Solved Bluetooth pairing dialog never shows.

I'm trying to re-pair my Heavys H1 cans to my Windows PC. It's currently paired to both my TV and my cellphone.

The issue lies in windows, though. When I go to add a device, the first box that allows me to pick BT, docks, and all others shows perfectly fine.





After clicking on BT, I see a small whirlpool (mouse cursor when the system is busy) and then ... nothing.

Normally there is another window that pops up that shows that Windows is searching for devices.

BT is working. My phone is my Dynamic Lock for the PC, and I've verified walking away from it locks the computer. Also, my MX Master 3 connects fine via BT< as does my XBox Elite Wireless Series 2 controller.

Here is what I've tried thus far:

• Removing all extra, disconnected devices in Device manager (not every single one, I know which ones I need to keep, but all of the duplicates and triplicates in the USB and BT section were 'uninstalled')
• Uninstall and reinstalling the driver (with intervening reboot)
• Uninstalling and installing an older driver (with intervening reboot)
• Resetting the Bluetooth services (stopping, reboot, start) and even tried setting them to automatic (from manual) (with intervening reboot)
• Ran the BT troubleshooter
• Numerous other items on the web for BT not working, even though my BT is working - my phone is connected to the PC for Dynamic Lock use
• Speaking of, disabled Dynamic Lock

I am sooo not in the mood to cleanly install on this PC again.

Has anyone seen this happening and know of some other tricks I can try?

@johnlgalt
I don't know if I can help with your particular issue but, BT seems flakey as heck lately!
3 times this week I lost my MX mouse and keyboard..., they just quit! Had to do a hard shutdown/boot!
I thought it might be a Logitech Options+ issue but now I'm thinkin different...

Hmmm. Interesting.

Lemme try a DISM and SFC system check then.

Used my script, nothing untoward found, all verification passed..

I also suspect Logi Option+ is not bug-free. I had an MX Keys for Business, a Logitech M510 mouse, and Logi Options+ software. The mouse had a mind of its own after a while. I went back to my original wired Dell keyboard and mouse, uninstalled Logi Options+, and then all was well. The mouse worked properly and was no longer demonically possessed.

After a few weeks, I dug out my Logitech MX Keys for Business, set it up via its "dongle," and started using it again. The Dell default keyboard is not a thing of beauty! The Dell wired mouse is behaving. I did not reinstall Logi Options+.

I might get brave (or stupid) in the next few weeks and try my Logitech M510 mouse again, but without installing Logi Options+.

None of this is helping John, I realize. Backing out. I don't want to hijack two topics in one week. Sorry.

Have a great day.

Regards,
Phil

I'm sure you did this, but just to double check, make sure the pairing option is on for the headphones when the PC is looking for a device to connect to. Sometimes if you wait too long the pairing setting on the device may shut off too soon.

I just paired my Jabra cans with my Laptop, but I had to remove them from 2 other devices..., course, you already did that, so...

Dru2 said:

I'm sure you did this, but just to double check, make sure the pairing option is on for the headphones when the PC is looking for a device to connect to. Sometimes if you wait too long the pairing setting on the device may shut off too soon.

Click to expand...

Irrelevant (at least for now) - Windows isn't scanning for devices in the first place. Or, more appropriately, The pairing screen, titled Add a device, never shows up.

See Step 7 - that dialog is not showing up at all. Pair Pen with Windows 11 PC Tutorial

Without that dialog, I cannot pair anything to my computer. Only devices already paired are working.

(But, yes, I am putting the cans into pairing mode.)

I may give this a shot.


If it is a static electricity fail, I'm gonna scream. Loudly.

This thread has been referenced in numerous MSI motherboard BT not working threads in r/MSI, so ....

Worth a shot. Might as well blow the damned thing out too. Lol.

johnlgalt said:

Irrelevant (at least for now) - Windows isn't scanning for devices in the first place. Or, more appropriately, The pairing screen, titled Add a device, never shows up.

See Step 7 - that dialog is not showing up at all. Pair Pen with Windows 11 PC Tutorial

Without that dialog, I cannot pair anything to my computer. Only devices already paired are working.

(But, yes, I am putting the cans into pairing mode.)

Click to expand...

That's odd... have you checked you BT device is working?

Anyway, per your post, I just tested my Bluetooth and was able to add my JBL Flip 4 speaker without issue. And I know it's working cause I just got an audio notification through it alerting me of an email.



In the first image, when the device shows up, you click it, and it connects, and shows in the second image.

Dru2 said:

That's odd... have you checked you BT device is working?

Click to expand...

I can pair it with any other device - I just re-paired it with my phone without issues. Verified too, YT, games, all audio from the phone directed to the cans.

And BT devices already paired with Windows PC are working. So, it's not as if BT is completely broken on the PC - just that it is not allowing pairing with a 'new' device.

