Bluetooth, a short-range wi-fi communication system, has been round for thus lengthy that we anticipate each PC and accompanying peripheral to help it with out fuss or hassle. However, for transmitting a number of audio channels concurrently, it isn’t been so nice, making it a poor selection for avid gamers wanting to talk mid-battle. Well, Microsoft has lastly carried out one thing about that, and Windows 11 now correctly helps tremendous wideband audio in stereo, even when utilizing a mic on the identical time.
If you are questioning what on Earth any of meaning, Microsoft explains it reasonably properly in a blog about the Bluetooth LE Audio update. Before we dig into that, let’s begin with a fast situation the place you could have a wi-fi gaming headset paired with a gaming laptop computer, through Bluetooth.
You’re taking part in a spherical of Battlefield 6, using spatial sound effects to keep track of your opponents around you. Suddenly, you spot a problem and yell an instruction to your friends. All of a sudden, you lose the spatial effect, and the sounds go really muddy.
It’s not the game or your hardware that’s the problem: it’s Windows. Up until now, Microsoft’s operating system couldn’t handle so-called super wideband audio (32 kHz sampling rate) in stereo, while simultaneously transmitting the microphone channel. The best it could do is drop the audio stream into mono mode, which instantly removes any spatial/surround sound effects.
You can see why Microsoft is rather pleased with its Windows update, because all that mono madness is now a thing of the past. Yes, we are in the year 2025, and yes, stereo has been a thing for…well…longer than PCs have been around. However, Bluetooth LE Audio is only five years old, so Microsoft can perhaps be forgiven for only being a little bit late to the party.
Personally, I never use Bluetooth on my gaming PC, as my Audeze Maxwell headset comes with a little 2.4 GHz dongle that has no problems dealing with stereo audio streams with spatial effects when using the microphone at the same time. But I’m sure there are plenty of gamers out there who do use Bluetooth, so this Windows update will be music to their ears.
Of course, there are a couple of caveats. First of all, you only get the super-duper wideband stereo audio in Windows 11 24H2, so if you’re still on Windows 10 or haven’t updated your Windows 11 installation, you’ll probably want to avoid using Bluetooth (or just don’t talk in games).
Secondly, your PC and headset will need to support the latest Bluetooth LE Audio specification. Thirdly, even if the hardware does, the drivers for it all might not, so you’ll need to check with the manufacturer for a relevant software or firmware update. Microsoft has a short guide on how to check if your headset supports LE Audio when linked through BT.
Windows is deliberate to get even higher Bluetooth audio help, with future updates bringing larger sampling charges (‘CD-quality’) and so long as all of it works easily, I’m all for higher high quality sound in video games. Ray-traced photorealistic graphics seize all of the headlines, however they’re all for nought if the sport appears like a lone dry pea rattling round a tin can.
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