Bluetooth Audio Problem w/ Studio XPS 1640

Sorry if this has been answered elsewhere; couldn't find it in search.

OS: Windows 7 Home Premium

Bluetooth: Wireless 370 mini-card (Broadcom, preinstalled)

Basically trying to get audio to play on either my home soundbar (Sony HTCT260H) or headset (Jabra Halo). I know both devices work, and I can connect them to my computer. However, I cannot get them to show up as playback devices on my audio player. I have tried various sites to upgrade the bluetooth and audio drivers, including Dell, but nothing has worked. Going directly to Broadcom doesn't work either, as it doesn't detect my bluetooth device. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

Is your BT device set as the Default Device in Control Panel > Sound > Playback ?

 

If you disconnect your headset from the XPS, then reconnect, does the headset show up under playback devices in your sound control panel? If it does, is it selected as the default device? If it is, then you need to set another playback device as default. Then disconnect and reconnect your headset and try setting it as the default playback device again. For some reason, bluetooth audio devices get messed up if they're set as the default playback device before the bluetooth device is connected to the system. I've gone thru this before with my Alienware and I have the same bluetooth card as you (370) so I know it's not a driver problem you've got.

 

To both of the last two responses, it doesn't even show up in my playback options.

 

When you turn on the Bluetooth in your laptop does the BT logo appear in the tray to the lower right?

 

Haha yes. As mentioned, I have no problem connecting them to bluetooth, turning on headset service, etc. The issue is getting them to register as sound options.

 

Under Devices and Printers, uninstall the headset. Then repair the headset with Windows. Make sure to open the installing device dialogue box from the notifications bar. In the dialogue box, Windows should state the bluetooth profiles its installing for the headset. One of the profile should be A2DP (bluetooth stereo audio). If the A2DP profile isn't being installed with the headset pairing, then Windows ins't recognizing your headset as bluetooth stereo audio capable.

 

I'd uninstall the Bluetooth software you currently have installed on your laptop, reboot, download and install the Broadcom WIDCOMM installer ( Bluetooth Software Download | Broadcom ), and reboot. That should do it.

 

Radji, it doesn't do that. I've tried uninstalling, and reinstalling, but to no avail. I do know these headphones have A2DP, as they work with my iPhone.

Wackyt - As I mentioned above, that didn't work.

"Going directly to Broadcom doesn't work either, as it doesn't detect my bluetooth device."

Basically I can DL the software, but then it can't execute

 

So you uninstalled the currently installed Bluetooth software through Control Panel > Programs and Features, rebooted the system, then tried to install the Broadcom WIDCOMM installer, but it didn't detect the Bluetooth card? OK, that's all I got without having the laptop in front of me. Sorry.

 

Yah, shoot. Thanks. If anyone else has thoughts would be great!

 

double post

 

Doesn't do what?

If you were to right-click on the Bluetooth tray notification icon, select Show Bluetooth Devices, right-click on your headset and select Properties, then select the Services tab (it may take a minute or two for the services tab to load), what bluetooth services are listed?

AV source/ AV Sink/ A2DP - one of these should be listed.

 

Right. The four are audio sink, handsfree telephony, headset, and remote control. All checked.

 

You check the volume of the bluetooth device (not the actual headset). When you connect your headset to Windows, then right click on the speaker icon in your notification bar and select Open Volume Mixer. See what the volume level is at for the device (should be the first slider). It should be at 100% for bluetooth headsets since the headset itself will control it's own volume level.

 

So to be clear, none of the bluetooth devices are coming up in the volume mixer. That's the problem.

 

And none of them are showing up under playback devices, yet you are sure they are connected with Windows and they paired and installed correctly on the initial paring?

 

.......Yes. They show up in the bluetooth devices I have connected, but they aren't making an appearance in windows in the sound section.

 

Alrighty, now we're making some headway. It sounds like your headphones aren't connecting to the audio gateway service in the bluetooth stack.

Open each of the dialogue boxes and check the hardware and services against the photos I've posted. They should be very similar.

Headphones Hardware tab:



Headphones services tab:



If those match up, then it's Bluetooth stack not starting the audio gateway service. When you connect your headphones there should be a pop up box on your desktop which says connecting to hands-free audio. Then you should get a notification box from your notification bar stating your headset has connected to the audio gateway services. If it hasn't, the bluetooth software could have gone bad, or the bluetooth card could be faulty.



I can't stress enough how you must have another device set as your default audio device before you connect/pair your bluetooth headset. Even if you click on another playback device and click on the set default button. Then try pairing/connecting your headset. The problem with Windows 7 is if a headset tries immediately connecting as the default sound device before the audio gateway service is started, it causes the bluetooth audio services to freeze. I've seen this happen on 4 separate systems (all different brands with different headsets) so the only common factor is Windows 7.

 

In services, there is no 'remotely controllable device'

In hardware, it is completely blank. See below

 

Try installing the Toshiba BT stack - even the old versions that work with non-Toshiba hardware are better than Broadcom's software... Example: Toshiba Bluetooth Stack for non-Toshiba Notebooks 8.00.03 for Windows 32-bit Download - TechSpot

 

That seems more like a bluetooth software/stack problem.

Let's try something a bit...radical.

Uninstall all of your bluetooth software. It should be under WIDCOMM Bluetooth software in Programs and Features. After uninstall, restart, and go to Device Manager. Under bluetooth radios, if your Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth card still shows up, right-click on it and select uninstall. In the confirmation box that comes up, check the Delete Driver Software for this device box. Once the uninstall is finished, restart. Go back to the Device Manager and check it again. If the Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth card still shows up,, repeat the uninstall. The idea is to remove all the installed bluetooth drivers and software so you're starting fresh. If the Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth card shows up as a Generic Bluetooth card (or something similar...as long as it doesn't say Dell or 370 in the title), all the old drivers are gone.

Driver Details | Dell US

Try downloading and installing the bluetooth drivers from the above link. They're for the Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth card, just one on an Alienware. Hopefully it will only look at the card model and not the system model. I know this bluetooth driver and software pack works cause that's what I'm using.

 

Thanks a ton man, works for both of my speakers now. Thanks!

 

:thumbsup: