Windows 10: Bluetooth Drivers lowering Headphones quality

So... I recently bought a new set of bluetooth headphones and a bluetooth adapter for my pc, the headphones are great and work as clear as glass on every device I own, except my PC. In reality any bluetooth audio output comes out as a low bad quality of the audio like someone was playing it through a trash can. I checked my audio, bluetooth and other drivers to check if it was fine and they were all up to date, however in bluetooth settings in the setting application it saids that the drivers for the bluetooth device "Driver is unavailable". But I'm connected to the PC in terms of audio, I can

:)

 

bluetooth headphones

setting up win10 Bluetooth and my Bluetooth headphones work fine ,but every time I reconnect the headphones I have to delete them from Bluetooth settings and let win10 pickup the headphones again ,before they will pair ,then win10 want to reboot to add the headphones ,I reboot and they work fine ,but next time I plug the headphone in again they will not pair ,don't even get an option to pair till I delete the head phones from the list ,, any suggestions ,, thank

 

Iogear GBU521 Bluetooth Don. - Not Headphone Compatible on Windows 10?

Windows 10 version 1903


Short story: Our Iogear GBU521 Bluetooth Dongle was used on a different PC running Windows 7 to connect headphones with good-quality sound. Now, on a Dell Inspiron 580 with Windows 10, we can't get the headphones to work with the same quality anymore.

Depth: All Windows drivers are downloadable on this page of Iogear's website: Product Drivers, Firmware & Software - IOGEAR
However, it appears as though the Windows 8/8.1/10 driver is really designed for 8 and 8.1 and not 10. That I conclude because the file name, "GBU521_GBU421_Win8_Win8.1_BT_v12.0.0.9980.zip", does not mention Windows 10, thus suggesting my bluetooth audio problems to be originating from a driver compatibility issue.

I've fiddled my life away with the following:

• WinKey+R / "control panel" / Devices and Printer / (Insert Headphone Name) Properties / Services
• Start / Settings / Devices / Audio
• Start / Settings / System / Sound / Output / Troubleshoot
• Settings within the Iogear bluetooth devices program, which comes with the driver on the aforementioned driver page.

And have gone through many settings that branch off this list, restarting the computer after each change made. Sometimes it connect with good sound quality, but does not retain this quality after breaking the bluetooth connection (turning the headphones off, restarting PC).

Quick side note: I have a new Microsoft Bluetooth 3600 Mouse connected to this dongle that works completely fine, unlike the headphones.

A solution requires the following results, which goes along the lines of how the bluetooth headphones were connected to this same Iogear dongle on the different PC that had Windows 7:

• The bluetooth headphones play with decent quality
• The volume retains it's setting whenever the bluetooth connection is broken by a PC restart, or powering off/on the headphones (I've encountered configurations where the headphones always resets to maximum volume).
• The bluetooth mouse works fine. This shouldn't be much of a concern at all.

If we find no solutions, I will simply buy a dongle that works with Windows 10.

I can provide screenshots if needed.
Thank-you.

 

the problem with the sound in Bluetooth headphones

Hi

Welcome to Microsoft community.

It sounds like you're experiencing a common issue with Bluetooth headphones where the audio quality becomes poor during certain activities, such as screen recording or using voice channels on Discord. This could be due to the fact that your Bluetooth headphones are switching to "hands-free" or "headset" mode, which typically has lower sound quality compared to "stereo" mode. Here are some steps that can potentially resolve this issue:

1. Disable Hands-Free Telephony: Go to Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Devices and Printers. Find your Bluetooth headphones in the list of devices, right-click on them, and select Properties. Go to the Services tab and uncheck the Hands-Free Telephony service. Click Apply and OK. This will force your headphones to stay in "stereo" mode.
   
2. Change Default Communication Device: Go to Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Sound. Under the Playback tab, you will see a list of audio devices. Find your Bluetooth headphones in the list and click on them. Then, click the Set Default drop-down menu and select "Default Device". This will set your Bluetooth headphones as the main audio device, which might improve the sound quality.
   
3. Update Bluetooth Drivers: It's possible that outdated Bluetooth drivers are causing the issue. Check the manufacturer's website for your Bluetooth adapter and see if there are any driver updates available.
   
4. Try a Different Bluetooth Codec: Some headphones support different Bluetooth codecs, which can affect sound quality. If your headphones and Bluetooth adapter both support aptX or AAC, try switching to one of these codecs. You can usually change the Bluetooth codec in the settings of your Bluetooth adapter.
   

Remember to disconnect and reconnect your Bluetooth headphones after making these changes to ensure they take effect. If none of these solutions work, there might be a hardware issue with your Bluetooth headphones, and you should consider reaching out to the manufacturer's customer support.

Best regards

Derrick Qian | Microsoft Community Support Specialist