VMK 20 Bluetooth issues
Windows and Bluetooth audio is a combo that has been giving humanity grey hairs for decades. If your Nordell Micro sounds like someone's playing music through a tin can, the problem most likely isn't the speaker – it's how Windows decides to handle the Bluetooth connection. This is a known issue, and luckily there are fixes.
Why does Windows ruin the audio quality?
Bluetooth audio has two profiles, and the difference between them is like night and day:
- A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile): This is the good one. One-way audio streaming, proper quality.
- HFP/HSP (Handsfree Profile): This is the rubbish one. Two-way audio, meaning the microphone is active. Bandwidth is split between the mic and the speaker, so audio quality drops to something resembling a 1998 mobile phone.
Windows switches to HFP automatically whenever any application – Teams, Zoom, Discord, or even some game – requests microphone access. Sometimes Windows does this just to spite you, for no apparent reason.
Nordell Micro supports the SBC codec, which is the baseline Bluetooth codec. It works perfectly fine in A2DP mode, but in HFP mode every codec sounds equally terrible.
How to fix it
1. Check Windows audio devices
- Open Settings > System > Sound
- Check which device is selected as the output device
- If you see two Nordell Micro options (e.g. "Nordell Micro" and "Nordell Micro Hands-Free"), pick the one that does not say Hands-Free
- Disable the Hands-Free profile entirely if you don't need the speaker's microphone
2. Stop apps from hijacking the microphone
- Open Control Panel > Sound > Recording
- Right-click on the Nordell Micro Hands-Free microphone
- Select Disable
- This prevents Windows from switching to the HFP profile
3. Consider a Bluetooth dongle
- The built-in Bluetooth adapter in most PCs is often the cheapest possible option. A separate USB dongle that supports Bluetooth 5.0+ and aptX codec can improve connection and stability.
- Note though: Nordell Micro uses the SBC codec, so an aptX dongle won't improve codec quality as such – but connection stability and A2DP profile persistence may improve.
4. TF card as a bypass
- If fiddling with Bluetooth on Windows feels like a Sisyphean task, load your music onto a TF card and play it directly from the speaker. Zero latency, zero profile issues. An analogue solution to a digital problem.
5. Update your drivers
- Make sure your Bluetooth drivers are up to date. Windows Update doesn't always take care of this, so check the manufacturer's website.
If nothing helps
If the audio quality is also rubbish when playing from your phone – not just Windows – then something else might be going on. Drop us a message at info@valco.fi, tell us what device you're using and what the audio sounds like. Chuck in your order number too, and we'll take it from there.
But if the audio sounds fine on your phone and terrible on Windows, then Windows is the culprit. No two ways about it. Microsoft has managed to make Bluetooth audio management exactly as confusing as you'd expect a billion-dollar company to make it.
