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.

Solution 2

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

Solution 3

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.

Solution 4

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.

View more solutions

Comments

[sunyata]

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

[Elder Geek]

@marty331 reported that this works under 16.10 as well

[Loran]

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!

[Merlijn Sebrechts]

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).

[Victor]

@Galgalesh You have to choose High Fidelity Playback (A2DP Sink) in System Settings > Sound.

[Merlijn Sebrechts]

@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.

[marsUbuntux]

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?

[Nick]

Worked on my Bose AE2 Soundlink :)

[Dor Shemer]

I have the same problem but can't seem to fix it using these steps. Could you please take a look? askubuntu.com/questions/887171/…

[RexFuzzle]

Mine worked here too and I was even able to change the ControllerMode back to dual once the setup was complete.

[David Graham]

This worked for my Bose QC 35's on Linux Mint. Thanks!

[SM Adnan]

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.

[Sean Glover]

This worked with my Base QuietControl 30's on Ubuntu 16.04.10.

[mikkola]

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.

[Merlijn Sebrechts]

This issue is fixed in the daily image of Ubuntu 17.10

[heeen]

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.

[Franziskus Karsunke]

Everyone who is having the same problem as @Galgalesh in 17.04 or earlier can try this: askubuntu.com/questions/863930/… it worked for me.

[Kevin Brotcke]

Worked on 16.04 but not on 14.04.

[desmond13]

I am on ubuntu 14.04 and it is not working :( I get the error: setting up XXXXX failed when trying to pair

[Alex Biro]

For me, the additional steps outlined in this answer (modifying /etc/pulse/default.pa) made it work.

[Timmah]

Works with my Bose QC35 on both ubuntu 16.04 and 18.04!

[Priyath Gregory]

I had given up on pairing my Sony XM3 with my Ubuntu 16.04 laptop until I stumbled upon this!

[Javi]

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?

[Jacquot]

worked with my speaker Bose Revolve+ SoundLink on ubuntu 16.04

[Corrado]

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

[CoderGuy123]

Does not work on Mint 19.3.

[CoderGuy123]

Works on Mint 19.3. It can be tricky to get the device to use Audio sink/A2DP mode. I was unable to switch between them once connected. But if one disconnects, and asks to connect in audio sink mode, it worked.

[Sofia]

Could you elaborate on step 4 please?

[Zerquix18]

@Sofia blueman and blueberry are both programs on Linux Mint that you can use to handle Bluetooth

[Abensur]

Worked for me on Ubuntu 20.04

[abhishek]

Worked on Mint 20 when nothing else did! Thank you so much!