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Windows 10: Bluetooth gets stuck "connecting" every time, for any device. What gives?

Anonymous
2019-03-22T22:56:20+00:00

Hello,

Recently, I am unable to connect any Bluetooth device to my computer. The strange thing is, however, that Bluetooth is technically working, meaning that my computer searches and finds the devices I would like to connect to and identifies them by name (for example, My Headphones and Xbox Wireless Controller). The problem is that once I select an item to connect to - which is indeed in pairing mode - my Windows Bluetooth settings display "Connecting" with the dots that slide across while it is connecting, however it never connects. It is important to note that it does NOT "fail" to connect - it simply stays forever on "Connecting" without ever actually connecting or failing to connect. This issue also didn't always happen - it's only been recently, although I can't pinpoint a definite time.

There is not any one specific type of device that causes this: it happens with every single Bluetooth device that I try and connect.

Some troubleshooting I've done:

  • Power cycled bluetooth
  • Ran the Bluetooth troubleshooter, which says 'fixed' a problem but really it just turns Bluetooth on and changes nothing.
  • Disabled and re-enabled Bluetooth Radio in Device Manager.
  • Uninstalled Bluetooth Radio and re-installed in Device Manager.
  • Checked for driver updates.
  • Manually re-installed Bluetooth drivers.
  • Created a secondary local admin Windows login account (experiences the same problem).
  • Tried to connect by sending a Bluetooth file to my Bluetooth device (has worked in the past, but does not connect currently).

Basically, the only thing left that I can think of is to do a clean Windows installation, which is something that I desperately want to avoid at all costs right now.

Has this problem happened before and are there recommended troubleshooting steps that I haven't already listed? The Bluetooth Radio is clearly working because it finds devices in pairing mode, it just gets stuck while connecting to them.

Thank you for any assistance or recommendations. I really need to solve this problem.

Cheers

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Devices and drivers

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  1. Anonymous
    2019-03-29T16:09:48+00:00

    Hello,

    It did not work. Even a “clean” install fresh start did not work.

    What I ended up having to do was a full disk erase and start entirely from scratch, running Windows installation on boot from a USB ISO image, and doing a completely clean and fresh Windows installation on a fully wiped disk.

    For whatever the reason, this fixed whatever problem Bluetooth was having and it is now working perfectly on my new Windows installation. I’m not sure what the difference between the “clean” install option in Windows is versus a complete hard disk wipe and install from scratch via an ISO on computer boot, but it solved whatever snag Bluetooth was hitting. This leads me to believe it was some sort of core Windows operating file buried deep in the system that was missing or corrupted in some way.

    Thanks for your help.

    Cheers

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  1. Anonymous
    2019-03-23T06:10:25+00:00

    Hi AHal,

    Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.

    • What is the make and model of your computer?

    Seems like you you’ve done some great troubleshooting. I appreciate you for providing the details and would like to suggest you to try the steps listed below and check if it works:

    • Press ‘Win + R’ keys on the keyboard together to open the Run dialog box and type the following into the Run box: services.msc
    • Locate **Bluetooth Support Service,**right click on the service and choose Properties.
    • Set it to Automatic, and under Log On tab, choose This Account and type in Local Service.
    • Delete the password in the password tab, and tap Confirm.
    • Restart the service and try connecting the Bluetooth device.

    Hope it helps.

    Regards,

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