[Bug] Bluetooth AC-3165 sound stutters nonstop when I rewind a video on a website.

[JD_]

Hello,

I have an Inspiron i5577 with AC-3165 w/BT. For a long time now, sometimes when I rewind a video on Firefox or Chrome, on any website, with a fresh Windows 10 installation, the video and audio becomes choppy. Imagine looking at a video that only plays 1 Frame Per Second. It plays for quarter of a second, stops, plays again, stops, etc. Once the stutter begins, every sound played through other sources such as local MP3 or Windows notification sound also stutter.

If I rewind videos on a local MP4 file it never starts stuttering. It never starts stuttering with wired earphones. The stutter is always initiated when changing a video playback position on the browser. The more frequently I change the position, the more likely it stutters. Sometimes it stutters only for a second after rewinding but continues to play. When this initial one-time stutter happens, it always starts stuttering permanently after subsequent rewinding. Rewind once - it stutters once but plays fine. Rewind again - it stutters forever.

I have tested it with two BT headsets manufactured by different companies, as well as on two web browsers. The problem is with the Bluetooth adapter or drivers.

I have followed Mr. Carlos A.'s advice to reinstall WiFi and BT adapters but that hasn't solved it (tried Dell's WiFi/BT drivers too).

To temporarily fix the problem I disable and re-enable the BT adapter. The BT headphone automatically pairs and it plays fine after the reset. Sometimes the stutter happens multiple times in 10 minutes, sometimes once an hour. It makes media consumption through BT highly unpleasant.

I've attached Intel System utility log to this thread with a hope that someone can help troubleshoot it. I'm willing to go through technical steps. Thanks in advance!

EDIT: Here is a more detailed look at the problem. Open a YouTube video and play. Click on a rewind bar to skip ahead. Do it again. It starts stuttering. Click on Windows 10 notification button (bottom-right corner of taskbar) and from the action panel click on the Bluetooth card twice to disable and re-enable. Once the Bluetooth is disabled, what surprises me is that the video automatically stops. If I try to rewind the video while BT is being reset, it won't play. The video starts playing automatically on its own once the BT finishes resetting and pairs the BT headset. As soon as its automatically paired the video resumes with a proper sound.

[idata]

Hello smartphone,

Both of your headsets use Bluetooth® 4.1, and your adapter uses 4.2, so there shouldn't be any issues on that front.Now, as far as adapter replacements go, only your computer manufacturer can give you certainty that the new part will work. Some manufacturers even limit which adapters can be installed on their computers through a BIOS white-list. Your current adapter and the replacements in question all use the same M.2 2240 form factor and antenna connectors, making them good candidates. They do use a https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000005559/network-and-i-o/wireless-networking.html different driver, but that isn't necessarily a red flag. - https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000005846/network-and-i-o/wireless-networking.html Why Doesn't My Laptop Recognize My New Intel® Wireless Adapter?- https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000005687/network-and-i-o/wireless-networking.html Regulatory Information Regarding Wireless Hardware Installation or Upgrade.While looking for some type pre-approved replacement adapter's list (didn't find one), I came across your computer's service manual. Page 35 covers the physical replacement process for the wireless adapter:NOTE: Any links provided for third party tools or sites are offered for your convenience and should not be viewed as an endorsement by Intel® of the content, products, or services offered there. We do not offer support for any third party tool mentioned here.- http://topics-cdn.dell.com/pdf/inspiron-15-5577-gaming-laptop_service%20manual_en-us.pdf Dell Inspiron* 15 5577 Gaming Laptop Service ManualBest regards,Carlos A.

[idata]

Hello smartphone,

Did the upgrade help?Best regards,Carlos A.

[JD_]

I haven't purchased a unit yet. Just recently confirmed which cards are compatible with this PC. Will post here once the upgrade is done.

[idata]

Hello smartphone,

Glad you were able to confirm compatibility, that's always an important step.We look forward to hearing back from you once you get the part.Best regards,Carlos A.

[JD_]

Installed AC-9260 and clean flashed the drivers (same exe as for 3165) but the stutter happened again. I'm out of ideas at this point.

[idata]

Hello smartphone,

Please bear with us while we check with our resources on this.Best regards,Carlos A.

[idata]

Hello Smartphone,

Could you please clear, reproduce the issue, and then share your event viewer logs?1. Press Win+R to open Run dialog2. Enter: eventvwr.msc and press OK3. On the left hand panel, expand Windows* Logs4. Right click on System and choose to "Clear Log..." > Clear5. Reproduce the stuttering issue, write down the time.6. Repeat steps 1 to 37. Right click on System and choose to "Save All Events As..." > Choose name > Save > "Display information for these languages:" > English > OKBest regards,Carlos A.