So, yeah, that screenshot of yours - that Add a device dialog never shows.

johnlgalt said:

I may give this a shot.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ASUS/comments/he7ci7/_/g1przej

If it is a static electricity fail, I'm gonna scream. Loudly.

This thread has been referenced in numerous MSI motherboard BT not working threads in r/MSI, so ....

Worth a shot. Might as well blow the damned thing out too. Lol.

Click to expand...

I did this, and included taking it down to the garage and blowing out what little dust was in there.

Upon power up, it showed the Add a device dialog for about 1 second, then it disappeared. And any further attempts at re-pairing never show that dialog box again.

Un #$%@#$% real.

Worst part about it is that the cans were already connected to 2 other devices before, and were previously paired here - so instead of (initially) unpairing from the TV, I simply removed them, and then tried to re-=pair them and poof - here we are now.

I hope you understand my replies are meant to help. I'm certainly aware you're no rookie here, but some things just need to be asked for clarity. And sometimes when you're in the thick of things, you can get tunnel vision and miss things that are obvious. I've certainly been there.

Anyway, unless I'm missing something, if everything is working on the PC, perhaps you might take a harder look at the headphones themselves. If the phones aren't sending a signal, Windows won't pick up the request, meaning no dialog box.

Anyway, that's my logic on it.

No, yeah, I know you're trying to help, dude.

I don't think you get what I'm saying, though.

1. I cannot pair anything with Windows. That Add a device dialog never shows.
   
   
2. Anything already paired with Windows still works via BT. As soon as I remove it, I can no longer pair it again.
   
   
3. And every device that fails to pair with Windows pairs fine with 3 other devices (Dell Laptop running ChromeOS Flex, Pixel 8 Pro, and Pixel Watch 2). I've tried 3 different headsets - the Heavys H1H cans (the ones I want to use again with Windows), SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless (via BT), and Google Pixel Buds Pro. All of those have been paired and removed multiple times from my phone and watch, and all paired with the Flexbook, too.

It's not a device problem - it is a Windows problem. BT itself is working. Devices already paired with Windows work perfectly fine.

That one facet of pairing, where the Add a device dialog box is supposed to pop up, is somehow, for some reason, being skipped (or else it shows up and disappears instantaneously. Either way, without that screen, I cannot accept the pairing request and get it paired.

I'm going to try a device that also has its own pairing request screen, and see if maybe I can get it to pair that, and then see if that fixes the missing dialog box.

Using my phone, I still don't get the add a device dialog.

However, if I accept and try to pair from my phone, I DO get a pairing request popup show on my PC.





(Yes, I've unpaired and re-paired this multiple times to verify this, so that PIN is useless to anyone lol)

Another thing - if you turn BT off, does the pair button still try to pair with it off?

Mine does.

Friggin' weird!

I may have to follow my own advice and grab the latest 23H2 .ISO and perform an in-place upgrade repair lol.

What about giving it a shot from the SysTray?

Did that too. It just opens the BT page in Settings.

I found 6 different ways to pair from Windows - but that box not showing up breaks the pairing process.

Pairing from another device to Windows works fine. BT works fine. I just can't pair from inside Windows.

Sometimes my Bluetooth has a wobbler and can even affect a streaming YT video but not very often. This is when I reinstall the driver via device manager and it seems to fix it. Maybe worth a shot. I always reboot whether it asks or not.

Just ran the reinstall to test again.

johnlgalt said:

No, yeah, I know you're trying to help, dude.

I don't think you get what I'm saying, though.

1. I cannot pair anything with Windows. That Add a device dialog never shows.
   
   
2. Anything already paired with Windows still works via BT. As soon as I remove it, I can no longer pair it again.
   
   
3. And every device that fails to pair with Windows pairs fine with 3 other devices ....

Click to expand...

Got it now.

At this point I'm out of suggestions.

Keep us informed.

Fabler2 said:

Sometimes my Bluetooth has a wobbler and can even affect a streaming YT video but not very often. This is when I reinstall the driver via device manager and it seems to fix it. Maybe worth a shot. I always reboot whether it asks or not.

Just ran the reinstall to test again.

View attachment 79833



View attachment 79832

Click to expand...

johnlgalt said:

• Uninstall and reinstalling the driver (with intervening reboot)
• Uninstalling and installing an older driver (with intervening reboot)

Click to expand...

Dru2 said:

Got it now.

At this point I'm out of suggestions.

Keep us informed.

Click to expand...

So, it's just the interface. And the more I think about it, it's almost like when you run snipping tool and it minimizes to the taskbar - except this missing dialog window is not in the taskbar.

But it has that exact feel of how snipping tool would seemingly appear on the desktop for a second, then go away.

I've managed to get it to show for about a second before it goes poof - but it doesn't go anywhere, it just goes gone.

I really think the in-place upgrade repair is my last recourse here.