How to Turn Off Bluetooth on Windows 10 (Disable Bluetooth)
Depending on the hardware that you are running, Bluetooth connectivity may or may not be available, but most modern PCs and laptops have it by default.
You can use your PC’s Bluetooth to connect to a wide variety of peripherals, from wireless headphones to mice, keyboards, drawing tablets, and more.
Besides, you can use your Bluetooth connectivity to send or receive files to and from other devices, such as other PCs, mobile phones, and more.
However, if you’re using a laptop, you may want to turn off your Bluetooth, since simply keeping it activated can severely drain your battery, and it can also accidentally leave your PC open to unwanted device connectivity.
That’s precisely why we’ve decided to create this step-by-step guide so that we can teach you exactly how to disable your Bluetooth on your Windows 10 PC.
How do I disable my Bluetooth in Windows 10?
1. Press the Dedicated Bluetooth/Airplane Mode Button
Many modern-day laptops offer a wide variety of buttons that provide one-click commands to perform complex tasks, such as disabling and enabling wireless connectivity, or activating Airplane Mode.
To that extent, there are laptops that have a dedicated button for enabling and disabling your Bluetooth, so if you have either of them, simply press the button.
2. Disable Bluetooth Via Settings Menu
Method 1
- Press the Windows key to open the Start Menu
- Open the Settings menu by pressing the cog-shaped button
- Select Devices
- Select Bluetooth & other devices
- Move the slider labelled Bluetooth to be set to Off
Method 2
- Press the Windows key to open the Start Menu
- Open the Settings menu
- Go to Network & Internet
- Go to Airplane Mode
- Move the slider labelled Bluetooth to be set to Off
3. Use The Action Center
- Look at the right-side end of the Taskbar
- Click it to open the Action Center
- Click on the Bluetooth button so that it says Not connected
4. Use The Device Manager
- Press Windows + X to open the Power User menu
- Select Device Manager
- Expand the Bluetooth entry
- Right-click it, and select Disable
5. Use PowerShell
Normally, enterprise administrators opt to disable Bluetooth connectivity in company PCs on a large scale in order to prevent potentially compromising file transfers.
While this type of procedure could easily be achieved through Group Policies, there aren’t any that disable Bluetooth devices.
However, a PowerShell snippet can still be used in order to achieve this, just as long as you remember to open PowerShell with Administrator rights:
# Must be ran as the System account $namespaceName = “root\cimv2\mdm\dmmap” $className = “MDM_Policy_Config01_Connectivity02”
# Turn off the Bluetooth toggle in the settings menu New-CimInstance -Namespace $namespaceName -ClassName $className -Property @{ParentID=”./Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config”;InstanceID=”Connectivity”;AllowBluetooth=0}
Remember that the value for the AllowBluetooth portion of the snippet can only be 0, 1, or 2, with each meaning one of the following:
- 0 – Disallow Bluetooth
- The radio in the Bluetooth Control Panel will be greyed out
- The user will not be able to turn Bluetooth on
- 1 – Reserved
- The radio in the Bluetooth control panel will be functional
- The user will be able to turn Bluetooth on
- 2 – Allow Bluetooth
- The radio in the Bluetooth control panel will be functional
- The user will be able to turn Bluetooth on
More so, the same principle applies to the following settings:
- AllowNFC
- AllowBluetooth
- AllowUSBConnection
- AllowVPNOverCellular
- AllowConnectedDevices
- AllowCellularDataRoaming
- AllowVPNRoamingOverCellular
Once you’ve applied this snippet, this is what you will see whenever you try enabling or disabling your Bluetooth via Settings:
If you want to revert this setting, simply use this other snippet:
# Modifying the script (from 0 to 2 or vice versa)``$x = Get-CimInstance -Namespace $namespaceName -Query 'Select * from MDM_Policy_Config01_Connectivity02'``Set-CimInstance -InputObject $x -Property @{ParentID=”./Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config”;InstanceID=”Connectivity”;AllowBluetooth=2} -PassThru
# Remove policy & return to original settings: Get-CimInstance -Namespace $namespaceName -Query 'Select * from MDM_Policy_Config01_Connectivity02' | Remove-CimInstance
Disabling Bluetooth In Windows 10: CONCLUSION
As you can see, there are plenty of ways a Windows 10 user can disable their Bluetooth connectivity, so it is up to personal preference which one you end up using.
Which method do you most frequently use to disable your Bluetooth connection?
Let us know by leaving your feedback in the comments section below.
