Quick fix: Open Settings → Bluetooth & devices → (your LE Audio headphones) → Audio quality. If LE Audio is supported, you’ll see a toggle for Use LE Audio when available. Tick it. Sound quality and battery life both improve.

You bought a pair of headphones marketed as supporting LE Audio (the new Bluetooth low-energy audio standard) — Sony WF-1000XM5, Pixel Buds Pro, Galaxy Buds3 Pro. Windows pairs them but uses the old SBC or AAC codec instead of LE Audio’s LC3. The fix is to explicitly enable LE Audio in the device’s settings — Windows doesn’t default to it.

Symptom: Bluetooth LE Audio headphones connect via legacy codec (SBC/AAC) instead of LC3 LE Audio.
Affects: Windows 11 22H2+ with LE Audio-capable Bluetooth radio and LE Audio headphones.
Fix time: ~5 minutes.

What causes this

LE Audio requires three components: Headphones that support LC3 codec and LE Audio profile. PC’s Bluetooth radio with Bluetooth 5.2+ and LE Audio firmware. Windows version 22H2 or later with the LE Audio update. Even when all three are present, Windows defaults to the legacy A2DP profile to ensure compatibility — you have to opt in to LE Audio per device.

LE Audio benefits: 50%+ lower battery drain (especially on earbuds), simultaneous audio + microphone in stereo (vs HFP’s mono-only), audio sharing to multiple devices, lower latency.

Method 1: Enable LE Audio in Bluetooth device settings

The standard route.

Pair your LE Audio headphones via Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Add device → Bluetooth.
Once paired, click the headphones entry.
Look for an Audio quality section or LE Audio toggle. If LE Audio is supported by both PC and headphones, you’ll see Use LE Audio when available.
Toggle it On.
The connection drops briefly and re-establishes using LE Audio. Audio quality may sound slightly different (LC3 codec).
If the toggle is missing entirely, your hardware doesn’t support LE Audio (or Windows hasn’t detected it). Proceed to Method 2.

Look for LE Audio support in Settings → System → About → Device specifications — there may be an LE Audio capability line on supported PCs.

Method 2: Confirm hardware and Windows support

Use when the LE Audio toggle is missing.

Open Device Manager → expand Bluetooth.
Click your Bluetooth radio (e.g., Intel Wireless Bluetooth, Realtek Bluetooth). Right-click → Properties → Driver tab. Check the Driver Version. For LE Audio, you need:
- Intel: Bluetooth driver 22.190 or later
- Realtek: 1.10.0.7 or later
- MediaTek: latest from OEM
Update if needed: visit Intel.com / your OEM’s support page for the latest driver.
Confirm Windows version: Settings → System → About. OS Build should be 22621 or later (Windows 11 22H2+).
If Windows is older, run Windows Update.
For Bluetooth radios that don’t support LE Audio at the hardware level (most pre-2022 laptops), no software update will add LE Audio. You’d need a USB Bluetooth 5.2+ adapter.
After driver and OS updates, repeat Method 1.

This handles the prerequisites verification before LE Audio can become available.

Method 3: Use registry to check LE Audio activation status

For diagnostic purposes when LE Audio appears to fail despite the toggle being on.

Open Registry Editor (regedit).
Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\BTHPORT\Parameters\Devices.
Find your headphones’ subkey (by MAC address). Inside, look for LeAudioEnabled DWORD.
If present and set to 1, LE Audio is active. If 0 or missing, it’s not in use.
Open Terminal (Admin). Run:
```
Get-PnpDevice -Class Bluetooth | Format-Table FriendlyName, Status, Class
```
LE Audio-capable devices may have an additional “LE Audio” classification.
For deeper diagnosis, Microsoft’s Bluetooth Internals tool (download from learn.microsoft.com) shows full protocol-level diagnostics.

Useful for diagnosing why LE Audio isn’t taking effect despite the toggle.

How to verify the fix worked

Open Settings → Bluetooth & devices → your headphones. Toggle is on and shows “Using LE Audio” or similar.
Play audio. Quality should sound at least as good as before (LC3 is comparable to or better than SBC).
Use the microphone (in Teams/Discord). Music continues playing while mic is active in stereo — a defining LE Audio capability that legacy HFP couldn’t do.
Battery life on the headphones is noticeably extended (typically 30-50%+ improvement vs legacy A2DP).

If none of these work

If the LE Audio toggle doesn’t appear despite confirmed hardware support, three causes apply. Headphones not LE Audio mode at pair time: some LE Audio headphones default to legacy A2DP mode and require a specific pairing procedure (manufacturer’s app, button hold combo) to enable LE Audio. Check the headphones’ manual. Bluetooth radio firmware outdated: even with current drivers, the radio’s onboard firmware may need updating. Intel’s Wireless Bluetooth firmware updates ship with their driver — clean install via Intel’s installer. Bluetooth audio service issues: open services.msc, restart Bluetooth Support Service and Bluetooth Audio Gateway Service. Unpair and re-pair the headphones afterward. LE Audio support is still maturing on Windows — expect improvements through 2026.

Bottom line: LE Audio is opt-in even when supported — find the toggle in your Bluetooth device settings, enable it, and you get LC3 codec with longer battery and bidirectional stereo.