Bluetooth driver 23.30.0, 23.40.0 and 23.50.0 installer removes installed drivers on system

[MichelN86]

So to continue from my old thread (https://community.intel.com/t5/Wireless/Bluetooth-driver-23-30-0-and-23-40-0-installer-bug/m-p/1587825) here is a video to proof the intel bluetooth installer is crap!. My system got messy again because the bluetooth installer removes my installed drivers. This time i put my machine in airplane mode to make sure microsoft update does not interfere. But it is really your installer that is deleting drivers.

Proof: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=42DFOT0SSzQ&feature=youtu.be

Drivers that got deleted during install:
Intel Management Engine Interface #1 - 2406.5.5.0
Intel Dynamic Application Loader Host Interface 1.44.2023.710
GNA Scoring module - 3.5.0.1578
A-Volute - AudioProcessingObject - 4.11.3.0
Nahimic mirroring device - 2.0.4.0
Nahimic Easy Surround device - 2.0.3.0
Realtek Audio Effects Component - 13.336.1178.260
Realtek Audio Univseral Service - 1.0.747.0
Realtek Hardware Support Application - 11.0.6000.327

What is wrong with your installer ? it always happens after using the bluetooth installer!!!!! When i turned airplane mode off, microsoft update installed much older drivers. 1 device did not even got installed at all.

Old drivers that got installed:
Intel Management Engine Interface #1 - NOT FOUND, manually installed it by downloading it from Microsoft Update Catalog.
Intel Dynamic Application Loader Host Interface - 1.41.2021.121
GNA Scoring module got downgraded from - 3.0.0.1400
A-Volute - AudioProcessingObject got downgraded from - 4.10.4
Nahimic mirroring device got downgraded from - 2.0.1.0
Nahimic Easy Surround device got downgraded from - 2.0.2.0
Realtek Audio Effects Component - NOT FOUND, had to use the msi installer to get it back and make it visible again in the device manager.
Realtek Audio Univseral Service - NOT FOUND , had to use the msi installer to get it back and make it visible again in the device manager.
Realtek Hardware Support Application - NOT FOUND , had to use the msi installer to get it back and make it visible again in the device manager.

[GChen33]

i also just had this problem on 2 separate windows machines with bluetooth installer 23.50. Previous versions I did not have any problems. The installer seems to delete random drivers....on one machine it was the intel graphics driver, at least that was easy to rectify. But on the other machine it hosed my Intel storage controller driver rendering Windows unbootable! Intel really needs to look into this....

[MichelN86]

What system do you have ? Can you post the specs ?

[GChen33]

I tried it on a 3rd system and it also deleted drivers, the intel graphics ones. It is 100% the installer that is doing it, during the install the screen blanks out for a couple seconds and when it comes back random drivers/devices are missing. I also rolled back one of my borked systems with a backup disk image I had and tried it again and it did the same thing (deleted my intel rapid storage drivers). This time I made sure to reinstall the intel storage drivers before reboot, so that Windows would not blue screen on boot (which ended up being unrecoverable, even after I used advanced utilities to inject offline the storage drivers back into Windows when it happened the first time).

My investigation so far shows that the installer is not just removing devices, but completely deleting the driver from the Windows DriverStore. The Bluetooth installer appears to delete older Bluetooth drivers when installing the new ones, and I suspect that something in the deletion routine is faulty and it is deleting drivers it shouldn't. It seems to delete different drivers on different systems, I think just based on how different systems have DriverStore databases that are in different orders. Some of these driver deletions are easily recoverable by reinstalling, but deleting certain drivers (like the storage ones) will cause huge havoc and result in unbootable Windows OS and having to reinstall Windows and possibly lose data.

It's happened on every system I've tried, these are the 3 I used it on. I never had any problem with 23.30, 23.40, or any earlier version, only 23.50.

Dell XPS 13 9310 (11th gen)

Dell XPS 13 9315 (12th gen)

LG Gram 17 (2022 version, 12th gen)

[MichelN86]

Thanks for your reply, wonder what intel will say and do about it now. As they did not took my first warning to serious in my other topic.

[GChen33]

I just tried on a fourth system, a Dell Latitude 5421 and it did the same thing, deleted the intel graphics driver. Really hope someone from Intel looks into this

[MichelN86]

Thanks for your confirmation again. Based on your results i can assume laptop users are affected.

