How to pair/connect Bluetooth audio device to Windows 7 PC when Windows 7 reports "Device driver software was not successfully installed. Bluetooth Peripheral Device. No driver found."

Anonymous
2012-02-29T00:14:29+00:00

I spent many hours trying to figure out how to connect my two Windows 7 64-bit PCs to my Bluetooth stereo audio device (the Motorola S705) but the problem seems to be generic to many Bluetooth stereo audio devices, and the web shows many people having this problem, so I thought I'd post my solution in case it helps anyone else.

SYMPTOMS:

A Bluetooth-capable Windows 7 PC can pair, but can’t connect, to a stereo audio device (like the Motorola S705 SoundPilot) via Bluetooth. The PC and the audio device may pair, but then Windows 7 provides the following error messages: “Device driver software was not successfully installed. Bluetooth Peripheral Device. No driver found.”

It may be worth noting that I had no problem connecting my Bluetooth audio device to my cell phone or Windows XP PC. And the Windows 7 PC was able to connect to other Bluetooth devices, such as mice or keyboards.

CAUSE:

Even though a Windows 7 PC may have a working Bluetooth driver that connects to some Bluetooth devices (like mice or keyboards), a Windows 7 PC may not have the necessary A2DP & AVRCP (audio-capable) Bluetooth software & drivers installed. This software deficiency may occur, especially if the PC has been upgraded from an earlier version of Windows or the PC maker has simply not provided the latest driver update.  This problem can occur even if "Windows Update" is enabled and even if Windows 7 is allowed to automatically search for the driver online.

SOLUTION:

If the PC has an add-on Bluetooth adapter/dongle, download & install the latest driver directly from the Bluetooth dongle maker’s website, if possible.

A) If the PC has Bluetooth built-in, download & install the latest Bluetooth driver directly from the PC manufacturer, if possible.

B) If the add-on Bluetooth adapter/dongle maker, or the PC-maker doesn't offer full-featured Bluetooth software for Windows 7, it is possible (not guaranteed) that the maker of the Bluetooth chips inside the adapter/dongle/PC does offer such full-featured Bluetooth software (but the maker of the adapter/dongle/PC didn't bother to test it and include it on their website).  If so, you may be able to do the following:

  1. On the Windows 7 PC, go into to the “Device Manager” (Start Menu/Control Panel/Device Manager) and expand “Bluetooth Radios”.  You should see two items.  (Ignore the 2nd item which says something like Microsoft Bluetooth Enumerator.)  The first item should contain the name of the Bluetooth module, possibly with the name of the Bluetooth chipmaker (e.g. Broadcom, Cambridge Silicon Radio "CSR", or Toshiba), but also possibly with just the module maker's name (e.g. Dell, or HP).  If the chipmaker's name isn't apparent, then double-click on the icon, click on the "Details" tab, and then select "Manufacturer" from the "Properties" drop down menu.  The Bluetooth chipmaker's name should appear under "Properties".  If not, you're probably out of luck but you could surf around some of the other "Properties" so see if you can get a hint at the Bluetooth chipmaker's name.
  2. Go to the chipmaker’s website to download the latest driver. For example, in the case of a Broadcom Bluetooth radio chip, download the Widcomm Bluetooth software from Broadcom’s website, http://www.broadcom.com/support/bluetooth/update.php
  3. With the Bluetooth hardware adapter/dongle installed (if not built-in), install the chipmaker’s Bluetooth software.

Once the Bluetooth software is installed, you should be able to pair and connect with the Bluetooth audio device in the normal manner (Start Menu/Devices and Printers/Add a device).

Note that in any case, once the driver is installed and the Bluetooth audio device is properly installed, paired, and connected, you may need to go into the audio properties of the PC (Start Menu/Control panel/Sound) and set the default audio playback device to be the Bluetooth headphones when listening through the Bluetooth audio device. When not listening through the Bluetooth audio device, the user will have to switch the default audio playback device back to the speakers.

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Devices and drivers

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Anonymous
2012-02-29T18:54:20+00:00

Hi,

Thank you for sharing the resolution, as this would help other members of the community facing the same issue.

If you have any other queries or comments related to Microsoft Windows, you can post it on Microsoft Answers Forum and we will be happy to answer you.

Hope this information helps you.

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  1. Anonymous
    2014-04-05T08:20:24+00:00

    Interesting and very descriptive threat, learned a lot from it.

    I had the same problem pairing my UE Mini Boom Bluetooth speaker on my HP EliteBook 6930p with Windows 7 Enterprise.

    As others, I was able to use the bluetooth before trying to connect the speaker for the first time.

    I was not able to use the driver updater from Broadcom, it stops in the validation step.

    I was not able to identify the manufacturer of the bluetooth chipset. Following the steps above it alwas showed HP. There are hints that the Wireless adapter manufacturer is also the manufacturer of the bluetooth module. I guess it's not a universal truth since my Wireless is Intel 5300 but no bluetooth there.

    After some searching around I eventually installed the HP SP47022 package from HP Support site, removed the non-working Bluetooth headset device (UE MINI BOOM) from Bluetooth Devices. After restart tried to pair it again, and voila, the music comes out of the speaker!

    Device Manager - Bluetooth Radios now shows HP Integrated Module with Bluetooth 2.0 Wireless Technology and it also shows Broadcom as Manufacturer now.

    Surprising that Microsoft doesn't provide support for A2DP profile in default BT stack included with the OS.

    Good luck to all out there who are still struggling.

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  2. Anonymous
    2014-01-27T17:45:12+00:00

    I revised step 1 of original post to cover the case that you describe where the chipmaker's name is not shown in the top level of Device Manager.  Please see that.  However, it is possible that Dell has hidden the name of Bluetooth chipmaker.  In that case you may find clues about the Bluetooth chipmaker by going to Dell's website and looking at the Bluetooth drivers for your particular model of PC.

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  3. Anonymous
    2014-01-27T14:41:48+00:00

    Hi there, i did all those steps and found out that the manufacturer of my bluetooth built in device appears to be "generic manunfacturer" i have a dell inspiron 15 series... what can i do in this case?

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  4. Anonymous
    2014-01-15T23:04:50+00:00

    I'm not so certain its old, as the computer is refurbished,, though communications with the referbish-er is slow to nigh impossible. I managed to get the driver to install, through some method of which I am unsure of since I'm not sure what changed to allow it to install. I do know that the change was not really noticeable when it installed. I'll probably look for the usb bluetooth option, since my internal does work, just not for audio. Thank you for all of the information you've provided me with thus far.

    Its rare to see a helpful, active forum these days and I'm glad there is one up. ^_^

    Sincerely,

    Alexzander.

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