I’ve been fighting with my Sony WF-C510 for days.
I’ve tried it on Ubuntu, Debian, and Linux Mint. Same result every time: It connects successfully, but never shows up as an audio output device.
I even bought a USB Bluetooth dongle, thinking my laptop’s chipset was the problem… but nope. It still connects as a device, not a headset.
I’ve restarted Bluetooth services, switched from PulseAudio to PipeWire, and tried every “set-card-profile” trick from AI and forums, but nothing works.
Has anyone actually managed to get a Sony WF-C510 working properly on Linux?
It’s clear this is purely Sony’s fault for not caring about or supporting Linux drivers. Are they just ignoring the entire platform at this point?
Any workaround or success story would save my sanity.
Distros Tested: Ubuntu 24.04, Debian 12-13, Mint 22 Issue: Connects, but no A2DP/HSP profile visible
I have it working on Ubuntu 25.10 and it worked out of the box for me. So I’m not sure if they added the drivers for experimental releases of Ubuntu or I had them unknowingly installed somehow. Therefore, no idea what to tell you other than try Ubuntu 25.10?
Man, this one is rage inducing. I run up against issues all the time. I am such a sucker for sony’ excellent hardware that i always end up fighting their absolute shit software/implementation.
To this day i still plug my wh-mx10004 … (Or whatever their stupid number is cause sony thinks a ten digit alphanumeric code is the catchiest name for their products…) b/c every time they connect by bt they will ONLY do ‘handsfree’ codec, yknow, the one that sounds like shit for phone calls. I have done everything… pavucontrol, pipewire, wireplumber, blueman, cli system level shit and yes i can force it to proper high def audio after some really annoying steps… but then ill start up a game or something and it suddenly goes “nope! This calls cor handset audio!” And switches itself back.
Honestly, blue tooth as a protocol is shit, and has never really worked that great but sony always seems to bring out the worst of it.
Yes, the problem is sony. Im sorry for your frustration. For me, in the end, i went w the 3.5 mm jack because i am just so sick of wasting effort on this bs
To this day i still plug my wh-mx10004 … (Or whatever their stupid number is cause sony thinks a ten digit alphanumeric code is the catchiest name for their products…) b/c every time they connect by bt they will ONLY do ‘handsfree’ codec, yknow, the one that sounds like shit for phone calls. I have done everything… pavucontrol, pipewire, wireplumber, blueman, cli system level shit and yes i can force it to proper high def audio after some really annoying steps… but then ill start up a game or something and it suddenly goes “nope! This calls cor handset audio!” And switches itself back.
If you’re talking about WH-1000XM4, they work for me. Sometimes on first connect they only have mSBC codec for me too, but if I just disconnect/reconnect them then all other codecs appear. If I switch to SBC-XQ or LDAC they then work fine until I turn them off (which can be hours and many different playback streams). I’m on pipewire+pipewire-pulse.
Ok not just me, good to know 🙃
My WH-1000XM4 have the same issue, no problem with my Vibe 100 or Pixel Buds Pro.
I have the same model, working in arch (swaywm, pipewire). For me was just connecting by Bluetooth, open pavucontrol and select the driver (high fidelity playback for when listening, headset for online meetings). No problems at all out of the box.
So just try pavucontrol, it allows you to choose the driver and use it as headset
Yes I have these and I have paired them to several different Linux machines.
You should try to update them OTA through the phone app, and if that isn’t it, then it might be that your Linux distro is messed up. Try to find some other Bluetooth device to see if it pairs.
When was that epic photo taken?
EDIT: did my own research
Jun 18, 2012 3:29 PM
Linus Torvalds Gives Nvidia the Finger. Literally.
Linux creator Linus Torvalds isn’t happy with Nvidia. And he wants you to know it.
Late last week, at a hacker meetup in Finland, Torvalds laid into Nvidia, calling it “the single worst company” the Linux developer community has ever dealt with, complaining that the chipmaker doesn’t do as much as it could to ensure that its hardware plays nicely with his open source operating system. He even turned to the camera filming the event, flipped the company the proverbial bird, and dropped the proverbial F bomb.
Absolute fucking legend!
I liked how you did a research to your own question and share the results
LEGEND!
Happened to me with another brand and model (can’t recall which to be honest). It did pair but appeared as a generic BT device, not headphones, and thus was totally useless.
I was pissed.
Then… I pair with something else, not a computer but something simpler, maybe a phone, I can’t remember, and it worked. So I was shocked, how can for this it works, clearly no driver installed on top and not my desktop?!
Anyway long story short I tried again few more times and it worked. Headphones were now pairing as headphones.
I can’t explain why but my point is, I wouldn’t give up. I would retry to pair few times (I know, sounds ridiculous, and yet…) without changing anything.
