JBL Flip 7 A2DP Connection Failure on Fedora 42 (BlueZ + PipeWire)

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1

Technical Report

Description

The JBL Flip 7 device pairs successfully using bluetoothctl, but consistently fails to connect as an A2DP audio output. The error originates in BlueZ and occurs before PipeWire is able to register the bluez_card.

Affected System

  • Distribution: Fedora 42 (Workstation)
  • Bluetooth stack: BlueZ 5.83 (not 5.70)
  • Audio stack: PipeWire 1.4.5 (not 1.0.x) (pipewire-pulse)
  • Device: JBL Flip 7 (MAC XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX)
  • Bluetooth adapter: built-in (Intel)

Steps to Reproduce

bluetoothctl
agent on
power on
scan on
pair XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX
trust XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX
connect XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX

Actual Result

  • Pairing is successful.
  • On connection attempt, A2DP endpoints are registered and immediately removed.
  • Device disconnects with org.bluez.Device1.Disconnected org.bluez.Reason.Local.
  • No bluez_card.* is shown in pactl list cards short.

Expected Result

  • Stable connection as Audio Sink.
  • Card bluez_card.* registered in PipeWire.
  • Normal usage as an audio output device.

Troubleshooting Steps Attempted (unsuccessful)

  • Cache wipe (/var/lib/bluetooth)
  • bluetooth.service override via ExecStart (--noplugin=sap --compat --noplugin=avrcp --noplugin=hog)
  • blueman frontend (fails with br-connection-unknown)
  • Restarted pipewire, wireplumber, and bluetoothd
  • Attempted ConnectProfile manually via busctl

This same device works on Ubuntu 24.02 :thinking:

Let me know if you’d like help submitting this to a bug tracker.

3 
# Workaround: Using JBL Flip 7 Bluetooth Speaker with Intel AX200 on Fedora 42

## Problem

On Fedora 42 using PipeWire, when attempting to connect a JBL Flip 7 Bluetooth speaker with an Intel AX200 adapter, the following issues were observed:

- `Failed to connect: org.bluez.Error.Failed br-connection-create-socket`
- `Invalid exception type 03 / 04` messages in `dmesg`
- `SET_CONFIGURATION request rejected: Unknown error (216)`
- The device connected but could not be used as an audio output

