Official Bluetooth audio playback method using Intel AX210?

[BobDobbs]

What is the Intel-approved way to pipe a Bluetooth audio source (e.g. phone) in through an AX210, to play back through a Windows PC's audio system?

Please don't say this app on the Windows store:

Bluetooth Audio Receiver - Microsoft Apps

It's a buggy mess, only works maybe 1/3 the time, and hasn't been updated in almost 4 years.

Going into the Windows Bluetooth Devices menu & clicking "connect" does nothing, although the phone has previously been paired with the PC's Bluetooth (provided by AX210).

Why I want to do this: I use one of my Windows 11 PC's with an AX210, while listening to PC audio exclusively via headphones (USB wireless).  It's convenient if I can pipe in audio from my phone using Bluetooth (to listen to podcasts etc.).

Thanks!

[그래요ITech]

To wirelessly stream audio from your phone to your Windows PC using Bluetooth, you can follow these way:

1. Open Settings on your Windows PC.
2. Navigate to Devices.
3. Click on Bluetooth & other devices in the left sidebar.
4. Set the toggle switch at the top to On.
5. To add a new device, click Add Bluetooth or other device.
6. Select Bluetooth.
7. Choose your phone from the list of available devices.

Once paired, you should be able to play audio from your phone through your Windows PC’s audio system. 

The Bluetooth Audio Receiver app from the Windows Store has limitations and may not work reliably. It’s great that you’re looking for an alternative solution.

[BobDobbs]

"Once paired, you should be able to play audio from your phone through your Windows PC’s audio system. "

You're going to have to be more specific.

I have my phone paired to Bluetooth on the Windows 10 machine, where the AX210 seems to work properly so far.

But, there is no obvious way to play audio from the phone through the PC via Bluetooth.  No "Connect" button or anything similar.

[BobDobbs]

Maybe I wasn't clear. I've tried the above technique before, and it did nothing.  The phone would stay "Connected" for a few seconds, but then disconnect.  No ability to stream audio from it to the PC.

If simply clicking "Connect" in the Bluetooth menu is how this is supposed to work, it's been hidden from me so far, using Windows 11.

But...I've been dealing with a broken Bluetooth setup on my Windows 11 machine, since shortly after I built it 2 years ago, apparently.  I have another thread on this forum all about that. 

I only recently got my Windows 10 machine, also using an AX210 adapter, to behave somewhat properly, by doing a System Restore.  I'll try the simple "connect" thing on it, and report back.  I haven't got around to doing a System Restore on the Windows 11 machine, yet.

The method you describe is pretty much how it works under Ubuntu 22.04 on my laptop, which has an AX201.  OS and GUI are not Windows 11 obviously, but it works as you'd expect: "Connect" phone and its audio stream is sent to the laptop over Bluetooth.

[VonM_Intel]

Hi, BobDobbs.

Thank you for posting in our Intel communities.

Just to confirm, when you mention piping in your phone, do you mean you want your wireless Bluetooth to be connected to your PC as well as your phone so you can play audio from both devices?

Also, you told me about your wireless module model, however, I do not have sufficient details about your hardware and software configuration to help you. Please run the SSU report so I can check important details such as OS build#, wireless driver version, errors logged in the system, etc. 

Looking forward to your response. Have a nice day ahead!

Best Regards,

Von M.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[BobDobbs]

I think you are misunderstanding.

I am not trying to troubleshoot an error, I am asking how Bluetooth playback through an AX210 is normally supposed to work.

Yes, I want audio from my phone to be sent through Bluetooth and played back on my PC using its AX210 Bluetooth adapter.

I have 2 PCs with AX210s. 

One, a Windows 11 PC, doesn't work right, and probably needs to be reset/reinstalled.  I am not asking what to do with that one.

On the other, a Windows 10 PC, the AX210 seems to work great e.g. for connecting Bluetooth mouse and keyboard, this PC has the latest Intel Bluetooth drivers installed, etc. 

I have successfully paired my phone's Bluetooth with the Windows 10 PC's AX 210 Bluetooth.  But, I see no way to send audio over Bluetooth to be played back through the PC.  This should be possible, but I can't see how to do it.

I have not found any Intel documentation telling me how, which is why I started this thread.

[BobDobbs]

From what I'm reading elsewhere, and personal experience, it appears that:

1) Windows 11 does not have any native way to connect an A2DP source (e.g. Bluetooth audio stream from my phone).

