Bug 420206

Summary: Add bluetooth headset profile switch/select to plasma-pulseaudio applet
Product: [Unmaintained] plasma-pa Reporter: Johannes Tiemer <jtiemer>
Component: generalAssignee: David Rosca <nowrep>
Status: RESOLVED DUPLICATE    
Severity: wishlist CC: dsm.iv.tr, nicolas.fella, null, plasma-bugs-null
Priority: NOR    
Version First Reported In: unspecified   
Target Milestone: ---   
Platform: Arch Linux   
OS: Linux   
Latest Commit: Version Fixed/Implemented In:
Sentry Crash Report:

Description Johannes Tiemer 2020-04-17 17:03:12 UTC 
SUMMARY

Please add a switch for manual changing of bluetooth headset profile to the kmix applet to allow for a shorter clickpath if auto-switching does not work as expected in non-standard setups.

CURRENT OBSERVED BEHAVIOR

Currently it is quite cumbersome to use a bluetooth headset with multiple profiles. Switching between A2DP (for to music) and HSP/HFP (for duplex/talk) profiles under KDE requires any user to open kde-settings via the kmix-applet or otherwise, select the "Audio" section, select the "advanced" tag, and then set the profile to the desired option, and close with OK.

Automatically switching profiles could be possible if Pulseaudio knows and reports whenever an application asks for input/sinks. My headset partly does this, but at the very least it does not change back.

This auto-switch might be gated with a popup that asks whether the user wants to switch to the HSP/HSF profile, and an auto-switch back once the audio-sink is not needed anymore. This auto-switch somewhat exists, but e.g. Microsoft Teams keeps the audio-sink open as long as it is running, even after the end of a call. Therefore my headset stays in HSF/HSP until I manually switch the profile. Once I switch, the input source is moved to the onboard mic of my laptop which I usually use since it's voice quality is better than my headset's mic via HSF/HSP.

EXPECTED RESULT/MAIN WISH

A manual switch to change profiles from within the kmix applet, possibly from within the device menu -> hamburger button. It would be most appreciated, thanks!

I'm a medium to bad Python-coder, so I might help if I can. If this gets fixed/implemented I pledge a 50 EUR donation to KDE e.V., yes, don't hesitate to call me out on this :)

SOFTWARE/OS VERSIONS
Linux/KDE Plasma: Arch Linux/KDE, Kernel 5.6.2-arch1-2 (64bit)/Plasma 5.18.4
(available in About System)
KDE Plasma Version: 5.18.4
KDE Frameworks Version:  5.68.0
Qt Version: 5.14.2

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Headset Sony WH-1000-XM3
Laptop Dell Latitude 5400 (configured with i5-8365U + 16GB RAM)
Default Archlinux Bluetooth stack is installed, plus libldac.
Comment 1 Christoph Feck 2020-04-17 17:05:35 UTC 
Are you really using kmix or the Plasma PulseAudio applet?
Comment 2 Johannes Tiemer 2020-04-17 17:10:03 UTC 
Hey Christoph, embarrasingly you are right … I am using the plasma-pa applet. The name kmix is engraved in my brain still from the pre-Plasma times. I guess the correct package is plasma-pa then?
Comment 3 Christoph Feck 2020-04-17 17:18:21 UTC 
Yep, plasma-pa is Plasma PulseAudio.
Comment 4 Johannes Tiemer 2020-04-17 17:19:31 UTC 
Thx, changed it. Sorry for the misclassification.
Comment 5 tdr 2020-04-21 16:47:32 UTC 
I'm experiencing this as well, and wrote a script workaround that may help you. Set $CARD to your device and create a panel widget to trigger it. I definitely agree that there should be a less cumbersome way to change profiles.

#!/bin/bash

CARD="bluez_card.10_4F_A8_D8_29_9B"

HSFILE=$HOME/.hstoggle

if [ -e $HSFILE ]; then
    pacmd set-card-profile $CARD "a2dp_sink"

    rm $HSFILE
else
    pacmd set-card-profile $CARD "headset_head_unit"

    touch $HSFILE
fi
Comment 6 Nicolas Fella 2020-11-10 01:18:47 UTC 
*** Bug 421809 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
Comment 7 Nicolas Fella 2020-11-10 01:33:09 UTC 

*** This bug has been marked as a duplicate of bug 372562 ***