Xbox Wireless Headset detected as Speakers in Window 11 when connected via bluetooth

Jake12a · Oct 19, 2022

Hi,

I have Xbox Wireless Headset which was working just fine with Windows 11 until I paired it with Xbox. Suddenly after pairing it again with PC it's recognized as Speakers, which makes the sound quality very poor, and volume very low. I saw many similar cases online, but no solution I found really helps me.

So far I tried:
-Unpairing it from Xbox
-Uninstalling and installing Audio Drivers again
-Uninstalling and installing headset drivers again
-Uninstalling and installing bluetooth drivers again
-Updating headset's firmware
-Checking audio settings in Control Panel and Settings, which didn't show anything that could be off

-Using Windows troubleshooter, which didn't find anything

The issue occurs only when connected via bluetooth. Cable connection works better, even though the headset is recognized as Xbox controller.
The issue prevents using Dolby Access settings, as any changes made in equalizer are not applied anyhow (both on bluetooth and cable connection).

A bit weird thing in this all is that when I open Sound settings in the Control Panel, and change the tab to recording just to see the settings (without changing anything) the audio quality drops drastically. It comes back to usual 'speaker-mode' when the tab is changed back to Playback settings.

Is there anything else I can try to bring the Headset setting back as it originally was?

***Moved from Windows / Windows 11 / Devices and drivers***

:)

Kathy A.

Hello Jake12a,

We haven't heard from you in 72 hours, so we assume that your issue has already been resolved. We will not be monitoring this thread moving forward so, if you need further assistance, please create a new thread to discuss these concerns by clicking this link: Create a new question or start a discussion (microsoft.com)

Thank you for your understanding.

Respectfully,

Microsoft Moderator

Jake12a

Hi Kathy,

Yes, I can confirm I was updating the headset through the Xbox Accessories App.

Winver shows it's Windows 11 22H2 (22621.674).

As for other headsets - this is my only BT headset, others (with jack connection) are properly shown as headphones.

Kathy A.

Hello Jake12a,

Welcome to Xbox Community Forum. Thank you for sharing your concern with us today and we hope that all is well.

We understand that you are trying to get back to the time that your computer detects the Xbox Wireless Headset as headset not as speaker. Let us check on this together and sort this out in timely manner.

To answer your question, we would like to confirm if you were able to use Xbox Accessories app in updating the Xbox Wireless Headset? If you can check this support article - Set up and configure your Xbox Wireless Headset | Xbox Support, you may try configuring the headset through the app.

Additionally, may we ask what Windows version and edition your computer have? To check, please type WINVER on search bar and select run command.

By the way, may we ask if can try to test another headset and see if your computer detect it as speaker or headset? Try to switch from one port to another too.

Any additional information about how the update of your headset was performed or changes happen to your computer while you have not connected the headset would be a great start for us to investigate this concern.

Support article you might like to check for reference:

We look forward to your response. Kindly let us know, if there is any misunderstanding or clarifications of our description by sending us a reply.

Sincerely,

Xbox Forum Moderator

Microsoft Community

The Golden Ghost

Same issue here. I've scoured Reddit and other forums and haven't seen a fix yet. The headset works fine on Bluetooth and when connected via USB-C, but while using the official Xbox Wireless Adapter (the slim one), I get garbled and choppy audio in both games and general Windows audio such as Zoom meetings.

I'm using the headset on Windows 10 with headset firmware v.0.0.9.24 as of 11/15/2021.

Ricardo Lechuga

Hi carty1974! My name is Ricardo an independent advisor ready to help you with this situation!

The Xbox Accessories app does not currently support headset connections via Bluetooth. To manage your Xbox Wireless Headset settings on your PC, connect the headset via the USB-C cable, or using the Xbox Wireless Adapter for Windows.

Xbox Wireless Headset detected as Speakers in Window 11 when connected via bluetooth