Question Bluetooth stutters when scrolling and regular disconnects

[zangomango]

Hey all,

I built my computer nearly a year ago and I have continually having issues with Bluetooth issues. My audio which I am listening to using my headset sometimes undergoes periods with lots of stuttering where it usually gets worse until my Bluetooth gets fully disabled. My mouse (Wired Logitech G203) is plugged into one of my USB 3.0 Slots of my motherboard. The reason I am bringing this up is that I have noticed that I can induce stutters in my Bluetooth audio by rapidly spinning the scroll wheel. If I really go ham on my scroll wheel I can cause the Bluetooth to stop working. Spotify/Windows does not detect any disconnect and continues to play the audio source (typically when you disconnect your audio device, Spotify pauses).

I have noticed that some days I don't face any issues. I can scroll like usual, play games like usual etc. but some days its really sensitive and annoying. I find that letting my computer "sleep" can trigger the disconnect to the point where Windows removes the Bluetooth icon in the taskbar after I try and turn on Bluetooth or enter the Bluetooth settings. Also, my wifi still works fine so its a bluetooth only issue!

Most of the time I can turn off Bluetooth and quickly turn it back on and it fixes itself but in some cases that doesn't work as I mentioned above.

My method of remedying this is by using the legacy Bluetooth troubleshooter to fix it. The troubleshooter recognizes the issue most of the time and "reinstalls the drivers" and turns Bluetooth back on but sometimes, in situations where the audio/Bluetooth connectivity cuts off abruptly instead of stuttering before turning off, the troubleshooter fails to do anything and tells me to restart my computer. Restarting/force shutdown via the power button usually fixes it things within 1-2 attempts.

There being some kind of interference due to me scrolling makes me think its a motherboard issue. I have also noticed that these stutters might be at least be related to sudden high workloads too. I don't have any concrete evidence to support this second observation but I have noticed that when I'm playing games, more specifically graphically intensive games, this triggers more often. I rarely have any BT/audio issues in games like MC, Risk of Rain, and typical indie games but games like Rainbow Six Siege, Battlefield 1 etc. tend to cause more issues.

Things I have tested/confirmed:

- This is not based on my Bluetooth audio device, my earbuds etc. do stutter in the same way and they don't when paired to other computers/devices.

- I have updated my BIOS

- I have reinstalled/reset Windows many times

- I have installed new Bluetooth/WIFI drivers from Intel's site

- I have gone through all the Windows Settings related to microphones, disabling enhancements, spatial audio etc. - None of which have helped

- Forgetting my audio device and adding it back

- My WIFI card which I use for WIFI and Bluetooth is not the sole culprit - I have tried it with two different WIFI cards with no success

I am starting to believe that its my motherboard since I don't see why scrolling my mouse would cause some other component to freak out. I have tried using different USB ports on my mouse too.

Full List of my Specifications:

Motherboard: MSI B550-A Pro

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600G

GPU: AMD Radeon RX 5700XT (Sapphire Nitro+)

RAM: Corsair Vengeance 2x8GB at 3600MHZ DDR4

Storage: Kingston NV2 512GB NVMe & TeamGroup MPP4L 1TB NVMe

PSU: A 850W C-Tier power Supply i forgot honestly

 

[Ralston18]

Immediate questions:

How old is that PSU - history of heavy use for gaming, video editing, or even bit-mining in past years?

Storage: drives - how full?

= = = =

Learn more about the problem.

Fortunately, Windows has several tools that can help you do so.

Look in Reliability History/Monitor and Event Viewer for any error codes, warnings, or even informational events that may be being logged just before or at the time of the observed stutters. Reliability History/Monitor presents a time line format and you may see a pattern of increasing errors up to and including the Bluetooth (or other) failures.

Another option is to observe what the system is doing or trying to do. Use Task Manager and Resource Monitor to observe system perfomance.

Use both tools but only one tool at a time.

Open the tool window and leave it open. Watch what the system is doing. Then start working the mouse wheel or doing other things that induce stuttering. Look for what changes: specifically what system resources are being used, what is using them, and to what extent.

Note what changes when the stuttering and so forth occurs.

Objective simply being to discover what is or may be going astray.

Then possible fixes can be considered.