How to record sound using bluetooth headset

Question

I am writing an android app for storing and managing voice memos with some basic metadata and tagging. When recording sound I use:

recorder = new MediaRecorder();          recorder.setAudioSource(MediaRecorder.AudioSource.MIC); recorder.setOutputFormat(MediaRecorder.OutputFormat.THREE_GPP); recorder.setAudioEncoder(MediaRecorder.AudioEncoder.AMR_NB); recorder.setOutputFile(currentRecordingFileName); // and so on 

This works well when using the phone in a normal fashion. However, it does not detect the presence of a bluetooth headset and still uses the phone's own microphone even when the headset is plugged in.

I also tried using MediaRecorder.AudioSource.DEFAULT, hoping it would automatically choose the correct source, but then no sound was recorded at all.

How can I a) detect if a bluetooth headset is plugged in and/or b) use a bluetooth headset as audio source for the media recorder?

Answer 1

olivierg is basically right (AudioSource can still be MIC), some basic code would look like this:

    am = (AudioManager) getSystemService(Context.AUDIO_SERVICE);      registerReceiver(new BroadcastReceiver() {          @Override         public void onReceive(Context context, Intent intent) {             int state = intent.getIntExtra(AudioManager.EXTRA_SCO_AUDIO_STATE, -1);             Log.d(TAG, "Audio SCO state: " + state);              if (AudioManager.SCO_AUDIO_STATE_CONNECTED == state) {                  /*                   * Now the connection has been established to the bluetooth device.                   * Record audio or whatever (on another thread).With AudioRecord you can record with an object created like this:                  * new AudioRecord(MediaRecorder.AudioSource.MIC, 8000, AudioFormat.CHANNEL_CONFIGURATION_MONO,                  * AudioFormat.ENCODING_PCM_16BIT, audioBufferSize);                  *                  * After finishing, don't forget to unregister this receiver and                  * to stop the bluetooth connection with am.stopBluetoothSco();                  */                 unregisterReceiver(this);             }          }     }, new IntentFilter(AudioManager.ACTION_SCO_AUDIO_STATE_CHANGED));      Log.d(TAG, "starting bluetooth");     am.startBluetoothSco(); 

This I stumbled upon this myself just again, I want to point out the importance of slott's comment to include the right permissions, most importantly to set

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.MODIFY_AUDIO_SETTINGS" /> 

in your manifest file. Without it you will not get any error message but the state will simply not change to connected.