2) You get such an app only if your Bluetooth hardware manufacturer chooses to supply such.  For example, a Kinivo BTD-400 Bluetooth 4.0 adapter I used for years came with a handy Bluetooth player app that worked very well.

Unfortunately, I haven't found any way to import the player from the BTD-400 driver suite & use it with my Intel AX210.  At least,  not yet.

Windows seems to get upset if you try to have more than one Blueooth adapter active at one time, so I hesitate to try that.

[BobDobbs]

FWIW, since previous posts, I seem to have got the BT situation fixed on my Windows 11 PC.  All it took was a System Reset (i.e. "Windows Reinstall Lite").

The AX210, and its drivers, now are behaving themselves.

I still don't see any way to stream audio from my phone (either of them) to the PC.  After I pair the phone with the AX210, there is no "Connect" button or anything similar, only a "Remove" button next to the phone under Bluetooth devices.

If I start playing audio on the phone, it plays through the phone's speaker.

Out of desperation, I tried the infamous Bluetooth Audio Player app from the Windows App Store.  It did work, at least temporarily, but I don't want to rely on it for reasons discussed earlier.

Something I have not yet tried: Microsoft's Windows 11-native "Phone Link" application for Android, detailed here:

Sync Your Smartphone to Your Windows Computer | Microsoft

mostly because, I am not a big Microsoft account guy (still using a Local account for machine sign-in), and do not particularly want my contacts etc. synced to the PC.  But, maybe it's time to try.  Phone Link says you can use it to make and receive phone calls on the linked PC, so it must be doing some kind or degree of connecting the phone as a BT audio source.

[JayB_Intel · Accepted solution]

Hello BobDobbs,

We appreciate sharing your findings and the workaround with us. Please be informed that Intel® Wireless Adapters supports all Windows® 10 native Bluetooth® profiles including A2DP.

It appears that currently Microsoft supports the A2DP source role and doesn't support the sink role on Windows® 10 for desktop editions. This means you can use Intel Bluetooth on Windows® 10 to send audio to other Bluetooth devices, such as a speaker, but you won’t be able to receive audio from other Bluetooth devices via A2DP. For example, you won’t be able to stream music from your mobile phone to speakers on a Windows® 10 PC.

If you're looking for A2DP sink support on Windows® 10, you may consider providing feedback directly to Microsoft via their Feedback Hub App.

However, we will do further research and investigation on this matter with Windows 11 and post the response on this thread once available.

Best regards,

Jay B.

[BobDobbs]

Tried it, unfortunately the Phone Link app (with its companion Windows Link app on the Phone) also does not seem to do anything to feed a general purpose A2DP source to Windows 11. No way to pipe in podcasts etc as far as I can tell.

Supposedly you can use Phone Link to make and receive phone calls through Windows. Doing so clearly would require a 2 way Bluetooth audio link, but it doesn't seem to extend to playing back any other type of sounds from phone to PC. A shame.

Update: no, Phone Link definitely doesn't let you connect an A2DP source.  It does allow you to control an audio app playing on the phone, but there is no way to listen to it through the PC.  Crazy.

[VonM_Intel]

Hi, BobDobbs,

I appreciate your response and we're sorry for the long wait. As we've checked, Windows 11 supports Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) version: 1.3.2. This technology will allow you to use Bluetooth Audio Playback with the A2DP sink. However, for actual steps on how to use the A2DP sink within Windows 11, it would be best to contact Microsoft Support for guidance, you may refer to this link: (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us).

Best Regards,

Von M.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[BobDobbs]

See, there's the problem. Windows 11 "supports" connecting an A2DP source, but doesn't give you any way to actually do so.

I made a feature request in Feedback Hub.

[BobDobbs]

FWIW, I looked in the Microsoft Apps store within Windows 11, and found the following:

There is an app called "Bluzic" that is actively supported by its developer.  It does exactly what we've been discussing here: lets you connect a Bluetooth A2DP source to Windows 11, or as the app puts it, "use your PC as a Bluetooth speaker."

Bluzic does so flawlessly, so far.  Perhaps because the app has been updated recently, including performance improvements.

Maybe worth a try, if you have an Intel AX210 and want to connect your phone to your PC the way I do.

[VonM_Intel]

Hi, BobDobbs.

I appreciate your response and I agree with you that this technology will allow you to use Bluetooth Audio Playback with the A2DP. 

At this rate, we will now be proceeding to close it. Please keep in mind that this thread will no longer be monitored by Intel.

Best Regards,

Von M.

Intel Customer Support Technician