Cannot update Win 10 to v1909 Realtek Bluetooth driver has to be updated

Windows update is stuck telling me I need to update my Realtek Bluetooth driver software.

My problem is that I do not have the Realtek Bluetooth radio listed in device manager. The only Realtek hardware I have is HD Audio, which has been updated to the latest drivers.

Is this a known issue? Or more to the point: is there a way to tell Update to simply update anyway and I'll accept that I'll never get to use the Realtek Bluetooth radio (which I don't have anyway) again?

Solution 1:

Ran into this problem also, complaining about old Realtek BT drivers but none installed.

First check for non-present devices in Device Manager by enabling hidden items under View/Show hidden devices. If you still don't see your bluetooth device listed, you may have an orphaned driver file like I did.

Check your C:\Windows\System32\drivers folder for the file RtkBtfilter.sys. An old Realtek bluetooth driver, not being used but detected by the updater.

Deleted the file and update was able to continue.

There was nothing logged in the CompatData().xml files as suggested to check here:

https://www.howtogeek.com/416169/how-to-fix-what-needs-your-attention-windows-10-setup-errors/

(I guess because it wasn't installed nor was there any inf file for it.)

Solution 2:

It seems that your Realtek Bluetooth driver is too outdated, as described in the Microsoft article
Updating to a new version of Windows 10 on devices with some driver versions for Realtek Bluetooth radios.

A workaround is found in the article Microsoft Removes Windows 10 1909 Realtek Driver Update Block :

• Download these two Realtek Bluetooth radio drivers: Driver 1 and Driver 2
• Using File Explorer, double-click both and extract their contents into the same folder, but in two different sub-folders
• Start Device Manager
• Find and expand "Bluetooth"
• Right-click the Realtek device and select Update Driver
• Select "Browse my computer for driver software" and position to the above folder
• It should find the drivers and install them
• Select Close.

Windows 10 version 1909 may now agree to install (if it finds the hardware acceptable).