Windows 11 Update and now Bluetooth doesn’t work…

Question

Windows 11 Update and now Bluetooth doesn’t work…

Gabriel Primo 30

As the title says, an update was just installed on my laptop.

The computer audio works fine, except when connected to a bluetooth device. The audio appears to cut as if there was an interference, it goes in and out.

I’ve tried many things to fix it, including:

removing and pairing device again
checking for driver updates on ‘device manager’
running troubleshooter
disabling hands-free
disabling spacial audio
restarting windows
disabling bluetooth user support on ‘services’
manually installing bluetooth driver from intel
disabled all enhancements under ‘properties’
tested the speakers on a different windows laptop that just updated and worked just fine

NOTHING SEEMS TO WORK! Any help or guidance is much appreciated. You could say I use bluetooth for a living!

RupGeneva 0 Reputation points

2026-04-23T10:54:49.46+00:00
Similar but not identical issue on my HP Elitebook. I have a long-range bluetooth adapter connected via USB with the on-board bluetooth disabled in the BIOS. I cam not certain, but believe the chipset used in the USB bluetooth adapter is the ATS2851 (it is a Ugreen branded BT5.3 compatible device). This setup has worked flawlessly since installed mid-2025 with connections to two devices - a Logitech trackball and a JLab Work bluetooth headset for Teams calls.

Following the Windows 11 update that I received second week in April 2026, both the trackball and headset would completely stop responding several times per hour, seemingly at random. This was in parallel to a system sound similar to the peripheral disconnected sound. Approx 10-15 seconds late the peripheral connected sound was made and the two bluetooth devices reconnected. This problem made working virtually impossible as although I could switch the trackball to the USB Logitech unifying receiver, I depend heavily on Teams calls and do not have a wired headset. I had to fail over to calling in over POTS/cellular.

I have since stabilised the situation considerably by taking the following steps and so far haven't had a reoccurrence in >5 days:

In the list of bluetooth connected peripherals, I removed all devices (the trackball and the headset).

In device manager, I removed the bluetooth device and selected to remove the driver (standard Microsoft driver).

Restarted the machine and allowed it to redetect the bluetooth adapter on startup and install the driver (standard Microsoft driver again).

Re-added the trackball and the headset.

Subsequently to the above, I have had one instance of heavy "quantisation noise" which I have never experienced before but I can't 100% relate that to the same issue. This latter issue was resolved with a reboot.

Answer accepted by question author

John DeV 163.6K Independent Advisor

Hi, good day!

When was the last time it worked properly?
What specific update you have installed recently?
What is the exact make and model of your laptop?

Press Windows key+R to open Run then type: msinfo32

Press Enter

Please take a screenshot of the System Information window and post it in your next response. Note: Don't include any personal information or sensitive data as Microsoft Q&A is a public forum.

Open Device Manager

Expand Bluetooth

Right-click the Bluetooth driver in the list

Click Uninstall device.

Tick "Attempt to remove the driver for this device" box

Restart your computer.

Windows will reinstall the driver automatically.

I look forward to your update and am happy to continue working with you until the issue is resolved. If you find the answer helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and consider upvoting it. Otherwise, please keep me posted by clicking "Add comments" below instead of selecting Yes or No.

Aryaratna Basak 0 Reputation points

2026-04-17T19:44:00.6+00:00

I have a Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5 14AKP10. The solution you suggested is not working. Tried with Bluetooth triubleshooter too. Both interventions didn't work. Please let us know if there's anything else we could try.
Claus la Cour 0 Reputation points

2026-04-22T18:25:17.93+00:00

I also have the Lenovo Ideapad Slim 5 14KP10 and have experienced the same bluetooth issue. I have tried everything, i.e. remove device, update driver, change power management of bluetooth/wifi card etc. No updates available from the Lenovo support site. Did you find any solution?

4 additional answers

Your answer

RupGeneva 0 Reputation points

2026-04-23T10:54:49.46+00:00

Similar but not identical issue on my HP Elitebook. I have a long-range bluetooth adapter connected via USB with the on-board bluetooth disabled in the BIOS. I cam not certain, but believe the chipset used in the USB bluetooth adapter is the ATS2851 (it is a Ugreen branded BT5.3 compatible device). This setup has worked flawlessly since installed mid-2025 with connections to two devices - a Logitech trackball and a JLab Work bluetooth headset for Teams calls.

Following the Windows 11 update that I received second week in April 2026, both the trackball and headset would completely stop responding several times per hour, seemingly at random. This was in parallel to a system sound similar to the peripheral disconnected sound. Approx 10-15 seconds late the peripheral connected sound was made and the two bluetooth devices reconnected. This problem made working virtually impossible as although I could switch the trackball to the USB Logitech unifying receiver, I depend heavily on Teams calls and do not have a wired headset. I had to fail over to calling in over POTS/cellular.

I have since stabilised the situation considerably by taking the following steps and so far haven't had a reoccurrence in >5 days:

In the list of bluetooth connected peripherals, I removed all devices (the trackball and the headset).

In device manager, I removed the bluetooth device and selected to remove the driver (standard Microsoft driver).

Restarted the machine and allowed it to redetect the bluetooth adapter on startup and install the driver (standard Microsoft driver again).

Re-added the trackball and the headset.

