Bluetooth just died on T3-710 after latest Windows 10 update

Bluetooth was working fine on my T3-710 Desktop until now, but not any longer following latest Windows 10 updates.

Update that was applied was -

November 27, 2018—KB4467682 (OS Build 17134.441)

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4467682/windows-10-update-kb4467682

Now, Bluetooth is no longer available (the Bluetooth on/off switch disappeared in Settings/Devices/Bluetooth & other devices).

Bluetooth Support Service is running OK.

All Bluetooth devices under Device Manager are offline {Currently, this hardware device is not connected to the computer. (Code 45) To fix this problem, reconnect this hardware device to the computer.} And if I try to update their drivers, they all say that I have latest version.

Also notice that there is 'Unknown USB Device' showing an error - (Device Descriptor Request Failed), but again it says best driver already installed if I try update. Wondering if this is related to the Bluetooth issues?

I am guessing (bit of a wild guess) that the Atheros Bluetooth driver is no longer compatible since the Windows update, but the latest version of that for T3-710 on Acer support site is dated 2015/11/02, so don't think that's going to make any difference. That said, when I tried updating the device driver for the 'Bluetooth USB Module' in Device Manager, it did update it to a slightly later version, so I'll try another reboot just in case........

Would be grateful for any suggestions.

Cheers,

--

Bill.

Accepted answers

168bill

Well, you just couldn't make this up.

I decided to stick with what I had and bought a USB BT Dongle, Broadcom USB 4.0, for £5.99. Powered down system Installed it in a spare USB port on the rear of the box then powered it up again. Worked a treat, BT functioning and now showing under Dev Mngr and Settings. Decided to update Broadcom BT driver from disk provided with dongle and again worked fine but required a re-boot to complete so did this.

Low and behold, came up working fine, but now all the original BT drivers were also showing in Dev Mgr to my astonishment. Decided to power down again and remove the BT dongle I had just installed. Powered back up after removing dongle, but went into BIOS on the way up to check, and amazingly the BT Option is there again!!! and showing 'Enabled'.

System now working just as before the Windows update and all BT devices functioning fine.

I totally admit defeat in explaining this, but it seems that installing a cheap BT dongle and then updating its driver seems to have miraculously restored the on-board BT functionality that had previously disappeared (in all areas including BIOS).

I'll keep the dongle in a nearby draw in case this ever re-occurs :-)

All comments

JackE

Open Control Panel. Search restore point. Select create restore point in the left panel. Hope that system protection is enabled in the box. Then click on system restore point. Next. Check the show more restore points box. Hope again for a Nov 27th restore point. Jack E/NJ

168bill

Thanks, but already tried that to no avail.

Really need an updated bluetooth driver I reckon.

JackE

>>>Thanks, but already tried that to no avail>>>

Please explain what and how you tried? What was the restore point date stamp? It makes a difference to know what date you tried to restore the machine to. Jack E/NJ

168bill

I checked restore points from control panel (checked the show more restore points box), but unfortunately didn't have a Nov 27 . Might be my fault as I may have overwritten it with creating a more recent one.

Since then, I have updated Windows to build 17763.195, have updated Bios to latest available version and uninstalled/reinstalled bluetooth drivers. None of this has brought back Bluetooth. If anything it's worse, as I can no longer see Bluetooth under Device Manager (even when selecting 'show hidden devices').

Having noted quite a number of very similar posts in this forum (not necessarily for same H/W platform), I suspect this is a known (unresolved) issue, so I am surprised that there is no official solution being provided by Acer. Or at minimum an admission that they recognise this as an issue and are working towards a resolution..........

JackE

You said earlier >>>Thanks, but already tried that to no avail.>>>

What did you mean by this? Did you try the 11/27 restore point or not when you said this? Also check that the BIOS BT option is turned on. Jack E/NJ

168bill

Hi,

What I meant was that I tried going to the 11/27 restore point but it wasn't listed, only later dates (I checked the show more restore points box). I think I might have overwritten the 11/27 one unwittingly as I manually created a couple of other restore points before trying driver re-installs, etc. So I couldn't restore to 11/27.

There isn't a BIOS BT option available as far as I can see.

Thanks

Bill.

168bill

I've just noticed that I seem to have posted this thread in the wrong forum, as it should be in Aspire/Desktops, but seems to be in Aspire/Laptops.

