I recently finished building a PC with an MSI MAG X870 TOMAHAWK WIFI motherboard. Windows recognizes the Bluetooth adapter and shows the driver correctly in Device Manager, and the system can scan for nearby devices. However, no devices appear when my earbuds are placed in pairing mode, even though the earbuds connect successfully to two other laptops. I have already removed and reinstalled the Bluetooth driver through Windows and MSI Center. What else should I check?
2 Answers
Rather than relying on automatic installation tools, download the latest Bluetooth and chipset drivers directly from the motherboard manufacturer’s support page and install them manually. Also confirm that Bluetooth is enabled in Windows and try removing any previously saved earbud entries before pairing again.
Make sure the motherboard’s external antenna is connected. On many boards, the Wi‑Fi and Bluetooth radios share the same antenna assembly, so Bluetooth can have very limited range—or fail to discover devices entirely—without it. The antenna may be labeled for Wi‑Fi 7, but it is still used by the Bluetooth hardware.
I only received one antenna assembly with the motherboard, and it was labeled for Wi‑Fi 7. I wasn’t sure whether Bluetooth needed a separate one.
I tried installing the drivers manually as well. Device Manager shows them as installed, but the computer still scans without finding any nearby devices.