How to disable "auto-connect" for specific or all Bluetooth devices? How do I stop my devices from fighting over my earbuds?

Question

How to disable "auto-connect" for specific or all Bluetooth devices? How do I stop my devices from fighting over my earbuds?

Joshua Newberry 35

There seems to be absolutely no way in any of the settings I've looked through to turn auto-connect off for Bluetooth devices. I use my galaxy buds on my Samsung phone and my Samsung Galaxy Book, and I have seamless ear-bud connection turned off. If this was on it would try and connect to the thing I was using so when I open up my laptop and start working it would change connections to the laptop, or vice versa, however it seems that Windows already does this on its own. Since my phone isn't trying to disconnect from them then for some reason this results in both of them connecting and getting force-disconnected in an endless cycle until I turn off Bluetooth on one or both devices. It doesn't stay connected to a device long enough to manually disconnect it either.

Two main solutions I'm looking for:

How to stop windows from trying to connect to paired devices without having to remove them and manually pair each time I use them or
How to stop windows from forcefully connecting to something (mainly my Galaxy Buds 2 Pro) that is already connected and being used by my phone. Isn't Bluetooth supposed to prevent this from happening?

Joshua Newberry 35 Reputation points

2025-04-12T02:12:49.2533333+00:00

So far my understanding is that the long answer is that there is no solution to my question that truly does what I want it to do without compromising in some other way, like having to pair my headphones every time I connect them to my computer, or turning Bluetooth off when not using my headphones. The short answer is that Microsoft/Windows doesn't like giving its users choices. Like whether or not to use OneDrive, whether or not to log in to a Microsoft account, whether or not to have CoPilot, etc, etc, etc. This is a simple feature that could be added so easily. Just a little toggle that when turned off the computer no longer tries to connect to that Bluetooth device until toggled back on, or when you manually click the connect button. There are so many ways to make this possible.

1 answer

Your answer

Joshua Newberry 35 Reputation points

2025-04-12T02:12:49.2533333+00:00

So far my understanding is that the long answer is that there is no solution to my question that truly does what I want it to do without compromising in some other way, like having to pair my headphones every time I connect them to my computer, or turning Bluetooth off when not using my headphones. The short answer is that Microsoft/Windows doesn't like giving its users choices. Like whether or not to use OneDrive, whether or not to log in to a Microsoft account, whether or not to have CoPilot, etc, etc, etc. This is a simple feature that could be added so easily. Just a little toggle that when turned off the computer no longer tries to connect to that Bluetooth device until toggled back on, or when you manually click the connect button. There are so many ways to make this possible.

Answer 1

Anonymous

Hello

Thank you for posting in Q&A forum.

Here are the answers for your references.

How To Prevent Windows from Auto-Connecting to Paired Devices

Turn Off Bluetooth When Not in Use:

• Go to Settings > Bluetooth & devices.

• Toggle off Bluetooth when you don't need it. This prevents Windows from auto-connecting to paired devices

Disable Bluetooth Auto-Connect via Device Manager:

• Open Device Manager.

• Find your Bluetooth adapter, right-click, and select Properties.

• Go to the Power Management tab and uncheck Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power

Use Bluetooth Settings:

• Go to Settings > Bluetooth & devices.

• Click on the device you want to manage and select Disconnect instead of removing it. This keeps the device paired but prevents auto-connection

How To Prevent Windows from Forcefully Connecting to Devices in Use by Your Phone

Prioritize Device Connections:

• Some Bluetooth devices allow you to prioritize connections. Check your Galaxy Buds 2 Pro settings to see if you can prioritize your phone over your PC

Disable Bluetooth on Windows Temporarily:

• When you want to use your earbuds with your phone, temporarily disable Bluetooth on your Windows PC to prevent it from forcefully connecting

Use Bluetooth Profiles:

• Some advanced Bluetooth settings allow you to manage profiles.

Ensure your earbuds are set to connect to your phone first and your PC second

I hope the information above is helpful.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to let us know.

Best Regards,

Daisy Zhou

============================================

If the Answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and upvote it.

Joshua Newberry 35 Reputation points

2025-02-17T16:30:03.9+00:00
Preventing auto connection

Turning off Bluetooth doesn't work for me, I want my computer to connect with my phone, and I use link to windows and other connectivity features.

I still haven't figured out how to do this, but I don't think this would stop it from auto connecting.

Like I said above this would only work if after disconnecting it stops auto connecting permanently until I manually connect. This is how my phone works, but on my computer it tries to auto connect to everything every time it turns on or restarts etc. When it forcefully connects while they are connected to my phone, it then forces me to turn Bluetooth off on my phone, then manually connect to the headphones, then manually disconnect, and then it will stop connecting for the rest of the session. Then I can manually reconnect to the headphones from my phone. This process is what I'm trying to prevent.

Preventing forceful connection

I don't believe there is a way to prioritize my Bluetooth connections on the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, I've done my best to look through all of the windows settings, all of my galaxy buds settings, and all of my phone settings.

Same issue as already stated, turning off Bluetooth disables a ton of other features that are important to me, and this solution is a non-solution. Turning off Bluetooth is the annoying way to do this because Windows won't just stop doing things I don't want it to be doing.

I also don't believe Galaxy Buds Pro 2 or windows, or android support Bluetooth profiles. Otherwise I have no idea how to create that and have it do what I'm looking for. For this I think it's something that would be set up through the headphones, but even if Galaxy Buds did support this, I'm having issues where I'm actively watching a video and actively using my headphones and they are already connected to my phone, and then I open my computer and turn it on, and then they start disconnecting and connecting all over the place as Windows tries to endlessly connect to them while they are already connected to another device.

If anyone has more information on prioritizing Bluetooth connections or Bluetooth profiles I can try those solutions, but I'm not sure those are viable.

I'm also not sure if the 2nd solution using the device manager would even do anything, but if we think it will I can try that as well. I'm not sure how to get to the power manager for the Bluetooth adapter, but I'm also not sure which thing in the Bluetooth section of the Device Manager you want me to do that for.

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How to disable "auto-connect" for specific or all Bluetooth devices? How do I stop my devices from fighting over my earbuds?

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Your answer