[Solution] Fix Bluetooth Audio Delay

Bluetooth connectivity-based headsets are now one of the most convenient, comfortable, and portable headset devices. From earbuds to speakers, most devices are now Bluetooth-based devices.

With Bluetooth devices, no one has to deal with the trouble of untangling the tangled loop wires. But do these Bluetooth headsets come up with all the perks? Well, no.

There are various cons of using these devices, but in this blog specifically, we will discuss how to fix Bluetooth audio delay. Many Reddit users have complained about the Bluetooth audio delay Reddit. 

Why is there a delay in your Bluetooth headsets – The Science

Before answering why there is a delay in the audio connectivity to your Bluetooth headphones, let’s first try to understand what audio latency is?

Though if you are not interested in knowing this phenomenon of the cause of the delay specifically in the wireless or Bluetooth headsets.

Then you might consider to skip to the next part of the blog, I.e., steps to fix Bluetooth audio delay across different devices.

All the audio hearing devices take some time to deliver the sound from the device source (say, android, iPod, laptop, etc.) to the connecting device (say, speakers, headphones, earbuds, etc.) This time taken by the audio device to deliver the sound is mainly some millisecond.

And this time taken to convert the digital data into an audio signal that could be accessed and streamed through a wired or wireless headset device is known as audio latency. 

Now, this audio latency is different across different devices. In a wired connection, this audio latency is 5-10ms. Whereas in a Bluetooth device, this audio latency ranges from 50-300ms. 

Now, if you wonder why wireless earphones take a longer time to transmit the sound to you than wired headsets, then the simple reason is the sound transmission process in Bluetooth headsets.

In wireless Bluetooth devices, the sound transmission happens between a transmitter and a receiver. The transmitter forwards the audio signals to the receiver. Now the bigger the audio size is, the more audio latent it is. 

To check the latency of your wireless Bluetooth headphones, you can also look for Bluetooth latency tests. To perform this Bluetooth latency test, you can log in to different websites providing this test for free. 

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Possible Factors affecting Bluetooth Audio Delay:

There could be various reasons responsible for causing the audio delay in your Bluetooth headsets. Here we have listed down the four crucial causes that could affect sound delay.

  • Bluetooth Codec
  • Interference
  • The distance between the source and the receiver
  • Bluetooth Version

Discussing the factors affecting audio delay:

  1. Bluetooth Codec – A Bluetooth Codec is an important algorithm that compresses, encodes, and decodes the sound data being transmitted from the audio source to your headset. Although some Bluetooth codecs are better than others, some are really terrible at their work. And the ones with this tribality are more prone to cause an audio latent. To avoid the audio delay due to the Bluetooth codec issue, one must check for the capability of the codec during purchase. It is important to make sure that the Bluetooth codec of your device is compatible with the Bluetooth codec of your headset.
  2. Interference – The interference is the unwanted frequency that makes it harder for the transmitter to read the audio files. The other add on frequencies of the electronic appliances in your room, like the microwave, heater, radio, etc. It might also disturb the clear transmission of your desired audio.
  3. The distance between the source and the receiver – Now though most of the wired headsets demand to be at a certain distance to function well, the wireless headsets don’t restrict you with the distance between the source and the receiver. And thus, many at times, people face the sound delay issue due to the improper connectivity and distance between the source and the receiver of the audio. If you observe that the distance between your headset and the device is more than the expected one, then you should try bringing them closer to fix the sound delay.
  4. Bluetooth Version – Different headset devices come with different Bluetooth versions. Though the latest and updated version, the better it is. While one must also keep in mind to find a version of the headset that is latest yet compatible with your respective connecting devices.

How to fix Bluetooth Audio across different devices

In this blog section, we will see how to fix Bluetooth Audio across different devices. There could be different devices that you are using as the source audio but it is causing trouble for you. But in this section of the blog, we have brought a solution to all of these.

How to fix Bluetooth Audio across issues in Windows 10

In this section of the blog, we will see a step-by-step guide to fixing Bluetooth audio delay in windows 10. There are various ways to fix audio issues in Windows. You can try any one of them as per your convenience and the system’s need.

