Sony Xperia 10 III - wired headphones with microphone (4 pin - TRRS type jack) support

General
#1

Because I have a lot of lossless FLAC music on my phone (I am old guy and like local stored music, I don’t use music streaming platforms :slight_smile: ), and there is no easy way to add Bluetooth AptX HD and other high-quality codecs to Pulseaudio SFOS I decided to buy good wired headphones.

I tested my my old headphones and I am surprised because:

  • 3-pin TRS headphones are recognized correctly by the OS/phone (everything works as expected),
  • 4-pin TRRS headphones (with microphone) are not recognized by the OS/Phone (no sound in headphones).

The question is - is this SFOS limitation or the hardware limitation? I am asking, because another phones which I tested - on all this TRRS jack type works correctly (Xiaomi, Nokia, even iPad tablet, etc.) - and I hear the sound and I can use built-in microphone for the calls.

It is also strange, that sometimes phone suddenly stops discover normal headphones (3-pin TRS) and I need to reboot the phone to get this jack socket working again (but fortunately it is rare case). That I am wondering if it is SFOS problem and what is the OS process responsible for this…

Can somebody test this on Xperia 10 III and give me here feedback?

I want to buy Koss Porta Pro headphones - there is 3-pin version without microphone and 4-pin with microphone, and I need to know what to buy / where is the problem - with my phone or with OS…

Regards,
Rob.

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#2

Buy the 4-pin, you can always use an adapter…
Btw, economical friendly headphones are able to change the cable!

#3

I’ve noticed the same bug on my 10iii also.

  • the phone detects the plugging (e.g.: 10iii wakes from sleep if sleeping)
  • but the output isn’t switched over, phone continues to ue builting speakers.

Temporary work around:

  • Use application “Audio Output Chooser” by HenkKalkwater on SailfishOS:chum
    • manually switch output to “wired headset”

(There was also some weird behaviour that I had noticed: when booting the smartphone while plugged to the laptop with a data USB cable, somehow pluggin a TRRS jack did correctly reroute the audio to “wired headset” automatically. Makes no sense, but I haven’t had time to investigate further before my smartphone USB-C connector’s line broke - I now only have USB-PD charging working :frowning: )

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#4

IIRC, there two kinds of 3,5mm TRRS plugged headphones: some are iPhone compatible and NOT Android HW compatible and others are Android HW compatible but not iPhone compatible. That’s what I found "TRRS is a type of audio cable that stands for Tip, Ring, Ring, Sleeve connectors. It follows two standards, which are CTIA and OMTP. The main difference between the two is that their ground and microphone rings are switched. " You may also have a closer look at this explanation

Maybe that is the reason why at least some TRRS headphones do not work with the Xperia 10 III

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