I'm having a very curious problem with Skype audio that has me stumped. Here's the setup:
- I am on my desktop system, which is Intel Core i7, Win7x64, lots of memory and disk.
- I use a Bluetooth headset along with an IOGear Bluetooth USB dongle
In all usage scenarios except Skype, two-way audio via the BT headset works flawlessly. In Skype, however:
- Audio out works while "testing" sounds (in the Options/Sounds panel)
- Audio out does NOT work when placing a call
- Audio out does NOT work while displaying the Options/AudioSettings panel.
The strangest part of this is that it was working this morning. Nothing has changed, and now it's not working in a call or on the AudioSetting panel 100% of the time. When I switch to AudioSettings, or when initiating a call, I hear a slight crackling in the headset speakers, which sounds the same as when the audio output routing is being changed.
I have already tried:
- Shutting down and restarting Skype
- Multiple system reboots
- Uninstalling and reinstalling Skype
- Deleting and re-pairing the headset device
I suspect either Skype or Windows is getting confused when Skype grabs "exclusive" use of the audio out channel, which it does not seem to do when just testing sounds. I've tried disabling the Windows option "Allow applications to take exclusive control of this device" (in the control panel Sound applet, Speaker Properties) but this has no effect.
Can anybody suggest anything else to try?