Pair Bose QuietComfort 35 with Ubuntu over Bluetooth

This project is aiming to resolve problems that you can encounter when pairing your headphone.

Compatible products:

• Bose QuietComfort 35
• Bose QuietComfort 35 II

If this project has helped you, please consider making a donation.

1) Get back to a clean state

• On Ubuntu, remove the headphones from the Bluetooth paired list.

• On the headphones, hold the switch in Bluetooth pairing position for 10 seconds to delete all paired devices (You'll get a voice confirmation).

2) Desactivate Bluetooth LE (Low Energy)

Edit bluetooth configuration file:

sudo nano /etc/bluetooth/main.conf

Replace the following (remove the "#" symbol at beginning of the line if it exist):

ControllerMode = dual

With:

ControllerMode = bredr

Restart bluetooth service:

sudo service bluetooth restart

3) Enable A2DP sink for stereo sound

Note: do this step only if you're using gdm3

Edit or create this file:

sudo nano /var/lib/gdm3/.config/pulse/client.conf

Insert these following lines in this file:

autospawn = no
daemon-binary = /bin/true

Grant access to GDM user:

sudo chown gdm:gdm /var/lib/gdm3/.config/pulse/client.conf

Disable pulseaudio startup:

sudo rm /var/lib/gdm3/.config/systemd/user/sockets.target.wants/pulseaudio.socket

4) Optional: Use hot-plugged devices like Bluetooth or USB automatically

This step aim to enable your headphone to auto-connect to your computer when you start it. Check if it is already configured with:

cat /etc/pulse/default.pa | grep -B 1 -A 3 'ifexists module-switch-on-connect.so'

If there are no matches for it, start configuring Auto-connect For A2DP editing this file:

sudo nano /etc/pulse/default.pa

Then insert following lines at the end:

.ifexists module-switch-on-connect.so
	load-module module-switch-on-connect
.endif

After saving these changes, you must reboot now.

5) Optional: Install Blueman manager

Note: I only tested this GUI but feel free to use whatever you want.

via package manager:

sudo apt install blueman

To pair your headphone:

1. Open blueman
2. Right click on your headphone
3. select "headset"
4. hover "Audio profile" and select "A2DP"

Undo this configuration

If you want to reverse this configuration, you just need to follow steps in reverse order.

Note: Thanks to issue #2, I added to repository pulseaudio.socket file which is removed at the end of step 3.

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