Windows 11 to get improved Bluetooth device discoverability

Microsoft will soon change how Bluetooth device discoverability works in its operating system. If you frequently connect various Bluetooth accessories to your PC, you might have noticed that some devices do not appear in the list of available peripherals.

That is because the current Windows 11 version filters out uncommon devices, say, a smart scale or temperature sensor. To make it work, you must change a specific option in the Settings app, which is slightly unintuitive and confusing. Microsoft now wants to change that and simplify things.

Windows 11 build 26052, which was released last week in the Dev and Canary Channels, changes how Bluetooth discoverability works. The operating system now properly detects all nearby devices and filters out uncommon types into a separate list. It no longer requires changing settings, and you can access your exotic peripherals by clicking the "Show all devices" option below the list of nearby Bluetooth devices.

Those with Windows 11 version 24H2 build 26052 can access the "Show all devices" option in the Quick Access menu or when scanning for Bluetooth accessories in the Settings app. If you are on the stable release and want to make sure your computer "sees" all devices nearby, go to Settings > Bluetooth & Devices > Devices and select "Advanced" from the drop-down menu.

Windows 11 build 26052 has plenty of other neat changes in the Settings app. There is now a new utility for checking how your microphone processing works, a tool for managing color profiles, a new accessibility feature that lets you make Windows 11 speak text using your voice, and even a built-in AI upscaler.

Note that build 26052 has a few quite notable issues that result in games crashing to green screens of death and even broken partitions with data loss when rolling back, and users have also experienced installation failure issues too.

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