Although there are few options for wired audio out from Raspberry Pi, a wireless Bluetooth speaker may be useful for some projects.
There are 3 high-level steps in this tutorial:
- Install PulseAudio +Bluetooth module
- Connect Bluetooth speaker and configure
- Edit scripts to connect Bluetooth speaker on startup
Install PulseAudio +Bluetooth module
sudo apt-get install pulseaudiosudo apt-get install pavucontrol paprefssudo apt-get install pulseaudio-module-bluetoothConnect Bluetooth speaker and configure
bluetoothctlpower onagent ondefault-agentquitsudo killall bluealsapulseaudio --startpactl load-module module-bluetooth-discoverTurn your Bluetooth speaker on and disconnect from other devices.
bluetoothctlscan onWait until Raspberry finds the target Bluetooth speaker, and note the MAC address such as “41:42:87:63:FD:3E”.
scan offReplace “41:42:87:63:FD:3E” with your address.
pair 41:42:87:63:FD:3Etrust 41:42:87:63:FD:3Econnect 41:42:87:63:FD:3EConfirm it is recognized as a sound device.
pacmd list-cardsYou should see your device address like “41:42:87:63:FD:3E” somewhere.
pacmd set-card-profile bluez_card.41_42_87_63_FD_3E a2dp_sinkpacmd set-default-sink bluez_sink.41_42_87_63_FD_3E.a2dp_sinkTest the Bluetooth speaker by copy an audio file to Raspberry Pi and execute below.
paplay your_sound_file.wavThe Bluetooth speaker should play the sound.
Edit scripts to connect Bluetooth speaker on startup
Modify “default.pa”.
sudo nano /etc/pulse/default.paFind and comment out the line below by entering “#” in front.
#load-module module-bluetooth-discoverSave and Exit.
Modify “start-pulseaudio-x11”.
sudo nano /usr/bin/start-pulseaudio-x11Find the block of commands below.
if [ x”$SESSION_MANAGER” != x ] ; then
/usr/bin/pactl load-module module-x11-xsmp “display=$DISPLAY session_manager=$SESSION_MANAGER” > /dev/null
fiAdd 6 lines of commands right after it.
/usr/bin/pactl load-module module-bluetooth-discover
sudo killall bluealsa
pulseaudio --start
bluetoothctl << EOF
connect 41:42:87:63:FD:3E
EOFSave and Exit.
Modify “.bashrc”.
sudo nano ~/.bashrcAdd 3 lines of commands below at the bottom.
bluetoothctl << EOF
connect 41:42:87:63:FD:3E
EOFSave and Exit, then restart the Raspberry Pi.
sudo rebootTest the Bluetooth speaker with an audio file again.
paplay your_sound_file.wavThe Bluetooth speaker should play the sound again..
Bluetooth Speaker Stopped Working?
If your Raspberry Pi just stopped connecting to your Bluetooth speaker without changing any configurations with an error message like below.
Failed to connect: org.bluez.Error.Failed
Try making your Raspberry Pi forget the device and then pair it again.
bluetoothctlremove 41:42:87:63:FD:3Escan onWait for your speaker to be discovered again.
scan offpair 41:42:87:63:FD:3E
trust 41:42:87:63:FD:3E
connect 41:42:87:63:FD:3EquitOther Tutorials