Is there a way I can move this to the correct forum?

JackE

>>>There isn't a BIOS BT option available as far as I can see.>>> I seem to have posted this thread in the wrong forum, >>>

Check for this Advanced tab in the BIOS menu again. This laptop forum is OK for your desktop --- it might even get more attention. Jack E/NJ

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6029997/uploads/editor/hb/67xg77ucvgkm.jpg

168bill

Unfortunately the last module on mine is the onboard Wi-Fi module........

And before anyone asks, yes, Bluetooth definitely did work previously, I'm not just imagining it

JackE

What's the BIOS date/version on your's now? You can use msinfo32.exe Jack E/NJ

168bill

BIOS Version/Date American Megatrends Inc. R01-B1, 07/02/2017

168bill

That was the latest version available on the Acer download site.

JackE

How did that get on there? Jack E/NJ

168bill

I installed it to update the existing version which was much older.

As I said, it is the latest version available on the Acer download site for this Aspire model.

This is the page I get sent to for drivers when I log in to my support account:

https://www.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/support-product/6392?b=1&pn=DT.B1HEK.018

I am about to admit defeat with this and just buy an inexpensive USB Bluetooth Dongle.......

JackE

Unfortunately, I'm now more inclined to believe that the firmware update, rather than a Win10update, is responsible for failing to detect the BT module in the BIOS menu. Unless you can assure me that the reason you did the firmware update is because of this BT issue or some other serious problem that the update is explicitly designed to fix. Firmware updates should not be attempted based on hopes of improved performance on an otherwise fully functional machine due to the danger of bricking or annoying peripheral device side effects. One of our other ACER users recently explained it best on why BIOS updates aren't usually advisable for a similar model t3 model https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/628572/#Comment_628572 We may be able to get you back to an earlier BIOS firmware but it would carry similar risks to firmware upgrading. The safer route may indeed be the CRS4x dongle at this point. Jack E/NJ

168bill

The only reason I did the BIOS update was to try and recover the BT functionality.

The BT functionality had disappeared after the Win 10 update and well prior to the BIOS update.

I will stick with this BIOS version and buy a dongle as I’ve had enough of trying to recover a feature that can be replicated with a £10 dongle.

But be absolutely clear that this was a real error and NOT a user error. OK, I updated the BIOS, but that was a last resort when all other ideas failed to resolve what should have been a straightforward issue.
The BIOS update seems to have worked fine (hopefully I got lucky) although it has made no difference to the BT issue.

Thanks for attempting to help.

JackE

OK. The Win10update might just have been coincident to a real BT hardware failure. The ***best*** (but not 100% guaranteed) way to rule this in or rule out is a full-blown ALT + F10 cold boot factory re-set as shown in the video below. I'm not sure you're prepared to do this unless you're willing to back up all your personal stuff and installed apps since you acquired the machine. You have to decide between this and a $5 dongle solution. If it was mine, I'd probably order the $5 CSR dongle right now but still couldn't resist doing the full-blown reset anyway.

Jack E/NJ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpzLJRAZldA

168bill

Well, you just couldn't make this up.

I decided to stick with what I had and bought a USB BT Dongle, Broadcom USB 4.0, for £5.99. Powered down system Installed it in a spare USB port on the rear of the box then powered it up again. Worked a treat, BT functioning and now showing under Dev Mngr and Settings. Decided to update Broadcom BT driver from disk provided with dongle and again worked fine but required a re-boot to complete so did this.

Low and behold, came up working fine, but now all the original BT drivers were also showing in Dev Mgr to my astonishment. Decided to power down again and remove the BT dongle I had just installed. Powered back up after removing dongle, but went into BIOS on the way up to check, and amazingly the BT Option is there again!!! and showing 'Enabled'.

System now working just as before the Windows update and all BT devices functioning fine.

I totally admit defeat in explaining this, but it seems that installing a cheap BT dongle and then updating its driver seems to have miraculously restored the on-board BT functionality that had previously disappeared (in all areas including BIOS).

I'll keep the dongle in a nearby draw in case this ever re-occurs :-)

JackE

>>>I'll keep the dongle in a nearby draw in case this ever re-occurs :-)>>>

Congrats. Make sure system protection is enabled as well for the next big Win10update that'll probably mess things up again.

Jack E/NJ

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