Bluetooth connections prevent media from being played

Question

Bluetooth connections prevent media from being played

Maxence Caillat 0

Hello,

I am experiencing an issue I have never ran into with my new Acer Windows 11 laptop and I cannot find anything that helps me.

Anytime I have a Bluetooth (audio) device connected such as my headphones or speakers, any media will not play. Whether on YouTube (tested with Firefox and Edge), Steam, or other streaming services, the selected media loads for ever without ever playing the video or the audio. Sometimes it does play, but then stutters heavily to the point where the video jumps ahead whole seconds at a time or plays extremely slowly, always without audio and usually goes back to loading indefinetly. However, when I mute the media (not the whole system, just that media), the video plays fine but without any sound, of course.

I have also tested with connecting without playing any audio, and the results were the same.

The steps I have already taken:

Made sure to be up to date with windows
Updated & uninstalled Bluetooth drivers
Tested multiple Bluetooth devices
Unchecked "Allow applications to take exclusive control of this device" and "Give exclusive mode applications priority" under more sound settings
Unchecked "hands-free-telephony" under device manager
I have also ran the Bluetooth trouble shooter to no avail

Any help with this issue would be greatly appreciated ! I can of course provide more information as needed.

Thank you !

Maxence Caillat 0 Reputation points

2026-08-28T10:27:51.0866667+00:00

~~I ran the trouble shooter one last time to be safe, and got a notification to restart to update drivers I did not get before... and the problem seems to be gone.~~

~~I hope others will be able to find a solution too, I must admit I am confused.~~

Nevermind, upon waking my laptop from sleep the problem is right back ...

Answer accepted by question author

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Maxence Caillat 0 Reputation points

2026-08-28T10:27:51.0866667+00:00

~~I ran the trouble shooter one last time to be safe, and got a notification to restart to update drivers I did not get before... and the problem seems to be gone.~~

~~I hope others will be able to find a solution too, I must admit I am confused.~~

Nevermind, upon waking my laptop from sleep the problem is right back ...

Answer 1

Emma1-N 11,865 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Welcome Maxence Caillat,

Thanks for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A Forum. I understand that media playback stalls or becomes extremely choppy whenever a Bluetooth audio device is connected on your Windows 11 Acer laptop, and the issue returns after waking the device from sleep.

Before suggesting more advanced steps, could you please confirm:

Does the issue occur after a normal restart, or only after the laptop resumes from Sleep/Hibernate?
Are you using the laptop's built-in Bluetooth adapter, or an external USB Bluetooth adapter?

In the meantime, you can try these steps:

Option 1: Disable Bluetooth power management

Press Windows + X and select Device Manager
Expand Bluetooth
Open your Bluetooth adapter Properties
Select the Power Management tab
Clear Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power

Option 2: Prevent Windows from suspending the Bluetooth radio

Open Control Panel > Power Options
Select Change plan settings
Select Change advanced power settings
Change Wireless Adapter Settings and Power Saving settings to Maximum Performance where available

Option 3: Restart audio-related services

Press Windows + R, type services.msc, and press Enter
Restart Windows Audio
Restart Windows Audio Endpoint Builder
Restart Bluetooth Support Service

If the answer is helpful, please click "Yes". If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

Maxence Caillat 0 Reputation points

2026-08-31T10:42:49.42+00:00

This issue happens consistently, whether it is after a normal restart or sleep. I only added my comment because my Bluetooth connection worked temporarily. My Bluetooth devices worked after a small drivers update, but once I woke my laptop and opened it, the issue was right back.

It is also my included Bluetooth adapter, I can try to find more information on it if needed.

I have successfully applied options 1 & 3, which unfortunately did not change anything.

I found the advanced power settings from option 2, but I do not see wireless adapter settings or power saving settings in the subcategories.

Also here is a recording of the issue on YouTube, I thought I might include it because of how strange it is :

Not included in the video is the buffering that takes place when the video is playing sound, the video simply loads endlessly, the instant the video is muted, it plays normally.

Thank you for your help and the tips on allowing email updates !

Moderator note: PII removed
Emma1-N 11,865 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-09-01T07:33:24.13+00:00
Hello Maxence Caillat,

Thank you for sharing detail. Please try the step:

Test in a clean boot environment

Press Windows + R, type msconfig, and press Enter

On the Services tab, select Hide all Microsoft services

Select Disable all

Restart and test Bluetooth playback
Emma1-N 11,865 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-09-02T04:46:03.64+00:00

Hello Maxence Caillat,

Is there any update from you? Please let me know. I will be here to assist you.
Maxence Caillat 0 Reputation points

2026-09-02T14:49:09.9166667+00:00

Hello Emma,

Apologies for taking my time. I have been using my laptop with a clean boot yesterday and today. Yesterday my Bluetooth connections worked flawlessly, I even tried multiple speakers and they all worked.

Today however, media isn't playing with Bluetooth connections on any device I own, even though I am still booting from a clean environment.

Should I consider a factory reset at this point ?

Moderator note: PII removed
Emma1-N 11,865 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-09-03T04:42:21.9133333+00:00
Hello Maxence Caillat,

Thank you for the update. Since Bluetooth audio worked normally for an entire day during a clean boot, I would not recommend a factory reset yet. That suggests Windows itself is likely not the root cause.

Before considering a reset, could you check one thing?

Open Device Manager

Expand Sound, video and game controllers

Let me know which audio devices are listed there (for example, Realtek Audio, Intel Smart Sound Technology, etc.).

Also let me know if any device shows a warning icon.
Emma1-N 11,865 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-09-04T04:50:42.7766667+00:00

HelloMaxence Caillat,

Is there any update from you? Please let me know. I will be here to assist you.
Maxence Caillat 0 Reputation points

2026-09-05T10:42:50.1366667+00:00
No audio devices show a warning icon. But there are a few of them

Intel Smart Sound Technology for Bluetooth Audio

Intel Smart Sound Technology for Bluetooth LE Audio

Intel Smart Sound Technology for Digital Microphones

Intel Smart Sound Technology for MIPI Soundwire Audio

Intel Smart Sound Technology for USB Audio

Realtek (R) Audio

My own Bluetooth headset

My own Bluetooth speaker

None of them display any kind of icon except the audio icon.

I apologize for my slow answers, I am working a lot at the moment and am therefore away from my computer.

Thank you !
Emma1-N 11,865 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-09-08T04:49:19.3733333+00:00
Hello Maxence Caillat,

At this point, I'd like to narrow down whether Intel Smart Sound Technology is involved:

Open Device Manager > Sound, video and game controllers

Right-click Intel Smart Sound Technology for Bluetooth Audio and select Disable device

Restart the PC and test Bluetooth audio again

If there is no change, re-enable it afterward
Maxence Caillat 0 Reputation points

2026-09-09T10:52:27.41+00:00

So far so good ! I disabled it like you said, tried it for the whole morning with different devices, and I didn't run into any issues with Bluetooth connections.

Should I just leave it disabled ?
Emma1-N 11,865 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-09-10T04:59:57.1366667+00:00

Hello Maxence Caillat,

That's great news. Since disabling Intel Smart Sound Technology for Bluetooth Audio appears to have resolved the issue, I'd leave it disabled for now.

If Bluetooth audio continues to work normally over the next several days, there's likely no need for a factory reset. You can always re-enable it later after a driver update from Acer, Intel, or Windows to see if the issue has been fixed.
Maxence Caillat 0 Reputation points

2026-09-10T09:11:12.48+00:00

Perfect, I will. Thank you very much for your help and your patience !