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I have Plantronics Audio 995 wireless headset (for couple years) and use it to listen to music. I use Windows Media Player with it, since after some poking at start it worked best with media buttons on the headset.

Recently though it randomly stops reacting to bulk of button presses from headset. It still reacts to some of commands — for example "next track" stops working, but holding "next track" is processed correctly as fast forward. So I don't think this is hardware issue with headset — the button press is being registered and sent to computer.

Which leaves software issue, but how do I debug this on computer side?..

The only other headset–related software running is Skype, but it is configured to use different device (web camera + main speakers) and exiting it doesn't fix the issue.

Computer is self–built desktop, Windows 7 x64 Home Premium, fully updated, etc.

No headset drivers (I don't think there even were any), note it's not bluetooth — just has its own dedicated wireless dongle.

Shell extensions, as requested in comments (non–MS, duplicates truncated):

Bluewire General Property Sheet
BTSync
ComposerSetup
IcarosPropertyHandler.IcarosPropertyHandler
Microsoft XPS Rich Preview Handler
paint.net Shell Extension
TortoiseSVN
UnlockerShellExtension
AppShellPage Class
Ath_CopyHook
ContextMenu Class
FTShellContext Class
CDISPSHELL Extension
Comodo AntiVirus
DropboxExt
7-Zip Shell Extension
GraphicsShellExt Class
LastPass Toolbar
LastPass Vault
KbLogiExt Class
Rarst
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2 Answers2

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You asked how to debug this on the computer side, but first I'd recommend troubleshooting this with another device. Do you have a smartphone? If so, try connecting your smartphone and the headphones, and using either the built-in media player or another app such as Pandora or Google Music to test it out.

If it behaves correctly on the phone, then I would agree -- it's a software issue on your PC, so here are some things to think about:

  1. Do you remember installing any software updates or new computer programs recently? One of those may be conflicting with the headphones.
  2. Some headphones only work when the media player application is the active app, or in the foreground.

As a last resort, my advice would be to reinstall the headphones. To do so:

  1. Uninstall any headphone-specific software (such as a driver that came on a CD with the headphones or that you may have downloaded from Plantronics' website -- your specific model doesn't appear to have anything available on their website).
  2. Verify that the Plantronics USB bluetooth adapter does not appear in Device Manager:
    • Press Windows key + X. (Windows key + Break on Windows 7 and prior.)
    • Click on Device Manager.
    • Click on View.
    • Click on Hidden Devices.
    • Search for the Bluetooth device.
    • Right click on the Bluetooth device and click uninstall.
  3. Unplug the Plantronics USB bluetooth adapter.
  4. Follow the instructions provided by Plantronics at this link to reconnect the device.
Lingnik
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As all attempts have failed to find some software that steals events such as "next track", a hardware problem is maybe a possible explanation.

Since you have tried turning off and on the headset and even re-pairing it without success, it seems that the source of the problem is not the headset. This leaves the connectors as a possibility.

Some people have reported problems with wireless headsets when the dongle is plugged into a USB hub rather than into a USB outlet of the PC itself. We are currently waiting to see if directly plugging the dongle improves the situation.

harrymc
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