Windows 11 Home (current with updates)
ASUS Vivobook
FXSound 1.1.31.0
I mostly use FXSound in combo with Bluetooth and PhoneAK hearing aids. If I pause my audio and step away from my laptop for a minute then return, the sound comes only from my laptop speakers and I can’t switch to the bluetooth connection because it no longer appears in the device list even though my Windows Bluetooth pop-up shows me as still connected. Powering off/on FXSound does not restore the device. The only thing that works is restarting FXSound and reselecting Headphones (which is now back in the device list). This has to be done every time I step away and return.
If you have no ideas off the top of your head then I suggest putting it on the back burner for a bit. I’m scheduled for new hearing aids in about three months and it is always possible that it is a Bluetooth problem with the current hearing aids, and while the problem is annoying, I can live with it in the hope that new hardware will help. I’d hate to tie you up with a problem that may not be YOUR problem.
Ok thanks. Unfortunately with all the different audio devices and software on our users’ PCs it can be hard for us to identify where an issue is with the users’ devices and where the issue is with FxSound.
Understood. There are so many quirky thing happening (not just with FXSound) it is almost impossible to troubleshoot. ASUS laptops have their quirks. Windows 11 has its quirks, etc. With luck I will also be upgrading to a Lenovo Thinkpad in the next few months as well. I have a lot of experience with Thinkpads (although pre-Lenovo) and found them to be pretty solid.
This affect is described elsewhere and pre-dates the current version by years. I have experienced it on a machine where it self-corrected. I have not experienced it on a variety of platforms. I have not experienced it in years.
I experience it now. If the PC goes to sleep, the current playback device* is lost on resume. Re-terminate DFX is the working solution. *I do not actually know if the current device is lost or if it is the preferred device or some other device. The ‘expected to function device’ is lost on resume and there is no (audible) sound. This was the motivation behind my GUI request to change the playback device list - it is why I wanted streamlined access (thank you).
I am online now because I am looking for any related thread where I posted content. It is my belief that the cause lies wholly and solely within Windows. I do not remember how I resolved this - if I did at all.
I don’t know if this is an option but in order to get FxSound to recognize my bluetooth headset after it drops the device, I have to exit FxSound and reload it. Would it be feasable to have FxSound scan for devices in the code that is triggered by a right mouse click on the task bar icon? That way, even though I would still have to reselect the headset I would no longer have to reload the app.
Re-polling might work, but I think - DFX does not drop the bluetooth device. If you power off/remove the BT device, DFX maintains it on the device list. So, Windows stops presenting the BT device for some reason.
Is your BT card on a USB circuit? If yes, ID the circuit and disable power management for that port.
I remember this problem and hated it.
There is a new setting in Win11 - Settings, Bluetooth & Devices, Device Settings, Use LFE
I do not know what effect it may have on your gear.
Windows does it again. Microsoft keeps changing how settings are displayed, seemingly with every update. I am current with all Windows and driver updates and I do not see “Device Settings” as an option under “Bluetooth & Devices”.
If I go to
Device Manager
Intel(R) Wireless Bluetooth(R)
Properties
Details
Bluetooth radio supports Low Energy central role
The value given is
so supposedly my hardware supports LE Bluetooth. Incidentally, while my Bluetooth connects to my five-year-old hearing aids, when I try to connect to my new Jabra Enhance Pro hearing aids I just get an error saying my laptop (ASUS) does not support LE.
Apparently the old hearing aids use both classic & LE but for different reasons. Audio is streamed through classic so that is why they work. The LE features (which don’t work) might be the cause of my disconnects. I think it is an ASUS hardware problem (the laptop seems to be full of them).
Another step I took - I replaced my wireless NIC. I moved from BT 5.2 to 5.4. The change eliminated some weak signal issues but probably did not affect this software.
I wrestled with this for a while and I understand the annoyance. As we stumbled across earlier, I use several different versions of Windows 11.
When the BT device is in a dropped state within FXsound, is it visible to EarTrumpet or similar software?
FULL STOP - I just checked DeviceMan. Historically, when I attach my BT headphones, a related non-working driver appears as a splat in DevMan. I know that I experienced drops in this condition. Today, there are no splats, same brand and model of BT headphones. I attached three different exact same* headphones. No splat.
This may indicate that if you use a different BT device, the drop may not occur because a different driver is in use. So, do you have any DevMan splats?
loosely translated: it looks my headphones received a Windows-sourced driver update. And that may be related to the no-GUI element for LE on your Windows release. You may get the update on the next release.
If you are bored, join the Windows Insider’s program and install a newer release.
I can’t replace the NIC as it is a laptop with everything on one board. However, I just got new hearing aids and had to buy an external Bluetooth device because the brand new high-tech Jabra/Siemens hearing aids can’t connect to my brand new high-tech LG B5 TV Bluetooth. This Christmas my older son is coming to visit and will be bringing his brand new high-tech Lenovo Thinkpad (you can probably see where this is going) which I am hoping WILL connect to my hearing aids. If so I will buy one for myself and say goodbye to shitty ASUS laptops forever.
On the plus side, the external device allows me to stream from my ASUS laptop to my new hearing aids with no disconnects.
Have I mentioned how disappointed I am in Bluetooth - the communications technology that was supposed to solve all of our communication problems?
