Bluetooth audio stuttering and lagging

Anonymous
2020-11-27T23:17:25+00:00

This issue has persisted for 5 months now. I am unable to use bluetooth headphones with my Dell XPS 15 9550 because audio and video is constantly interrupted with static. I am able to properly connect and pair my device to the laptop but for example youtube videos lag down and stutter almost like .5x speed. There is a constant interference and so the audio ends up choppy in songs or videos. I have done all troubleshooting with the headphones and audio and bluetooth settings. My Bose QC 35s also are able to connect and function with any other device except my laptop. I suspect it had something to do with a windows update I did over the summer but i am not sure

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Performance and system failures

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Anonymous
2020-12-03T19:13:14+00:00

I have the same issue on a Dell Inspiron 7460. It started after the last Windows 10 update in November, Windows 10 version 20H2.  And my headphones are Sony WH-1000XM4.

The headphones always worked very well, now it stuttering and don't stop, becoming terrible to listen to anything. 

The suggestions made here did not work. 

I found a solution on the web, if you would like to try, but this fix disable the option to use the headphones as headset:

"Press the Windows key and start typing "control panel" to find the icon to open the Control Panel. (As of the time of writing, Windows 10 does not have a way to change this setting via the new 'Settings' interface.)

  1. Find 'Devices and Printers' and double-click it.
  2. Find your paired headphones. The icon may not look like your headphones, but hopefully you should be able to find it.
  3. Right-click the icon and select 'Properties'.
  4. Select the 'Services' tab at the top.
  5. Under 'Bluetooth Services', if 'Hands-free Telephony' is checked, uncheck it.
  6. Click OK.

The audio may cut out as it saves the new settings (you may need to adjust your volumes in the Volume Mixer)"

For me is working fine after I made this change. Hope you find a solution.

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  1. Anonymous
    2021-06-03T10:00:00+00:00

    I had the same problem (Dell XPS13 9350). Here's what worked for me

    1. Go to Control Panel -> Uninstall a Program (in "Programs" category)
    2. Sort by publisher and find the program where publisher is Broadcom. Uninstall that program
    3. Restart the laptop

    Thank you man, you nailed it!

    I did just that on my Dell XPS15 9550. I had just one program from Broadcom, named "WIDCOMM Bluetooth Software".

    Supposedly, that software provided by Dell includes Broadcom Corporation Bluetooth driver, so I never thought about uninstalling it. But after doing just that, an even cleaning the leftovers in Windows registry, I can use again Bluetooth earphones on my laptop without stuttering. Awsome! :D

    I also checked devices in Windows Device Manager and I didn't find any problem or exclamation mark. So maybe we can't transfer files over Bluetooth any more without that "WIDCOMM Bluetooth Software", but who cares? Not me.

    Kudos and a big thank you, @MayaankAshok!

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  2. Anonymous
    2021-05-07T15:08:54+00:00

    Hello, came here to report a fix! I have a cheap Insignia usb to bluetooth 4.0 and an aftershoks openmove headset would only play back very choppy and poor audio on my old z97-a asus Motherboard running windows 10..

    I tried everything from updating the bios to changing the usb port, many drivers, all sort of settings and troubleshooters etc. until I found this:

    https://www.madwebskills.com/article/!/29/post/fixing-stuttering-audio-with-bluetooth-headphones-on-windows-10

    It turns out that control panel > hardware and sounds > Devices and Printers > right click/properties on your headset's icon, and on the services tab I unchecked the (appropriately named) 'Audio Sink'. The audio is perfect as soon as you click apply!

    In the articel linked above they had to turn off handsfree telephony, that wasnot my case but I assume anything in there could be your issue, I would try to uncheck everything and apply.

    :D

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  3. Anonymous
    2021-05-06T07:42:35+00:00

    Same problem here with my JLAB Neon headphones. They work perfectly on my phone, on my laptop that has Linux mint, and pretty much all devices, except on my PC wich has windows 10.

    Jesus Christ Microsoft. This is fairly old tech. Do we really have to struggle to listen to wireless headphones in 2021, with your flagship product?

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  4. Anonymous
    2021-03-17T22:11:13+00:00

    Hi,

    I have (finally) managed to resolve this problem. I thought I'd share the solution here. I don't have enough Windows know-how to understand why it works. So keep in mind:

    • I cannot say with any degree of certainty that this solution will work for everyone (or even anyone).
    • Try this at your own risk. I have no idea whether this might introduce new issues to your system.

    In Device Manager go to View > Show hidden devices. A new category appears ("Bluetooth Virtual Devices"). Expand the category and uninstall all devices found therein (Right click > Uninstall device). Reboot. Enable/activate Bluetooth and connect your audio device.

    That's what did it for me. Hope this helps some of you too!

    yep! That way fixed my issue with Asus BT400 and Sony WH-XB900N!

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