Windows 11 | No Hands free mode for bluetooth earphones

Anonymous
2021-11-04T05:17:20+00:00

Hi,

So, yesterday I upgraded from Windows 10 to Windows 11 and everything seemed to be working fine until I connected my bluetooth earphones.

When you connect your bluetooth earphones you expect to see two output devices, Headset (music) and Hands-Free mode (voice) but I can only see the Headset mode.

I checked the earphone properties from the Device Manager and I can see "Hands-Free telephony" in the Services tab but in the Output Devices, the hands-free mode is not visible at all.

I've tried everything from re-connecting to reinstalling drivers but nothing seems to be working.

This is preventing from attending any Meetings on apps like Google Meet or Microsoft Teams.

Any help would be much appreciated!

Regards,

Kartikey

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Devices and drivers

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments

82 answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2022-01-26T05:30:16+00:00

    I have a set of Pixel Buds A series. The sound is very choppy when I actually get sound but it mostly cuts out completely.
    I have a set of Huawei Freebuds 3. The sound is very choppy when I actually get sound but it mostly cuts out completely.

    I have a Plantronics headset for work. The sound is very choppy when I actually get sound but it mostly cuts out completely.

    All 3 worked perfectly on Windows 10 on the same hardware. All 3 fail to work correctly on Windows 11. Hmm, what's the common denominator?

    Disabling hands-free telephony (which frequently rears its head as a suggested solution) is not an option when the devices are intended to be used for online meetings. Instead Microsoft should be fixing the issue.

    Was this answer helpful?

    8 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2022-01-12T02:29:49+00:00

    Okay. This is VERY VERY weird. If a sysadmin can explain to me how this could happen that would be nice.

    It WORKS ONLY IF I go to the control panel -> sound(large icon) -> Recording tab.

    The moment I go the recording tab. IT WORKS LIKE MAGIC. The moment I close the sound settings, The headphones STOP WORKING. This is incredibly weird. Try it out to see if it works.

    Was this answer helpful?

    8 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  3. JosephT71 9,220 Reputation points
    2021-11-30T19:56:17+00:00

    You are still getting Bluetooth headset profile --- it's just hidden from the GUI because of end-user confusion.

    https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2021/04/29/announcing-windows-10-insider-preview-build-21370/

    Try to set your Bluetooth headset as default communications device.

    Was this answer helpful?

    7 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  4. Anonymous
    2021-11-30T09:27:02+00:00

    I have the same exact issue after updating to Windows 11.

    I have Bose Quickconnect II and a pair of Soundcore Air 2 Pro. Both worked fine before the update.

    This CAN'T be a manufacturer issue. This is Windows!!!!!!!!

    Was this answer helpful?

    7 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  5. Anonymous
    2021-11-04T07:21:05+00:00

    When you connect your bluetooth earphones you expect to see two output devices, Headset (music) and Hands-Free mode (voice) ...

    Sorry, that's not correct.

    When you pair Bluetooth earphones with Windows, you should expect to see two Bluetooth profiles in Windows:

    • Headphones, for listening to music; and
    • Headset, for video-conferencing.

    The Hands-free profile is for controlling a device with voice commands, and the most well-known applications are Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

    What's confusing, and frustrating, is that Bluetooth is its own technology, separate from Windows, so if you're having trouble with Bluetooth, you need to ask for help from the device manufacturer - in your case, the earphone manufacturer - not from Microsoft. Any advice you get here centers around reinstalling the device or the Bluetooth software, which only helps temporarily if it helps at all.

    Adding to the confusion and the frustration is that these three profiles were originally designed to be used with a mobile device - a phone, mostly - not a computer. So device manufacturers need to find a way to 'make it work' with a computer.

    Was this answer helpful?

    7 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments