Can't un-pause with bluetooth headphones when screen is locked

[Sara003]

EDIT: Problem solved 🙌 (check out answer below)

 

I got bluetooth headphones almost two years ago and Poweramp eight years ago, and have had no problem with using the headphones with the app before.

But a couple of weeks (maybe a month) ago, it started to not work properly. The sound and everything else works great, but if I pause Poweramp using the play/pause button on the headphones, I can’t start it up again with the button. Poweramp now also disappears from the lock screen when I pause, so I then have to unlock the screen, and open up Poweramp to start again where I paused.

I can pause and un-pause using the headphone button when I use my podcast app, so the problem doesn’t seem to be universal for the headphones.

If I un-pause right after having paused, there’s no problem and the music starts right back up again. But even a 10 second pause is enough for me to not be able to un-pause. There is no problem if the screen is unlocked, I’ve tried pausing and waiting a full five minutes before I un-pause, and it starts right back up.

I’ve tried “forgetting” the headphones and re-pairing them to the phone, I’ve tried rebooting the phone, I’ve tried un-checking the “react to buttons” headphone setting in Poweramp and re-checking it (after a reboot), but none of it has made any difference.

The problem might have started when I updated the Android version on my phone, but I’m not sure. It’s the only change I have made to headphones, phone or app in a while, but it might be a coincidence since I’m not definitely sure if the problems started right when I updated

 

Poweramp build number -- v3-build-882-arm64-play [882004-437be2ab]

Device model -- OnePlus 6T

Android version -- 10.3.5

Edited August 26, 2020 by Sara003
Problem solved

[andrewilley]

It sounds like your device is in some way unloading Poweramp when it considers it is inactive, or setting some other service for receiving BT commands by default. Do you have any Battery optimisations active? Also check that Settings > Misc > "Use Wakelock" and "Keep Service" are enabled. I assume no commands are getting through to PA? You can check with Settings > Headset/Bluetooth > Last Processed Commands.

Andre

[Sara003]

@andrewilley  Thank you, thank you - it works now! 

It was the Wakelock/Keep service settings that did it. Don't know how/why it suddenly didn't work, but who cares, because it works now! 

Now I can go back to pausing and un-pausing to my heart's content 😄 

[andrewilley]

I guess your new Android version just got a bit more aggressive with ditching stuff it thought was idle. 

Andre