Disable Bluetooth Telephony (HFP)

Disables the Hands-Free Profile (HFP) on a Bluetooth audio device so Windows stops routing microphone/call audio through it. Stereo audio (A2DP) is unaffected.

Useful if you use a dedicated microphone and want to prevent Windows from switching your headphones to the lower-quality headset mode when an app (game, Discord, etc.) requests a microphone.

Common Symptoms

This script fixes issues such as:

• Bluetooth headphones sound muffled or low quality when a game or app starts
• Audio cuts out or drops when joining voice chat (Discord, Steam, Xbox app, etc.)
• Headphones switch to "Headset" mode and microphone stops working correctly
• Marathon/Valorant game audio stops working when enabling in-game chat
• "Headset (AirPods Pro Hands-Free)" appears as the default audio device instead of "Headphones (AirPods Pro)"
• Windows automatically switches audio devices when an app requests a microphone

Warning

• Modifies the Windows registry. Changes are made to HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\BTHPORT which is part of the Bluetooth stack. Incorrect edits to this area can affect all Bluetooth devices. This script only changes the Enabled flag for the HFP service on the targeted device.
• Requires Administrator. The script will refuse to run without elevated privileges.
• Registers a startup task. A scheduled task is created in Task Scheduler that runs at every logon. See the Notes section for how to remove it.
• Only affects the targeted device. Other Bluetooth devices and profiles are not touched.

Requirements

• Windows 10/11
• PowerShell (Run as Administrator)

Usage

Run once as Administrator. The script disables telephony immediately and registers itself as a logon startup task so it applies automatically on every boot.

.\disable_telephony.ps1

By default it targets any device matching "AirPods". Use -DeviceName to target a different device:

.\disable_telephony.ps1 -DeviceName "AirPods Pro"
.\disable_telephony.ps1 -DeviceName "Steelseries Arctis 7"
.\disable_telephony.ps1 -DeviceName "HyperX Cloud III"
.\disable_telephony.ps1 -DeviceName "Astro A50"

How it works

When Windows connects a Bluetooth audio device that supports HFP, it creates a Hands-Free device node and enables the service in the Bluetooth stack registry. This script:

1. Finds the device's MAC address by name from the paired device list
2. Sets Enabled = 0 for the HFP service UUID (0000111e) in HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\BTHPORT
3. Removes the active HFP device node via pnputil so the change takes effect immediately without a reconnect
4. Registers a scheduled task to re-run at logon (since Windows recreates the HFP node on each connection)

Notes

• The "Handsfree Telephony" checkbox in Devices and Printers may still appear checked — this is cosmetic. The HFP device node is not created on reconnect.
• The startup task is registered under the name Disable <Device> Telephony in Task Scheduler.
• To remove the startup task: open Task Scheduler and delete Disable AirPods Telephony (or whatever your device name is).