[SOLVED] Bluetooth adapter is able to pair but always fails to connect to devices on Windows after passing it to a virtual machine running linux on VMWare

The VM can connect to bluetooth devices. The local Windows installation(host) is able to pair but not connect.

Hi SantinoOrtiz

Welcome to Microsoft Community.

Based on your description, I understand that your Bluetooth adapter pairs fine locally (Windows system), but always fails to connect to the device in the Linux virtual machine of the VM, I understand your feeling very well!

Please allow me to explain for you that I would very much like to deal with your issue, but since the forum we are currently on with the Windows board is mainly used for personal Windows issues with short response times.

And it seems that your issue would be better suited to be posted on the forums provided by VM for more targeted solutions.

I have gone ahead and found the corresponding forum for you at the link: Home - Broadcom Community - VMTN - Discussion Forums, Technical Docs, Ideas and Blogs

Disclaimer:  Microsoft provides no assurances and/or warranties, implied or otherwise, and  is not responsible for the information you receive from the third-party  linked sites or any support related to technology.

Other than that, there are a few suggestions that are in my personal consideration that I hope will help you. But please understand that normally your question should be directed to the right board and end up there, but I've earned the opportunity to provide you with some suggestions and I personally use VMware a lot on my Asus laptop, but assuming that the problem still persists after your attempts, I'd still recommend that you post the question to the appropriate forum in a timely manner, thank you for your understanding, it's really appreciated!

1. After we power on the VM, right click on the bottom right corner and open Settings, check the “Removable Devices” menu and connect the Bluetooth adapter to the VM to make sure it disconnects properly from the host computer.
2. Make sure the Bluetooth adapter is compatible with the Linux distribution used in the virtual machine. Some adapters may require specific drivers that are not bundled with every Linux kernel.

I personally seem to have had a similar problem, but whether it was in CentOS or Ubuntu, I kind of forget because I was in my freshman year of college at the time.

3. We enter the system and check if the Bluetooth service is started from the command line, or we can manually adjust it to turn on and self-start.
4. Sometimes the Linux kernel may not load the correct module for the Bluetooth adapter.
5. Some users have had success by adjusting the compatibility settings of virtual machines in VMware. You can try changing the compatibility version of the virtual machine.

Personally, I can only offer partial advice, but one thing that concerns me is that the Bluetooth logs don't seem to be recording any relevant error messages or warnings, which is a strange situation. Typically the Bluetooth adapter service is on, the adapter is turned on, etc., and the lack of error logs seems strange to me.

I hope the above information helps, and I sincerely hope that if you contact the right department, your problem will be handled properly as soon as possible!

Thanks again for your understanding, I really appreciate it!

Best Regards

Arthur Sheng | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

I've managed to fix it, i remembered that while connected to USB 3.0 on a linux laptop my headsets bluetooth audio was choppy until a connected the adapter to a USB 2.0 slot and fixed it, so, because i dont have any available USB 2.0 slots on my PC i used an old hub, connected the adapter, I was able to connect to my headset and, it took a little while but i got audio, i plugged it again onto the case USB 3.0 slot and its working fine.
As always, windows issues have stupid **** fixes that make no sense

I tried all of that, still having the issue.
My Bluetooth adapter is a nano usb tplink adapter, it is plug n play for windows 10, for xp and 7 you do have to download their driver.
The adapter can connect to devices when plugged in to another computer.

EDIT: the BluetoothUserService is stopped and cant be started, it always fails.
Trying to start the service BluetoothUserService_f8cfc works, but it stops after a while, and its startup is set to Manual

In services.msc i can only find BluetoothUserService_f8cfc and not BluetoothUserService

Hi SantinoOrtiz

I'm very sorry, my previous reply was a bit off the mark as I had a headache for the last couple of days leading to a misunderstanding. Now I understand that your problem is that Windows locally is able to pair Bluetooth devices but not connect them, while Linux in a virtual machine can connect them.

So for this situation, here are some of my suggestions.

Option 1: Disable power management for Bluetooth devices.

Windows sometimes turns off Bluetooth devices to save energy. You can try disabling this option to ensure that Bluetooth devices are always active.

Open Device Manager with “WIN + x” -> Find your Bluetooth device -> Right-click and select “Properties” -> Select “Power Management” in the upper tab -> Ensure that “Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power” is unchecked.

Option 2: Check VMware USB settings.

Since the Bluetooth device is connecting properly in the VM, it is possible that VMware is hogging the adapter and preventing Windows from using it. You can make sure the Bluetooth adapter is not occupied in VMware.

1. Open VMware and go to Virtual Machine Settings.
2. Make sure the Bluetooth adapter is not assigned to the virtual machine. If it is, disconnect it first.
3. Re-insert the Bluetooth adapter in Windows and check the connection.

Option 3: Sometimes Windows' Bluetooth stack may have problems, let's try to restart the Bluetooth stack manually.

Open Settings -> Devices -> Bluetooth and Other Devices and turn off Bluetooth.

After restarting your computer, enable Bluetooth again.

Option 4: I see that you have tried to update the driver to the latest version or uninstall and install the generic driver.

However, you can also try to install the Bluetooth driver manually.

There are several scenarios involving the driver:

(1) If you have a laptop, you can download the Bluetooth driver for your laptop model from the brand's website.

(2) If you have a desktop computer, you can download the Bluetooth driver for the corresponding model through the motherboard brand's official website.

(3) You can also download the Bluetooth driver for the corresponding model through the Bluetooth adapter manufacturer's website.

Please note: Please try the latest version of the driver as a priority, assuming the problem still exists, we can try some known older and more compatible versions.

Option 5: Although you mentioned that the Bluetooth driver is up to date, sometimes driver conflicts can cause connection problems.

Therefore, please try to clean boot your computer.

Since clean boot only uses a limited set of files and drivers, it helps us to effectively troubleshoot the possibility of problems caused by third-party applications, driver conflicts, and so on.

You can refer to Clean Boot: How to perform a clean boot in Windows - Microsoft Support

After clean boot, please slide down the webpage after opening the link and find “How to determine what is causing the problem after you do a clean boot” This is a dichotomy that can help us pinpoint the service that is causing the problem and disable it!

Disclaimer: A “clean boot” starts Windows with a minimal set of drivers and startup programs. It helps to determine whether a background service is interfering with your game or program and to isolate the cause of a problem. These steps of "clean boot" might look complicated at first glance. However, to avoid any trouble for you, please follow them in order and step-by step so that it will help you get back on track.

Option 6: If it's easier for you, we can try to connect an external Bluetooth adapter with a USB port to see if the same problem occurs.

This step is mainly to help us narrow down the problem.

I sincerely hope that the above information will help you.