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How to prevent switch from Stereo to Hands-Free profile on Bluetooth headset

Anonymous
2022-11-11T12:49:27+00:00

I just got a new Bluetooth headset (Philips PH802) and whenever the various video-conference platforms (Teams and Zoom) use the device's microphone, instead of my laptop's, there is terrible distortion on the audio output. The headset works just fine on my Android (on the same apps), but whenever Windows tries to switch to the Hands-Free mode, the sound is distorted (it crackles and pops, and is actually painful to my ears, the audio gets completely lost in this). Teams is essentially unusable - it refuses to use my headset audio and built-in microphone.

I have checked the drivers, there are several on Device Manager:

Bluetooth Device (RFCOMM Protocol TDI) - 10.0.22621.608 of 2006/06/21

Microsoft Bluetooth Enumerator (used by Philips PH802 driver) - 10.0.22621.755 of 2006/06/21

Microsoft Bluetooth LE Enumerator - 10.0.22621.608 of 2006/06/21

Philips PH802 driver - 10.0.22621.755 of 2006/06/21

Philips PH802 Avrcp - 10.0.22621.1 of 2022/05/06

Realtek Bluetooth 5 Adapter - 1.8.1030.3010 of 2020/09/08

I've paired and unpaired the headset a few times, and rebooted.

On Windows 10 one could select the audio output, but 11 seems to do it automatically. Is there any way to do this or disable the hands-free stream altogether? Or do I need to wait for a Windows Update that adds this function back?

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Settings

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  1. Anonymous
    2023-02-02T19:16:30+00:00

    "Bluetooth headsets have this downside." is not correct. It is a flaw in Windows 11.
    Windows 11 automatically switches to headset profile when the microphone is activated (which is fine).

    The problem is - it doesn't switch back when the microphone is disabled (like when a Teams call ends).

    You can force it to go back to headphones profile by switching output device to the laptop's speakers and then back to the headphones.

    Windows 10 does not have this problem, it is definitely a Windows 11 issue.

    30+ people found this answer helpful.
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  2. Rodrigo Queiroz 77,500 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2022-11-11T14:41:54+00:00

    Hi Carin,

    I'm Rodrigo and I will help you.

    You can disable the hands-free mode this way:

    With the device connected, go to Settings > System > Sound > More Sound Settings > Recording tab > Right-click the hands-free device and disable it.

    10+ people found this answer helpful.
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  3. Anonymous
    2022-11-11T14:54:46+00:00

    Hi Rodrigo.

    Thank you for the advice. I have already done so, but this effectively turns my headset into headphones. I just want to disable the Playback headset, not the Recording headset.

    Windows 10 would have two "devices" representing the Bluetooth headset, one for regular audio, and another for calls. In Windows 11 there aren't different options for the two functions in the settings, but the video conferencing apps grab the one that causes distortion, while audio playback uses the other one.

    The microphone works just fine, as long as I use the laptop built-in speakers for playback. But that doesn't work very well when I'm wearing a headset!

    7 people found this answer helpful.
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  4. Anonymous
    2022-11-11T15:06:01+00:00

    Then there is something really odd going on with the Bluetooth on Windows, because I do not have the same problem on my Android phone. I guess something with the drivers, if it's not the hardware. The driver is quite old (see my first post), but I don't know if there's a way to update it.

    5 people found this answer helpful.
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  5. Anonymous
    2023-08-14T20:30:49+00:00

    I had this exact issue when I upgraded to a Windows 11 laptop. Bluetooth headphones like mine (Sennheiser HD4.40BT) come with 4 profiles: HFP (Hands-Free Profile), HSP (Headset Profile), AVRCP (Audio Video Remote Control Profile) en A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile). The first 2 (HFP/HSP) enable audio on calls like Webex and Zoom, while the A2DP enables the HiFi audio that you'd prefer to listen to music on. While you could switch manually between the profiles on Windows 10, Windows 11 apparently should automatically do so. It sucks at that job.

    We therefore need to switch profiles manually again. That will involve turning off "Hands Free Telephony" in Control Panel. See this great thread to do so in W11

    Hope that helps.

    3 people found this answer helpful.
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