New Windows 10 Optional Patch Fixes Bluetooth Issue Causing BSODs

Microsoft has released the optional March 2022 non-security patch (KB5011543) for Windows 10 versions 21H2, 21H1, and 20H2. This optional update addresses a serious Bluetooth issue that was previously causing blue screens of death (BSODs) on Windows 10 machines.

This Bluetooth bug was first discovered following the release of the optional KB5009596 patch in January, and Microsoft described the bug on the Windows Health dashboard. “After installing KB5009596 or later updates, some organizations which have Windows devices paired to Bluetooth devices might receive an error message “Your device ran into a problem and needs to restart.” with a blue screen and ‘Stop code: IRQ NOT LESS OR EQUAL’,” the company explained.

Microsoft added that the blue screen of death (BSOD) error was affecting Windows 10 PCs where IT administrators have enabled specific Configuration service provider (CSP) policies, which affect the Bluetooth A2dp profile. The BSODs could occur when PCs were connected to a new mobile phone or audio device via Bluetooth after installing the KB5009596 patch or newer.

A workaround was already available

Since CSP policies are not common outside of enterprise environments, this Bluetooth issue probably didn’t affect many consumers. However, before Microsoft fixed the issue with this week’s optional patch, IT administrators could mitigate it by modifying the Windows registry before installing the optional KB5009596 patch for January.

Microsoft recommends IT Admins to deploy this optional update, which also addresses an issue that prevents Android device users from signing in to some Microsoft applications, such as Microsoft Outlook or Microsoft Teams. With this optional patch, the software giant is also starting to roll out Search Highlights, which will display organization content in Windows Search for enterprise customers.

Keep in mind that this optional KB5011543 update is a part of the non-security preview “C” releases for all supported versions of Windows 10. As usual, the bug fix in this optional KB5011543 patch will also be included in the Patch Tuesday updates next month, which will be released on April 12.