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Problem

Every time I reboot Windows 10, every Bluetooth device has to be removed and re-paired.

Details

Devices will appear in the Bluetooth & other devices" section in "Settings", either as only "Paired" or only "Connected", but they don't work at all, and have to be removed. The option to "Connect" devices that are merely paired and not connected doesn't even appear, only "Remove" is there.

I have a MacBook Pro 2017 fully-loaded running in Boot Camp, with a very clean install less than a month old, that has only had games installed on it.

Bluetooth works a lot smoother in Mac OS, and I rarely have to re-pair any device.

Why does Windows Bluetooth break like this?

  • Is it because of the driver?
  • Is it like this for most Bluetooth devices in Windows?
  • Does anyone not have this problem with any MacBook?

Bluetooth Device Information:

1. Apple Magic Mouse 2 Dark
2. Apple Magic Keyboard
3. B&O Play H8i headphones
4. BO6+ audio receiver

Version information:

Last major Windows Update version applied: 1909
(Remembered when I approved the update)

Version: 10.0.18363 Build 18363
From System Information (Press Start, type "System Information", press enter)

Computer: MacBook Pro 2017, 16 GB RAM, etc (MacBookPro14,2)

Failed attempts

  1. Rebooting doesn't help
  2. Running WindowsSupport\BootCamp\Drivers\Broadcom\BroadcomBluetooth64.exe in Windows has no effect, because the driver thinks that the "best" version is already installed:

BroadcomBluetooth64.exe

Broadcom Serial Bus Driver over UART Bus Enumerator

Broadcom Serial Bus Driver over UART Bus Enumerator Properties

Broadcom Serial Bus Driver over UART Bus Enumerator Driver File Details

  1. Rolling back the driver completely breaks Bluetooth, and then it is restored to the previous sometimes broken state by running Setup.exe on the Boot Camp Assistant drivers package.

Broadcom Serial Bus Driver over UART Bus Enumerator Properties

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  1. Following steps suggested in this guide has no effect:

Mac Bootcamp Windows 10 bluetooth issues - still!

Bluetooth & other devices

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"Add a device" dialogue lists many copies of "unknown device" of which keep disappearing and reappearing in different numbers:

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Beoplay H8i works without putting in to pairing mode:

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Apple Broadcom Bluetooth Driver Not installing

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1 Answer 1

Reset to default
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Partial Fix:

Doing the following things will let you at least remove all Bluetooth devices and successfully re-pair them, but they won't work after booting in to Windows.

1. Cold-boot in to Windows instead of soft-booting

This means to tell either Mac OS or Windows to "shut down", so the computer completely turns off (cold), instead of just to "restart" (soft, or warm), then boot directly in to Windows.

When soft-booting into Windows, either my Bluetooth wouldn't work at all, would break after some time, or certain devices would never successfully connect. I'll post here as the exact correlations and causes become apparent.

2. Some devices need to be power-cycled before re-pairing in Windows

For at least the Apple Magic Keyboard and Apple Magic Mouse 2 Dark, I had to turn off the device and turn it back on again to get it to successfully pair with Windows.

This Apple Communities answer has more information about what was tried and made a difference:

Q: MacBook Pro Boot Camp Windows 10 bluetooth mouse and keyboard problem

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