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Windows 11 Bluetooth Completely Broken – Settings Freezes & Devices Won’t Connect

Anonymous
2025-02-03T20:01:19+00:00

Hello,

I’m experiencing major Bluetooth issues on my Windows 11 laptop, and I need help troubleshooting.

Issue Details:

  • Bluetooth completely stopped working—I can’t connect or discover devices.
  • When I open Settings > Bluetooth & Devices > Add Device, the Settings app freezes and eventually crashes.
  • Device Manager shows my Bluetooth adapter, but Bluetooth itself doesn’t work.
  • Running services.msc and restarting Bluetooth Support Service doesn’t fix the issue.
  • I’ve tried updating, rolling back, and reinstalling the Bluetooth drivers, but nothing works.

Troubleshooting Steps I’ve Tried:

  • Updated Windows to the latest version.
  • Installed the latest Bluetooth driver from my laptop manufacturer.
  • Uninstalled Bluetooth in Device Manager and restarted.
  • Checked for errors in Event Viewer, but nothing obvious related to Bluetooth.
  • Ran sfc /scannow and DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth—no issues found.
  • Booted into Safe Mode → Bluetooth still doesn’t work.

Additional Issue (Possibly Related):

  • My laptop crashes when disconnecting an HDMI external monitor. Not sure if this is related, but it started around the same time as the Bluetooth issue.

Questions:

  1. Could this be a Windows bug, or is my Bluetooth hardware failing?
  2. Are there any advanced troubleshooting steps I haven’t tried?
  3. Would a Windows in-place repair upgrade or reset likely fix this?

Any help would be appreciated—thank you!

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Devices and drivers

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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7 answers

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  1. Anonymous
    2025-02-04T16:16:22+00:00

    "Arthur" knows perfectly well that the Windows Update of late 2024 broke Bluetooth in many ways (devices not found, no pin given for pairing, etc.), so this reply, where he tries to blame anything but Windows, is a lie.

    Microsoft needs to back out that Update, but I'm betting they have found it is a way to make money from device makers. Or they wish to diminish Bluetooth, because they can't control it. Or they are incompetent. Take your pick.

    10+ people found this answer helpful.
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  2. Anonymous
    2025-02-16T18:07:46+00:00

    Latestl Intel Blue tooth drivers do not work with my windows 11 desktop

    5 people found this answer helpful.
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  3. Anonymous
    2025-02-07T08:10:19+00:00

    Yeah that long winded answer is garbage.

    My computer was in for repair (that had nothing to do with Bluetooth connectivity). When it came back it had been updated on February 3rd. I also updated it on the 5th, when I set it back up.

    Connectivity became so bad that I couldn't use any of my Bluetooth devices. Out of desperation I uninstalled both of the recent updates ... and now there isn't a single problem with any of them.

    It's the windows updates causing the problems.

    4 people found this answer helpful.
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  4. Anonymous
    2025-02-04T07:23:41+00:00

    I am dealing with similar issues on Desktop PC. Recently had a Windows Update, related to Phone Link and I believe they broke something to do with the Bluetooth connectivity. My BT connected mouse and keyboard have been seriously unreliable ever since. Thankfully I've gotten another keyboard that's 2.4G and allows me to get around that issue, but my mouse is still randomly crashing. I removed my iPhone from Phone Link in hopes that it will unclog my Bluetooth driver.

    4 people found this answer helpful.
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  5. Anonymous
    2025-02-15T13:48:55+00:00

    Hi guys.

    Got a Bluetooth problem this morning after updating the driver on my Microsoft Surface Studio 2. It completely freezes the computer after 2-3 minutes. I disabled Bluetooth and I'm able to use my laptop again. There were few drivers update like audio, but the one causing the freeze is Bluetooth.

    The driver version is 23.080.x but you can obtain the latest version (23.100.x) here on Intel Website:

    https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/download/18649/intel-wireless-bluetooth-drivers-for-windows-10-and-windows-11.html

    2 people found this answer helpful.
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