Windows 10: New Bose bluetooth headphones not playing in stereo

I have a pair of Bose NC-700 bluetooth headphones which do not play in stereo when connected to my PC but do play in stereo when connected to my smart phone. I contacted Bose and worked with them to resolve the problem but they determined the issue is with Windows and said I should contact Windows to resolve this issue.

:)

 

Bluetooth Headphones not Playing in Stereo

I have a pair of Bose NC 700 headphones. They work in stereo when connected to my iPhone but when connected to my PC, they only play in mono. I previously had a pair of Bose QuietComfort 35 headphones which worked in stereo on my PC.

When I check it in Bluetooth & Devices, it shows it as 'Connected voice,' I think it should be 'Connected audio' to play in stereo. Not sure if this is so and if there is a setting for this.

 

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

 

Bose wireless headphones not recognized.

Remove headphones from Device Manager

Sometimes there might be issues with Bose Bluetooth headphones on Windows 10, but users reported that this issue can be fixed simply by removing your headphones from Device Manager. To do that, follow these steps:

Press Windows Key + X and choose Device Manager from the list.

device-manager

Locate your headphones in Device Manager, right click them and choose Uninstall.

uninstall-driver

After you’ve deleted Bose headphones from Device Manager, they should appear as headphones in Bluetooth devices list. Try pairing your PC with Bose headphones, but if the pairing doesn’t work you’ll need to delete the headphones’ memory. To do that, follow
these steps:

On your Bose headphones slide the Power button up to the Bluetooth symbol and hold it there for 10 seconds.

Now headphones should appear in the Bluetooth devices list, and you’ll be able to connect them to your PC.

Some users are suggesting that you don’t need to delete the device from Device Manager, you just have to delete the headphones’ memory by following the instructions above.

Solution 2 – Uninstall your audio driver and install the latest audio driver

If you’re using wired Bose headphones, you might want to try removing your audio driver in order to fix any potential issues. To remove an audio driver, just go to Device Manager, locate your audio driver, right click it and choose Uninstall. After uninstalling
the audio driver, it’s recommended to go to your motherboard or sound card manufacturer’s website and download the latest audio driver.

Few users also suggest installing audio drivers by using the compatibility mode. To do that, follow these steps:

Locate the audio driver setup file and right click it. Choose Properties

Navigate to Compatibility tab and check Run this program in compatibility mode for.

Select one of the previous versions of Windows, for example Windows 7, and click Apply and OK to save changes.

Run the setup file and install the latest audio drivers.

Use a Bluetooth adapter / update your Bluetooth drivers

Problems with Bose headphones can be caused by Bluetooth drivers, so make sure that they are up to date before connecting Bose Bluetooth headphones. If you have the latest drivers, but the problem still persists, you might want to use a Bluetooth adapter. Users
reported that after buying a Bluetooth adapter and installing the necessary drivers the issue was resolved. While buying a Bluetooth adapter, make sure to choose one that comes with with a driver CD in order to avoid any further Bluetooth issues.