## Solution

### 1. Remove PipeWire's PulseAudio compatibility package

```bash
sudo dnf remove pipewire-pulseaudio

2. Install classic PulseAudio with Bluetooth support

sudo dnf install pulseaudio pulseaudio-module-bluetooth alsa-plugins-pulseaudio

3. Enable PulseAudio as a user service

systemctl --user enable --now pulseaudio.{service,socket}

Note: The message Failed to disable unit: pipewire-pulse.service does not exist can be safely ignored if the unit was not enabled.

Reboot

To ensure services are properly reloaded, a reboot is recommended:

reboot

Result

After rebooting, the JBL Flip 7 speaker connects and works correctly as an A2DP audio output. PulseAudio is now used for Bluetooth audio while the rest of the system continues to use PipeWire.

PipeWire status

PipeWire 'pipewire-0' [1.4.5, sergio@munster.belkin.home, cookie:3915135920]
 └─ Clients:
        32. uresourced                          [1.4.5, sergio@munster.belkin.home, pid:2691]
        41. WirePlumber                         [1.4.5, sergio@munster.belkin.home, pid:9379]
        53. kwin_wayland                        [1.4.5, sergio@munster.belkin.home, pid:2713]
        54. xdg-desktop-portal                  [1.4.5, sergio@munster.belkin.home, pid:2734]
        55. plasmashell                         [1.4.5, sergio@munster.belkin.home, pid:2943]
        79. WirePlumber [export]                [1.4.5, sergio@munster.belkin.home, pid:9379]
        87. telegram-desktop                    [1.4.5, sergio@munster.belkin.home, pid:8885]
        88. easyeffects                         [1.4.5, sergio@munster.belkin.home, pid:9590]
       117. wpctl                               [1.4.5, sergio@munster.belkin.home, pid:11056]

Audio
 ├─ Devices:
 │      60. Cannon Point-LP High Definition Audio Controller [alsa]
 │  
 ├─ Sinks:
 │  *   58. Cannon Point-LP High Definition Audio Controller Speaker [vol: 1.00]
 │      71. Cannon Point-LP High Definition Audio Controller HDMI / DisplayPort 1 Output [vol: 1.00]
 │      72. Cannon Point-LP High Definition Audio Controller HDMI / DisplayPort 3 Output [vol: 1.00]
 │      73. Cannon Point-LP High Definition Audio Controller HDMI / DisplayPort 2 Output [vol: 1.00]
 │      85. Easy Effects Sink                   [vol: 1.00]
 │  
 ├─ Sources:
 │  *   68. Cannon Point-LP High Definition Audio Controller Digital Microphone [vol: 0.91]
 │      70. Cannon Point-LP High Definition Audio Controller Stereo Microphone [vol: 1.00]
 │      86. Easy Effects Source                 [vol: 1.00]
 │  
 ├─ Filters:
 │  
 └─ Streams:

Video
 ├─ Devices:
 │      57. HP HD Camera: HP HD Camera          [libcamera]
 │      67. HP HD Camera                        [v4l2]
 │      69. HP HD Camera                        [v4l2]
 │  
 ├─ Sinks:
 │  
 ├─ Sources:
 │  *   35. HP HD Camera (V4L2)                
 │  
 ├─ Filters:
 │  
 └─ Streams:

Settings
 └─ Default Configured Devices:
         0. Audio/Sink    alsa_output.usb-GN_Netcom_A_S_Jabra_BIZ_1100_000010BB9E0707-00.analog-stereo
         1. Audio/Source  alsa_input.usb-GN_Netcom_A_S_Jabra_BIZ_1100_0000116F050707-00.mono-fallback

PulseAudio server info

Server String: /run/user/1000/pulse/native
Library Protocol Version: 35
Server Protocol Version: 35
Is Local: yes
Client Index: 18
Tile Size: 65472
User Name: sergio
Host Name: munster.belkin.home
Server Name: pulseaudio
Server Version: 17.0
Default Sample Specification: s16le 2ch 44100Hz
Default Channel Map: front-left,front-right
Default Sink: bluez_sink.50_1B_6A_98_58_1F.a2dp_sink
Default Source: alsa_input.pci-0000_00_1f.3-platform-skl_hda_dsp_generic.HiFi__Mic1__source
Cookie: bcba:092a

Systemd user services

  pipewire.service                                                 loaded active running PipeWire Multimedia Service
  pulseaudio.service                                               loaded active running Sound Service

Hopefully, PipeWire will soon offer full Bluetooth support.

HTH

4

Hi, just to clarify—I’m currently using Ubuntu 24.04 LTS and 25.04 (and F42 for testing), and I haven’t encountered any Bluetooth audio issues. As far as I understand, there have been no changes to the core audio stack in these versions, so your situation might be more specific to your system setup rather than a general issue.

It’s worth noting that the pipewire-pulse compatibility layer is generally stable, but upstream has acknowledged occasional environment-specific issues that might affect certain users.

Also, the statement “PipeWire will soon offer full Bluetooth support” could be misleading without proper context. PipeWire already supports Bluetooth audio, and the upstream issue board provides more detailed background on the ongoing improvements and specific bug reports.

If you’re troubleshooting this, I’d recommend checking that thread for further insights—it may help pinpoint whether your case aligns with an existing upstream bug or is more environment-specific.

Hope this helps!

5

@Hank

Thanks for the link, but I think it has little to do with the issue I reported. The part that says “Happens every time I have long uptime (after 5–6 hours)” isn’t related to my post. In my case, it simply doesn’t work at all—it’s not a matter of time.problem description, again, it has little to do “Applications that are linked to pulseaudio at this point fail to create new audio streams”. I wasn’t even using PulseAudio.

What I said was the result of troubleshooting. If I’m wrong, great! Maybe there’s something specific about the JBL Flip 7 or the software versions.

You said “PipeWire already supports Bluetooth audio”. But there’s a difference between “support” and full support.

What I mentioned about Ubuntu is a fact, not an opinion. I just booted Ubuntu 24.02 from a LiveCD, and JBL Flip 7 worked out of the box.

Apart from that statement, I presented facts—not opinions. So if by “environment” you mean my hardware, that could be a factor. But if you’re referring to some misconfiguration, that would be odd. I even tried booting Fedora 42 from a fresh LiveCD, and PipeWire with Bluetooth still didn’t work.

Maybe a better comment would have been: “Hopefully, PipeWire will soon offer full Bluetooth support for the JBL Flip 7.” But beyond that, this is about facts and troubleshooting—not opinions.

Anyway, thanks for your time.

6

this looks odd: pipewire 1.0.x not 1.4.x ?
further down wpctl status shows 1.4.5 for pipewire

$ pipewire-pulse --version
pipewire-pulse
Compiled with libpipewire 1.4.5
Linked with libpipewire 1.4.5

$ ll /usr/bin/pipewire /usr/bin/pipewire-pulse 
-rwxr-xr-x. 1 root root 15864 Jun  4 02:00 /usr/bin/pipewire
lrwxrwxrwx. 1 root root     8 Jun  4 02:00 /usr/bin/pipewire-pulse -> pipewire

BlueZ seems to be also outdated, it’s a version from Sep 2023 according to the changelog

$ rpm -qa bluez\*
bluez-5.83-1.fc42.x86_64
bluez-libs-5.83-1.fc42.x86_64
bluez-obexd-5.83-1.fc42.x86_64
bluez-cups-5.83-1.fc42.x86_64

otherwise, please open an issue here

7

@hankuoffroad It was a mistake with the versions, Thanks for pointing it out. I just corrected it.
I’ll report the bug to the upstream.

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