Bluetooth Mouse Losing Connection No More!

Microsoft Bluetooth Notebook Mouse 5000
Microsoft Bluetooth Notebook Mouse 5000

I have a Microsoft Bluetooth Notebook Mouse 5000 that I bought when I bought my new Thinkpad with built-in Bluetooth. At the time I was running 64-bit Vista and all was well. Then I upgraded to 64-bit Windows 7, and suddenly the mouse started constantly losing connection.

There was no detectable pattern. It would work fine for a while, and then start disconnecting all the time for no apparently reason. Sometimes it would not wake up after sleeping, but sometimes it would quit while I was using it. At first I got it going again by removing the mouse from the list of Bluetooth devices and then adding it back in. That took too much time. Then, by accident, I discovered that I could wake it up by opening my Bluetooth settings and toggling the checkbox “Allow Bluetooth devices to find this computer”. If it was off I’d turn it on, if it was on I’d turn it off. That was faster, but still a pain.

I searched the internet and found many similar complaints, but no solutions. Several sites suggested upgrading your Bluetooth drivers. There’s no new driver for the Microsoft mouse, but I updated the Thinkpad Bluetooth drivers. No joy. Then the other day the mouse started quitting on me every few minutes and in desperation I searched again. This time I found the answer. There are two separate settings that need to be changed.

Bluetooth Support Service Setting

Part 1 of the solution is buried in this Microsoft Knowledgebase article:

Connect a Bluetooth device that does not have or require a transceiver

And I quote:

How to make sure that the Bluetooth service is started

  1. Open the Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in for Services. To do this, follow these steps.

     

    Windows Vista or Windows 7

    1. Click StartVista Start Button, copy and then paste (or type) the following command in the Start Search box, and then press ENTER: services.msc
    2. In the Programs list, click Services.

      Security Shield
      If you are prompted for an administrator password or for confirmation, type the password, or click Continue.

    Windows XP

    1. Click Start, and then click Run.
    2. Copy and then paste (or type) the following command in the Open box, and then press ENTER: services.msc
  2. Double-click the Bluetooth Support service.
  3. If the Bluetooth Support service is stopped, click Start.
  4. On the Startup type list, click Automatic.
  5. Click the Log On tab.
  6. Click Local System account.
  7. Click OK.
  8. If you prompted to restart the computer, click Yes.

My log on settings were okay, but my Startup Type was set to “Manual” rather than “Automatic”. I changed it, like so:

Bluetooth Support Services Properties

Bluetooth Power Management Setting

But sadly, my problem wasn’t solved. So then I tried something else. I opened up Device Manager, expanded “Bluetooth Radios”, and double-clicked on the device to open its Properties page – not the enumerator, the device.

Double click the device (highlighted), not the enumerator
Double click the device (highlighted), not the enumerator

Go to the Power Management page and clear the checkbox “Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power”. And finally, relief! No more disconnects. Apparently there is a bug in the power management of the Bluetooth driver under Windows 7.

Uncheck 'Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power'
Uncheck 'Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power'

I can’t say for sure that the first step of making the Bluetooth Support Service automatic is necessary, or just turning off power management would fix it. It doesn’t hurt to change it to automatic so I didn’t test this. If you test it, post your results. Are both changes needed, or do you just need to turn off power management to stop losing connection?

302 thoughts on “Bluetooth Mouse Losing Connection No More!

  1. I have been having the same issue with my brand new HP Desktop, just reset the two settings, so we’ll see! Thanks!

  2. Thank you sooo much.
    I have tried many things until this bluetooth service changing issue.
    It worked for me as well

  3. you’re so smart 😉 I was at a complete loss, the power management was the fix. Thanks for taking the time to post.

  4. For those having trouble finding the Power Management Tab, right click each Bluetooth device individually looking at their properties – only one will have a Power Management Tab, that is the Bluetooth Controller for your system.

    I am running Windows 8.1 on a Sony VAIO and had the same problem.

    Thanks Sheryl

  5. Amazing! I’m running windows 7 and changing the Bluetooth Power Management Settings worked for me.

    Thank you very much. This has saved me a lot of frustration.

  6. @OP
    Thank you so much for this guide!! I have had problems with my Microsoft Bluetooth Keyboard and this fixed the problem!

