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Bluetooth-UsingBackportsForPipewire.md

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Improving Bluetooth Reliability on a 'Zero 2W' Through 'debian-backports'

This is more-or-less a continuation of a recipe segment that was started under another recipe. Briefly, this recipe is an effort to get the "best" (most reliable) performance from the Bluetooth susbsystem on my Raspberry Pi Zero 2W. After using bluez-alsa for a few months, I was still experiencing occasional audio dropouts. I learned that a pipewire package version 1.2.1 was available through Debian's 'backports' (as opposed to ver 0.3.65 through the default /etc/apt/sources.list). I decided to give it a try.

I tried to think through the considerations:

  • the Zero 2W is a lightweight system, but pipewire is a rather heavyweight application
  • the Zero 2W has only 2.4 GHz WiFi, whereas the 3A+ also has 5 GHz - meaning that there's greater risk of interference with BT in the Zero 2W
  • the hardware upgrade angle wasn't compelling for the Zero 2W due to no USB-A ports (and my personal distaste for USB adapters)

My assessment was that the improvement options are limited for the Zero 2W !

While it's off-topic for this recipe, I made another observation: For reasons that are unclear to me, the RPi 3A+ seems to default to use of the 5GHz WiFi band. I've checked this repeatedly, and never found it to use the 2.4 GHz band:

$ iw dev wlan0 link
Connected to 74:83:c2:3e:f3:fb (on wlan0)
      	SSID: Mesh01
      	freq: 5180
      	RX: 1673385825 bytes (5919710 packets)
      	TX: 308305811 bytes (837543 packets)
      	signal: -66 dBm
      	rx bitrate: 200.0 MBit/s
      	tx bitrate: 292.5 MBit/s
...

That can't be accidental, but I've found no explanation in the documentation. What's also a mystery (to me) is how to change the WiFi frequency band! And of course the Zero 2W has no option to use 5 GHz - a hardware limitation.

So - this explains why I decided to try the backport-upgrade method for pipewire. All that said, the following explains how I did the upgrade.

NOTE: Following installation, I conducted a "reliability test" on the backported pipewire. The test ran for just over a week, and the results are listed below.

Installation:

1. Add debian-backports to /etc/apt/sources.list:

$ sudo apt edit-sources
# OR, more conventionally:
$ sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list
# you *should see* this in your editor:

deb http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm main contrib non-free non-free-firmware
deb http://deb.debian.org/debian-security/ bookworm-security main contrib non-free non-free-firmware
deb http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm-updates main contrib non-free non-free-firmware
# Uncomment deb-src lines below then 'apt-get update' to enable 'apt-get source'
#deb-src http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm main contrib non-free non-free-firmware
#deb-src http://deb.debian.org/debian-security/ bookworm-security main contrib non-free non-free-firmware
#deb-src http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm-updates main contrib non-free non-free-firmware

# Add one line at the end of the file:

deb http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm-backports main contrib non-free

# save the modified file & exit the editor

NOTE : All of the sources listed here were from debian.org - instead of raspberrypi.org - as it is on 'bullseye' system. (???)

2. Update apt

$ sudo apt update
...
# this updates your apt source tree
$

2.a [Contingency step - only if required]

I don't think this step is necessary for 'bookworm' as all the default sources are 'debian.org'. However, it was necessary for 'bullseye' where the sources were 'raspberrypi.org', and so I include it here just in case you get warnings/errors complaining about a GPG error.

While performing the apt update step, you may see something similar to this:

$ sudo apt update
...
W: GPG error: http://deb.debian.org/debian ... InRelease: The following signatures couldn't be verified because the public key is not available: NO_PUBKEY 0E98404D386FA1D9 NO_PUBKEY 6ED0E7B82643E131
E: The repository 'http://deb.debian.org/debian ... InRelease' is not signed.
N: Updating from such a repository can't be done securely, and is therefore disabled by default.
$

If you do, the solution is fairly simple:

# download the Debian key:  

$ curl -O http://http.us.debian.org/debian/pool/main/d/debian-archive-keyring/debian-archive-keyring_2023.4_all.deb 

# install the Debian key:

$ sudo dpkg -i debian-archive-keyring_2023.4_all.deb  

Selecting previously unselected package debian-archive-keyring.
...

And that should take care of it.

3. Install pipewire from backports:

$ sudo apt install -t bookworm-backports pipewire pipewire-audio-client-libraries libspa-0.2-bluetooth
...
$

4. Reboot

$ sudo reboot
...

