How to reinstall Bluetooth driver on PC

Gadinsider has compiled a step-by-step guide to reinstalling Bluetooth driver on PC

Tech Desk - Aug 03, 2024

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An outdated or incompatible driver is one of the most common causes of Bluetooth connection problems. If your personal computer (PC) is having Bluetooth issues, such as if the device is not connecting, sound popping and lagging, one immediate and simple fix is to reinstall the Bluetooth driver.

Additionally, if you don't view the Bluetooth icon, but Bluetooth do display in Device Manager, try to uninstall the Bluetooth driver, and then run an automatic reinstall.

Gadinsider has a step-by-step guide to reinstalling the Bluetooth driver on a PC.

How to automatically reinstall the Bluetooth driver

Select the Search icon-search on the taskbar, enter Device Manager, then select Device Manager from the results.
In Device Manager, select Bluetooth. Press and hold (or right-click) the Bluetooth driver name (which may include the word 'radio'), and tap Uninstall device > Uninstall.
Select the Start icon-windows logo, then select the Power icon-power button> Shut down icon-power button.
After your device shuts down, wait a few seconds, and then turn it back on. Windows will try to reinstall the driver.
If Windows doesn't reinstall the driver automatically, open Device Manager and select Action > Scan for hardware changes.

Here's how to manually install the Bluetooth driver

To manually install the Bluetooth driver, go to your PC manufacturer's website and download the latest driver. Then do one of the following.

If you downloaded an executable (.exe) file, double-click the file to run it and install the drivers. That should be all you need to do.
If you downloaded individual files, and at least one file has an .inf file name extension and another has a .sys extension, do the following.

Select the Search icon-search on the taskbar, enter Device Manager, then select Device Manager from the list of results.
In Device Manager, select Bluetooth > the Bluetooth driver name. (If it’s not listed there, check in Other devices.)
Press and hold (or right-click) the network adapter, then select Update driver > Browse my computer for drivers.
Select Browse, select the location where the driver files are stored, and then select OK.
Select Next, and follow the steps to install the driver. When the installation is finished, select Close.
After you've updated the driver, select Start icon-windows logo> Power icon-power button> Restart if prompted to restart, and check whether that fixes the connection issue.