Bluetooth

[m1k3l]

Hello. I have a Victus by HP Gaming Laptop 15-fa0xxx, product number 979R8UA#ABA, running Windows 11 25H2.

The internal Bluetooth started failing intermittently. Bluetooth connects, but when I play audio over Bluetooth it disconnects after a few minutes. It happened while using an Echo Dot as Bluetooth audio output, but the issue seems to be with the internal Bluetooth adapter, not the external device.

Observed symptoms:

- Device Manager showed MediaTek Bluetooth Adapter with Code 43: “Windows has stopped this device because it has reported problems.”
- It later appeared as Generic Bluetooth Adapter.
- Sometimes Bluetooth disappears from Windows Settings or appears disabled even when the toggle is on.
- PowerShell showed the adapter as not present/phantom:
CM_PROB_PHANTOM
Present: False
- Wi-Fi works normally.

Steps already tried:

- Normal restart.
- Full shutdown / power drain by holding the power button.
- Uninstalling and reinstalling the Bluetooth device from Device Manager.
- Downloaded the official HP MediaTek Bluetooth driver package SP153771.
- Forced driver installation with:
pnputil /add-driver "C:\SWSetup\SP153771\*.inf" /subdirs /install
- Ran:
pnputil /scan-devices
- Checked Bluetooth devices with:
Get-PnpDevice -Class Bluetooth

The driver appears to install, but the problem returns when Bluetooth audio is used. Should I install an additional chipset, WLAN, BIOS/firmware driver, or does this point to a failing internal Bluetooth module?

Thank you.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

The only suggestion I can offer would be to update the MediaTek Bluetooth driver to the latest version HP currently has:

MediaTek Bluetooth Driver

sp172694.exe

- Provides general improvements to enhance overall reliability.

- Includes the following drivers:

MT7902 Driver, version 1.1146.0.575

MT7920 Driver, version 1.1146.0.575

MT7921 Driver, version 1.3.17.168

MT7922 Driver, version 1.1146.0.575

MT7925 Driver, version 1.1146.0.576

[tap98]

did you find a solution?

[VikramTheGreat]

Hi @tap98,

Thank you for sharing the complete PC configuration, Windows version, driver versions, failure pattern, and troubleshooting history. This information is very helpful, particularly the fact that Bluetooth disappears completely, Device Manager reports Code 43, Wi-Fi continues working, and a normal restart does not recover Bluetooth while a complete power reset does.

I reviewed the information. Based on the symptoms and the improvement you saw after installing MediaTek Bluetooth driver 1.3.17.168 (SP172694), I would proceed as follows.

Recommended steps
1. Keep the HP MediaTek Bluetooth driver 1.3.17.168 installed
Since SP172694 improved the situation from approximately 2 hours to 4–5 hours, I would not replace it with a generic MediaTek driver at this point. The improvement is useful evidence that the driver/software path is involved.

2. Perform an HP power reset when Bluetooth fails
HP documents a power reset for notebooks with a non-removable battery:

1. Shut down the notebook. 
2. Disconnect the AC adapter. 
3. Disconnect non-essential USB/peripheral devices. 
4. With the AC adapter disconnected, hold the Power button for approximately 15 seconds. 
5. Reconnect the AC adapter and start the notebook. 

This does not erase your personal data. The fact that this procedure restores Bluetooth in your case is important.

3. If Code 43 returns, reinstall the Bluetooth device
HP's guidance for Device Manager Code 43 is to reinstall the device driver. 
When Bluetooth is available:

• Open Device Manager. 
• Expand Bluetooth. 
• Right-click MediaTek Bluetooth Adapter. 
• Select Uninstall device. 
• Restart Windows. 
• Check whether the Bluetooth adapter returns and test it again. 

HP also recommends uninstalling the Bluetooth device and restarting when the Bluetooth driver is in an error state. 

4. Continue using only HP-provided drivers
Given that the problem started after the June Windows update and the subsequent HP/MediaTek driver changes occurred after the issue had already begun, I would not recommend BIOS recovery, CMOS reset, or randomly rolling back Windows updates at this stage. There is not enough evidence to justify those procedures.

The rest of the post continues below

[VikramTheGreat]

Continuation following the above post

What makes your case unusual
The combination of:

• Bluetooth completely disappearing from Windows, 
• MediaTek Bluetooth Adapter – Code 43, 
• Wi-Fi continuing normally, 
• failure after several hours rather than immediately, 
• failure occurring both during normal use and after Sleep, 
• and recovery only after a complete power reset, 

suggests that the Bluetooth adapter is entering a hardware/driver error state rather than this being simply a missing Bluetooth setting.

The fact that SP172694 / 1.3.17.168 significantly increased the time before failure is encouraging, but because the problem has not disappeared completely, I would not consider the issue resolved yet.

If it happens again
Before performing the power reset, capture a screenshot of:
Device Manager → MediaTek Bluetooth Adapter → Properties → General

showing Code 43, and another screenshot of the Driver tab showing the installed version.

Then perform the HP power reset and check whether Bluetooth returns.

If Code 43 continues to recur with the HP driver installed, the next appropriate step is HP hardware diagnostics/service evaluation rather than repeatedly reinstalling the same driver. At that point, the recurring adapter failure needs to be distinguished from a Windows/driver problem.

Based on the information you provided, I would keep the SP172694 driver, use the documented HP power reset when the failure occurs, perform one clean Bluetooth driver reinstall if Code 43 returns, and escalate to hardware diagnostics if the failure continues. This is the safest and most appropriate HP troubleshooting path for the symptoms you have described.