Description of the issue: How can this issue be reproduced?
Bluetooth audio is not working in the Brave Browser. Brave Browser ignores my system’s bluetooth connection, and sends all audio to my system speakers. I’m using v1.61.104 on MacOS 14.2 (Sonoma), though based on past posts in the community, this behavior is not uncommon.
Reproduce by going to any website that streams any audio or AV content. This only occurs in Brave. I can visit the same site in Brave and any other browser (Firefox, Chrome, Edge), and only Brave exhibits the behavior.
There are no settings in brave://settings/content/sound that impact where audio is sent.
I have Brave set to clear all browsing data for all time upon close. I can also do so manually and start a new session. Doing so has no impact on the behavior.
Expected result is that Brave uses my systems audio settings, and sends audio to a connected bluetooth device when active.
Unless the audio volume is down (or the tab/site is muted) for Brave specifically, Brave doesn’t control Bluetooth specifically (Bluetooth is a system setting, not a browser setting). I know in windows or some windows apps, you can toggle volume settings on a per-app basis.
Hi – please see my issue description. This is an issue unique to Brave, and has nothing to do with bluetooth on the host system. Google “brave browser bluetooth” and you will see several similar posts, both in these forums and elsewhere, describing the same or similar issue. Bluetooth audio works on my system with every app and browser. Except Brave.
@lostphool have you spent any time looking at your OS settings by chance?
To review app permissions—for example, if you later decide to give a denied app access to your Mac—choose Apple menu > System Settings, click Privacy & Security in the sidebar
I mean, ever think to look there to see if you denied access? I know I was reading in one spot that people said Bluetooth was in Accessibility for some reason.
And another thing I’ve seen as I was researching:
Some applications can gain exclusive access to audio, preventing other programs from using it. Make sure no other apps are using exclusive access in System Preferences > Sound > Output.
The main thing you have to understand is Brave doesn’t have any ways to override your OS settings. It is your computer that is determining where audio is going.
Not sure if it was a proximate cause, but after allowing installation of the Google Wildvine plugin, the issue went away.
I discovered this by testing Spotify in Firefox, Chrome, and Brave. When loading Spotify in Brave, I was prompted to install Wildvine. If I did not install it, nothing would play, at all (which makes sense, as Wildvine is used to enforce DRM). Once installed, Spotify worked. I then went back to the original site on which I’d encountered the issue (an embedded mp4 file from a Linux Foundation training site), and it worked over the bluetooth audio connection in Brave.
TBH, none of it makes much sense to me, as I can’t see how installing a DRM plug in would make a difference. I don’t recall changing anything else, however, either with the browser or system, so I am rolling with it.
@lostphool I’m used to thinking of Wildvine for videos, but I guess it’s a thing sometimes for audio too. Still, I would have thought that it would have prevented you from playing it at all, not just not work on Bluetooth. So definitely is awkward.
Just a FYI, there was no need to install the plugin because Brave already had a version of it installed. You just had to turn it on at brave://settings/extensions. But it is what it is.
Glad to hear it seems resolved for you and I’m glad you shared the steps you did prior. I’ll tag in @Mattches and @fanboynz so they can be aware of the possible cause and/or solution.
Widvine DRM is used for audio also. Nothing on Brave side here, affects all browsers. Denying access to Widevine would stop media playback in most cases.