Post-Installation:

Hopefully, the pipewire installation went without any hitches. If this install was from scratch (on a new system), you still have a few more steps before you can begin listening to audio via BT:

  1. Use bluetoothctl to connect your speaker/headphones
  2. Modify the [email protected]
  3. Install a player; e.g. mpg123 or cmus (if you're feeling ambitious :)

I'll skip the details for these 3 items as they've already been covered in the other BT recipes (1 or 2).

If all went well, you should be able to start playing music; e.g.:

$ /usr/bin/mpg123 /home/pi/rainstorm.mp3

I conducted a "reliability test" over a period of approximately of 1 week, and reported the results below.

Some diagnostics to consider:

You may also want (or need) to check on a few things; for example status of related systemd services, and maybe journalctl or dmesg. FWIW, here's what I see on my Zero 2W system as it's playing sounds through my 'OontZ Angle solo' speaker - YMMV:

  • Version
$ pipewire --version; wireplumber --version
pipewire
Compiled with libpipewire 1.2.1
Linked with libpipewire 1.2.1
wireplumber
Compiled with libwireplumber 0.4.17
Linked with libwireplumber 0.4.17
  • bluetooth.service
$ systemctl status bluetooth.service
● bluetooth.service - Bluetooth service
     Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/bluetooth.service; enabled; preset: enabled)
     Active: active (running) since Wed 2024-07-31 05:51:27 UTC; 4 days ago
       Docs: man:bluetoothd(8)
   Main PID: 496 (bluetoothd)
     Status: "Running"
      Tasks: 1 (limit: 404)
        CPU: 257ms
     CGroup: /system.slice/bluetooth.service
             └─496 /usr/libexec/bluetooth/bluetoothd

Jul 31 05:51:34 rpi2w bluetoothd[496]: Endpoint registered: sender=:1.20 path=/MediaEndpoint/A2DPSource/aptx_ll_0
Jul 31 05:51:34 rpi2w bluetoothd[496]: Endpoint registered: sender=:1.20 path=/MediaEndpoint/A2DPSource/aptx_ll_duplex_1
Jul 31 05:51:34 rpi2w bluetoothd[496]: Endpoint registered: sender=:1.20 path=/MediaEndpoint/A2DPSource/aptx_ll_duplex_0
Jul 31 05:51:34 rpi2w bluetoothd[496]: Endpoint registered: sender=:1.20 path=/MediaEndpoint/A2DPSource/faststream
Jul 31 05:51:34 rpi2w bluetoothd[496]: Endpoint registered: sender=:1.20 path=/MediaEndpoint/A2DPSource/faststream_duplex
Jul 31 05:51:34 rpi2w bluetoothd[496]: Endpoint registered: sender=:1.20 path=/MediaEndpoint/A2DPSink/opus_05
Jul 31 05:51:34 rpi2w bluetoothd[496]: Endpoint registered: sender=:1.20 path=/MediaEndpoint/A2DPSource/opus_05
Jul 31 05:51:34 rpi2w bluetoothd[496]: Endpoint registered: sender=:1.20 path=/MediaEndpoint/A2DPSink/opus_05_duplex
Jul 31 05:51:34 rpi2w bluetoothd[496]: Endpoint registered: sender=:1.20 path=/MediaEndpoint/A2DPSource/opus_05_duplex
Jul 31 05:58:08 rpi2w bluetoothd[496]: /org/bluez/hci0/dev_DF_45_E9_00_BE_8B/sep1/fd0: fd(31) ready
  • pipewire.service
$ systemctl --user status pipewire.service
● pipewire.service - PipeWire Multimedia Service
     Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/user/pipewire.service; enabled; preset: enabled)
     Active: active (running) since Wed 2024-07-31 05:51:33 UTC; 4 days ago
TriggeredBy: ● pipewire.socket
   Main PID: 640 (pipewire)
      Tasks: 3 (limit: 404)
        CPU: 533ms
     CGroup: /user.slice/user-1000.slice/[email protected]/session.slice/pipewire.service
             └─640 /usr/bin/pipewire

Jul 31 05:51:33 rpi2w systemd[624]: Started pipewire.service - PipeWire Multimedia Service.

