XPS 15 - 9550 Bluetooth Issues

Hi Everyone,

I had a look at the XPS 15 9550 list of hardware and software problems thread but couldnt find any mention of this problem. Not sure if anyone else has come across this (or found a solution!)

I have a Logitech Bluetooth MX Master mouse which I have paired perfectly to two other laptops (Dell Insprion 15 and Asus U36JC) and its worked perfectly. With the 9550 however, once I paired it (and had to try pairing it a few times) the mouse seemed very laggy making it unusable.

Checked on the internet and I solved part of the problem by going to the Properties of the WiFi adapter -> Advanced -> Bluetooth Collaboration and Disabled it. This made the mouse usable unless the laptop is using WiFi. Try loading a big webpage, downloading a file or something and the mouse starts getting laggy and unusable again.

Has anyone else come across this? Any fixes? I'm sure this applies to any bluetooth mouse.

 

Yes, I had exactly the same issues (plus BT headset with distorted audio) and solved it by replacing the Broadcom card with Intel 8260. Slower (if you have a 3x access point, has only two antennas) but had no issues with it at all.

 

Was it easy to replace the broadcom card? I believe I did once see someone replacing the WiFi adapter with an Intel card, though not sure what the model was. Anyway how to find other compatible cards?

I'm guessing this would void the warranty?

 

It's very easy, just the screw holding it is longer than its socket so if you if you drive it too tight you will break the socket from the chassis. Awesome design, had to use superglue. As for the warranty I don't know what is the Dell policy and I don't care.

Probably any card in m.2 2230 format will work. For Intel you need the 8260NGW version. The Broadcom works fine with BT as long as you're on 5GhZ wifi.

 

I have the same problem with my MX Master and the 9550. Fortunately I use the laptop with the TB15 dock (and Ethernet) most of the time and keep the Wi-Fi turned off, but any time the Wi-Fi is turned on the mouse is unusable so I use the trackpad. Eventually I'll get a new wireless router and use 5Ghz but for now this is a pain.

Btw, really like the MX Master and the ability to use it with 3 different computers.

 

Slower? Can you elaborate?

 

I don't want to replace the card on my new laptop. Is this a driver issue that will get worked out? Having wireless audio is kind of important for my setup

 

No, swapping out a part on your own does not void the warranty coverage for the rest of the system.

In the US, the States have consumer protection laws that protect against this. If a manufacturer wants to deny a warranty claim because of an unrelated modification performed by the customer, then they need to prove that the damage is related to that modification. For example, Dell can't deny a warranty claim on a defective monitor, simply because you replaced the wireless card; unless they can show that the wireless card is somehow related to the damaged monitor.

But if you ever need to send your laptop to Dell for repair (instead of on-site technician repair), then its a good idea to restore your laptop to factory hardware configuration. The reason is because Dell always has the option to just give you a new (as in refurbished) laptop, if they decide that's its faster and cheaper that trying to repair your laptop. If they do that, you would lose whatever self-installed hardware that was in your laptop. If you put a 1TB SSD in your laptop, and send it in for repair, there's a chance you'd get that laptop back with a 256GB SSD, because that is on dells record of the original system configuration you bought.


Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

 

2x2 max speed 867 Mbps (Intel)
3x3 max speed 1.3 Gbps (Broadcom)

So if you're using a 3x3 access point Intel will be slower.

 

Its an easy swapout - just remove the rear cover and one screw and pop the 3 leads off.

Here's a picture of it for you, I swapped my Broadcom out for the Intel as I installed Win7 Pro (although it worked once I found the driver for the Precision 5510).



The Intel may not be as fast but to me it seems more reliable and BT works very well.

 

So is the m.2 2230 card format the most important characteristic of the replacement card to look for? Are there any other 3x3 cards out there, or would they give the same problem as the broadcom card?

Hoping there's a driver fix soon.

 

There's a 9260 3x3 model coming out soon I'm told

Can you move your wireless connection from 2.4Ghz to the 5Ghz band and give that a try? Its faster but has less range and may solve your issue.

 

Have a single band router so can't really do that. Plus would like to try fix this situation once and for all so that I dont have issues if/when i'm travelling and its not a 5GHz.

EDIT: I've also read that there are 3(?) leads for the Broadcom card, but there are only 2 required for the Intel card. How did you get past this?

 

replace the WiFi card like other did.

You will use the 2 leads only since your Intel card is 2x2 or wait for the upcoming model 3x3.

 

I connected leads 1 and 2 to the same numbers on the card and I tucked the number 3 (grey) lead out of the way. The Intel card is definately better with BT - I have a solar inverter I connect to and the range is much more than the Broadcom.

 

Did you go with the 7265 or 8260? I've decided I'll probably go ahead with it now.

The laggy mouse just gets on my nerves. Just want to make sure that the changed WiFi adapter will indeed solve my bluetooth issues

EDIT: Think I'll go ahead with the 7265. Seems to be no difference between the two.

 

I just tried to connect XPS 15 to my Motorola S11-Flex HD and while it did connect sound is horrible. I did go in to device manager and did update driver software option on the Dell Wireless 1830 and while it did find a newer driver (12.0.0.7030) and installed it, it made no difference to the sound quality I'm getting through the bluetooth headset. Difference in bluetooth sound quality between XPS 15 and my Galaxy Note 4 though the same Motorola headset is night and day, not even close.

Is there anyway to fix this without replacing the broadcom bluetooth card?

 

Ordered my 8260 from Amazon. It's shipped!

...

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https://www.amazon.com/gp/your-acco...8-4434604&packageIndex=0&shipmentId=DkYCKJJqN

...

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...On a boat from the 1700's.

 

I went with the 8260 - ordered from Amazon. Well worth doing if you are having any trouble with BT in my opinion.

