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Bluetooth

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Features and Recommendations

This is a list of features and recommendations for Bluetooth in Windows. For power-efficient support for Bluetooth LE beacons and related scenarios, Microsoft recommends Bluetooth components capable of hardware offload and able to support the Microsoft-defined Host Controller Interface (HCI) extension.

Additional features that were added after Windows 10, version 1507 are marked with their corresponding release number.

QD IDs

QD ID Name Product type Date
192465 Windows 11, version 22H2 Host Subsystem 06-June-2023
165530 Windows 11, version 22H2 Host Subsystem 04-October-2022
165530 Windows 11, version 21H2 Host Subsystem 07-July-2021
165530 Windows 11 Host Subsystem 07-July-2021
130847 Windows 10, version 22H2 Host Subsystem 18-November-2022
130847 Windows 10, version 21H2 Host Subsystem 26-October-2021
130847 Windows 10, version 21H1 Host Subsystem 07-July-2021
130847 Windows Server 2022 Host Subsystem 26-May-2021
130847 Windows 10, version 20H2 Host Subsystem 26-January-2021
130847 Windows 10, version 2004 Host Subsystem 10-January-2020
121270 Windows 10, version 1909 Host Subsystem 19-November-2019
121270 Windows 10, version 1903 Host Subsystem 29-March-2019
108589 Windows 10, version 1809 Host Subsystem 07-September-2018
106476 Windows 10, version 1803 Host Subsystem 10-April-2018
94254 Windows 10, version 1703 Host Subsystem 14-March-2017
84637 Windows 10 Mobile updated AVRCP Profile Subsystem 17-June-2016
70587 Windows 10 for Desktop editions (Home, Pro, Enterprise, and Education) Host Subsystem 14-July-2015
72550 Windows 10 Mobile Profile Subsystem 31-July-2015

Bluetooth features

  • Converged Bluetooth core stack. Audio profiles differ in behavior between Windows 10 for Desktop editions (Home, Pro, Enterprise, and Education) and Windows 10 Mobile.

    • Compliant to the standard Bluetooth 4.1 (for all mandatory spec requirements, not for optional requirements)
    • Support for the following features:
    • Hardware Offload (HCI): Microsoft defines vendor-specific HCI commands and events that are consumed by Windows
    • Dual mode support (except in Windows 10 Mobile): Dual mode support for Bluetooth BR/EDR and Bluetooth LE. For example, a Jabra Sport Pulse can transfer heart rate data over Bluetooth LE and stream music over a BR/EDR profile. Bluetooth BR/EDR, the older standard, is still needed for higher data-rate or long-range applications.
    • LE privacy 1.1: Windows protects the user’s privacy by randomizing the Bluetooth address whenever it is broadcast.
    • Enterprise Management
      • Turn Bluetooth on/off
      • Allow/Block the device going into discoverable mode
      • Change the friendly name of the Bluetooth device
      • Allow/Block advertisements
      • (1511) Allow/Block connections and pairings based off of the profiles supported. For example, block file transfers while allowing keyboards and mice.
    • Windows Phone General Distribution Release (GDR) features ported to Windows 10 (Cortana address book entry, LE HID, MAP)
    • (1607) Pre-pair Bluetooth devices during manufacturing: Allows for a seamless out-of-box experience that allows Bluetooth devices to just work.
    • (1703) Hands-Free Profile (HFP) 1.6 specification with Wideband speech on Windows 10 for Desktop editions.
    • (Windows 11 version 22H2) Bluetooth 5.3
    • (Windows 11 version 22H2) Bluetooth LE Audio

  • APIs/Profiles

    • Advertisement API: Support for scanning of Bluetooth LE advertisement packets for beacons and other similar scenarios.
    • Existing Windows Phone Background support converged to Desktop.
    • Bluetooth audio enhancements (Wideband speech, aptX®) - High Definition sound while limiting Lip Sync and latency issues.
    • (1511) In App Pairing: Allows apps to discover, pair, and connect to devices all without leaving the app in question. See this GitHub code sample and DeviceInformationPairing class for more information.
    • (1607) Non-paired support for connections over RFCOMM: Apps can now communicate with Windows over RFCOMM without having to pair the device.
    • (1607) Map apps can now use Cortana's voice for navigation.
    • (1703) Support for Call Control APIs on Windows 10 for Desktop editions.
    • (1703) Support for GATT Server, Bluetooth LE Peripheral role and non-paired support for Bluetooth LE. See our developer post for more details.
    • (1803) Support for Swift-Pair. See Bluetooth Swift Pair

Bluetooth features list by edition

The following table provides a summary of the Bluetooth features in the Windows 10 for Desktop editions and Windows 10 Mobile editions.

