AirPods Pro Bluetooth Issues on Windows 10 – Delayed Connection, Audio Glitches, and Can't Disconnect

[nelfdez]

Hi everyone,

I'm having a frustrating issue with my AirPods Pro on Windows 10 Pro (64-bit, 19045.5965), and I'm hoping someone here might have a clue as to what's going on.

Here’s the setup:

• I use a Bluetooth dongle to connect my AirPods Pro to my PC.

• I also have a pair of wired Corsair headphones with a mic, which I only use for gaming with friends.

Until recently, everything worked perfectly. As soon as I put on my AirPods and turned on my PC, they would connect automatically. If I wanted to use the Corsair headset instead, I would just put the AirPods back in their case and the PC would instantly switch audio output. If I had used the AirPods with my iPhone, they would show up on my PC as "paired" but not connected, and I could just click "Connect" in Windows and everything worked fine.

Now, several things have started going wrong:

1. Connection is delayed – When I put on the AirPods, Windows takes a long time to actually switch to them as the audio device.

2. YouTube and media playback lag – If I try to play a YouTube video while the AirPods are connecting, the video takes way longer than usual to start.

3. Media conflicts – If I’m watching a video on YouTube and then open Twitter (X) in a different tab and try to play a video there, the YouTube video freezes and the Twitter one either doesn’t play at all or plays with no sound. I am using Firefox.

4. Can’t disconnect AirPods – Sometimes, I can’t disconnect them from Windows without unpairing them entirely.

5. Wrong status shown – If I connect the AirPods to my iPhone while they are still "connected" to the PC, Windows still shows them as “Connected” instead of switching to “Paired.” Clicking "Disconnect" in Windows doesn’t work anymore.

What I’ve tried so far:

• Reinstalled the Bluetooth drivers and AirPods device drivers.

• Restarted the Bluetooth Support Service.

• No third-party Bluetooth software is installed.

Nothing has helped so far. Bluetooth and AirPods behavior on Windows has become really unreliable, and I’m not sure what changed. Maybe a recent Windows update or something in the Bluetooth stack?

Would appreciate any tips, suggestions, or shared experiences. Thanks in advance!

PC Specs:

- CPU: Ryzen 5 1600

- MOBO: AsRock AB350M

- GPU: XFX AMD Radeon RX 580 GTS XXX Edition

- PSU: Mars Gaming MPB750M 80 Plus Bronze (750 W)
- BIOS version: P1.20 (already checked for updates)