HP ZBook Bluetooth missing – firmware recovery fix
Problem On HP ZBook laptops, Bluetooth may suddenly disappear even though it worked previously.
Symptoms: No Bluetooth toggle in Windows Settings Bluetooth missing from Device Manager (even with Show hidden devices) Bluetooth services won’t start Driver reinstall does nothing Device Manager shows "Unknown USB Device (Device Descriptor Request Failed)" under Universal Serial Bus controllers Wi-Fi continues to work normally
Root Cause On HP ZBooks, Bluetooth is implemented as a USB interface on the Intel Wi-Fi/Bluetooth card. After sleep/hibernate or power-state glitches, the Bluetooth firmware can become stuck in a low-power state and fails USB enumeration.
This is not a driver issue and does not require hardware replacement in many cases.
Fix: ZBook Deep Power + BIOS Reset This procedure forces the Bluetooth firmware to fully reinitialize.
Shut down Windows completely Unplug the AC charger Disconnect all USB devices Hold the power button for 60–90 seconds Leave the laptop powered off for 10 minutes Power on and immediately enter BIOS Load Setup Defaults / Optimized Defaults Save and exit BIOS
After booting into Windows, Bluetooth should reappear and function normally.
Prevention / Stability Tips
To reduce recurrence: Disable Windows Fast Startup
In Device Manager, disable Allow the computer to turn off this device for: Bluetooth adapter Intel Wi-Fi adapter USB Root Hubs Perform a full shutdown occasionally instead of only using sleep
Notes Reinstalling drivers or Windows does not fix this issue BIOS usually does not show a Bluetooth toggle (normal for ZBooks)
This behavior may appear common across multiple HP ZBook generations