Feature Windows 10 for Desktop editions Windows 10 Mobile
Advertisement API Yes Yes
In App Pairing API Yes Yes
Non-paired support over RFCOMM Yes Yes
Existing Windows Phone Background support converged to Desktop Yes Yes
Hardware Offload (HCI) Yes Yes
Dual mode, LE Privacy 1.1 (Bluetooth Spec updates) Yes Dual mode - Yes (Only while using pairing APIs)*
Enterprise Management Yes Yes
Bluetooth audio enhancements – Wideband speech Yes Yes
Bluetooth audio enhancements – aptX® audio codec Yes Yes
Interop Improvements Yes Yes
WP GDR Features ported to Windows 10 – Cortana address book entry No Yes
WP GDR Features ported to Windows 10 – LE HID (Mobile) Yes Yes
WP GDR Features ported to Windows 10 – Message Access Profile (MAP) No Yes
WP GDR Features ported to Windows 10 – AVRCP Yes (v1.3) Yes (v1.4)
MAP apps access to Cortana's voice No Yes
Pre-pair Bluetooth devices during manufacturing Yes No
Background Bluetooth process content Yes Yes
Support for Swift Pair Yes No

Note

This is not supported via the Settings page and must be implemented programmatically using In App Pairing APIs.

Upgrading from Windows 10

During upgrade, Windows will migrate Bluetooth drivers, applications, and profile packs. There is still the ability to check Windows Update for a more current driver, and install during the upgrade process. If Bluetooth is not working or missing after upgrade, please file feedback in the Feedback Hub with details of what is happening. Users may need to check their hardware manufacturer's or OEM's website to install Windows 10 compatible drivers.

Upgrading from Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 8.1

During upgrade, Windows 11 will not migrate existing Bluetooth drivers, applications, and profile packs. During the upgrade process, Windows setup will check Windows Update to download and install a Windows 11 Bluetooth filter driver to re-enable Bluetooth radio functionality with the inbox profile support listed in the table above. Users will have to check their hardware manufacturer's or OEM's website for updated profile packs if desired.

Maintained guidelines from Windows 8.1

This section cover guidelines from Windows 8.1 that are maintained for Windows 10.

Hardware

If implemented, Bluetooth controllers must support the Bluetooth 4.0+LE specification, complying with both Basic Rate (BR) and Low Energy (LE).

The following table summarizes the supported peripheral buses and driver support.

Bus (HCI) Driver support SCO support
Non-USB WDK sample Sideband I2S/PCM connection only (HCI bypass)
USB In-box In-band (SCO over HCI)

The WDK Bluetooth Serial HCI Bus Driver sample is based on the UART (H4) standard as defined in the Bluetooth SIG specification. A vendor will be required to adopt and enhance the sample for any vendor-specific device requirements around device initialization and/or power management. If desired, the vendor can adopt the sample and develop for a non-UART interface as well, i.e.: non-UART controllers will also be supported by the Bluetooth stack (given a proper vendor-supplied driver).

A vendor supplied serial controller driver is necessary for UART-based controllers. For UART-specific features, see Simple Peripheral Bus (SPB).

Note

A non-USB connected Bluetooth controller must use a sideband channel for SCO applications, i.e.: SCO over I2S/PCM interface. SCO over HCI (in-band) will not be supported for non-USB controllers.

Transport bus driver

The Windows Driver Kit (WDK) sample is available for the UART (H4) transport. A vendor can enhance it for any vendor-specific feature, including for any non-UART transports as well. There will be no limitations around the stack’s ability to support a particular transport.

There will be no changes to the existing in-box Bluetooth USB driver. We recommend using UART (H4) as the connectivity interface, since the WDK sample will be UART-based and due to UART’s lower power consumption. Voice (SCO) support must go through a “sideband” audio channel for non-USB controllers, such as an I2S/PCM interface.

Initialization and power handling

For non-USB based Bluetooth controllers that require initialization see Transport Bus Driver for Bluetooth Power Handling Guidelines.

Radio management

The 3rd-party Bluetooth radio management plugin is not supported as Bluetooth Radio Management support is now provided inbox. Transport drivers must respond to being D3 by turning off power to the radio.

Mechanical

We do not recommend an external switch for controlling the on/off state of the Bluetooth radio.

Third-party Bluetooth software

3rd party software can be added to x86/x64 Windows PCs to provide additional Bluetooth profile functionality not natively shipped in Windows. To avoid impacting the Windows user experience, causing incompatibilities with other Windows PCs, and creating serviceability issues on upgrade, Windows recommends the following:

  • Make them installable by INF so they can be easily serviced to support Windows as a Service.
  • Do not replace inbox profiles, icons, or user interfaces.
  • When adding profiles and/or other software, use the native Windows APIs.
  • Use Wi-Fi Direct for high bandwidth peer-to-peer scenarios instead of Bluetooth High Speed (HS).
  • Optimal app footprint to minimize impact on manufacturing time.
  • Optimal app performance to minimize impact on off to on transitions (boot, resume from S3/S4) and energy efficiency.