Bluetooth headphones - "Uncheck Handsfree Telephony profile" did not work

Question

I just bought the Sony MDR-XB950BT and it works amazingly with my iPhone, but when I connect it to my laptop the sound is like an old radio! I searched for solutions but nothing fixed it!

The headphone appears in the playback devices as headset and a stereo headphone, and the headset is only one that have the sound when it is default. the other one is showing there is sound but actually there is nothing.

I checked the services and it is working.

I also found the uncheck the Handsfree Telephony solution but when apply the change the headset disappears and the Stereo headphone doesn't and stay the same with no sound.

score 23 · Answer 1 · answered Nov 25 '18 at 23:44

After much frustration, googling and facepalming without getting any wiser, the following "WTH-I'll-just-try-this" fix worked for me:

go to bluetooth settings.
your bluetooth headset should show "connected mucic, voice".
now, go to control panel -> sound.
on the "playback" tab, your headset should be shown as a hands-free part, and a headphones part. Now, disable the hands-free part, and go to the "recording" tab and do the same.
problem solved, at least for me. I tested disconnecting my BT headset and connecting it again to see if Windows defaults it back to the hands-free profile, and whaddyaknow, it didn't. I can finally enjoy good sound quality in my JBL E55BT headset without any more hassle.

reirab · Answer 2 · 2019-03-28T15:47:26.910

I had this exact same problem with the Sony MDR-XB950BT, but the previous solutions listed here didn't work for me.

Here's what did work for me, in case it helps anyone else who finds this question in the future:

Open Device Manager
Expand 'Bluetooth'
Disable the MDR-XB960BT Avrcp Transport Adapter
Restart Computer

Also of note: When the Sound Properties control panel is open, I don't get audio to the headphones, however, it starts working again once Sound Properties is closed. When the Sound Properties control panel is open, it is playing the headset's microphone input to the headset rather than playing the computer's audio output to it for some bizarre reason.

score 3 · Answer 3 · answered Aug 16 '19 at 23:35

I just ran into a similar situation, only hands-free, no stereo. Device manager indicated something wrong with Microsoft Bluetooth A2dp source. The solution is to Run the System File Checker tool. Got the idea from here (WH-1000XM3, Windows 10 pro 1903)

score 1 · Answer 4 · answered Mar 26 '17 at 02:03

Try reinstalling the Bluetooth speaker drivers by:

Opening device manager, WIN+R then type devmgmt.msc and then press enter
Expand the list item Bluetooth
Right click on the problematic Bluetooth peripheral
Select Update driver
In the window that appears, select Browse my computer for driver software
Click on Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer
Select Next and once complete, perform a reboot

This should fix most problems with Bluetooth devices, including speakers or headphones

score 1 · Answer 5 · answered Jan 02 '21 at 06:09

1

Same issue here and I've spent two days digging. In the end I've enabled the AVCTP service (it was disabled manually by me earlier).

answered Jan 02 '21 at 06:09

mou5e

11
1

Rowais Al-Helali · Answer 6 · 2016-02-06T23:51:43.750

Ok, I fixed it!

Anju Thekkethil on Microsoft community gave me methods that might solve my problem and method #2 did it!

I just uninstalled the bluetooth drivers from device manager and then restarted my laptop and it was fixed!

here is his awnser: https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-hardware/poor-sound-quality-on-bluetooth-headphones/f3486fe3-ec73-4b04-bec5-db20e6e5a794?tm=1454758592416

score 0 · Answer 7 · answered Jan 03 '19 at 11:24

I had to go to 'Devices and Printers' in Control Panel. Then there under 'Devices' I found the bluetooth speaker, and pressed right button on the bluetooth speaker and pressed 'Remove Device'. Afterwards connected through Bluetooth again and it had to set it up as a new device and it made it work perfectly.

And before I tried uninstalling/re-installing all sorts of stuff, but it didn't help at all.

Hope this helps

score 0 · Answer 8 · answered Apr 09 '19 at 05:56

0

My problem showed the stereo headset and hands free but only the hands free would be enabled no matter what I did. After several other methods I was able to fix it by removing the device and adding/pairing it again.

answered Apr 09 '19 at 05:56

Edwin Gorney

1

score 0 · Answer 9 · answered Jul 24 '20 at 10:46

Had this issue today after a windows update. Non of my bluetooth headsets (Nuraphones/Jaybird Tarah Pro) would only connect hands-free. No Stereo. This reflected in the sound "playback" setting.