Subsequently to the above, I have had one instance of heavy "quantisation noise" which I have never experienced before but I can't 100% relate that to the same issue. This latter issue was resolved with a reboot.
Aryaratna Basak 0 Reputation points

2026-04-17T19:44:00.6+00:00

I have a Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5 14AKP10. The solution you suggested is not working. Tried with Bluetooth triubleshooter too. Both interventions didn't work. Please let us know if there's anything else we could try.
Claus la Cour 0 Reputation points

2026-04-22T18:25:17.93+00:00

I also have the Lenovo Ideapad Slim 5 14KP10 and have experienced the same bluetooth issue. I have tried everything, i.e. remove device, update driver, change power management of bluetooth/wifi card etc. No updates available from the Lenovo support site. Did you find any solution?

Answer 1

Same has happened to me, and it happened last November too (see this thread). No acknowledgement from Microsoft at all, no workarounds (although some people reported success with some combinations or update removal, driver updating and whatnot), took a month to be fixed in the next update. Absolutely dreadful service as always, but this is what happens when you fire engineers and replace them with AI slop.

In this case I was forced to install the April update thanks to corporate rules, have the very latest Intel bluetooth driver and it's a Lenovo Thinkpad P16s Gen 3. Audio on bluetooth devices sometimes works, sometimes doesn't, the microphone is never picked up and Teams won't even give me audio.

I am resigned to this being broken for at least a month once again, which is extremely inconvenient.

Answer 2

Eduardo H. Reyes 0

I have the same issue, I updated my laptop on the 17 and suddenly my Bluetooth devices don’t connect and installing the driver and restarting the PC didn’t prompt the laptop to install the driver. I have tried downloading them from Intel website and toggle services on automatic and nothing seems to work now! I need help

0 comments

Answer 3

Gabriel Primo 30

I ended up finding a solution!

I uninstalled the bluetooth driver from ‘device manager’, and restarted my laptop, Windows automatically reinstalled bluetooth and it’s now working just fine.

What a pain in the *** though.

Aryaratna Basak 0 Reputation points

2026-04-17T19:39:46.74+00:00

Didn't work for me.

Answer 4

AI answer

Follow these steps in order, focusing on what commonly breaks after a Windows 11 update:

Run the Bluetooth troubleshooter (Windows 11)
Use the built-in diagnostics to detect and fix common Bluetooth/audio issues:
- Open the Get Help app via the Bluetooth troubleshooter link: Run the troubleshooter in Get Help.
- Let it complete and apply any fixes it suggests.
Confirm the correct output device and volume
After updates, Windows can switch outputs or levels:
- Select the Sound icon on the taskbar and ensure the Bluetooth device is selected as the output.
- Go to Start > Settings > System > Sound and under Output, confirm the Bluetooth device is selected.
Set a stable audio format for the Bluetooth device
A bad or changed format can cause cutting in/out:
- Go to Start > Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Devices.
- Select the Bluetooth audio device, then select Advanced sound properties (device must be connected to see this).
- Under Output settings, set Format to 2 channels, 16 bit, 48000 Hz (DVD Quality).
Fully remove and re-add the Bluetooth device
Since this was already tried, repeat it after adjusting the format and drivers (steps 3 and 6) so it binds to the updated stack:
- Start > Settings > Bluetooth & devices.
- Select More options (… ) for the device > Remove device.
- Select Add device and pair it again.
Toggle Bluetooth stack cleanly
- Go to Start > Settings > Bluetooth & devices.
- Turn Bluetooth off, wait at least 10 seconds, then turn it on again.
- Reconnect the device and test.
Update or reinstall Bluetooth drivers (post‑update compatibility)
Windows updates can leave an older or incompatible Bluetooth driver in place:
- Open Device Manager (search for device manager from the taskbar).
- Expand Bluetooth, right-click the Bluetooth adapter (may include the word radio), and select Update driver > Search automatically for updated driver software.
- Complete the wizard and close it.
- If no new driver is found, go to the PC manufacturer’s site and install the latest Bluetooth driver for this exact model. If it’s an .exe, run it directly; if it’s .inf/.sys, use Update driver > Browse my computer for drivers and point to the folder.
- Restart: Start > Power > Restart and test Bluetooth audio again.
Ensure Windows itself is fully updated
A follow‑up patch can fix regressions introduced by a recent update:
- Go to Start > Settings > Windows Update.
- Select Check for updates and install everything offered.
- Restart and test Bluetooth audio.
If Bluetooth disappears or behaves erratically after the update
If at any point Bluetooth devices vanish or the adapter appears missing even though drivers look fine, perform a full power drain (this has resolved post‑update Bluetooth/Wi‑Fi issues for others):
- Shut down the PC completely.
- For a desktop: turn off and unplug the PSU, then wait several minutes before powering back on.
- For a laptop with removable battery: power off, disconnect AC, remove the battery briefly, then reconnect and boot.
  This clears certain hardware/firmware states that can affect Bluetooth after updates.

If, after all of the above, the audio still cuts in and out only on this machine (and the same Bluetooth device works on another updated Windows 11 PC), the most likely causes are a bad Bluetooth driver build for this specific hardware or a regression in the recent Windows build. In that case, keep Windows and OEM drivers updated and monitor for a subsequent driver/OS update that addresses the issue.

References:

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Windows 11 Update and now Bluetooth doesn’t work…

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