Paring fails with Microsoft Arc Touch Bluetooth Mouse under Windows 10

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Level 1

10 points

Paring fails with Microsoft Arc Touch Bluetooth Mouse under Windows 10

I just bought a Microsoft Arc Touch Bluetooth Mouse for my Macbook Pro with touch bar (early 2017). It works fine under Mac OS but it won't pair under Windows 10 (Bootcamp).

After a lot of frustration I even wiped my Windows 10 installation, reformatted the SSD and installed a clean, virgin version of Windows 10 Pro 1703 as well as the updates from Microsoft and the Apple Software updates that arrived after Bootcamp 6.1.

The Windows 10 Pro Version 1703 shows the Broadcom Serial Bus Driver over UART Bus Enumerator, version 12.0.1.871 in the device manager. The bluetooth icon is visible. Bluetooth pairs fine with all sorts of other devices such as headphones, my radio with bluetooth and so on but it won't connect to any mouse. I also tested it with a Logitech M535 Bluetooth mouse and a Microsoft Sculpt Comfort Bluetooth mouse - with the same negative results under Windows 10 whilst working fine under MacOS Sierra 10.12.5.

When starting the bluetooth menu under Windows 10 it sometimes shows the correct device name (e.g. Microsoft Arc Touch Mouse or Logitech .../M535 mouse) but a couple of minutes later the Bluetooth listing discovers an "unknown device". In both cases pairing ends with a time-out after approx. 3 minutes.

I even tried turning off Wifi during the pairing process. All mice had brand-new batteries and I also pressed the little pairing button on each mouse.

MacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2016), Windows 10

Posted on Jun 8, 2017 9:09 AM

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Answer 1

hoover2255 Author

Level 1

10 points

Jun 10, 2017 8:05 AM in response to Loner T

I chose a radical approach. I properly unpaired all three bluetooth mice that I have under MacOS. Then I wiped MacOS and Windows 10 from the SSD. I did a network system recovery for my Macbook Pro with touchbar installing MacOS Sierra 10.12.5 first. Then I installed the latest Windows 10 Pro 1703 using Bootcamp.

The first pairing process was performed under Windows 10, and look - it worked. AFTERWARDS I paired under MacOS, which also worked. (Last time I did it the other way round).

The Microsoft Sculpt Comfort Mouse and the Logitech M535 used to be paired with my old Macbook Pro Retina before I sold it. However, the Microsoft Arc Touch Mouse is brand new.

Well, after all this frustration I could call myself happy now, but I wonder if the quality of the Win10 Broadcom Bluetooth driver for the new Macbook Pro Touchbar currently meets common standards. I would say no - back to the drawing board Apple and Broadcom and come up with something proper!

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Answer 2

Loner T

Level 9

59,566 points

Jun 8, 2017 4:00 PM in response to hoover2255

Is Bluetooth Collaboration enabled (or Auto) on the Windows side? As a test, un-pair a mouse from the OSX side, such that it is not paired to any computer, pair it first to Windows and test. If it works, try to pair it to OSX and test.

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Answer 3

Loner T

Level 9

59,566 points

Jun 10, 2017 7:47 AM in response to hoover2255

The goal is to test a completely unpaired device, and pair it to Windows first, and then OSX. The 'link' keys between the OS and paired device can get corrupted. See this link as a reference.

Were there any drivers provided with either Mouse?

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Answer 4

hoover2255 Author

Level 1

10 points

Jun 8, 2017 11:28 PM in response to Loner T

yes, bluetooth pairing with headphones or the bluetooth radio is working on Windows 10. Unpairing the mouse on the MacOS and re-pairing on Windows doesn't help.

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Answer 5

Loner T

Level 9

59,566 points

Jun 9, 2017 4:23 AM in response to hoover2255

You seem to have an issue with Human Interface Devices, not BT speakers. Can you verify the BT Collaboration is enabled or set to auto?

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Answer 6

hoover2255 Author

Level 1

10 points

Jun 10, 2017 12:09 AM in response to Loner T

If you mean the Broadcom 802.11ac Network Adapter - yes, Bluetooth collaboration has been set to auto in the advanced tab. Pairing and unpairing under MacOS has no effect on the windows side.

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Answer 7

Loner T

Level 9

59,566 points

Jun 10, 2017 9:02 AM in response to hoover2255

Windows does not handle already-paired devices correctly. Good to see it working. Please remember to back up both OSes and create a Windows System Restore point.

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