  • wireplumber.service

    $ systemctl --user status wireplumber.service
● wireplumber.service - Multimedia Service Session Manager
     Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/user/wireplumber.service; enabled; preset: enabled)
     Active: active (running) since Wed 2024-07-31 05:51:33 UTC; 4 days ago
   Main PID: 642 (wireplumber)
      Tasks: 5 (limit: 404)
        CPU: 2h 8min 1.634s
     CGroup: /user.slice/user-1000.slice/[email protected]/session.slice/wireplumber.service
             └─642 /usr/bin/wireplumber

Jul 31 05:51:34 rpi2w wireplumber[642]: Failed to get percentage from UPower: org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.NameHasNoOwner
Jul 31 05:51:34 rpi2w wireplumber[642]: <WpPortalPermissionStorePlugin:0x55a46bcce0> Failed to call Lookup: GDBus.Error:org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.ServiceUnknown: The name org.freedesktop.impl.portal.PermissionStore was not provided by any .>
Jul 31 05:51:34 rpi2w wireplumber[642]: <WpPortalPermissionStorePlugin:0x55a46bcce0> Failed to call Lookup: GDBus.Error:org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.ServiceUnknown: The name org.freedesktop.impl.portal.PermissionStore was not provided by any .>
Jul 31 05:51:34 rpi2w wireplumber[642]: <WpPortalPermissionStorePlugin:0x55a46bcce0> Failed to call Lookup: GDBus.Error:org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.ServiceUnknown: The name org.freedesktop.impl.portal.PermissionStore was not provided by any .>
Jul 31 05:51:34 rpi2w wireplumber[642]: <WpPortalPermissionStorePlugin:0x55a46bcce0> Failed to call Lookup: GDBus.Error:org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.ServiceUnknown: The name org.freedesktop.impl.portal.PermissionStore was not provided by any .>
Jul 31 05:53:42 rpi2w wireplumber[642]: RFCOMM receive command but modem not available: AT+CHLD=?
Jul 31 05:53:42 rpi2w wireplumber[642]: RFCOMM receive command but modem not available: AT+CCWA=1
Jul 31 05:53:42 rpi2w wireplumber[642]: RFCOMM receive command but modem not available: AT+NREC=0
Jul 31 05:53:42 rpi2w wireplumber[642]: Failed to register battery provider. Error: org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.UnknownMethod
Jul 31 05:53:42 rpi2w wireplumber[642]: BlueZ Battery Provider is not available, won't retry to register it. Make sure you are running BlueZ 5.56+ with experimental features to use Battery Provider.

Hmmm... wireplumber is still not happy, even though the sound is perfect. (AFAICT)

  • journalctl

    $ journalctl | grep -i bluetooth | less 
# this can be quite a *dump* if your system has been running for a while
# to limit output to "current events", try this: 
$ journalctl --follow | grep -i bluetooth

  • dmesg

    sudo dmesg | egrep -i 'bluetooth|oontz' | less 
[    9.787238] Bluetooth: Core ver 2.22
[    9.789729] NET: Registered PF_BLUETOOTH protocol family
[    9.789762] Bluetooth: HCI device and connection manager initialized
[    9.789802] Bluetooth: HCI socket layer initialized
[    9.789818] Bluetooth: L2CAP socket layer initialized
[    9.789870] Bluetooth: SCO socket layer initialized
[    9.883372] Bluetooth: HCI UART driver ver 2.3
[    9.883420] Bluetooth: HCI UART protocol H4 registered
[    9.883631] Bluetooth: HCI UART protocol Three-wire (H5) registered
[    9.885391] Bluetooth: HCI UART protocol Broadcom registered
[   10.238985] Bluetooth: hci0: BCM: chip id 94
[   10.239441] Bluetooth: hci0: BCM: features 0x2e
[   10.242381] Bluetooth: hci0: BCM43430A1
[   10.242421] Bluetooth: hci0: BCM43430A1 (001.002.009) build 0000
[   10.252928] Bluetooth: hci0: BCM43430A1 'brcm/BCM43430A1.raspberrypi,model-zero-2-w.hcd' Patch
[   10.993485] Bluetooth: hci0: BCM: features 0x2e
[   10.996692] Bluetooth: hci0: BCM43436 37.4MHz Class 1.5 RaspBerry Pi Zero2 [Version: 1017.1042]
[   10.996730] Bluetooth: hci0: BCM43430A1 (001.002.009) build 1042
[   10.997457] Bluetooth: hci0: BCM: Using default device address (43:43:a1:12:1f:ac)
[   12.648760] Bluetooth: BNEP (Ethernet Emulation) ver 1.3
[   12.648787] Bluetooth: BNEP filters: protocol multicast
[   12.648807] Bluetooth: BNEP socket layer initialized
[   12.656562] Bluetooth: MGMT ver 1.22
[   19.349144] Bluetooth: RFCOMM TTY layer initialized
[   19.349194] Bluetooth: RFCOMM socket layer initialized
[   19.349220] Bluetooth: RFCOMM ver 1.11
[  133.421480] input: OontZ Angle solo DS E8B (AVRCP) as /devices/virtual/input/input0

Results of "Reliability Testing" of the 'backported' pipewire:

The setup was simple:

