Bluetooth headset audio problems (hands-free unusable, stereo choppy)

Hi, and thank you for following me on this journey trying not to pull my hair from my head as I try to enjoy music on my new laptop.

Long story short: I've treated myself to an "ASUS TUF506IV-AS76 TUF A15 Gaming Laptop", but I'm bumping into some issues as I've started using it. Particularly, Bluetooth Audio seems to be a mess!

Now, before I blame the laptop (and try something radical like a BIOS firmware update) I want to rule out everything else.

I'm using Windows 10 Home 64-bit that came pre-installed. It's up to date with Version 20H2 v19042.630 (except for the optional "2020-11 Cumulative Update Preview for Windows 10 Version 20H2 for x64-based Systems (KB4586853)").

Drivers, including Bluetooth are updated.

Now, the main culprit here I think is windows choice of mishandling APTX (or AD2P) high-quality audio and the mono-headset mode. The headphones I'm using (Sennheiser HD 405BTNC) work flawlessly with any and all devices I've tried them on, but here's the catch: this headset can be operated in one of two modes at a time: a) one-directional HD stereo audio listening only, or b) bi-directional "hands-free" mode, listening to only low-quality and mono audio, but enabling the included microphone.

In Linux there's a clear cut between the two modes, and you can't fall in mistakenly ambiguous modes like trying to use the microphone while being in stereo mode.

In my old laptop's Windows 10 (Enterprise 64bit, not updated to 20H2) the B mode isn't even recognized by Windows (Linux does pick it up, so it's not a hardware incompatibility issue) but A mode works great.

In my new laptop, however, Windows 10 decides to recognize both modes, but allows you to set incoherent states, such as selecting HD Stereo audio output at the same time as trying to grab the headset's microphone input:

If I select both input and output as B mode ("Hands-Free AG Audio") then audio quality is terrible beyond expectations: other OS' play mono audio with low quality, but this Windows 10 displays something totally distorted and incomprehensible, so while I normally like to use the headset in that mode during meetings so people can hear me clearly even if I don't hear them as well, but it looks like that will be an option for now.

If I choose to use A mode (Stereo) as output and use the laptop's Realtek Microphone Array as input, then the audio I hear is OK... Except when it isn't and chops up horribly as well. The only way I've managed to workaround this is to go to device manager and disable the Hands-Free AG Audio device; this removes the choice of B mode from input and output sections on the sound console and fixes the choppy audio issue 99% of the time.

So, coming to this point, I have 2 problems I'd like to solve:
1) How can I get the Hands-Free mode to work so I can actually use the headset's microphone without entirely losing the ability to understand what other people are saying?
2) How can I more reliably reproduce and then completely fix the 1% of the time that audio still breaks up?

I'll post any information that may be of use for troubleshooting this. I've checked out other people asking similar questions, but nothing's helping.

Here's the full speccy dump on my new laptop with bad sound: http://speccy.piriform.com/results/T...0Ta62flSPytmfB

Here's LatencyMon while listening to Spotify with no issues on Stereo mode:

Here's LatencyMon while listening to Spotify trying not to cry on Mono mode:

So.. Something's definately adding latency to the Hands-Free mode. I've tried disabling all "enhancementes" and the Windows troubleshooters with no luck.

And here's the dump for my old laptop with no audio issues: http://speccy.piriform.com/results/0...nI6Z8lMLcrLBxf

I am by no means an expert in this area, but I've been doing just a tiny bit of experimenting with bluetooth myself lately. What I find is that I get choppy audio and greatly increased lag if my bluetooth headphone are paired with 2 devices at the same time. For example, if my headset is paired to both my laptop and my phone FOR AUDIO at the same time. If I turn off bluetooth temporarily on my phone I suddenly have much better results.

Note that I am very specifically talking about audio pairing with 2 devices. If I pair my headphones to the laptop only for audio but also to my phone for calls only then it works just fine.

Bottom line: Any chance that you are paired to 2 devices at the same time?

hsehestedt said:

Bottom line: Any chance that you are paired to 2 devices at the same time?

Thanks hsehestedt! I forgot to put it in my post, but yes I've also found out about that the hard way!

Other bluetooth audio devices (like just speakers) seem to not allow being paired with more than one device at the same time, but headsets totally do let you hook them up to many devices concurrently, and the result is sometimes painfully noisy!

Alas, no, I've made sure all other bluetooth devices are offline (or more than a mile away) and the problem persist.

I've also been using a wired internet connection today and it keeps on happening, so it shouldn't be related to WiFi interference. Nobody else seems to be using bluetooth devices in the vicinity, so that's a negative as well.

I can't use latencymon right now, but I'm getting a feeling that there's a higher chance for an audio "hiccup" when I'm switching browser tabs (which shouldn't be the case given the hamster-power this laptop has). I'll keep on researching.

Very odd, not sure what's happening. I tried Latencymon and I am showing high latencies but I never ever have a problem with sound.

Maybe someone else can offer some additional ideas.

ZippoLag said:

Hi, and thank you for following me on this journey trying not to pull my hair from my head as I try to enjoy music on my new laptop.

Long story short: I've treated myself to an "ASUS TUF506IV-AS76 TUF A15 Gaming Laptop", but I'm bumping into some issues as I've started using it. Particularly, Bluetooth Audio seems to be a mess!

Now, before I blame the laptop (and try something radical like a BIOS firmware update) I want to rule out everything else.