  7. Worked Like an Absolute charm, even with my Apple Magic mouse on my win 7 machine..thanks a million..!

  8. Had this problem with my Dell Inspiron 7 3737 Laptop and it drove me nuts.

    What I did was uninstall the *Dell* Bluetooth Adapter in device manager (select “delete all installed drivers” in the upcoming dialog), then scan for hardware changes and let the *Generic* Bluetooth Adapter do its work instead. It installed automatically, without any further driver installation.

    After that, go to properties of the Generic Adapter and in tab Power Management uncheck “Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power”.

    That’s pretty much it.

  9. Thanks for this blog. amazing! but in 4 years no solution for my problem.
    I have Thinkpad T410i (Windows7 x64) and BT mouse Logitech M555b.
    With my previous notebook (Thinkpad R61) in was enough to update Logitech software (SetPoint). But with T410i I have updated all possible drivers and software, but the mouse time to time loosing BT connection. And help this blog it was a great idea to look in a system services. Among other I find “Logitech Bluetooth Service”. This service was Manual and off. After activating coming BT devices connecting dialog. My mouse was second time connected through Logitech Software and since this the mouse work smoothly.
    Good luck to everyone!

  10. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! This absolutely solved my problem with my HP ZBook17. It simply turned off Bluetooth in a maddening fashion that made Bluetooth with it useless. This solution did the trick for me. THANKS!!

  11. It was the power management setting that solved the problem for me. I unchecked that box and my bluetooth mouse has worked just fine ever since. I’m in Windows 8.1. Strange that this bug hasn’t been fixed by Microsoft yet. I have a Toshiba laptop bought May of 2014. I first tried using a cordless USB mouse and this same thing happened to it. Then I bought a Toshiba bluetooth mouse thinking it had to work. Same problem as the USB mouse. After I unchecked the power setting box for the bluetooth I looked into the USB input device settings and the same box for allowing the computer to turn off USB input was was there too! As soon as I got my laptop I set the overall power settings so that the computer was always on, but who would have thought that the bluetooth and USB settings were separate. Oh yes, in a previous attempt to fix this problem I had a Toshiba Level Two tech support person who took over my computer remotely and tried to install new drivers etc etc. When he failed to fix the problem and asked me if I had any important files on my computer I knew that he wasn’t going to make things better……

  12. This worked for my Asus Board on custom built Desktop. Thank you for taking time to research and fix the problem, my Sculpt mouse is not freezing anymore.

  13. usb interface power management uncheck this box , turns usb things to sleep , i have dell inspriron 11 3000 series with a microsoft blue tooth mouse with a micro dongle plugged in to the usb port .

    bloody hell seems to of fixed it , my angry hand can take a rest

  14. try on network adapters and find your bluetooth device(built in) that’s where i found power management on my lenovo ideapad flex but still has same issue, it loses connection after long/short term idle. the only way to reconnect again is to touch the screen(too hassle -_-). idk if it’s interferring with the touch screen function. any idea to solve my problem?

  15. Followed your steps and at this stage things are going good ,thank you for the information
    Regards
    Peter

  16. Hi Sheryl,
    thanks a lot for sharing how to fix this painful issue. I’m using Logitech V470 Bluetooth mouse for years (on differen laptops with Windows 7 64bit)and always been strugling with unexpected disconection without any pattern. Thank you so much!

  17. I see that this is an older thread, but that folks like myself are still benefiting from it. I’ve been chasing this problem for the better part of a year, and your Power Management tip did the trick. Thanks!

  18. Dear Sheryl,

    I wanted to thank you for writing this blog for badly behaved Bluetooth Mice. I have a Toshiba mouse that was disconnecting randomly (and daring me to smash it to pieces) but having followed your instructions it now works diligently.

    All the Best and Warmest Regards, Ben.

  19. Hallelujah! Thank you! Your post saved my HP Bluetooth Mouse X4000b from dishonest death. It was already misbehaving on Windows XP but it reached new heights on Windows 7. Unchecking “Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power” box put final stop to random disconnects. Nothing wrong with the hardware. Works like a charm now!

  20. Thank you. This was driving me crazy on my Win7-64bit system.
    More than once in the middle of a presentation it dropped and there was no mouse.
    I searched high and low for a solution, but none worked. I ended up plugging in a wired mouse during presentions “just in case”. Now my HP Bluetooth Mouse X4000b will live on.

