Attn Widcomm & A2DP-users: a new, GREAT hack for all A2DP (Hi-Fi stereo headset)users

Menneisyys · 10-15-06, 03:54 PM

Many Dell Axim x50(v) (those that upgraded to WM5) and x51(v) users have noticed the device’s using the Microsoft Bluetooth stack, with all its problems and shortcomings. The situation wasn’t changed much by the AKU2.3-based ROM upgrades, which were only released for the x51(v) series – it only added non-full (for example, it just refuses to work with the Plantronics Pulsar 590A – this has also been reported by Solsie) A2DP support.

The lack of proper, compatible-with-all-headphones A2DP support in the new ROM versions made a lot of Dell Axim users stick with the well-known Widcomm hack to use their stereo BT headphones with their PDA's.

In June, mikelspikel and beemer, the main leaders of the Widcomm project, have released BTSpeedSwitcher, which fixed the problem of the stalling sound transfer between the PDA and the headphones. (For geeks / hackers, here are the Registry values this utility modifies.)

Up to now, it was the only solution for the problem plaguing almost all WM2003(SE) devices (and the WM5 Dells with the Widcomm hack): the sound would just stop after some dozen minutes, which can only be fixed by reconnecting the headset from Bluetooth Manager, after restarting the Bluetooth unit.

Now, mikelspikel has just come up with a much easier and, what is more important, generic hack that seems to be compatible with more models than the speed switcher hack (more on this later):

All you need to do is setting the DWORD Registry value HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ SOFTWARE\Widcomm \BtConfig\ SerialTransport\ FlowControl to 0 (from the default 1). (You can, alternatively, import this registry file if you prefer importing pre-made registry files instead of manually editing the Registry.)

This hack, so far, has proved to be, generally, considerably better on two of my test devices (my old iPAQ h2210 with the HP 1.6 upgrade and the Fujitsu-Siemens Pocket Loox 720 with the PDA2k BT upgrade – please see this article for more info on these upgrades) than the BT speed hack (which doesn’t do anything on these two models, it seems).

Also, I’ve thoroughly tested the new hack with my Dell Axim x51v and found it to be perfect.

Make sure you give it a try! Also, if you have a different model, let the others know how it works.

Note that the hack (as with BTSpeedSwitcher) only works with Widcomm BT stacks. There is no point in trying to apply it on MS BT-stack based devices (to, for example, fix the Pulsar 590 problem).

A chart showing all the results of my tests can be found here

Note that, with the iPAQ h2210, you'll still need to reconnect in about every half an hour (after that time, it just starts to awfully skip). Still, it's much better than the default, hack-less, completely useless case.

Also note that I’ve also elaborated on the HP iPAQ hx4700 + Motorola HT820 combo in the chart as well (which don’t seem to like each other) in the last row.

Pocketbrain · 10-16-06, 07:47 AM

Werner, I love you! Simple registry adjustment, and the Bluetooth stereo audio has vastly improved. I may even lose the BT transmitter bug.

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Menneisyys · 10-16-06, 08:36 AM

Originally Posted by Pocketbrain

Werner, I love you! Simple registry adjustment, and the Bluetooth stereo audio has vastly improved. I may even lose the BT transmitter bug.

.

Can I have your device type / ROM version and the headphone model so that I can add it to the compatibility matrix?

BTW, do you play Starcraft on battle.net? I'd like to play other PPC crafters some time.

FNW2007 · 04-21-07, 04:37 PM

Hello all together ! :)

I just saw this nice thread by chance while searching for a possibility to make my rather old iPAQ h2210 A2DP compatible. After reading the things about this nice Bluetooth hack I directly tried to apply the provided "patch" (BTSpeedSwitcher) to my PDA. The tool seemed to work but I wonder how a simple speed change can add a certain profile to the Bluetooth stack.

After trying to connect my stereo headset to the PDA I realized very soon that it's still impossible because the Widcomm BT stack is still missing the support for A2DP devices. I'm quite sure that this speed switching tool provided here is not intended to offer an additional Bluetooth profile, so now my question is: Where do I get this "HP 1.6" firmware (?) for my iPAQ h2210 ? I'm acutally using the 1.10 version (the one that changed the basic OS to Windows Mobile 2003) but can't find any newer revision on the HP support pages...
I hope someone can still help me out although this thread is already rather old. :/

Thanks already in advance

FNW2007

Menneisyys · 04-21-07, 04:49 PM

1, welcome to MobilitySite :)

2, you may want to check out my other A2DP-related articles. In the one at Smartphone & Pocket PC Magazine Expert: Werner "Menneisyys" Ruotsalainen - ROUNDUP: Bluetooth remote control (AVRCP) compatible media players , I've explained how the 2210 can support A2DP:

"WM2003 devices should use the Widcomm 1.6 HP Bluetooth AV upgrade ( Support and Drivers - Transition Page ) to gain A2DP / AVRCP support. The update is officially only meant for HP iPAQ 5550 devices but it works (to some degree) on other Widcomm-based WM2003 devices too (you can install it on any device – the installer isn’t locked to the particular PPC model). Note that you shouldn’t except miracles: for example, on my HP iPAQ 2210, the sound sometimes stops for 1-2 seconds and, what is worse, it gets a considerably lower, really annoying pitch for some 10-15 seconds before this. That is, it’s highly possible you’ll find it useless on your particular WM2003 model too - it's only certified to work on the 5550."

I, however, wouldn't bother - the sound quality will be pretty bad. You may still want to give it a try.

FNW2007 · 04-21-07, 08:31 PM

WOW ! That was indeed very fast :) *looks impressed*

Thank you very much your nice explanation and the link to the Bluetooth stack update ! I installed the software and was happy to see the new profile in the connection manager. Unfortunately I wasn't able to establish a connection between my headset and the PDA although it gets shown in the pairing dialogue. The Bluetooth driver can't detect the service(s) it provides but I think that's just because the driver wasn't written for this device and therefore probably causes trouble. Furthermore the unavoidable problems you already mentioned in your reply will make this rather old PDA not the right choice for my purpose (listening to music in my car while navigating at the same time). So I will try to get a newer model soon (probably the very powerful Fujitsu-Siemens Loox N560 with integrated GPS) that already offers Windows Mobile 5 which integrates A2DP support already in the OS...
But it was worth a try anyway and I thank you again for giving me the hint with the driver update from the hx5550 !

FNW

imported_runnr548 · 05-25-07, 09:31 PM

As always...great info. Thanks!