Bluetooth headphone problems?

[gman713]

After the firmware update (as well as before the update), I paired multiple headphones and BT speakers and noticed I could be playing some music from the built in speakers and notice the music never automatically switches to the BT device even though my headphones state they are connected. I also check my BT settings and it shows the device is connected. For some reason my SP4 keeps forgetting to switch the audio to the BT device. Is this normal for the SP4 or is this just a windows 10 typical issue? The only fix I have found was to unpair and repair my device. This really doesn't seem practical to me.

 

[sharpuser]

Unfortunately, this is by design, mostly because of the issue about how to handle multiple Bluetooth audio devices. Windows would not know which one should receive the audio. In my case, for example, I might have two or three BT devices around, all of which are paired. I don't want Windows sending audio there without my supervision. As I walk my Tablet from room to room at home, I don't want the audio device to be switching. Mobile devices usually do the routing automatically, however.

A controversy, of course.

Your best workaround is probably to keep a shortcut handy for the audio device settings, rather than unpairing and re-pairing.

This problem has been around since Windows Vista days. See:
The audio output is not automatically routed to a Bluetooth audio device in Windows ...

 

[gman713]

Thanks! I guess that's good that my system isn't broken. Seems weird because my Plantronics AD2P mono headset connects every time but my Bose and Jaybird headset are a hit and miss. I'll try following the instructions next time it happens and see if it works.