Major changes will be implemented in Ubuntu 17.10

Jul 15, 2017 03:48 GMT  ·  By

In his latest report, Ubuntu Desktop team leader Will Cooke talks about some of the latest improvements that landed in the repositories of the upcoming Ubuntu 17.10 (Artful Aardvark) operating system regarding audio support.

It would appear that Canonical's developers have been working hard lately to add some important fixes to audio in Ubuntu 17.10, which should significantly improve the usability of Bluetooth and USB speakers in the operating system. For example, it will be possible to choose a high-quality A2DP Bluetooth profile over a low-quality HSP/HFP one.

In addition, it should be possible to switch to a connected Bluetooth or USB speaker device automatically. However, some issues are still present at the moment of writing, such as the fact that you won't be able to use your Bluetooth audio device with a screen reader at the login screen, which is now GDM (GNOME Display Manager) in the latest Ubuntu 17.10 daily builds.

"We’ve landed some important fixes to audio in Artful this week, and users of Bluetooth and USB speakers should see a significant improvement in usability," said Will Cooke, Director, Ubuntu Desktop, Canonical. "There is an important caveat/bug though, because of the way GDM and PulseAudio interact, you can’t use a Bluetooth audio-device with a screen-reader at the greeter."

Canonical needs testers with Bluetooth/USB speakers for the issue

To fix the issue, Canonical needs testers that have Bluetooth or USB speakers on their hand and are willing to give Ubuntu 17.10 a shot. All they have to do is to test their audio device with a screen reader at the GDM prompt and report to Will Cooke if everything is working properly or not, or simply submit a bug report on Launchpad.

Once you have entered the GNOME session, your Bluetooth or USB speaker should work without any issues, as the A2DP profile is now available for use. Canonical is currently working to fix the problem with both GNOME and PulseAudio teams, but it could take a while if nobody is willing to test. If you don't use a screen reader than there's no need to worry.