[PR #1812] Fix Bluetooth remote control input not working as expected #1707

New Issue

2026-04-25T00:00:45+02:00

adam commented

2026-04-25 00:00:45 +02:00

📋 Pull Request Information

Original PR: https://github.com/advplyr/audiobookshelf-app/pull/1812
Author: @doofmars
Created: 2/25/2026
Status: 🔄 Open

Base: master ← Head: master

📝 Commits (1)

fea8dde Fix Bluetooth remote control input not working as expected

📊 Changes

1 file changed (+11 additions, -2 deletions)

View changed files

📝 android/app/src/main/java/com/audiobookshelf/app/player/MediaSessionCallback.kt (+11 -2)

📄 Description

Brief summary

This change implements the suggested fix of @ISO-B Ensure consistent media playback behavior across different input methods. Use seek jumps instead of skip to next file.
Skip to next is not equivalent to skip to chapter in the UI and does not work in single file playback.
Improve logging

Which issue is fixed?

fixes #352

Pull Request Type

Android backend

In-depth Description

I did some further digging and here are my observations:
First I considered three different methods on playback skipping. 1) Via the app, 2) Via bluetooth headset 3) Via remote control (in my case a Garmin Fenix smart watch).
Due to lack of hardware I was not able to test this in an android auto environment.
Second I noticed a difference when choosing audiobooks with A) multiple files and B) Single file with chapter marks.
In the following I focus on the case next track (>|).

1) Control via the app

Everything tested works as expected, next track (>|) jumps to the next chapter and we have buttons to perform a time skip of 10 seconds (configurable).
Here the control input next track (>|) enters via PlayerNotificationService and the seekPlayer function.
Time to skip is provided by the UI, I'm unable to figure out how exactly.

2) Via bluetooth

With this method and my device I have the basic config options: play, pause, next and previous track.
Here the control input next track (>|) enters via the MediaSessionCallback and handled by the onMediaButtonEvent.
A KEYCODE_MEDIA_NEXT results in jumpForward a time skip of 10 seconds (configurable).

https://github.com/advplyr/audiobookshelf-app/blob/4fb9f6b92dbdb40ec6501f4e84782223806b4c46/android/app/src/main/java/com/audiobookshelf/app/player/MediaSessionCallback.kt#L230-L235

3) Via remote control

Here the control input next track (>|) enters via MediaSessionCallback and handled by the onSkipToNext.
The current implementation calls the skipToNext function of the PlayerNotificationService and this the currentPlayer.seekToNext().

Now comes the root cause of the issue described: What is 'next'?

In case A) where we have multiple files the next file is selected.
If the audiobook is chunked into files per chapter the skip works like in case 1) Control via the app

In case B) where we have a single audio file (with chapter marks) nothing happens.
The player internally tries to check hasNextMediaItem for the next thing but cannot find anything.

https://github.com/advplyr/audiobookshelf-app/blob/4fb9f6b92dbdb40ec6501f4e84782223806b4c46/android/app/src/main/java/com/audiobookshelf/app/player/MediaSessionCallback.kt#L75-L77

I do not know which control device has buttons for SkipToNext and FastForward at the same time which would be affected by this change.
But my observation that the behaviour with single files is still different would persists.

And another thing, on case B) with single file: pressing the control input previous track (|<) jumps to the start of the file which is really annoying.

Conclusion

Form a user view I want to cover the following case:

"Oh no, I somehow missed the last 40 seconds of my playback, let me quickly press back 4 times."

Thus changing the implementation for case 3) to work as it does in case 2) is sufficient.
Also other apps (AntennaPod) is using exactly the same behavior.
If a user wants to skip a chapter there is always option 1) use the app with all 5 buttons :-)

How have you tested this?

