Windows – Latest Windows 10 update (March 2021) broke Bluetooth on mid-2014 MacBook Pro Retina

bluetoothbootcampcatalinawindows

Running Windows 10 on Boot Camp on a MacBook Pro Retina from mid-2014 (with Catalina, if that makes a difference). Bluetooth was working fine till last night. Today it installed a system update and Bluetooth is no longer working on Windows.

In Settings, it says Bluetooth is on and lists all the paired devices (currently only a Voxon mouse). I use a Belkin numeric keypad as well, but when I noticed it wasn’t working I removed the device from the list thinking I could just add it again. Big mistake. Now my computer can't find the keypad when I click on “Add Bluetooth or other device”. The keypad is literally right next to my Mac and has newly charged batteries. I also tried with a different pair of batteries at about half charge, so it isn’t that. It works perfectly with macOS.

My mouse doesn’t work either despite it showing up on the list of paired devices (again, tried changing the batteries without success). Again, works with macOS.

I thought it was a driver problem, but I can’t find a list of drivers for Belkin keypads on Belkin’s website, Apple’s website or Google. All the Google results I can find for BlueTooth issues on Windows on Boot Camp are from 2016 or earlier and terribly outdated.

Thanks for any help.

Edit:

Tried uninstalling the system updates (Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features > Installed Updates > Microsoft Windows). It showed three updates:

  • “Servicing Stack 10.0.19041.860”
  • “Security Update for Microsoft Windows (KB5000802)”
  • “Feature Update to Windows 10 20H2 via Enablement Package something something something”

It would only let me uninstall the latter two. Bluetooth still not working.

Another edit (07 May 2021):

Restoring a previous OS version didn’t work.

A few weeks after I reported the problem here, the computer decided to detect BlueTooth devices properly again (no updates in the meantime). This lasted for a few weeks before the problem spontaneously appeared again (no updates in the meantime). It’s been like that, a few weeks on and a few weeks off, since then.

Best Answer

Windows has the ability to create restore points. You can return Windows to a pre-update state by using System Restore. Restore points are often created automatically by Windows before the install of a major update. Restore points can also be created manually by the user. Below is a image of the System Restore tab of System Properties.

Selecting the System Restore button opens the window shown below.

By selecting the Choose a different restore point radio button followed by the Next button, a list of restore points can be displayed, as shown below.

You may want to create a restore point before making a major update to Windows. A restore point can be deleted later to save space.

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