Title: BlackShark V2 HyperSpeed — CS2 crackling, audio loss and disconnects; dongle replug only temporarily fixes it | Razer Insider
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Title: BlackShark V2 HyperSpeed — CS2 crackling, audio loss and disconnects; dongle replug only temporarily fixes it

buzzRaisinBlackcamp366

Hi Razer Support and everyone,

I purchased a Razer BlackShark V2 HyperSpeed (RZ04-0496) about a month ago, and I've been experiencing a persistent audio issue, mainly while playing Counter-Strike 2.

The strange part is that I can use this headset for hours, including Discord voice calls and other games, without any problems.

What happens in CS2:

  • In 2.4 GHz wireless mode, the audio starts crackling/distorting, sometimes gradually becoming worse.

  • Eventually, all audio stops — not just CS2, but Spotify and Discord too.

  • If I wait, the headset plays its own wireless disconnection notification after the audio has already stopped.

  • The headset remains powered on, and the USB dongle remains connected with its green LED illuminated.

  • Power-cycling the headset while leaving the dongle connected did not restore audio.

  • Physically unplugging and reconnecting the dongle temporarily restores audio, but the problem can return within minutes while CS2 is running.

  • In direct wired USB mode, I can also hear some crackling, although a complete disconnection is much less common.

There was also one isolated incident where extremely loud static-like noise continued for roughly 10 seconds even after I unplugged the USB cable from the headset. This has only happened once.

A documented occurrence on October 14:

  • 00:28 — Crackling started.

  • Around 00:32 — Audio stopped. Headset power OFF/ON did not help, but reconnecting the dongle restored audio.

  • 00:37–00:39 — Crackling and audio loss returned; reconnecting the dongle only helped temporarily.

  • 00:40 — Switched to wired USB, with some mild crackling.

  • Around 00:59 — After leaving CS2 and returning to wireless mode, music playback was normal.

Troubleshooting already attempted:

  • Updated the headset firmware.

  • Tried different USB ports.

  • Clean-reinstalled Razer Synapse 4 and Razer drivers using the official cleanup utility.

  • Tested with Windows Audio Enhancements disabled; the main issue persisted.

  • Tried the Razer Headset Pairing Utility. It repeatedly failed around Step 6, and Windows logs also recorded Pairing Utility crashes.

Technical findings:

I also investigated Windows and Razer logs and the actual device driver stack.

  • Windows 11, Casper Excalibur G911 laptop (RTX 4060).

  • Synapse 4 and THX audio components are installed.

  • The wireless USB audio function (VID_1532/PID_0565) uses Microsoft's usbaudio.sys, with THX audio processing components registered for the headset.

  • Both wired and wireless audio endpoints have THX APO components registered.

  • Razer/THX logs contain USB re-enumeration events and some THX control-operation timeouts after reconnection. These do not establish the root cause.

  • Realtek is not in the verified active Razer USB audio device stack.

I have detailed, timestamped diagnostic findings available if an official Razer representative needs them.

My questions:

  1. Is there a known BlackShark V2 HyperSpeed firmware, dongle, or Synapse/THX issue that could cause this behavior specifically during CS2?

  2. Why would replugging the dongle restore audio when restarting the headset does not?

  3. Are there any targeted diagnostic steps or confirmed fixes beyond firmware updates, USB port changes, and reinstalling Synapse?

I would really like to keep using the headset with its microphone, EQ, and all its features working normally.

Any help from Razer Support or users who have experienced a similar issue would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

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