After running through everything in this thread, I ended up following half of @Chao solution.

Windows 10:

Go to Device Manager
Under "Sound, video and game controllers" I had an error on "Microsoft Bluetooth A2dp source"
Disable it, then enable it
Disconnect and remove headphones from Bluetooth
Reconnect headphones

Stereo option then appeared in the Sound "playback" tab.

Windows 10 Sound "Playback tab" Window

score 0 · Answer 10 · answered Jan 08 '21 at 09:15

0

Right-click the sound button and press "open sound settings"
press the "manage sound devices" button. on the input, section click the hands-free headphone and click disable
check your sound to make sure it is working

answered Jan 08 '21 at 09:15

Roger Seagull

1

score 0 · Answer 11 · answered Oct 08 '21 at 04:42

I had the exact same problem in windows 10, my Haylou GT1 pro Headphones were only working as hands-free and the music sounded awful. I tried all solutions posted above and nothing worked. However, I was testing a new audio app and it wasn't recognizing my mic, it was telling me that it was already in use, the only app that always uses the mic is Cortana, so I removed the permission for the microphone from cortana and my headphones STARTED to work perfectly.

Now I'm able to use it as hands-free for my work and listen to music from Spotify without issues.

Path: Settings - Privacy - Microphone - Disable Cortana's permission

score 0 · Answer 12 · answered Aug 27 '22 at 05:11

sadly this is a known bug microsoft refuses to fix when it comes to bluetooth devices the only acceptable solution I have found to when I turn my headphones off for the night and go to use them again is to simply toggle off the bluetooth connectivity on windows ENTIRELY then turn it back on when the headset connects in "connected voice" rather than "connected voice, music" despite me having the default audio device set to avoid the "hands free" mode ENTIRELY it is a known issue purely with windows that bluetooth audio is unreliable and buggy yet the company refuses to debug it maybe buy one of those little boxes that takes the 3.5mm jack and connects your headphones to it in "media" mode and never bugs out also if you are like me maybe complain about this known issue to Microsoft that mac-os and linux and all mobile os'es have fixed since day 1 of full release versions

score 0 · Answer 13 · answered Sep 07 '22 at 15:29

I had slightly different problem, also mentioned in comments: after update to win11 my device was recognized only as Hands-free, no stereo. After hours of trying any fix I could find and using a lot of inappropriate words, I found my solution posted by someone here: https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/windows-11-no-hands-free-mode-for-bluetooth/7774de7b-4cb3-4da4-a3e0-3398e81e994e?page=4

Disable additional audio drivers - e.g. "Intel® Smart Sound Technology for Bluetooth® Audio".

score 0 · Answer 14 · answered Dec 31 '22 at 09:59

None of the above solutions worked for me, then I had the bright idea to check for updates on my bluetooth adapter and see if that fixed the problem. It didn't.

Then I tried again (for the hundredth time), restarted my laptop, and it WORKED!

So yeah, don't be like me, first check here:

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/download/18649/757403/intel-wireless-bluetooth-for-windows-10-and-windows-11.html

h0nyk · Answer 15 · 2023-10-18T15:53:58.977

Downgrading drivers also didn't do the trick for me. I fixed it by installing https://equalizerapo.com/ for the faulty playback device. Afterwards not only the bluetooth device but also the playback device appeared as connected and I am now able to play audio via the Bluetooth speaker. In short this works because Equalizer APO interacts with the speaker on a lower system level and bypasses some parts of the Bluetooth- and audiostack.

score -1 · Answer 16 · answered Dec 29 '23 at 14:52

I was experiencing the same issue! When I unchecked Handsfree telephony, my computer just stopped playing audio to my Bluetooth headphones. Why don't you try this solution? It completely fixed the problem for me.

Windows 11:

Press windows + r and type "services.msc" then press enter
Scroll down to Telephony and double-click it
Under Startup type, switch from your current option to disabled
Then, click apply and ok
Reconnect your Bluetooth audio device and it should fix the problem
If it still doesn't work try resetting your computer after all the steps

This is my first time writing a solution so please leave replies below if anything was unclear

Bluetooth headphones - "Uncheck Handsfree Telephony profile" did not work

16 Answers16