XPS 8930, Bluetooth toggle On/Off button missing Windows 10

Question

I am at my wits end!  I can no longer use Bluetooth as the button to turn on Bluetooth on my W10 XPS 8930 is gone.  I have spent a week troubleshooting before I am posting here.  Have tried all of the troubleshooting steps on Dell and on the Internet-only thing I have not done is reinstall W10 or upgrade to W11.  The XPS8930 came with Qualcomm QCA61x4A/QCA9377 Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Driver, and I have the latest one from the Dell Support website for my PC, which is Qualcomm-QCA61x4A-QCA9377-Wi-Fi-and-Bluetooth-Driver_YX23Y_WIN_12.0.0.1118_A47_03.EXE. Have also updated my BIOS to the latest version as well as the Intel Chipset.  I'm pretty sure it's a driver issue as no Bluetooth shows up in Device Manager while the wireless card does show up and works fine. When I run the Dell diagnostic tool it sees the wireless card fine but no indication that Bluetooth is present on the PC. If anyone has experienced this before and has some ideas would greatly appreciate your suggestions. Thank You  Roger

Salaryman63 · Accepted Answer

The PC Gods Were kind to me. Thank you everyone for your tips and suggestions. Tried them all and found this one to work. Listening to some great music on my BT headphones as I type!

Fixed My Missing Bluetooth Toggle On Issue

performed a motherboard reset.....
1/ shutdown
2/ remove power cord
3/ hold power-button for 10secs
4/ re-insert power cord and power-on

Tesla1856 · Answer

@Salaryman63 wrote:

Windows-10 XPS-8930

no Bluetooth shows up in Device Manager

If that is the case ... and there are no "Unknown" Devices ... then you likely have a Hardware-Problem.

If re-seating the mini-card on the motherboard does not help, I suggest you replace it.

RoHe · Answer

As @Tesla1856 mentioned, you should look for any "Unknown" device(s) listed in Device Manager.

On DM toolbar, click View>Show hidden. Now look everywhere in DM for an Unknown device. Right-click and uninstall all Unknown you see.

Next, click Action>Scan for hardware changes on DM toolbar and see if BT magically appears.

If BT still doesn't appear, you might want to try resetting BIOS:

Reboot and start tapping F2 when you see the Dell splash screen to open BIOS setup
Copy down all current BIOS settings, to be safe
Power off, unplug
Press/hold power button for ~15 sec
Open case and remove motherboard battery (check Service Manual for details)
Press/hold power button for ~30 sec
Reinstall battery (Time for fresh CR2032 3-volt coin cell battery? ~$2)
Close up and connect mouse, monitor and keyboard
Reboot

NJDave · Answer

It seems really strange that the Wi-Fi appears in Device Manager and Bluetooth does not. Is it possible the Bluetooth device is disabled in the BIOS settings?

Tesla1856 · Answer

@NJDave wrote:

It seems really strange that the Wi-Fi appears in Device Manager and Bluetooth does not. Is it possible the Bluetooth device is disabled in the BIOS settings?

Anything is possible.

Why don't you check and let us know.

NJDave · Answer

@Tesla1856 wrote:
Why don't you check and let us know.

I was kind of suggesting that to the OP. Perhaps I should have been less vague about it: @Salaryman63 , why not check and see if Bluetooth is disabled in the preboot settings?

Salaryman63 · Answer

Thx everyone for taking time to help me.  I dont see anything for Bluetooth in the BIOS.  Im going to put it down to a faulty component and just buy a $10 external adaptor.  If the PC Gods smile on me and somehow Bluetooth reappears I will share the joy with the great folks in these communities. Roger

Tesla1856 · Answer

@Salaryman63 wrote:

1. I'm going to put it down to a faulty component

2. and just buy a $10 external adaptor.

1. Personally, I would first try to replace the WiFi/Bluetooth mini-card first ( as I hate keeping malfunctioning components inside my computers) ... but that's just me (plus, I have the skills to do something like that).

2. I've found that these work nicely.

RoHe · Answer

There are no BT settings in BIOS on XPS 8930. WiFi and Qualcomm BT are on the same m.2 card.

Yes, the BT part of the card can fail even though WiFi still works. But it's not uncommon for Qualcomm BT to be MIA in Device Manager even though WiFi is listed and working. Quite a few threads about this.

The Qualcomm BT disappeared on my XPS 8930 at one point, with WiFi working. All I had to do was what I posted above. Find/uninstall an "Unknown" device listed in DM and then scan for new hardware. Hasn't gone missing since then...

If there isn't any Unknown listed in DM, you might want to try this:

At desktop, open a CMD prompt window, Run as administrator
At the prompt, type in: DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth and press Enter. Be sure to include a space in front of each / and note any error messages when that's done.
Assuming no "unfixed" errors in #2, at the CMD prompt, type in: sfc /scannow and press Enter. Be sure to include a space in front of the / and note any errors when that's done.
Assuming no "unfixed" errors in #3, reboot PC and see if BT is listed in DM and working...

Tesla1856 · Answer

@Salaryman63 wrote:

The PC Gods Were kind to me. Thank you everyone for your tips and suggestions. Tried them all and found this one to work. Listening to some great music on my BT headphones as I type!

Fixed My Missing Bluetooth Toggle On Issue

performed a motherboard reset.....
1/ shutdown
2/ remove power cord
3/ hold power-button for 10secs
4/ re-insert power cord and power-on

Thanks for reporting back, but pretty strange that worked.

Sounds as if the WiFi card is separate and the Bluetooth module is instead connected to a Dell Flex-Bay.

RoHe · Answer

Actually, pulling the plug and holding power button is something Dell Cares has recommended when BT goes MIA if there are no 'Unknown' devices listed in Device Manager.

caevans10 · Answer

I can't believe this worked! Thank you.

GeorgeP1488 · Answer

@Salaryman63​ Thank You So Much.  Was pulling out what little hair I had but tried this and it WORKED!

XPS Desktops

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