PS: if you know the ins and outs of the BT stack and it makes sense to you, please do explain! I’d love to learn
I did that too, and I did it a lot of times. I uninstalled and reinstalled all the Bluetooth packages (BlueZ, PipeWire, and WirePlumber). Then I started the Bluetooth service manually from the terminal and paired the device through bluetoothctl, cleared the cache in /var/lib/bluetooth, and re-paired from scratch on different distros.
Still no luck, 🤷♂️ it connects every time, but it never shows up as a headset.
Make sure to properly reset the devices, both BT on desktop, not just unpair but removing past pairings, and headsets.
Also try pairing with something else, e.g. mobile.
Unfortunately as I don’t know why it worked I can’t help more than that, best of luck.
Not this headset but another sound device (maybe MS headset) I needed to install pavucontrol, open it and go to playback options and click around, and the device popped up in the DE sound switcher
Drivers (other than your Bluetooth chipset) generally shouldn’t matter. AFAIK Bluetooth audio device protocol is generic.
How are you pairing the headphones? Are you adding your PC as a device using the Sound Connect App? I have different SONY earbuds, but they can pair with 2 different devices and switch between them with the app. Perhaps they still have another device (like a phone) selected for output?
You’re right. It’s especially confusing because the protocol itself is so generic.
I just tried this out to be sure: my Xiaomi earbuds connect instantly, the A2DP profile appears, and they work perfectly. So, my Linux setup (PipeWire, etc.) is clearly working fine.
The issue is definitely specific to the Sony WF-C510.
I’ve already tried all the standard multi-point troubleshooting (factory reset, phone’s Bluetooth off, pairing it as the only device) but it makes no difference.
As for the “Sound Connect App” that’s unfortunately the core of the problem. That app doesn’t exist for Linux. If the hardware relies on that app to set up or manage profiles, it creates an unavoidable roadblock for desktop Linux users.
It just seems to be a non-standard implementation from Sony that doesn’t play well with the standard Linux audio stack.
As for the “Sound Connect App” that’s unfortunately the core of the problem. That app doesn’t exist for Linux. If the hardware relies on that app to set up or manage profiles, it creates an unavoidable roadblock for desktop Linux users.
The app runs on your phone (Android or iOS), and then you use the phone to manage Bluetooth connections for the earbuds. IMO you shouldn’t need a second device, but I guess they just assume 99% of people are connecting to a smartphone.
It just seems to be a non-standard implementation from Sony that doesn’t play well with the standard Linux audio stack.
I think the issue is that the actual Bluetooth connection is obfuscated behind a proprietary connection to the app, and the app exposes the protocol.
I agree it’s a stupid implementation, prioritizing a UI for pairing over literally everything else, but you still might be able to get it to work. I’ve successfully paired my WF-1000XM4 earbuds with my EndeavourOS (KDE) desktop.
I have a pair of Sony WH-1000XM6s (similar sort of pairing and Bluetooth system although with the addition of LDAC) and I can confirm the Sound Connect app is not required to pair the headphones (works perfectly on my laptop with a Qualcomm Bluetooth chip and my desktop with an Intel chip, both running Fedora). It’s only for settings management and firmware updates through your phone. It might be worth checking if there’s any firmware updates for the headphones, and also try a few more resets. I used to have a pair of Bose headphones that had the exact same problem as you are experiencing, but it would go away after disconnecting and reconnecting a few times. It’s worth also seeing if you can pair with any other type of device in addition to your phone (Windows, smart TV, anything that can do Bluetooth A2DP) as it might be an issue with pairing to devices in general.
Out of curiosity how are you triggering pairing mode? If you are triggering pairing mode through the Sound Connect app, it might be worth instead holding the hardware button on the back of the case for 5 seconds to enter pairing mode.
It’s clear this is purely Sony’s fault for not caring about or supporting Linux drivers. Are they just ignoring the entire platform at this point?
Yeah dude. Everyone is. It’s like <1% of their market. If any consumer electronics work with Linux it’s just coincidental.
I miss the old good days when it was just your fault not doing a proper research before buying shit. Those were lovely times.
I use my WF-1000XM5 on Linux fine, paired normally IIRC. Any reason your set would be different?
Bluetooth headset are quite problematic in Linux due to missing drivers, codecs and/or firmware. As an output device they tend to work but I’ve never gotten microphone functionality working on my WH-1000XM3.
I’m having issues getting the microphone on my sony headphones to work on my steam deck. I was figuring it is due to missing drivers as well
I had Sony CH-WH710n and no major problems.
Try to pair the headphones via
bluetoothctland see if there are any errors in the logs.Do you dual boot windows? In my case it couldn’t pair to both at the same time without extracting the keys.
I would try to see if windows pairs up with the headphones, after all other troubleshooting steps are exhausted.
Install
pavucontroland that will give you a somewhat easier way to play with profiles for audio devices. Check the configuration of your headset, and try flipping it through different modes to see if one works best for you.Do the headphones have some kind of multi device connect function? Try turning it off as it likes to mess with unsupported devices. Also do the headphones support SBC or just proprietary codecs.
