Since I got the MDR-1000X, I’ve been trying to find a way to stream high quality sound over Bluetooth into it. It supports AptX and Sony’s proprietary LDAC which both are not supported by my Oneplus One.
Today while trying to look for a new phone that supports AptX or LDAC using my Dell laptop, suddenly it hit me. Can this laptop supports AptX instead? By default it doesn’t because even by playing back songs from Spotify, I sounded muddy over Bluetooth.
A quick Google search led me to Notebook Review Forum whereby someone mentioned that there’s some Intel Bluetooth drivers unlocked AptX for him. So and I went and try those driver. The installation is pretty simple, already detailed by the site.
I tried the first driver for Intel 7265/3165/7260/3160 Bluetooth. Installation went smoothly, and a notification pop up after I’ve connected to my Sony headphone, stating that AptX is active. I got really excited! I fired up Spotify and confirmed it sound much nicer now but there is one major flaw. The sound would skip as if there isn’t enough bandwidth. I was disappointed, thinking maybe the Bluetooth module in my laptop doesn’t supports it.
There is a second driver for Intel 8260 Bluetooth. I downloaded it just to give it a try since the installation is so simple. This time the driver works flawlessly, I am able to listen to much better quality sound over Bluetooth without any skipping.
If you have AptX supported audio device and wanting to try playback better quality music over Bluetooth on your laptop. I would highly recommend you give these drivers a try.
Edit: What do you know, I also managed to unlock AptX on my Oneplus One by downloading a zip file done by dr_root from XDA Forum. Now I can continue using my OPO till it die!
iSeek4Edmund 
Hi, I tried both drivers for my lenovo yoga 910 and it doesn’t seem to work for me. I’m using the same Sony headphones and it’s frustrating for me because I’m getting aptx quality music from my Samsung s8 phone but not my laptop. Could you give some advice? Thanks in advance. Cheers.
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Hi Vincent, seems like your laptop is using Qualcomm/Atheros QCA6174 Wifi and isn’t using Intel. These driver will not work with your laptop, you might want to see if Qualcomm make AptX driver for Windows because Qualcomm owns AptX anyway.
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