Question All peripherals momentarily disconnect due to BTHUSB Event ID 18 error ?

[gasb]

Hello everyone,

I'm encountering a persistent issue with my PC where all peripherals briefly disconnect and then reconnect without any apparent trigger. This happens randomly, typically during video playback or gaming. The Event Viewer logs the following under the BTHUSB source with Event ID 18 at the time of these incidents:

Event Description: Windows cannot store Bluetooth authentication codes (link keys) on the local adapter. Bluetooth keyboards might not work in the system BIOS during start-up.

Here’s a brief overview of my custom built system specs and what I have attempted so far to resolve this:

• Motherboard: B550M D3SH (does not include built-in WiFi or Bluetooth)
• Graphics Card: RTX 3060
• CPU: Ryzen 5 5600X ~4.7GHz
• RAM: 32GB DDR4 3200MHz
• Network Card: PCIe card with Intel WiFi 6E AX210 Chip, supports Bluetooth 5.2
• Operating System: Windows 10 (64-bit - running on Crucial P3 Plus 1TB M.2 PCIe Gen4 NVMe SSD)

Initially, I used a USB Bluetooth and WiFi dongle which caused latency issues, so I switched to the aforementioned PCIe card. Despite a clean installation of Bluetooth drivers, updating BIOS, and running system file checks (dism and sfc/scannow), the issue only subsided temporarily.

In addition, I have disabled the "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power" setting in Device Manager for all relevant devices, hoping to address any power management issues that could be causing these disconnects.

Searching on forums I've seen reports where the case connections may be causing the issue.. so I disconnected the case’s USB 3.0 connector to rule out any interference or power-related issues, but the problem persists.

Found reports online of possibly a corrupt Windows activation code or something along those lines causing issues for motherboard.

I bought a Windows 10 Pro Retail Key, upgraded myself from Win 10 Home > Win 10 Pro, and upgraded my BIOS version again to the latest version (F18d > F19).

MOST RECENT ERROR LOG FROM EVENT VIEWER:

Log Name: System

Source: BTHUSB Date: 10/05/2024 00:29:08 Event ID: 18 Task Category: None Level: Information Keywords: Classic User: N/A Computer: PC Description: Windows cannot store Bluetooth authentication codes (link keys) on the local adapter. Bluetooth keyboards might not work in the system BIOS during start-up. Event Xml: http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event"> 18 0 4 0 0 0x80000000000000 96803 System PC 000008000100000000000000120005400000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Considering the detailed troubleshooting I've done, including driver and system updates, I suspect this might be related more intricately to how Bluetooth devices interact with the system or a potential underlying OS bug.

Would really appreciate any advice as I've basically exhausted every option at this point.

Thank you!

 

[Lutfij]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

I bought a Windows 10 Pro Retail Key, upgraded myself from Win 10 Home > Win 10 Pro,
Did you reinstall the OS or are you referring to an internal upgrade path?

upgraded my BIOS version again to the latest version (F18d > F19)
I'm assuming the PCB revision for your motherboard is rev. 1.0/1.1/1.2/1.3 ... ? If so, did you clear the CMOS after verifying that the BIOS was successfully flashed to the latest version?

 

[CodeConnoisseur]

Disable your Bluetooth radio in Device Manager and see if the issue persists. If you are using an Intel wireless adapter the device to disable should be under the ibtusb.inf driver.

Though, this sounds like it might be more of an effect rather than a cause. A commenter on this Reddit post mentioned that the heat from their GPU was causing the Bluetooth chipset to malfunction, which would make sense considering how you said it was more frequent when gaming or watching videos as the GPU temperature would increase.

 

[gasb]

Disable your Bluetooth radio in Device Manager and see if the issue persists. If you are using an Intel wireless adapter the device to disable should be under the ibtusb.inf driver.

Though, this sounds like it might be more of an effect rather than a cause. A commenter on this Reddit post mentioned that the heat from their GPU was causing the Bluetooth chipset to malfunction, which would make sense considering how you said it was more frequent when gaming or watching videos as the GPU temperature would increase.

Disabling Bluetooth resolved the issue temporarily, however, I rely on Bluetooth for connecting my speakers, controller and occasionally headphones/airpods, so a long-term disable isn't feasible for me.

I'm investigating the theory that temperatures may be behind the malfunctions, which so far seem to be the most plausible explanation (thank you)! Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find a method to directly test and monitor temperatures of the network/Bluetooth card through software (any tips would be appreciated)!

Interestingly, the disruptions do tend to happen more during GPU intensive tasks, but it also happens quite frequently when the system is under no significant load. The randomness has made it a lot more harder to pinpoint a specific trigger-point.

 

[gasb]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

I bought a Windows 10 Pro Retail Key, upgraded myself from Win 10 Home > Win 10 Pro,
Did you reinstall the OS or are you referring to an internal upgrade path?

upgraded my BIOS version again to the latest version (F18d > F19)
I'm assuming the PCB revision for your motherboard is rev. 1.0/1.1/1.2/1.3 ... ? If so, did you clear the CMOS after verifying that the BIOS was successfully flashed to the latest version?

Thanks for your reply and warm welcome!

I followed an internal upgrade path from Win 10 Home > Pro, I did not have to reinstall my OS or wipe any data from my drive.

Yes, CMOS was cleared automatically by BIOS update process.