I'm using Windows 10 Home 64-bit that came pre-installed. It's up to date with Version 20H2 v19042.630 (except for the optional "2020-11 Cumulative Update Preview for Windows 10 Version 20H2 for x64-based Systems (KB4586853)").

Drivers, including Bluetooth are updated.

Now, the main culprit here I think is windows choice of mishandling APTX (or AD2P) high-quality audio and the mono-headset mode. The headphones I'm using (Sennheiser HD 405BTNC) work flawlessly with any and all devices I've tried them on, but here's the catch: this headset can be operated in one of two modes at a time: a) one-directional HD stereo audio listening only, or b) bi-directional "hands-free" mode, listening to only low-quality and mono audio, but enabling the included microphone.

In Linux there's a clear cut between the two modes, and you can't fall in mistakenly ambiguous modes like trying to use the microphone while being in stereo mode.

In my old laptop's Windows 10 (Enterprise 64bit, not updated to 20H2) the B mode isn't even recognized by Windows (Linux does pick it up, so it's not a hardware incompatibility issue) but A mode works great.

In my new laptop, however, Windows 10 decides to recognize both modes, but allows you to set incoherent states, such as selecting HD Stereo audio output at the same time as trying to grab the headset's microphone input:

If I select both input and output as B mode ("Hands-Free AG Audio") then audio quality is terrible beyond expectations: other OS' play mono audio with low quality, but this Windows 10 displays something totally distorted and incomprehensible, so while I normally like to use the headset in that mode during meetings so people can hear me clearly even if I don't hear them as well, but it looks like that will be an option for now.

If I choose to use A mode (Stereo) as output and use the laptop's Realtek Microphone Array as input, then the audio I hear is OK... Except when it isn't and chops up horribly as well. The only way I've managed to workaround this is to go to device manager and disable the Hands-Free AG Audio device; this removes the choice of B mode from input and output sections on the sound console and fixes the choppy audio issue 99% of the time.

So, coming to this point, I have 2 problems I'd like to solve:
1) How can I get the Hands-Free mode to work so I can actually use the headset's microphone without entirely losing the ability to understand what other people are saying?
2) How can I more reliably reproduce and then completely fix the 1% of the time that audio still breaks up?

I'll post any information that may be of use for troubleshooting this. I've checked out other people asking similar questions, but nothing's helping.

Here's the full speccy dump on my new laptop with bad sound: http://speccy.piriform.com/results/T...0Ta62flSPytmfB

Here's LatencyMon while listening to Spotify with no issues on Stereo mode:

Here's LatencyMon while listening to Spotify trying not to cry on Mono mode:

So.. Something's definately adding latency to the Hands-Free mode. I've tried disabling all "enhancementes" and the Windows troubleshooters with no luck.

And here's the dump for my old laptop with no audio issues: http://speccy.piriform.com/results/0...nI6Z8lMLcrLBxf

I take it you have installed the latest BT/WiFi drivers directly from Intel (your Spec reads INTEL Wifi 5) ?
And cleaned out all the old garbage Asus drivers with DriverExplorer.

Downloads for Wireless (intel.com)

Win7ine said:

I take it you have installed the latest BT/WiFi drivers directly from Intel (your Spec reads INTEL Wifi 5) ?
And cleaned out all the old garbage Asus drivers with DriverExplorer.

Downloads for Wireless (intel.com)

Thanks for your reply!

Audio was working particularly bad today so I remembered to check for replies here

I tried GitHub - lostindark/DriverStoreExplorer: Driver Store Explorer [RAPR] but I get an error when I try to delete the existing Bluetooth drivers (a couple of Asus and a Realtek one, for some reason). I did however install Intel's Bluetooth and WiFi drivers and gave the laptop a reboot..

So far it has improved, I'll keep testing the audio and update later if the problem's solved or if it continues.

ZippoLag said:

Thanks for your reply!

Audio was working particularly bad today so I remembered to check for replies here

I tried GitHub - lostindark/DriverStoreExplorer: Driver Store Explorer [RAPR] but I get an error when I try to delete the existing Bluetooth drivers (a couple of Asus and a Realtek one, for some reason). I did however install Intel's Bluetooth and WiFi drivers and gave the laptop a reboot..

So far it has improved, I'll keep testing the audio and update later if the problem's solved or if it continues.

Glad it is improving however, it seems you have a true driver mess on the machine just as suggested.
Before using DSE you need to uninstall and delete old drivers layer for layer in Device manager down to the
bare unknown device. For this disconnect from the Internet so that WinUpdate cannot mess things up by loading
device drivers.

Win7ine said:

Glad it is improving however, it seems you have a true driver mess on the machine just as suggested.
Before using DSE you need to uninstall and delete old drivers layer for layer in Device manager down to the
bare unknown device. For this disconnect from the Internet so that WinUpdate cannot mess things up by loading
device drivers.

Yeah, that sounds like a fun weekend project, but it may do the trick. I should download all correct drivers, "unplug", uninstall everything and then install new drivers..

In the meantime, I've confirmed that the problem mostly goes away if there are no other bluetooth devices working in the viccinity. Having another bluetooth device powered on and paired to the headphones raises this problem 100% of the time, but also having them on while not paired seems to cause it a little bit.

What puzzles me, though, is that on my older laptop I could have the headphones paired to two devices simultaneously, and even play audio from both sources on them without this kind of breaking-up at all! Maybe this'll never go away until I get some BT v5 headphones to go with the new laptop