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

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  1. Anonymous
    2021-12-03T08:01:06+00:00

    Hi Joseph,

    Thanks for this deep dive. But it does not help: No Bluetooth audio available in Microsoft Teams!

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  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.

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  3. Anonymous
    2022-01-12T12:38:36+00:00

    Thanks for the suggestions guys but nothing seems to be working.

    Microsoft really needs to address this and bring back the separate options.

    Thanks,

    Kartikey

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  4. Anonymous
    2022-01-17T20:54:13+00:00

    Hey,

    from my experience, this does not only affect bluetooth:

    I am using a Logitech Zone Wireless headset which is connected via the Logitech USB dongle. On Windows 10, the headset had great audio quality when listening to normal system audio and had reduced audio quality when in calls.

    This is done automatically and I don't even have an option to choose a profile.

    On Windows 11, the headset always has reduced audio quality which is alright for video calls, but renders it unusable for any other task. Unfortunately, this led me to downgrade to Windows 10 again. Would appreciate a quick solution from Microsoft.

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  5. 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.

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