$ nohup /usr/bin/mpg123 --loop -1 /home/pi/rainstorm.mp3 &

I tracked the playtime using this script:

#!/usr/bin/bash
#
# What do I do?
# I count the number of reps & calculate playing time from nohup.out for mpg123
#
ntime=$(grep -o "\[73:05\]" nohup.out | wc -l)
etime=$(( $ntime*73/60 ))
echo -e "Elapsed play time in hours: $etime;\tReps: $ntime"

I stopped the test on Wed, 7 Aug; the output of the script above was:

Elapsed play time in hours: 169; Reps: 139

RESULT: Over 169 hours of continuous, un-interrupted playtime. 👍

I decided to run a longer test... I wanted to run for 1500 hours (2 months) continuously with no interruptions:

Using the same setup as before, I re-started mpg123 playing the rainstorm.mp3 file:

   $ nohup /usr/bin/mpg123 --loop -1 /home/pi/rainstorm.mp3 &

On Oct 9 at ~ 21:00 UTC, this goal was reached. 1500 hours of continuous Bluetooth playtime.

The file rainstorm.mp3 is 73 minutes, 5 seconds in length, and so that is 1233 repetitions. AFAIK, it never missed a beat.

Just to confirm:

$ pipewire --version
pipewire
Compiled with libpipewire 1.2.1
Linked with libpipewire 1.2.1 
$

Next: A Disaster!

But it didn't take long for the stability to evaporate! Following an overdue sudo apt update, and sudo apt -y full-upgrade, I found that my reliable Bluetooth setup no longer worked at all:

$ systemctl status bluetooth
● bluetooth.service - Bluetooth service
     Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/bluetooth.service; enabled; preset: enabled)
     Active: active (running) since Wed 2024-10-09 21:58:49 UTC; 9min ago
       Docs: man:bluetoothd(8)
   Main PID: 506 (bluetoothd)
     Status: "Running"
      Tasks: 1 (limit: 404)
        CPU: 211ms
     CGroup: /system.slice/bluetooth.service
             └─506 /usr/libexec/bluetooth/bluetoothd

Oct 09 21:58:49 rpi2w bluetoothd[506]: profiles/audio/vcp.c:vcp_init() D-Bus experimental not enabled
Oct 09 21:58:49 rpi2w bluetoothd[506]: src/plugin.c:plugin_init() Failed to init vcp plugin
Oct 09 21:58:49 rpi2w bluetoothd[506]: profiles/audio/mcp.c:mcp_init() D-Bus experimental not enabled
Oct 09 21:58:49 rpi2w bluetoothd[506]: src/plugin.c:plugin_init() Failed to init mcp plugin
Oct 09 21:58:49 rpi2w bluetoothd[506]: profiles/audio/bap.c:bap_init() D-Bus experimental not enabled
Oct 09 21:58:49 rpi2w bluetoothd[506]: src/plugin.c:plugin_init() Failed to init bap plugin
Oct 09 21:58:49 rpi2w bluetoothd[506]: Bluetooth management interface 1.22 initialized
Oct 09 21:58:50 rpi2w bluetoothd[506]: profiles/sap/server.c:sap_server_register() Sap driver initialization failed.
Oct 09 21:58:50 rpi2w bluetoothd[506]: sap-server: Operation not permitted (1)
Oct 09 22:02:04 rpi2w bluetoothd[506]: src/service.c:btd_service_connect() a2dp-sink profile connect failed for DF:45:E9:00:BE:8B: Protocol not available

The fun never ends...

Cleaning this up & restoring Bluetooth function was a tedious chore - but I learned something new, and re-learned something old. The new thing was how backports behave under apt; see this Q&A for the explanation. The old thing was how valuable it is to have a reliable backup mechanism!

Sequel: Stability Restored

Currently, the "bottom line" is this:

  • debian-backports provided an upgrade that was needed at the time

  • debian-backports aren't as thoroughly tested as the 'release' channel packages

  • the 'Zero 2W' appears to be back on "solid ground"; Bluetooth is once again working flawlessly

  • no doubt that the issues with wireplumber will be worked out eventually.

  • $ pipewire --version && wireplumber --version
pipewire
Compiled with libpipewire 1.2.4
Linked with libpipewire 1.2.4
wireplumber
Compiled with libwireplumber 0.4.17
Linked with libwireplumber 0.4.17

REFERENCES & Recommended Reading:

  1. Debian Backports Instructions; instructions for using backports
  2. Debian backports wiki
  3. Installing Debian Backports on Raspberry Pi; J. Goerzen: running Debian backports on Raspberry Pi
  4. Q&A: Issues following apt upgrade; useful intelligence on how backports works under apt