Headphones connected but mic only NOT audio

Question

My Bose headphones had been working perfectly (Windows 11) but now no sound coming from headphones. Tried disconnecting/reconnecting and unpairing and repairing but shows as connected for mic, not mic & audio. I have run through the troubleshooter and everything seems to be current (drivers etc.) What am I missing?

Answer 1

Hi Vanessa Streller,

From your description, the headset is being detected only as a microphone (hands‑free mode) and not as a full audio output device. This typically means Windows isn’t exposing the stereo playback profile for the headset.

You can try the following targeted checks:

1, Select the correct playback device

• Go to Settings > System > Sound
• Under Output, manually choose your headset (avoid any option labeled Hands‑Free)

2, Disable the hands‑free profile (forces stereo mode)

• Open Control Panel > Sound > Playback
• If you see both “Headset (Hands‑Free)” and “Headphones (Stereo)”:
  • Right‑click the Hands‑Free device > Disable
  • Set the Stereo/Headphones device as Default

3, Check Bluetooth services (for wireless headsets)

• Press Win + R > type services.msc > Enter
• Restart Bluetooth Audio Gateway Service

If the issue continues, updating the Bluetooth driver from your PC manufacturer’s support page can help ensure all audio profiles are correctly available.

Hope this helps get your audio working again. Let me know if you need further assistance, feel free to ask me by clicking "Add Comment" or "Add Answer" if you cannot add comment so your response will be visible. Thanks for your effort.

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Answer 2

The headset is connecting only with the microphone (hands‑free) profile and not exposing the stereo audio profile. In similar Windows 11 Bluetooth audio issues, removing all Bluetooth audio entries and letting Windows rebuild them has restored full “mic & audio” functionality.

Try these steps:

1. Remove the Bose headset from Bluetooth
   • Open Settings > Bluetooth & devices.
   • Remove the Bose headphones from the paired devices list.
2. Remove Bluetooth audio entries from Device Manager
   • Right‑click Start and select Device Manager.
   • Expand Audio inputs and outputs.
   • For each Bluetooth audio device related to the Bose headset, right‑click and select Uninstall device.
   • (If present) also remove any other stale Bluetooth audio endpoints.
3. Restart the PC
   • Restart Windows so it can rebuild the Bluetooth audio stack and endpoints.
4. Re‑pair the Bose headset
   • Put the Bose headset into pairing mode.
   • Go to Settings > Bluetooth & devices and pair it again.
   • After pairing, confirm it now shows as connected for both mic, audio (or similar wording) and that the stereo output device appears in Sound settings.

If the issue persists, repeat the Device Manager cleanup for any remaining Bluetooth audio devices, then restart and re‑pair again.

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References:

• Fix sound or audio problems in Windows
• Fix microphone problems
• Windows 11 Bluetooth headset microphone not detected - Microsoft Q&A