Windows 11 25H2: Smartphone Bluetooth pairing problem and other issues with File Explorer and svchost.exe

Question

Windows 11 25H2: Smartphone Bluetooth pairing problem and other issues with File Explorer and svchost.exe

sina 5

System information

Laptop: ASUS TUF Gaming F16 FX608JMR-RV024

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi adapter: Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX211

Windows Edition: Windows 11 Enterprise

Version: 25H2

Installed on: 2026/08/07

OS Build: 26200.9550

Experience: Windows Feature Experience Pack 1000.26100.372.0

This Windows installation and the device belong to me, and I have full administrative access to the system.

I am experiencing three major problems on Windows 11 25H2:

Bluetooth — phones cannot connect, while other Bluetooth devices work normally

Almost all of my Bluetooth devices, including mice, earbuds/headsets, etc., pair and connect normally.

The only major exception is smartphones.

I tested several Samsung phones, including my own phone. When I click the phone's name in Windows to connect, Windows shows Connected for about one second, then immediately changes back to Not Connected.

What makes this particularly strange is that Bluetooth file transfers still work. I can send files between the phone and the laptop over Bluetooth, so the basic Bluetooth communication appears to work.

However, I cannot establish a normal Bluetooth connection profile for the phone. For example, I cannot use the phone as a Bluetooth audio source and play music from the phone through the laptop, nor can I use the relevant Bluetooth phone/call functionality.

The Bluetooth adapter is Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX211.

File Explorer / Windows Search — severe CPU usage and lag

File Explorer also appears to have serious problems.

If I open This PC → Search and search for something very simple, the results can appear quickly.

However, when I perform a somewhat more complex search, Explorer often gets stuck on “Working on it…”.

During this period:

Explorer starts using a significant amount of CPU.

CPU frequency increases.

The fans become noticeably louder.

The laptop gets warmer.

The system can become noticeably less responsive.

After several minutes, the search eventually produces the results.

This behavior feels highly abnormal for a normal File Explorer search.

I also found another reproducible problem in This PC → View.

When I click View and simply move the mouse over the different view options without even selecting anything — such as Extra large icons, Large icons, List, Details, etc. — I can observe noticeable lag/stuttering.

At the same time, Explorer's CPU usage increases in Task Manager.

For Windows Search indexing, I have only been using the Classic option so far. I have not yet tested the Enhanced option.

svchost.exe (netsvcs -p) — unexplained high CPU usage

This is probably the most annoying problem.

The process:

svchost.exe (netsvcs -p)

sometimes starts consuming a significant amount of CPU for no obvious reason.

It does not happen constantly. Sometimes the system behaves normally, and sometimes this process suddenly starts using high CPU on its own, including while I am simply browsing the web or doing other normal tasks.

One situation that can reliably trigger the behavior is:

Settings → Windows Update → Check for updates / Search for updates

Whenever I manually check for updates, svchost.exe (netsvcs -p) can suddenly increase its CPU usage significantly.

However, this problem is not limited to checking for updates. It can also start unexpectedly during web browsing or at other times without me manually checking for updates.

This is particularly problematic when I am browsing the web while running on battery, because the increased CPU usage causes substantially faster battery drain and higher fan activity.

There is another interesting behavior:

When this high CPU usage is happening and I open Resource Monitor to investigate which component is responsible, the system can become even more laggy. Fan speed increases further and the laptop becomes noticeably less responsive.

So Resource Monitor itself seems to make the situation worse while the svchost-related CPU usage is occurring.

When did these problems start?

I started noticing these problems after installing several Windows updates while I was still on Windows 11 24H2.

I have since upgraded to Windows 11 25H2, but the problems have remained.

Most recently, I installed:

2026-09 Preview Update (KB5124010) — OS Build 26200.9550

Unfortunately, all three problems are still present after installing this update.

I would appreciate it if anyone with Windows 11 25H2, especially on recent builds around 26200.x, could check whether they have experienced similar behavior and whether there is a known Windows component, service, update, driver, or configuration that could explain these issues.

I am particularly interested in identifying the actual cause rather than simply disabling Windows services or components as a workaround.

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3 answers

Your answer

Answer 1

First, regarding the svchost.exe issue: after installing the latest Intel integrated graphics driver, version 32.0.101.7078, the problem was fixed. I honestly didn’t want to install that driver because it causes higher battery consumption and makes the laptop run hotter. However, after I rolled the driver back, the svchost.exe issue did not come back, which was interesting.

As for File Explorer, the lag is still there, but I changed the view from Details pane to Preview pane and disabled the “Include system files” option. Since then, the fans only rarely spin up during searches. It can still happen with some searches, but I don’t think it is a major problem anymore.

However, installing the 2026-09 Preview Update (KB5124010) — OS Build 26200.9550 has had an interesting effect. The laptop now stays noticeably cooler, but overall battery life has decreased. Before installing this update, I was getting around 8–10 hours of battery life during normal use, whereas now I’m getting around 6 hours. It also appears that this update included changes related to the battery and its features.

