How to fix Bluetooth problems in Windows 10

There’s a fair chance that any peripherals you buy for a PC these days will come with the option to connect wirelessly. Whether it’s Bluetooth speakers, printers, or external displays, the ability to be able to send content to these devices without the need to physically tether them to a computer is a blessing…unless it stops working. Also see: Windows 10 review

Problems can creep in from time to time, so we’ve put together this short guide on what to do if you run into issues connecting your Bluetooth or wireless device to your Windows PC.

See also: Best Bluetooth speakers 2016 and Quick fixes for common Windows 10 problems

How to fix connections to Bluetooth audio devices and wireless displays in windows 10: Checking the Bluetooth basics

Before delving too deeply into the mechanics of a problem it’s always worth checking a few basic things that could be causing the issue. First of all you’ll want to ensure that Bluetooth is turned on both on your device and your PC. For the PC side of things you’ll want to open the Start Menu then click on Settings>Devices then look for Bluetooth in the left hand column and select it.

Now you’ll be presented with the current Bluetooth settings on your machine and the devices that are able to connect. The most important setting is that of Bluetooth itself, which appear at the top of the list. Make sure that this is switched on.

Next you can scroll down to More Bluetooth options, click on this, then make sure the tickbox marked Allow Bluetooth device to find the PC is ticked.

Once you’ve done this you can return to the main Bluetooth section and see if your device is listed. Hopefully you’ll see it there with Ready to pair displayed under its name. If this is the case then highlight the device and click on the Pair button that appears.

If your device isn’t listed then you’ll need to check the device to see if it has its Bluetooth capabilities enabled. On some devices this will be a physical switch marked with the Bluetooth symbol (a very angular looking B), while it might not be so obvious on others.

As the amount of peripherals available is so wide on Windows you’ll need to check the manufacturer’s details for the device in question to see exactly how to enable Bluetooth, and it’s also worth confirming that the device actually supports the platform.

How to fix connections to Bluetooth audio devices and wireless displays in windows 10: Update the driver

If Bluetooth appear to be working on both your PC and the device, but you’re having no luck pairing them, it’s always a good idea to check that the device driver is up to date. To do this you’ll need to open the Start Menu and type Device Manager into the search box at the bottom of the screen.

Select the top results, which should be Device Manager, then in the next window open the Bluetooth option and look for your device. When you’ve found it click on it once then right-click to open up the options menu.

Select Update Driver Software>Search automatically for updated driver software and Windows will do just that, which hopefully fixes the connection problem.

How to fix connections to Bluetooth audio devices and wireless displays in windows 10: Remove the device

If you’ve tried everything above but are still experiencing the problem, the best thing to do is remove the device from the Bluetooth listings and try pairing it again. It’s essentially the ‘Have you tried turning it off and on again?’ approach which actually works a surprising amount of the time.

Open up the Start Menu then choose Settings>Devices>Bluetooth and select your device from the list in the main pane.

You’ll now see an option to Remove device, do this and then repeat the initial steps you took to pair the device.

How to fix connections to Bluetooth audio devices and wireless displays in windows 10: Issues with Miracast devices

Much like Bluetooth devices it’s always good to go through the basics before moving onto more complicated solutions. So first up you’ll want to ensure that your Windows PC has WiFi turned on (this is sometimes done by a physical button on laptops, but can also be achieved by tapping on the WiFi icon in the taskbar at the bottom of the screen).

You’ll need to check that your device actually supports Miracast, which you’ll find at the manufacturer’s website, and while you’re there be sure to check that you have the latest driver and firmware update installed on the device. 

If all of this seems to be in order then a good idea is to reboot both your PC and device to see if that clears the issue. Otherwise you can try removing and reconnecting the device. To do this open the Start Menu and select Settings > Devices > Connected Devices and then look for Projectors and your device within that. Once you’ve found it, highlight the device and click the option Remove device, then try connecting it again.

The chances are if all of these tweaks fail to cure the problem then it’s most likely a hardware issue of some kind, so contact the manufacturer to see if they can give you more assistance.