1. MSI Crosshair 15 B12UGSZ (12th gen)
2. Dell Latitude 5421 (11th gen)
3. Dell XPS 13 9310 (11th gen)
4. Dell XPS 13 9315 (12th gen)
5. LG Gram 17 (12th gen)

[RamyerM_Intel]

Hello MichelN86, 

Thank you for posting in the communities. I can assure you that we are here to help you regarding the Bluetooth installation issue that you encountered. I did notice that you are referring to Original Equipment Manufacturer Devices, (OEM). 

Please take into consideration that our support may be limited since we are not familiar with the technology, settings, customizations, custom drivers, and features that the OEM has designed and installed your system, nevertheless, I will do my best to assist you with your concern. I just want to ask, by the installer, are you referring to the Intel Driver and Support Assistant? If not, are you manually installing this drivers on our website? I will be waiting for your reply. 

Ramyer M. 

Intel Customer Support Technician 

[MichelN86]

I always install it using your .exe file on the website.

As for the “oem” part, the bluetooth chip is designed by intel and not by msi. If i build my own computer i am not a “oem” either. Stop hiding behind this crap! Your “Intel Driver and Support Assistant” also wants to update if i use the “oem” drivers from the msi site. The same counts for my wifi drivers and my Arc GPU.

[n_scott_pearson]

First of all, the OEMs *do* take - and modify - the firmware for some adapters and Intel does not necessarily validate with any modifications that they make. The ICS Agent are not trying to 'pass the ball'; they simply cannot provide support for the modified firmware; the OEM has to do this.

Secondly, the same goes for the GFX drivers. Many OEMs customize the GFX driver packages to install support for special features (hotkeys, buttons, etc.) of their Laptops and All-In-One PCs. Installing (newer) standard Intel driver packages over top of these (older) customized versions will wipe out these customizations (rendering the features inoperative) and can cause system instability. In cases where this is the possibility, iDSA does ask for permission to install any graphics driver releases. Only you can then control what is installed on your system.

Finally, you ask whether iDSA can be modified to not be useable on OEM systems. Well, 99% of the systems out there *are* OEM systems and the tool simply cannot know which should be stopped.

Bottom line, it's not crap; it's how it is.

...S

[MichelN86]

I never talked about the firmware that can be modified or not, i know oems "can" do this but most of the time they don't change it. The issue i have is not the driver, but the installer. Did you see the video i have posted ?

[RamyerM_Intel]

Hello MichelN86, 

We assure you that our stance on OEM drivers is transparent. While building your own desktop doesn't classify you as an OEM, the situation differs for OEM devices. OEMs customize each component of their systems, including making specific alterations to the products they manufacture. This level of customization is why our support for these devices is limited; although they incorporate our technology, we are unfamiliar to the unique customizations they implement.

We understand your preference for using the most up-to-date drivers available on our website. However, these are generic drivers intended for custom-built desktops. Your system may have certain restrictions on driver installations, so we recommend contacting the original equipment manufacturer for the driver that is best suited to your device. Have you already tried reaching out to them? If you do, it would be beneficial to learn about the OEM's recommendations to aid us in our ongoing investigation of this matter.

I hope I was able to clarify this for you. Should you have future questions or clarifications, feel free to let me know. 

Ramyer M.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[MichelN86]

Hi Raymer,

MSI has nothing to do with your broken installer. I don’t see any reason to reach out to them. When i use my device id and enter it in Microsoft Update Catalog and download the driver only for my device…there is no single issue. It does not even delete other drivers from other devices

With your installer i get issues while it is running and installing, it removes installed drivers from other devices. The driver it self after the installer is finished is perfectly fine. Again the driver is not the issue!

So again…check your installer, it’s not even the same one as the wifi one. The wifi one i can check all the file inside with winrar. The bluetooth installer i cannot.

I am not the only user, someone on this topic has the same issue on 4 different machines.

This is my last post here, i dont get the feeling you guys want to fix this and i don’t want to spend time on it ever again. The fingers always points to the oems and the oems back to the designers. Getting tired of it, i hope more and more users get affected so you might scratch your back and think about this topic again.

The support is just terrible.

My fix: Microsoft Update Catalog.

[RamyerM_Intel]

Hello MichelN86, 

I regret to learn that our support has not met your expectations. I have sent you an email detailing your case. Should you reconsider and wish to proceed with our assistance, please feel free to respond to that email.

Ramyer M. 

Intel Customer Support Technician