bluetooth not working after update

Question

Everything worked before going away on vacation & after starting this computer & doing Windows & Dell updates now major issues. Windows did many including a system update & Dell did many including a BIOS update. Afterwards many issues with opening software, user setting not found. existing Bluetooth speaker can not connect, etc. Had Microsoft tech remotely in my computer & was passed onto a superior tech that finally said it was a hardware issue contact Dell. Dell tech was in my computer for over an hour & could not resolve issues. So told me to do a System Repair & sent me a link that showed a video directions that were different than what my computer did. Still things were not working correctly & was getting errors. So did a second system repair & it did better, no more errors but still can not get the Bluetooth speaker that word for over 7 months before all of this updating issues. Now I have been able to connect the BT speaker under System-Sound Devices & can make a test sound out of it, but it does not show up under System-Sound devices, so no music or software sounds. Under the Sound setting it can not find the Bluetooth device. Using Bluetooth Troubleshooting it does find a newer driver & updates it, even though Dells updaters says I'm all up to date. Once I then got the speaker to connect under the Sound devices but them after rebooting the computer it is gone.

These 2 updates, Windows & Dell have changed so much in my computer that was working fine for 10 hours a day for over 7 months, now what a pain in my ars.

Please any suggestions would be very helpful, Dell techs are looking into it but no replies for days

Answer 1

Hi,

If possible, could you access msinfo32.exe in the search bar, take a screenshot, and post it here?

If possible, when connecting via Bluetooth and selecting pairing mode, does it not appear or does it give an error?

Thank

Answer 2

Based on the symptoms (Bluetooth device pairs, can play test sound, but does not reliably appear as an output device and disappears after reboot), focus on resetting the Bluetooth stack and drivers, then re‑adding the speaker.

1. Remove and re‑add the Bluetooth speaker
   1. Select Start > Settings > Devices > Bluetooth & other devices.
   2. Under Audio (or Other devices), select the Bluetooth speaker.
   3. Select Remove device.
   4. Select Add Bluetooth or other device.
   5. Choose Bluetooth, then select the speaker when it appears and complete pairing.
   6. After pairing, go to Settings > System > Sound and check that the speaker appears under Output devices.
2. Power/battery reset on the speaker
   1. Fully charge the Bluetooth speaker.
   2. Turn it off and back on.
   3. Put it into pairing mode again and repeat step 1 above.
3. Restart Bluetooth on the PC
   1. Select Start > Settings > Devices > Bluetooth & other devices.
   2. Turn Bluetooth off and wait 10 seconds.
   3. Turn Bluetooth on again.
   4. Try pairing and selecting the speaker again in System > Sound.
4. Reinstall the Bluetooth driver
   1. Open Device Manager (select Start, type Device Manager, select it).
   2. Expand Bluetooth.
   3. Right‑click the Bluetooth adapter and select Uninstall device.
   4. Restart the PC. Windows will automatically reinstall the Bluetooth driver.
   5. After restart, pair the Bluetooth speaker again and verify it appears as an output device in System > Sound.
5. If the problem started after a driver update, try a driver rollback
   1. Open Device Manager.
   2. Expand Bluetooth, right‑click the Bluetooth adapter, select Properties.
   3. On the Driver tab, select Roll Back Driver (if available) and follow the prompts.
   4. Restart the PC and test the Bluetooth speaker again.
6. If Windows does not reinstall Bluetooth correctly
   1. Open Device Manager.
   2. Use Action > Scan for hardware changes to force detection.
   3. If still not working, download and install the latest Bluetooth driver from the PC manufacturer’s support site for the exact model, then restart and re‑pair the speaker.
7. General system steps
   1. Check Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update and install all pending updates.
   2. Restart the PC from Start > Power > Restart after any driver or system changes, then re‑test.

If, after these steps, the Bluetooth adapter itself intermittently disappears from Device Manager or the Bluetooth toggle is missing, that would support a deeper driver/firmware or hardware issue that Dell support would need to continue investigating.

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References:

• Troubleshoot Bluetooth not connecting in Windows
• Use a screen reader to fix Bluetooth problems in Windows
• Update Bluetooth drivers in Windows
• Fix Bluetooth disappeared in Windows