[JHold3]

Hey smartphone,

I recently encountered a very similar problem and it took me a while to track down, but I hope this helps you.

My issue had to do with what seemed to be path congestion, especially with USB devices.

If you have a high IO USB device, it seems to affect Bluetooth. For example, if you are playing a video game or copying a large file from/to a USB device, and play sound over bluetooth, the system seems to have trouble keeping up with the bluetooth connection.

My uninformed degree in guessology makes me think that because disk IO is in the kernel space, and bluetooth is in the user space, disk trumps bluetooth in prioritization. If you move your high IO to something like SATA, it seems to go away. It's hard to spot. Open your performance monitor and go to disk. Then look for Queue length on your USB device. The spike probably correlates to drop outs on your BT device.

I hope this is your problem as well! Good luck!

[JD_]

The Event log is always empty, just an info card about wiping logs and nothing about an error.

The stuttering still happens without any USB devices connected to the PC.

[JD_]

The stutter no longer happens on Google Chrome with the latest version of Windows 10 1803 April Update, GPU and BT drivers. It still happen with Firefox, although not nearly as often as before.

Could Microsoft's massive changes to Bluetooth drivers have helped? https://winaero.com/blog/new-bluetooth-features-in-windows-10-april-2018-update/ https://winaero.com/blog/new-bluetooth-features-in-windows-10-april-2018-update/

The Bluetooth headset now acts differently. Changing the volume will produce an audio "beep". It can control Cortana. Bluetooth 5 is now supported (although headset is 4.x). It's strange that Firefox still has this issue. Could also be a graphics problem because both browsers handle video decoding/encoding differently, and my person experience shows that graphics issues can cause a host of other seemingly unrelated problems. Time will tell. I'm back to using the AC-3165 device, by the way.

[idata]

Hello smartphone,

Thanks for the update. Good to hear this last build has helped.

As always, it's possible that this is an OS sided issue, but make sure to keep an eye out for our upcoming Bluetooth® driver and let us know if it makes a difference.

Best regards,

Carlos A.

Edit smartphone: https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/27760 Intel® Wireless Bluetooth® for Windows® 10 Version: 20.50.1 is now available. This updates to driver version 20.50.1.2 for your Intel® Dual Band Wireless-AC 3165.

[BToot]

exactly same problem (brand new fresh install latest manufacturer drivers Precision 7710, headset marshall II), peachy with cord and other devices, stutter on bluetooth with w10. tho after trying almost EVERY "fix" out there, noticed small improvement by disabling bluetooth discovery, stutter appearing rarer, some days even without once, now just have to connect headset manually every time, but worth it and w10 now gets a bit less deserved nut kicking in my thoughts, but still with this years now unresolved issue all the microsoft management deserving huge slap with shovel!

[idata]

Hi fedup96,

We wanted to let you know that we recently released the Bluetooth driver package version https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/27867/Intel-Wireless-Bluetooth-for-Windows-10?product=89450 20.60.0, this includes fixes for audio choppiness in the Hands Free Profile (HFP) in Windows® 10. Feel free to run this driver package and let us know if you notice improvement on audio playback using your headset. Regards,Leonardo L

[BToot]

did not help, issue still there

[idata]

Hi fedup96,

In case the issue persists, we can also recommend using the IT admin drivers for Bluetooth which you can download https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/27868/Intel-Wireless-Bluetooth-for-IT-Administrators here. Since these are Zip files, the way to install them is different from the regular PRO/Set Wireless software, these have to be installed via Device manager. Make sure to unzip the driver to an easy location.- You can do the following steps to fully remove the current drivers: 1) Uninstall the Intel® Wireless Bluetooth® from the apps list or control panel. 2) Open Device manager > Bluetooth > Intel® Wireless Bluetooth, right click it and uninstall it. Check the box to delete the driver software if prompted. 3) Reboot the system, reopen the device manager and locate the Bluetooth device. 4) Right click it, click on update driver software > Browse my computer for driver software and point it to the extracted driver folder. 5) Let the driver install and after this, reboot one more time to apply the changes. Finally test the Bluetooth and hopefully this will improve the functionality of the profile used.We hope this recommendations help on this issue. Regards,Leonardo L

[BToot]

issue still there.

with all that pc power and can't make it work? for god's sake, learn from weak android, which don't make a single lag in sound while listening audio

[Jaroslaw]

Hello,

I also have been fighting the shutter problem. Laptop Dell 7566 + AC-3165

After updating to newer wersion of WiFi dirver I noticed that during large data transmission my bluletooth mouse started to shutter. Also bluetooth speaker started to shutter.

Finally I have found on one of internet forums (overclock.net) the solution for me. I reversed the driver to version 17.15.0.5.

My proble has gone.

Maybe that could be helpfull to correct it in future driver versions for AC-3165