Another interesting thing I noticed is that, after installing the update, Windows sometimes becomes slow or laggy when estimating the remaining battery time. Also, when I click the battery icon, there is sometimes a loading circle for about one second before the battery/power settings appear. These behaviors are quite interesting, and I hope they will be fixed in a future update so that battery efficiency can return to what it was before this update.

Overall, the svchost.exe issue is practically resolved, and the File Explorer issue has also improved significantly. As for Bluetooth, the phone connection issue seems to be relatively normal and doesn’t appear to be a major problem either.

Hendrix-V 19,650 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-10-01T01:58:10.57+00:00

Hi sina,

Thank you for taking the time to share your latest findings and test results.

Based on your observations, it sounds like the situation has improved considerably. Identifying that the high CPU usage was associated with Windows Update activity and finding that it no longer occurs after the Intel graphics driver installation is a valuable data point. Since the behavior has not returned even after rolling back the driver, there may have been a component refresh or system change during the process that helped stabilize the issue.

At this point:

svchost.exe high CPU usage: Appears resolved.

File Explorer lag: Significantly improved and no longer a major concern.

Bluetooth phone connectivity: Not affecting normal usage and currently low impact.

Battery life after KB5124010: The primary area worth continuing to monitor.

Thank you again for documenting your testing process and results so thoroughly.

Answer 2

Hendrix-V 19,650 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi sina,

Since the Bluetooth issue appears to affect only smartphones while other Bluetooth devices continue to function normally, and because Bluetooth file transfers still work, the problem may be related to specific Bluetooth services or profiles rather than the adapter's basic connectivity. The File Explorer and svchost.exe behavior you described also suggests that additional diagnostics may be useful to determine which Windows component is driving the increased CPU usage.

For the Bluetooth issue, it may be worth checking whether the smartphone-related Bluetooth services are being initialized correctly:

Open services.msc
Verify that Bluetooth Support Service is running.
Restart the service and test pairing again.

For the intermittent svchost.exe (netsvcs -p) CPU usage:

Open Command Prompt (Admin).
Run: tasklist /svc /fi "imagename eq svchost.exe"
When high CPU usage occurs, compare the active services hosted under the affected svchost instance to help identify the specific service involved.

Regarding File Explorer search performance:

Open Control Panel > Indexing Options > Advanced.
Select Rebuild to recreate the search index.
After indexing completes, test the same searches again and see whether the behavior changes.

Since you mentioned that these symptoms persisted across both Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2 builds, it would also be helpful to know whether the behavior occurs in a newly created local user profile. This can help determine whether the issue is system-wide or related to the current Windows profile configuration.

Let me know if you need further assistance, feel free to ask me by clicking "Add Comment" or "Add Answer" if you cannot add comment so your response will be visible. Thanks for your effort.

sina 5 Reputation points

2026-09-27T03:55:31.12+00:00

Hello, and thank you very much for your quick response and for taking the time to help.

I checked the method you suggested for the Bluetooth issue, but unfortunately, the problem still remains.

Regarding svchost.exe (netsvcs -p), I followed your suggestion and checked the services associated with it. I identified the service as Windows Update (wuauserv).

As for the File Explorer issue, I have Windows Search set to Classic. In this case, would rebuilding the search index still make a difference?

I am asking because I suspect the problem may actually be related to File Explorer itself. I am also a little concerned that rebuilding the index could put too much load on the system, especially given the current situation, since I already experience noticeable lag within the File Explorer interface when the problem occurs.

Thank you again for your help and guidance.
Hendrix-V 19,650 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-09-30T00:47:58.1333333+00:00
Hi sina,

Thank you for the update and for sharing the additional findings.

Identifying Windows Update (wuauserv) as the service associated with the svchost.exe CPU activity is a useful clue. Based on your description, the File Explorer lag may not necessarily be caused by the search index itself, especially since you are also seeing delays when interacting with Explorer's View options.

Before rebuilding the index, you may want to try a couple of lighter checks:

1, Check if the issue occurs in a new folder

Create a new local folder with a few test files.

Open the folder and switch between different View modes.

Compare its responsiveness with folders where the lag is most noticeable.

2, Restart the Windows Search process

Open Task Manager.

Restart SearchHost.exe (or SearchApp.exe, depending on what is shown).

Test File Explorer again without rebuilding the index.

3, Monitor Windows Update activity during CPU spikes

When svchost.exe CPU usage increases, open Settings > Windows Update.

Check whether an update scan or other update-related activity is occurring at the same time.

Your concern about rebuilding the index is understandable. While rebuilding is generally safe, it can temporarily increase CPU and disk usage while the index is recreated. Since your symptoms appear to extend beyond search results and affect File Explorer's interface responsiveness, gathering a little more information first may help determine whether the root cause is related to Windows Search, File Explorer itself, or Windows Update activity.

Answer 3

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