I can't turn Bluetooth on or off

Question

I have a Dell XPS L502x laptop with Windows 8.1, and I am trying to turn Bluetooth on. I tried going to this setting: Change PC settings → PC and devices → Bluetooth → Manage Bluetooth devices, but I cannot turn Bluetooth on. The option is ghosted (grayed out and can't be changed).

It worked before in Windows 8.1.

I have the latest driver for Bluetooth, and all services related are running.

Answer 1

I had same issue and was searching online for help but had no luck with any. But I managed to resolve by going to Computer Management >> Device Manager, then noticed yellow exclamation mark on Bluetooth sign and after right clicking on it and disabled it once and then enabled after it recognised automatically! I have Windows 8.1 with Sony Vaio Tap 11.

Answer 2

Go to Start Screen > Swipe Up > All Apps > Dell Support Center, then click Detailed System Information. If it says that your computer isn't bluetooth compatible, then you will probably need to buy a bluetooth adaptor. Did it work before?

If it did work before, press windows key, type 'troubleshooting,' open it, go to 'hardware and sound' > 'hardware and devices' > follow instructions or... search for an up to date bluetooth driver online for your computer

Answer 3

This worked for me(Intel Wireless Card with Bluetooth):

Go to device manager.

1. If Bluetooth is not listed, go to View-> Show Hidden Devices.
2. Then under Bluetooth, uninstall all drivers(including any named Generic Bluetooth ...)
3. Get the latest Bluetooth drivers from Intel here.
4. Install.

Answer 4

I tried other methods without success. I finally updated chipset drivers and BIOS firmware. After that enabling the button was not greyed out anymore.

I have Windows 8.

Power options may have something to do with the problem otherwise.

Here is a very good troubleshooting around that https://forums.lenovo.com/t5/Lenovo-U-and-S-Series-Notebooks/WiFi-and-Bluetooth-greyed-out-in-Windows-8/td-p/1011971

I had a similar problem on my S206 - WiFi was on but Bluetooth was off when I upgraded Windows, and when upgraded I couldn't install the driver for bluetooth as the install wizard insisted I didn't have the hardware connected. The Windows 8 energy management drivers only activated flight mode when the wireless button was pressed. I uninstalled the Windows 8 energy management drivers, and installed the Windows 7 energy management drivers. These let you enable and disable Wifi and Bluetooth individually. Unfortunately the buttons for WiFi and camera don't work in Windows 8 properly, unless you hibernate the PC and resume. I changed the power settings of the active profile temporarily so pressing the power button put the PC into hibernate mode, and on resuming the WiFi button worked as expected. I didn't need to use the Fn button as it wasn't enabled in BIOS. Once Bluetooth was activated I was able to install the Bluetooth drivers, and then I reinstalled the Windows 8 energy management drivers over the top to do an in-place upgrade. Now I have both WiFi and Bluetooth selectable in the Windows 8 settings panel.

Answer 5

I just had the same problem on Windows 8.1 on a Dell Latitude E7440. Bluetooth was working fine and my previously-paired headphones showed up in the list of bluetooth devices but didn't show up as an audio device. I unpaired the headphones but then it wouldn't recognize the headphones any more. I turned Bluetooth off to reset it but then it wouldn't turn back on.

I finally resolved the problem by disabling the Bluetooth device driver in the Device Manager. When I enabled the driver again Bluetooth was now working and I was able to pair my headphones again.