Windows 10: all Bluetooth headphones connecting as a 'hands free headset' instead of stereo speakers

normally when you pair and connect a bluetooth earphone/headphone to a windows 10 pc it it will say "connected, voice, music" on the bluetooth and other devices menu right under the device name, but for some reason on my fresh install of windows on my desktop PC, whenever i pair it opens a window automatically called 'bluetooth device control' and it just says 'connected' and i can't use my earphones as stereo earphones, instead it's 'hands free audio', there is no option to switch to a stereo option when you click on the speaker icon in the task bar.hear is a video example of what happens for

:)

 

Stereo Bluetooth Headphones do not reproduce stereo sound

Bluetooth 4.x headsets (headphones with microphone) have two modes:
1. Stereo headset speakers with NO microphone
2. Mono headset speakers with microphone

I see in the listing for your headphones it shows a microphone. Make sure your the audio is configured correctly so that you have stereo headphone speakers.

With your headphones connected with Bluetooth

Left-click on little speaker (bottom right on desktop)





You should see current speaker for computer
In this example headphones in stereo is selected





If you click on Headphones you will bring up all options





To see more…
Right-click on little speaker (bottom right on desktop)





Select Sounds from list





If you want Stereo Headphones but NO microphone

Select Playback tab
Make sure Headphones is the current playback device





Select Recording tab
Make sure Microphone array (or similar) is the current recording device

 

Computer Won't Use Headphone Mic

Are you using a wired or wireless connection?

If you are using Bluetooth you will find there is a gotcha when using a headset with a microphone. With Bluetooth 4.x there is not enough bandwidth for both the headset's stereo speakers and the microphone at the same time. If the headset's speakers are used in mono mode then the microphone will work. Here is the information from my computer:
I I left-click on speaker icon on taskbar tray I see my options for the speakers:

• Speakers (Realtek High Definition Audio) = Laptops built-in speakers
• Headphones (Arctis 3 Bluetooth Stereo) = Headphones stereo mode
• Headphones (Arctis 3 Bluetooth Hands-Free AG Audio) = Headphones mono mode

I found out that if I select "Headphones (Arctis 3 Bluetooth Hands-Free AG Audio)" the headset microphone will work.




However, I found that next time the computer might choose "Headphones (Arctis 3 Bluetooth Stereo)". Then the headset speakers will work but the the headset microphone will not work.

To ensure that the right selection is always done automatically I have to go further and set the default to "Headphones (Arctis 3 Bluetooth Hands-Free AG Audio)".
Note I can always override this at any time. To do this...
I right-click on speaker icon on taskbar tray and left-click on Sounds




The first tab Playback is for the speakers

• Headset = Headphones mono mode
• Headphones = Headphones stereo mode
• Speakers = Laptops built-in speakers

The second tab Recording is for the microphone

• Headset = Headset's microphone
• Microphone Array = Laptop's built-in microphone
• Stereo Mix = N/A

To ensure that both the headset speakers and microphone work at the same time I set the default playback to Headset. This will put the headset in mono mode and allow the microphone to work. Note that if I disconnect the headset the computer will automatically revert back to using the built-in speakers and microphone.

 

Bluetooth headphones connect but headset portion does not


All,

I have a surface pro 4, fully updated. I also have a pair of Revo bluetooth headphones. They also feature blutetooth calling capabilities (i.e. microphone).

I used to connect these without a problem. Recently something strange has been happening. Now when they connect on the headphones (i.e. stereo audio only) is recognized as an audio device.

Normally Windows recognizes headsets like this as two separate devices - headphones for audio and headsets for calling. I can confirm that device manager sees them both as functioning normally. But, as shown below, the headset portion is showing as disconnected. But there is no way to connect it.





I have uninstalled and deleted the device and re-paired it. Nothing works. Thoughts?