 

Ok. So I went with the 7265 and fixed it. Getting the cables on was a big problem, and I still dont know if the black cable is sitting on properly or not.

The blueooth mouse is still laggy when data is in use. Could it be because of the black cable? Is there any fix? Insulation tape may be? I hope I haven't screwed up!

 

The little leads have to be in just the right place then push them down gently and they'll pop into place. I found it easier to put the leads on before putting the teeny card in the slot first. Have you lot the latest INTEL driver for your card, both the wireless and the BT ones?

I don't think you've screwed anything up, just take it easy and make sure you've removed all the Broadcom BT software in add/remove programs. Get the 2 new drivers - plonk them somewhere like your desktop - remove all the old drivers, reboot - run the new drivers and give that a try

 

I think one problem is that I tried to tighten the black cable a bit too much and now it just doesnt fit. Might try fix it with insulation tape.

I'll try removing all the Broadcom BT software/dell software and hope that helps! I installed the ProSet software, wireless drivers and Bluetooth technology files from here,
https://downloadcenter.intel.com/product/83635/Intel-Dual-Band-Wireless-AC-7265

 

Worst case you could try and use the grey lead instead if you cant get the black lead to go on? They are only antennae so at least you'd have 2 working as they should, just one left disconnected. I doubt you'd notice any difference to be honest.

Hope you get it sorted!

 

The broadcomm card really is complete ****. Not only is it incapable of Bluetooth but the wifi signal is terrible

 

So opened up the laptop and plugged they grey cable into the slot for the black cable. Its perfect now! Although there is a slight lag (only noticeable if you look really hard).

Thanks so much guys!

 

The fix for the 1830 Card is to disable "Bluetooth Collaboration" in the device driver section of the 1830 Wireless Network card.

 

If only you read the first post of this thread....

 

Anyone with Intel card experiencing any lag when when bluetooth setting window (settings-devices-bluetooth)? The problem wont go away unless I close or minimize the bluetooth settings window. Never had this issue on Broadcom card

On a brighter side, trackpad doesn't lag just the MS mouse


EDIT: Okay this isn't specific to the bluetooth settings windows I guess because I'm getting this issue when the laptop is searching for any wireless display.

 

So I have a more fundamental problem... my Bluetooth has never worked from Day 1 despite EVERY possible forum solution I have gone to

- Won't install drivers, asks to switch Bluetooth on first, can't
- No Bluetooth devices in Device Manager (even if unhide used... did see them ONCE but they were greyed out)
- BIOS 1.x.19 and now 1.x.20 (and yes all enabled/switched on)
- Two calls to DELL failed (i.e. did not make contact at appointed time)
- Need Bluetooth for a couple of devices... for a £1,800 laptop this is unforgivable.

I should not have to pay for a different type off the Web either...

Any clever people got theirs to work? (I mean after it didn't work out the box)

 

As per the recommendations above, I just replaced my broadcomm card with the Intel 8260. Fixed the laggy mouse issue, as well as the issues I was having with bluetooth files transfers.

Yes, it's a little annoying that I had swap out the wifi card from a high end laptop. But for $30 and an easy install, I'm just happy everything works now. Thanks for the tip

 

Dell came and replaced it for an Intel 8260 today... engineer said the Bluetooth module was missing, it was a wifi only card !

 

Is there any hope in remedying these issues without a card replacement?
The wifi collab trick simply reduced the input lag from the bluetooth mouse, however it occasionally just stops responding.

Bigger issue is the inability to connect my Sony BT headphones (even though the device is paired properly) and toying with drivers/services didn't help at all.
Funniest part is this all happens on Windows 10, while Fedora 24 connected fine out of the box, no issues.

 

You're on the latest drivers?
If they don't fix it, i doubt anything will. Swap for the Intel

 

Yeah latest drivers, bios, tried toying with services etc but nothing helps...
This is a bit dissapointing...

EDIT: What is driver support like on Linux distributions with Intel cards, they seem to cite "limited feature support"?

 

In case it helps anyone else, I managed to solve the problem by completely uninstalling the Broadcom BT software stack (via Control Panel > Add or remove programs) letting Windows handle it using generic drivers.

So far so good, no headphones issues whatsoever, have not yet tested the mouse!

 

This! working for me also. Thanks

 

All the p

try updating the Bluetooth driver.

Uninstall the WIDCOMM driver from control panel
Download and install driver from broadcom. dell only repackage the driver.

WIDCOMM® Bluetooth Windows® Software for Windows 10 & 8, 64-Bit from https://www.broadcom.com/support/bluetooth

 

The Broadcom card is junk.

I've tried an Intel 7265 and an Intel 8260. For me, I got much better results with the 7265.

On both the 7265 and 8260, my bluetooth LE mouse works flawlessly, bluetooth devices (such as a keyboard) connect before I actually get logged on to the desktop (my BT keyboard never worked at login prompt with the Dell 1830!) and tethering my mobile phone for internet is now finally ****ing stable. With the 1830 my connection dropped every 10 seconds or so.

In my testing at home on an ASUS AC68U, I had much better result with the 7265. I ran tests over and over again and found that with the 7265 I could max out my internet connection 100% of the time if I had a good download server. With the 8260, for some reason I could never get more than 45% of my line speed. So I stuck with the 7265.

 

So I've had a Intel 8260 installed in my Dell XPS 9550 and I get two things I'm not happy about:

• Occasionally it will lag for 5 seconds for no reason (almost similar to the Broadcom!)
  
• Once a week after a restart I'll need to uninstall the bluetooth from Device Manager and add the hardware again

I'm using Intel's Driver Windows 10 64-bit version 19.30.1648.920 (2/12/2016)

Any ideas?