No audio playback from any Bluetooth device in Windows 11

Question

I have Bluetooth speakers (Audioengine 2+) which had been working great, and they works when I pair them to other devices, like my phone. Recently after a reboot, despite them being connected, I hear a partial startup sound, like maybe 250 milliseconds, but then no audio plays from that speaker whatsoever. This is on Windows 11, a Dell Precision 5690. Things I've tried:

• Disabling and re-enabling Bluetooth
• Disconnecting and reconnecting the device
• Uninstalling and re-adding the device
• Changing the audio output to my laptop speakers and then back to the device (sound works through the built-in speakers, just not this external speaker)
• Hitting the "Test" button in the speaker properties (visualization shows pulses, but there's no sound. Format is 16 bit, 48000 Hz)
• Disallowing then re-allowing the device
• Connecting a different Bluetooth speaker (no sound from that either)
• Connecting a different computer to the speaker (sound works for that)
• Disabling LE Audio + restart
• Ran the troubleshooter (it couldn't find any issues)
• Checking for driver/Windows updates (there are none)
• Installed the latest Intel Bluetooth driver manually
• Restarting all of the Windows Bluetooth services
• Restarting all of the Windows audio services
• Restarting the entire computer multiple times

What the heck is going on? I'm happy to gather all of the technical artifacts you want, because I want this bug to be fixed in addition to wanting to solve this problem for myself.

Answer 1

Hello,

Thank you for providing such a detailed breakdown.

Based on your description, especially the fact that a different Bluetooth speaker also fails on this specific laptop, we can isolate the problem to the computer's software configuration.

Possible Causes

• Audio Enhancement Software Conflict: OEM software (l can interfere with the Windows audio pipeline.
• Driver State Corruption: Even with the latest driver installed, the driver configuration or registry keys could be corrupted.
• Incorrect Service Configuration: The Bluetooth audio service might be failing to stay active for high-quality audio streaming (A2DP profile).

Recommended Solutions:

1. Disable Audio Enhancements

• Right-click the Speaker icon in the taskbar and select Sound settings.
• Select your Bluetooth speaker from the output device list.
• In the device properties, look for Audio Enhancements and set it to Off.
• Also, search for and open any Dell/Waves audio control panels and see if you can disable all effects or processing for the Bluetooth device.

2. Perform a Clean Reinstall of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi Drivers

• Go to the Dell support page for the Precision 5690 and download the latest Wi-Fi and Bluetooth drivers to your desktop.
• Open Device Manager, expand Bluetooth, right-click your Intel Bluetooth adapter, and select Uninstall device. Crucially, check the box that says "Attempt to remove the driver for this device".
• Do the same for your Wi-Fi adapter under the Network adapters category.
• Restart your computer.
• Install the Bluetooth driver you downloaded, then the Wi-Fi driver.
• Restart one more time and try again.

3. Check the Bluetooth Audio Gateway Service

• Press Win + R, type services.msc, and press Enter.
• Find Bluetooth Audio Gateway Service.
• Right-click it and select Properties. Ensure its Startup type is set to Automatic. If it's not running, start it.
• Restart and test.

Check for references: Microsoft Support: Fix Bluetooth problems in Windows System File Checker: Use the System File Checker tool to repair missing or corrupted system files

Please let us know if any of these solutions work for you.