    FYI – I didn’t need to change the Bluetooth Support Service login account, it remains as the Local Service Account, but I did set it to automatic.

  21. thanks a lot. I’m on window 7-64bit and I have a microsoft sculpt comfort mouse. my setting on second part of the solution (Bluetooth Power Management Setting) was same as you said. your first part of solution about Bluetooth Support Service Setting worked for me and gets me rid of the very often disconnecting.

  22. this is the type of information that is really good on the internet. The problem is that all Windows 7 mouse drivers are not the same. Mine doesn’t have the Power tab. I’ve looked everywhere I can think of including not letting my system go to sleep or hibernate while plugged in but still have the problem. And it is with all Bluetooth devices. I have Bluetooth earphones also and they disconnect also. Without rhyme or reason. Still no solution.

    Thanks to all for the information though.

  23. Sheryl,

    Thanks a lot.. 4 years later and your article saved another man’s day/month/year..
    All the other techgeek-sites couldn’t help me..

    Cheers

  24. As soon as I checked “Local System Account” it started working again without a restart. Thanks for the great info. I was going insane trying to find a solution.

  25. Like others, I have no power management tab in my Broadcom Bluetooth USB dongle. The USB does, though (Gigabyte motherboard.) Under Device Manager, Universal Serial Bus Controllers, USB Root Hub (6 of them), I unchecked the power option for the computer to turn off the device. That did the trick for my Bluetooth speaker (finally, yay!)

  26. Hi Sheryl,

    Thanks a lot for this – power management – information, that worked for me. I had the disconnecting problem with the Logitech K810 wireless bluetooth keyboard in combination with Windows 8.1. (it worked perfect on 7). Can’t believe that Logitech don’t know about this solution…

  27. Hello Sheryl,
    Had the same issue with an HP BT wireless mouse. The mouse still “sleeps” while inactive, but at least it wakes up upon movement now without having to reset the entire connection.

    Thanks so much!!!

    BD

  28. Great! my mouse is working again. Tks
    Maybe you have a solution for my BT keyboard that usually repeats the 1st letter when I start typing.
    Had you any problem like that?

    My best
    Thales

  29. Great, Thanks a bunch. power management under USB controller does the trick too for those who gets frustrated not finding the tab under Bluetooth

  30. Be careful. I changed the logon settings on my Windows 8.1 system, and then Bluetooth was turned off completely. I had lots of trouble getting it to work again. Changing the power setting seems to be a good idea, though.

  31. Harald, I have a Surface Pro (Version 1) running Windows 8.1, and the bluetooth has disappeared twice – not related to this setting, though. I’ve never lost bluetooth mouse connectivity on Windows 8.1, so I didn’t change this setting. To get the bluetooth to come back, and uninstalled the driver and let it reinstall. I don’t know why it happened – hasn’t happened again for a while. Do you have a Microsoft Surface Pro?

  32. Just wanted to share a BIG THANK YOU for this blog post!!! I bought an HDE mini Bluetooth mouse off ebay for $5 and didn’t expect much, but the dang thing would not work on any of my computers for more than a minute. I’ve been in IT for 25+ years so continuing to troubleshoot can be a pain but its bred into me and I could not figure this out. This is one for the books… THANK YOU SO MUCH

  33. Well, I tried all of the above, and the bluetooth mouse kept disconnecting.

    Then I tried the most obvious: replacing the batteries. And that completely fixed it.

    I’ve had the mouse for about 6 mos, and the estimate on (AA) battery life for this HP x4000b Bluetooth mouse was 9 mos at normal usage. I’m a heavy computer user, and never turn off my mouse.

    Replacing the batteries solved the problem.

  34. Totally true, fix also applies to my Logitech Ultrathin T630. Thanks 4 sharing the solution.

  35. It works like magic ! I had been struggling with the issue ever since I bought a new Toshiba bluetooth mouse. I had no control over when it worked and would stop working for no reason. Thanks for this great hack.

  36. YOU ARE AWESOME…Dell was on my computer for an hour and couldn’t fix this and you just helped me fix it in 10 min! THX 🙂

  37. Incredible that MS hasn’t solved this problem with an windows update. Have exactly same mouse, same laptop make, same problem. Just tried your suggested fix – let’s see. Even my IT team have been at a loss in trying to solve this super irritating headache.

    THANKS from South Africa!!!

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