Play audio book control playback via various input methods

Screenshots

Not applicable

_{🔄 This issue represents a GitHub Pull Request. It cannot be merged through Gitea due to API limitations.}

## 📋 Pull Request Information **Original PR:** https://github.com/advplyr/audiobookshelf-app/pull/1812 **Author:** [@doofmars](https://github.com/doofmars) **Created:** 2/25/2026 **Status:** 🔄 Open **Base:** `master` ← **Head:** `master` --- ### 📝 Commits (1) - [`fea8dde`](https://github.com/advplyr/audiobookshelf-app/commit/fea8dde880605131a3eb08b57676fd987a3bbb7d) Fix Bluetooth remote control input not working as expected ### 📊 Changes **1 file changed** (+11 additions, -2 deletions) <details> <summary>View changed files</summary> 📝 `android/app/src/main/java/com/audiobookshelf/app/player/MediaSessionCallback.kt` (+11 -2) </details> ### 📄 Description  ## Brief summary This change implements the suggested fix of @ISO-B Ensure consistent media playback behavior across different input methods. Use seek jumps instead of skip to next file. Skip to next is not equivalent to skip to chapter in the UI and does not work in single file playback. Improve logging ## Which issue is fixed? fixes #352 ## Pull Request Type Android backend ## In-depth Description I did some further digging and here are my observations: First I considered three different methods on playback skipping. 1) Via the app, 2) Via bluetooth headset 3) Via remote control (in my case a Garmin Fenix smart watch). Due to lack of hardware I was not able to test this in an android auto environment. Second I noticed a difference when choosing audiobooks with A) multiple files and B) Single file with chapter marks. In the following I focus on the case next track (`>|`). #### 1) Control via the app Everything tested works as expected, next track (`>|`) jumps to the next chapter and we have buttons to perform a time skip of 10 seconds (configurable). Here the control input next track (`>|`) enters via `PlayerNotificationService` and the `seekPlayer` function. Time to skip is provided by the UI, I'm unable to figure out how exactly. #### 2) Via bluetooth With this method and my device I have the basic config options: play, pause, next and previous track. Here the control input next track (`>|`) enters via the `MediaSessionCallback` and handled by the `onMediaButtonEvent`. A `KEYCODE_MEDIA_NEXT` results in `jumpForward` a time skip of 10 seconds (configurable). https://github.com/advplyr/audiobookshelf-app/blob/4fb9f6b92dbdb40ec6501f4e84782223806b4c46/android/app/src/main/java/com/audiobookshelf/app/player/MediaSessionCallback.kt#L230-L235 #### 3) Via remote control Here the control input next track (`>|`) enters via `MediaSessionCallback` and handled by the `onSkipToNext`. The current implementation calls the `skipToNext` function of the `PlayerNotificationService` and this the `currentPlayer.seekToNext()`. Now comes the root cause of the issue described: **What is 'next**'? In case A) where we have multiple files the next file is selected. If the audiobook is chunked into files per chapter the skip works like in case 1) Control via the app In case B) where we have a single audio file (with chapter marks) nothing happens. The player internally tries to check `hasNextMediaItem` for the next thing but cannot find anything. https://github.com/advplyr/audiobookshelf-app/blob/4fb9f6b92dbdb40ec6501f4e84782223806b4c46/android/app/src/main/java/com/audiobookshelf/app/player/MediaSessionCallback.kt#L75-L77 I do not know which control device has buttons for `SkipToNext` and `FastForward` at the same time which would be affected by this change. But my observation that the behaviour with single files is still different would persists. And another thing, on case B) with single file: pressing the control input previous track (`|<`) jumps to the start of the file which is really annoying. ## Conclusion Form a user view I want to cover the following case: > "Oh no, I somehow missed the last 40 seconds of my playback, let me quickly press back 4 times." Thus changing the implementation for case 3) to work as it does in case 2) is sufficient. Also other apps (AntennaPod) is using exactly the same behavior. If a user wants to skip a chapter there is always option 1) use the app with all 5 buttons :-) ## How have you tested this? Play audio book control playback via various input methods ## Screenshots Not applicable --- <sub>🔄 This issue represents a GitHub Pull Request. It cannot be merged through Gitea due to API limitations.</sub>

adam added the pull-request label 2026-04-25 00:00:45 +02:00

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Reference: starred/audiobookshelf-app#1707