Dell Built-In Bluetooth Sucks! - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Cyberdragon
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 05, 2018, 10:56:32 pm
content: Apparently, I just got the infamous disconnect of death. The bluetooth on Dell laptops can apparently randomly stop transmitting audio and never come back on again (I was away eating and came back to dead audio) despite having exactly the same settings and remaining connected. It just randomly fails for no reason (programs running were Discord and Minecraft). I have removed the device, and reinstalled both wireless and audio drivers (updating to 64 bit). The crappy mono voice connection still works, but the normal stereo connection does not (yes, wired works).Apparenly, this has been going on since 2011!https://www.dell.com/community/Laptops-General/Bluetooth-headphones-used-to-work-but-suddenly-stopped-working/m-p/3652559#M587652This is a 2017 machine! How hard can bluetooth be! People just seem to either give up and go wireless, or use a dongle!If there is an actual fix to this, let us know, otherwise it's some freak hardware failure. I still have a warranty, but trying to explain this nonsense might be a bit odd...EDIT: Yes, the headphones still work (on Android)!

author: tsman
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 05, 2018, 11:41:03 pm
content: Sounds like crap firmware inside the onboard Bluetooth radio. Something glitched out and its now lost the flag that says it supports the A2DP profile. Not sure how easy it would be to fix though. The CSR Bluetooth chips are reprogrammed over SPI and you need their special software to do it. I expect it is similar for other chips but finding the necessary tools may be difficult.

author: aargee
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 06, 2018, 02:00:36 am
content: I used to have a problem with WiFi on a Dell until I stopped Windows managing the power to the WiFi, apparently Windows would shut it down to 'conserve power' and frustrate the user.That's not happening to the Bluetooth radio?

author: Cyberdragon
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 06, 2018, 02:30:23 am
content: Quote from: aargee on August 06, 2018, 02:00:36 amAs I said, it stays connected and runs voice coms only.

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 06, 2018, 03:21:07 am
content: What's the chip? I bet it's Broadcom...

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 06, 2018, 09:21:05 am
content: I’m surprised — I thought dead pixels were pretty much a thing of the past.As for Bluetooth: it’s not perfect, but the reliability of Bluetooth on Macs seems to be miles ahead of Windows. I’ve been using Bluetooth on Macs for 15 years now and never really had any trouble, with the exception of one third party keyboard that can be weird about pairing on High Sierra (a documented issue with that keyboard), though I was able to do it after a few tries, and once it’s paired it works fine. (Oddly, it works 100% on iOS, whose Bluetooth is more fickle in some ways.)I’ll admit, it’s now been about 6 years since I used Windows on a daily basis, so my knowledge could be obsolete, but I doubt anything has changed. I remember how once, a Windows Update killed my Bluetooth, because it included a Bluetooth update that overwrote the working driver with a bad one or something. Just as one example.

author: NiHaoMike
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 06, 2018, 02:07:57 pm
content: Quote from: amyk on August 06, 2018, 03:21:07 amI thought they had vastly improved from the days of them being terrible? The wireless on the Raspberry Pi works quite well.

author: Cyberdragon
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 06, 2018, 05:02:21 pm
content: Quote from: amyk on August 06, 2018, 03:21:07 amIf it comes from the Wifi chip, Qualcomm.

author: Buriedcode
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 07, 2018, 12:22:31 am
content: Although its a bit drastic, a clean install would narrow it down to hardware/firmware rather than higher up. As laptops suffer bloat just as much as desktops - but feel it more due to aggressive power management, might be a good excuse.I always assume hardware - because that's what I like to fix, but it rarely is.

author: Cyberdragon
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 15, 2018, 11:25:37 pm
content: Quote from: Buriedcode on August 07, 2018, 12:22:31 amFigured it out, you're right, it's not hardware. It's stupid firmware. When connected to the PC, the internal headphone controls are overridden () and reset (this means volume zero). Not sure who's fault this is, Dell, or the headphones. After farting around with the headphone controls I managed to get the PC to say "Muted". After unmuting, they actually make sound. However, it ain't over yet, it still won't let me change the headphone volume past what sounds like level 1 (a whimper). I'll keep fiddling until I get the volume up. I likely won't be able to keep controlling the volume headphone side due to this weird bug, but if I can get it to a usable level the PC volume is fine.EDIT: After spamming the volume touch control about a thousand times (again) it finally relinquished control of the headphones. No idea...

author: Lord of nothing
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 16, 2018, 10:56:51 am
content: How about exchange the BT/ Wifi Card with an Intel?

author: rdl
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 16, 2018, 12:13:12 pm
content: I had nothing but trouble from the BT/WiFi card that came with a Brix I bought several years ago. Switched to a $12 Intel card from an Amazon seller and all problems went away. That was on Linux though.