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Bluetooth missing from Device Manager and Settings

DeviceInBox editorial team · Last updated October 6, 2026

Bluetooth disappears in a very recognisable way: the Bluetooth switch is gone from Settings, the quick action tile is missing, and Device Manager has no Bluetooth section at all. On a laptop the radio is part of the Wi-Fi card, and the Bluetooth half is a separate USB device with its own driver, so it can fail while Wi-Fi keeps working.

Windows Settings with the Bluetooth switch absent from Bluetooth and devices
No driver, no switch: Settings only shows radios Windows can see.

Where to look in Device Manager

Turn on View, then "Show hidden devices", and check three places:

  • A Bluetooth section with an adapter in it: the driver is loaded, so this is a service or power problem.
  • An entry under Other devices with an ID such as USB\VID_8087&PID_0032: the Bluetooth half has no driver.
  • Nothing anywhere: the radio is off in firmware, the module is disconnected, or the whole card is disabled.
Device Manager showing a Bluetooth device under Other devices with its USB hardware ID
The Bluetooth half of a combo card appears as a USB device.

Install the driver for the ID

Read the hardware ID from the Details tab (how). The vendor code tells you whose package you need:

  • VID_8087: Intel. One package covers the whole AX200 to BE200 generation.
  • VID_0E8D: MediaTek, the Bluetooth half of RZ608, RZ616 and MT7922 cards.
  • VID_0BDA: Realtek, usually alongside an RTL8821CE or RTL8852 card.
  • VID_0CF3, VID_0489, VID_04CA, VID_13D3: Qualcomm, Foxconn, Lite-On and IMC modules, which carry a chip from one of the makers above.
Hardware IDDeviceDrivers
USB\VID_8087&PID_0032Wireless Bluetooth(R)14
USB\VID_8087&PID_0029Wireless Bluetooth11
USB\VID_8087&PID_0026Wireless Bluetooth7
USB\VID_8087&PID_0036Intel(R) Wireless Bluetooth(R)4
USB\VID_0E8D&PID_0608RZ608ES Bluetooth(R) Adapter11
USB\VID_0E8D&PID_0616RZ616 Bluetooth(R) Adapter12
USB\VID_13D3&PID_3563Bluetooth Adapter10
USB\VID_0489&PID_E0CDBluetooth Adapter11

The family pages collect the versions by chip: Intel Bluetooth and Realtek Bluetooth.

USB hardware ID of a Bluetooth module split into vendor and product codes
The chip decides the driver, even when the module vendor is someone else.

Check the Bluetooth services

If the adapter is present and the switch is still missing, the services behind it are stopped. Press Win + R, run services.msc and check:

  • Bluetooth Support Service: Manual, running.
  • Bluetooth User Support Service: Manual.
  • Bluetooth Audio Gateway Service: Manual, needed for headsets.

Set them to Manual rather than Disabled and start the support service, then sign out and back in.

Services window with Bluetooth Support Service set to Manual and running
A disabled support service hides Bluetooth even with a healthy driver.

Power settings that switch the radio off

On laptops, the adapter is usually allowed to sleep, and some modules do not wake up again after a deep sleep state.

  1. Properties of the Bluetooth adapter, Power Management tab, clear "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power".
  2. Do the same for the USB Root Hub the adapter sits under.
  3. Shut down fully with Shift held, unplug the power for 30 seconds, start again.

If Bluetooth comes back after a full shutdown but disappears again after sleep, the fix is a newer driver for that module, not a setting.

When nothing is listed

A machine that lists no Bluetooth hardware at all, even with hidden devices shown, needs a look outside Windows: the wireless radio switch in the BIOS, a BIOS update for the model, and on a laptop that was opened, the small antenna and USB connector to the M.2 card. Desktop boards without onboard Bluetooth need a USB dongle; most current ones use an Intel or Realtek chip and take the same drivers as a laptop module.

Related: Network Controller, Wi-Fi gone after an update and Code 43.

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