  1. Reconnect your Bluetooth Device – This one is quite self-explanatory and doesn’t require lots of steps to be done. All you need to do for this method is first to reset your Bluetooth headphones. And now try reconnecting them with your device. This could establish a new connection between the headset and the audio source device while fixing any minor existing connectivity issues.
  2. Download and Install the Latest Bluetooth Driver – The other method to fix Bluetooth audio delay in windows 10 is by installing the latest Bluetooth Driver. Sometimes keeping an outdated Bluetooth Driver could be the reason behind the poor connectivity issues.
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Follow the below-mentioned steps to Install the Latest version of Bluetooth Driver:

  1. Right-click the start button, and click “Device Manager”.
    • Now a list of various sub-menus will appear. Click “Bluetooth” from the various drop-down options in the list.
    • You will see a list of all the paired devices to your system. Now select and right-click the name of your headphones that you want to fix.
    • Now select “Update Driver” from the right-clicked options of your Bluetooth headset device name.
  2. Through Windows Playback Troubleshooter – Windows 10 is designed to help its user with various troubleshooting methods. You can use the following steps to troubleshoot the windows sound delay issue in your device.
  3. First of all, to troubleshoot the sound lagging issue, right-click on the speaker icon by clicking on the lower right corner of the taskbar. Now select and click “Troubleshoot sound problems”.
  4. Now a pop-up window will appear with a selection of the audio devices. Now choose the Bluetooth headphone option and click “Next”.
  5. Now the Windows troubleshooter will automatically try to identify if there exists a problem in the windows computer system.
  6. Once the troubleshooter has identified the real problem, you can now easily fix the issue.
  7. Reboot the Windows Audio Service – Another method to fix the sound issues in Windows is to reboot the Window Audio service. Follow the below-mentioned steps to reboot your Windows Audio Service.
    • First of all, Press and hold the Windows logo and ‘R’ key on your keyboard.
    • A “Run” dialogue box will now be launched.
    • Now type “service.msc” and click enter.
    • Now look for “windows audio” option in the list of menus.
    • Now right click on this option and select “Properties”.
    • In the “general” tab, now select “automatic” for the startup type.
    • Now click the “recovery” tab.
    • Now in the First and second failure system, check for the option to “restart the service” option and click ok.
    • Now do the same steps for the Windows audio Endpoint builder.
    • Now after following all these above-mentioned steps.
    •  restart your computer and reconnect your Bluetooth device headset.

How to fix Bluetooth Audio Delay in Android:

In this section of the blog, we have discussed how to fix Bluetooth audio delay android. Follow the following steps to do so in your android mobile phone.

  • By Disabling the Power Saver: Power savings settings in your device, help you to save the overall power of your device. Now if a user is using multiple heavy apps, games, or multi-tasking on their device while being in the power-saving mode. Then, your mobile is more prone to lag with the audio delay issue. To disable the power saving mode, we have to do this through the settings app on your phone.

This is also the method to Bluetooth delay fix app. To avoid this, disable the Power Saver option from your settings. And to do that, follow the below-mentioned steps.

a. Launch your phone’s settings.

b. Now scroll down to the option of “Battery and Device Care”.

c. Now at the bottom of this app, click the “Optimize now” option on your screen.

d. Now click on the “battery” option in the same page, and toggle the “Power saving mode” off.

  • Restart the Device: Similar to the Restarting option to fix Bluetooth audio delay issue in windows, you can also try restarting or rebooting your android or apple mobile phone. As, if there exists some unnecessary lag or ram issue in your mobile. Restarting it might be able to fix it.

How to fix Bluetooth audio delay in iOS

We all agree that android and iPhone does have a different interface and operating system. And depending upon that there could be slight changes in the method to fix the sound audio delay in both these devices. Follow the below-mentioned steps to do so.

  1. First of all, swipe down the Control Center of your iPhone.
  2. Now, from the control center option, turn off the low power mode, by tapping the battery icon on the control center.

And with these two very easy steps you have already disabled the power-saving mode in your iPhone.

Conclusion:

In this blog, we discussed various steps about how to fix the Bluetooth sound audio delay. Along with discussing the methods to fix and troubleshoot this lagging problem across various devices, we also saw what factors lead to this problem.

In this blog, we also saw light upon, what possible headphones should we avoid purchasing like a headset with an outdated Bluetooth version, etc. To read more of such informative and useful tech blogs, do consider subscribing to our Blog Posts.