For some reason Bluetooth is virtually dead on my mother's Dell M6700.
The laptop is old but adequate desktop replacement for checking email, news, social media, watching YouTube and videoconferencing.
Some time ago the wired USB mouse on my mother's old laptop deteriorated and no other mouse would work. USB seems busted, few ports even have enough power to light up mouse. So I bought her a Bluetooth mouse. It worked a few days then Bluetooth disappeared from the settings and gets hidden in the Device manager. USB mouse stopped working too.
Windows 10 (64) with dual boot Lubuntu (unfortunately it says that GPU is insufficient for Windows 11)
What I tried so far:
- After removing driver Bluetooth might work several min after reboot, then the Bluetooth indicator as well as Bluetooth on/off option in settings disappear. Sometimes, when Bluetooth indicator lights up for a few minutes after reboot mouse works sometimes not.
- Hardware Aeroplane mode switch does not help.
- Fast startup switched off.
- Bitdefender Antivirus replaced with Avast free, scan found no viruses
- Windows updates says system is up-to-date (Windows 11 incompatible hardware)
- Dell updating software says all drivers up to date.
- The dead battery is removed. (The laptop is used only as a desktop replacement)
- Sometimes battery removal/insert brings back Bluetooth, sometimes it blocks the system
- There could be situation when Bluetooth indicator lights up but mouse do not work and no Bluetooth in Device Manager
Once mouse spontaneously started to work during a Zoom meeting, another time while starting a download, but could be coincidence.
Laptop touch-pad works, but not as comfortable
I consider to use some auxiliary Android device to connect the mouse but hope there is an easier solution
Is there a chance a Windows reinstall can help? I had some bad experience with Windows reinstall on a laptop before, and considering no USB port is available I am wary to take risks
Update(s) in reverse chronological order:
19.04.2024. A replacement battery fixed not only Bluetooth but also the USB port. Thank you @DrMoishePippik
19.03.2024 Record 'green stripe' – a week ago, after some break a mysterious message appeared and the Bluetooth mouse work fine since then. I keep my fingers crossed … unfortunately after a while Bluetooth died, I had to reboot. Occasional reboot is ok with me, but shows the problem is not fully resolved.
I reset the energy consumption from performance to economical and disabled few unused ports. I followed a comment suggestion that i7 is a power hog and an older question about battery removal disabling M6700's discrete GPU, which make me think that without the battery the power supply might struggle with powering auxiliary hardware. There are BIOS options to reduce the amount of cores or disable hyper-threading, I may try that too. Few time when Bluetooth disappeared I removed or put back the dead battery, and Bluetooth reappears. It seems faster than going for reboot/driver delete. Yet on recent attempts battery removal/insert turned off the laptop, not sure what was done differently.
Also I am trying using old Android cell phone with Unified Remote app as back up solution if laptop's Bluetooth goes south. Surprisingly, cell screen it is more comfortable than build-in track-pad. I hear some remote mouse apps respond to tilting of the cell but failed to install it.
Best Answer
If none of the USB ports work well, the power supply and/or battery may be dying. Some laptops are designed so that the battery provides a boost at peak usage, e.g., when booting or powering USB devices, and the power supply just provides enough to keep the battery charged. Since the laptop has an i7, occasionally demanding more power, a weak battery could be causing the issues.
Replacement batteries are advertised for US$32 and up. Check the current battery status, and replace it if needed. It makes much more sense than waiting for such an excellent machine to stop completely.