Why is Bluetooth on Windows 10 so bad?

[XRealX]

I have an Xbox One controller. I have it connected for a while, play a game with it, everything works fine. Then, after my controller is off for a while (let's say overnight), it won't connect to my PC automatically. When I go to the Bluetooth settings, I see that it is paired to my device but it just won't fucking connect. Okay, I remove the device and try to pair it again. It either doesn't show up in the list of devices, or nothing shows up at all.
This issue can only be fixed by rebooting Windows and it doesn't matter if I put my computer to sleep or I shut it down, this issue still happens.
On Android, my Xbox gamepad always shows up. Oh, and on Android there's a connect button when you click on a paired device, so even if something doesn't connect automatically, I can connect it manually. Why can't Microsoft just add this to Windows 10?! They are a fucking multi-billion dollar company and yet they haven't added such a small feature ever since Win 10 was a thing.

Is there any way to fix my issue? It's REALLY annoying.

[Gokul_P]

4 minutes ago, XRealX said:

I have an Xbox One controller. I have it connected for a while, play a game with it, everything works fine. Then, after my controller is off for a while (let's say overnight), it won't connect to my PC automatically. When I go to the Bluetooth settings, I see that it is paired to my device but it just won't fucking connect. Okay, I remove the device and try to pair it again. It either doesn't show up in the list of devices, or nothing shows up at all.
This issue can only be fixed by rebooting Windows and it doesn't matter if I put my computer to sleep or I shut it down, this issue still happens.
On Android, my Xbox gamepad always shows up. Oh, and on Android there's a connect button when you click on a paired device, so even if something doesn't connect automatically, I can connect it manually. Why can't Microsoft just add this to Windows 10?! They are a fucking multi-billion dollar company and yet they haven't added such a small feature ever since Win 10 was a thing.

Is there any way to fix my issue? It's REALLY annoying.

what is your device is it a laptop or desktop what is your motherboard and what bluetooth are you using (onboard/USB) 

[Donut417]

20 minutes ago, XRealX said:

there any way to fix my issue? It's REALLY annoying.

Bluetooth has always been crap in Windows. It was a slightly better experience with Windows 7, at least in my experience. I gave up on Bluetooth with Windows 10. Microsoft stated they were going to fix this in Windows 11. Not sure they have. 

[DreamCat04]

I have a similar issue and I don't know what component is at fault. If I pair my Xbox (from the One S) to my PC, it works fine. Even if I shut it down and want to play later, like a few days later, it also works. But if I want to then connect it to my laptop, where it has already been paired to, it doesn't want to connect and I have to pair it again with my laptop. But then if I want to use it on my desktop again, I have to remove it there and pair it again. But since I now mostly use my PC instead of my laptop for controller-operated games, this kind of became a non-issue for me

[XRealX]

18 minutes ago, Gokul_P said:

what is your device is it a laptop or desktop what is your motherboard and what bluetooth are you using (onboard/USB) 

I'm using a laptop. Some old Dell Inspiron

[Gokul_P]

2 minutes ago, XRealX said:

I'm using a laptop. Some old Dell Inspiron

can you give the model number or something Bt is working fine for me in windows 11

[XRealX]

27 minutes ago, Gokul_P said:

can you give the model number or something Bt is working fine for me in windows 11

 

[Gokul_P]

6 minutes ago, XRealX said:

 

You have to install bluetooth drivers 

Driver download page for your laptop: 

https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-in/product-support/servicetag/0-SCtWOWIycGRIelgyYWQ4bFFpK2tLdz090/drivers

 

 

Dell support page talking about frequent bt issues if that helps 

https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-in/000126781/bluetooth-troubleshooting-and-usage-guide

 

[XRealX]

57 minutes ago, Gokul_P said:

You have to install bluetooth drivers 

Driver download page for your laptop: 

https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-in/product-support/servicetag/0-SCtWOWIycGRIelgyYWQ4bFFpK2tLdz090/drivers

 

 

Dell support page talking about frequent bt issues if that helps 

https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-in/000126781/bluetooth-troubleshooting-and-usage-guide

 

The Bluetooth drivers were already installed. I uninstalled and reinstalled them just in case. I'll have to wait and see if this fixes my issue (probably not).

[XRealX]

2 minutes ago, XRealX said:

The Bluetooth drivers were already installed. I uninstalled and reinstalled them just in case. I'll have to wait and see if this fixes my issue (probably not).

So I've put my laptop to sleep just now, and the same issue arose again.

[Gokul_P]

Huh weird.  you cant connect manually from taskbar in windows 10 (seems you cant). Btw they added connect button in windows 11 settings and to the taskbar like android has for years. Its maybe issue with windows 10 or maybe the issue is your laptops bt controller (it is quite old and bt4.0 but it should work fine with xbox controller). Try turning off bt and turning it back on maybe that will trigger it to auto connect. 

[XRealX]

4 minutes ago, Gokul_P said:

Huh weird.  you cant connect manually from taskbar in windows 10 (seems you cant). Btw they added connect button in windows 11 settings and to the taskbar like android has for years. Its maybe issue with windows 10 or maybe the issue is your laptops bt controller (it is quite old and bt4.0 but it should work fine with xbox controller). Try turning off bt and turning it back on maybe that will trigger it to auto connect. 

Turning Bluetooth on and off doesn't fix my issue. When this problem arises, the only fix for it is a full reboot (not shutdown and then restarting).
Maybe it has something to do with the Wifi/Bluetooth card in the laptop. It's probably a cheap, low quality one.

[Gokul_P]

3 minutes ago, XRealX said:

Turning Bluetooth on and off doesn't fix my issue. When this problem arises, the only fix for it is a full reboot (not shutdown and then restarting).
Maybe it has something to do with the Wifi/Bluetooth card in the laptop. It's probably a cheap, low quality one.

in that generation the card was a optional item and i guess nobody cared back then so maybe your one has a cheap one. that the old user installed or its a cheap one that dell used. 

[XRealX]

Just now, Gokul_P said:

in that generation the card was a optional item and i guess nobody cared back then so maybe your one has a cheap one. that the old user installed or its a cheap one that dell used. 

It's most likely the latter

[GoodBytes]

Bluetooth on PCs has been hit or miss. The issue is not only the driver stack but BT modules. Heck, even desktop PC expensive motherboard with WiFi, can have this crappy BT on USB 2.0 soldering on the board (WiFi module they get is crap, despite the price tag of the board, and so doesn't include BT).

 

A lot of effort is put by phone manufacturer, SoC makers and Bluetooth phone accessories for that market. PCs don't have that investment.

 

Windows had a lot of improvement of BT over the years. Sadly, it has been slow and nothing major. The biggest improvement is with Windows 11, which brings proper Bluetooth headset support. Traditionally, you had to switch between Communication mode and Audio/Music mode manually. Now it act like smartphones, and bring AAC codec support. No aptX nor LDAC support (aptX needs a Qualcomm chip, and a license to pay. As for LDAC is possible, but there is no interest by Sony nor Microsoft. Microsoft is easy to convince... Sony is another story)