Bluetooth headphones keep cutting out on my laptop
My Bluetooth headphones are fine with my phone and with my Chromebook, but on my work Windows laptop they drop out every few minutes. The sound stutters, then goes silent for two or three seconds, then comes back on its own. Sometimes it stays gone until I turn the headphones off and on again.
Cite
Geek With Laptop Forum, "Bluetooth headphones keep cutting out on my laptop", https://geekwithlaptop.com/forum/thread/bluetooth-headphones-keep-cutting-out-on-my-laptop/, accessed 2026-11-12.I work rotating shifts and use them for training videos on breaks, so I need them to just work. The laptop is about three years old, I sit about a metre from it, and nothing is between us. I have tried forgetting the headphones and pairing them again, and it was fine for a day and then started again. Windows says the Bluetooth driver is up to date.
I cannot change much on this laptop because it belongs to my employer. What can I check that is within a normal user's reach? Is it the headphones, the laptop's Bluetooth, or Wi-Fi getting in the way?
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1 answer
- Raul M.Member ·
Nadia, a short list, in order:
- Settings, Bluetooth & devices, remove the headphones and pair again.
- Device Manager, Bluetooth, open your adapter, Power Management tab, untick "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power".
- Check the headphones' own firmware in their app.
- Try a different USB port if you use a dongle, and keep dongles away from USB 3 devices and drives.
Number 2 fixes more of these than anything else I have seen. It may be locked on a work laptop, so try it before asking IT.