Bluetooth has become an increasingly important function in laptops. Some Windows 8.1 users have reported experiencing various Bluetooth issues after upgrading from Windows 8. Some common Bluetooth issues in Windows 8.1 and their solutions are detailed in the article below:

Before you proceed to carrying out any troubleshooting steps, you should firstly ensure that the Bluetooth functionality is enabled. The steps to turn on Bluetooth in Windows 8.1 are:

1. Move your mouse pointer to top right corner of the screen and click Settings
2. Click Change PC Settings
3. In PC Settings, click Wireless option
4. Now you will see a Bluetooth option on the right-hand side
5. Switch on Bluetooth

Problem 1 – Bluetooth not working 

 To resolve this issue, follow the steps set out below:

1. Press Windows + R to open the Run command
2. Type services.msc and press Enter
3. Look for Bluetooth Support Service and click on it
4. Go to the General Tab, change the startup type from Manual to Automatic
5. Next, click on Log On Tab
6. Click the radio button ‘This Account’ and type your account name
7. Remove both hidden password and restart your computer
8. Next, reinstall your Bluetooth Drivers
9. Go to your laptop manufacturer site and download the latest Bluetooth Drivers for your laptop model and Windows 8.1 system
10. Download the Drivers and install them. Restart your computer

If the laptop manufacturer does not list the compatible Bluetooth Drivers for Windows 8.1, do the following:

1. Press Windows + R to open the Run command, type regedit to open the Registry editor
2. In the Registry Editor window, go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/Microsoft/Windows NT/CurrentVersion
3. Right-click the CurrentVersion key in the pane on the right-hand side
4. Select Modify
5. Change Current version value from 6.3 to 6.2.

Problem 2 – Bluetooth devices get disconnected after a while

This happens mainly as a result of Power settings. In Windows 8.1, several devices (including Bluetooth) are automatically turned off by the Operating System to save Power.  You can resolve this issue by changing the power settings.

1. Press Windows + R to open the Run command
2. Type devmgmt.msc and press Enter
3. In the Device Manager window, click Network Adapter and expand it
4. Look for Bluetooth wireless network
5. Right-click on it and go to the Power Management tab
6. uncheck “Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power”

If none of the above solutions solves your Bluetooth issue, you need to update your Bluetooth Drivers for your system. You can either do this automatically by using a Driver Update Tool or follow the steps set out below to manually download and update the Drivers.

1. Open the Run dialog box and type devmgmt.msc to open the Device Manager
2. In the Device Manager window, go to Other Devices
3. Right-click on Bluetooth Low Energy/Unknown Devices
4. Click on Update Driver Software
5. In next window, click Search automatically for updated driver software
6. Windows will now search online for latest Bluetooth Drivers compatible with Windows 8.1 and install them

Automatically Update Drivers

Automatic driver update tools offer many benefits, the most important ones being:

• You can update device drivers automatically
• The software scans and updates all outdated or missing drivers at one go
• The tool picks the right drivers for your device and operating system, so you won’t have to worry about installing an incorrect driver by mistake
• Automatic driver updates are 100% safe

Driver Updater is one of the best driver update tools out there. Outbyte Driver Updater will give you access to a database of over 1 million drivers. It will regularly scan your PC, suggesting new driver versions to install. Driver Updater contains drivers for a variety of Windows devices. With just one click, you can update drivers in your system.

Step 1
Click here to Install and launch the app

Step 2
Scan all devices

Step 3
Install or update drivers automatically

 

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