How to setup a Bluetooth connection
Fri, 01/19/2007 - 21:14 — George
Today we will show you how to setup a Bluetooth connection in Windows Vista. This can be done either by connecting from an external device (like a mobile phone) to a laptop that has Bluetooth built-in, or by connecting from that external device to a laptop or PC with the help of a Bluetooth dongle.
If your PC doesn't have Bluetooth built-in, you must buy a special dongle and install it by following this procedure:
1. Insert your dongle into an USB port.
2. Wait for Windows Vista to detect and install the device driver software.
Windows Vista has drivers for most Bluetooth devices but if it is not able to find any suitable drivers for your device then you should install those that are bundled by the manufacturer. The following steps are the same for all Bluetooth connections (built-in or dongle):
1. Enable the Bluetooth connection to the device you want to connect.
2. If the connection is not already active, you'll have to enable Bluetooth on your PC/laptop. By default, the wireless and Bluetooth connections are active. If for some reason they are not active, look for a button on the front face or on the sideways of your laptop that should enable both wireless and Bluetooth connections. If you can't find that button please read the laptop's manual to find it.
3. Go to "Start" -> "Control Panel" -> "Network and Internet" and choose "Set up a Bluetooth enabled device".
4. In the Devices windows, click on "Add..."
5. Check the option "My device is set up and ready to be found" and click the "Next" button.
6. Windows Vista will show you all active devices. Select the device you want and click "Next".
7. Now, Windows Vista asks you to set a passkey. You can let Windows Vista choose one for you, you can enter the passkey found in the documentation of your device or you can enter your own. Also, you have the option of not using a passkey. A passkey is used to make the connection between the external device and your PC/laptop more secure.
Select the option you prefer and click the "Next" button.
8. On your external device a dialogue box should appear asking for permission to connect to the PC/laptop. Select "Yes" and enter the same passkey you have entered earlier.
9. A window will pop-up saying that new hardware was found. Choose "Locate and install driver software".
10. If you have a CD that came with your external Bluetooth device you will have to insert it in your CD-ROM or DVD-ROM. After you insert the CD, Windows Vista will be able to finish the driver installation. If you don't have a CD choose "I don't have a CD. Show me other options". Windows Vista will try to find a suitable driver for you. Even though it won't be able to find such drivers, don't worry too much, there is still a chance that your Bluetooth connection will work.
11. That's it. Click the "Finish" button and test your connection.
Testing Procedure
The best way to test your Bluetooth connection is to send a picture or a file from the external device to the laptop and then from the laptop to the device. To do that, just select the picture you want to send, right click on it and select "Send to" and then "Bluetooth device"..
The "Bluetooth File Transfer Wizard" will pop up. Click on "Browse".
Select the external device you want to send the picture to and click the "Next" button.
On your external device you will receive a warning saying that you are about to receive a file. Choose "Yes" and the transfer process will start.
After the transfer is complete, press the "Finish" button and that is it.
To send a picture from your external device to the PC/laptop, go to your taskbar and right click on the Bluetooth icon and then choose “Receive a file”.
Now, from your device, find a picture or file and send it to your PC/laptop. The PC/laptop should be identified as an active terminal, select it and the transfer should start.
Note:
For this tutorial we used the following hardware: HP Compaq nx7400 with HP Integrated Bluetooth module, HP Compaq nx7400 with Hama Bluetooth USB Adapter Class 1, Nokia 6230i .
Related articles:
How to setup a wireless connection
How to check your Network Connection Status
Windows Network Diagnostic - diagnose network problems the easy way
How to enable network discovery and file sharing
Offline Files - How To Work With Network Files When Offline
Transfer Files Between Devices & Your Windows 7 PC via Bluetooth
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Comments
help? bluetooth - phone :S :S
hey yea...so i've installed everything...as in not from outside as such but it was already there i started it and it was searching for connections , it even found my mobile bluetooth (sonyE) BUT when we click on "connect" it appears as "Connection FaileD" BUT the mobile can still send things to the computer (Toshiba laptop btw) and since the SE phone has a "remote control" feature i've used it on an acer laptop and it connects and works FINE but i cant seem to control the toshiba one..help anyone? How do i control the laptop thru the phone and how do i get the laptop to connect BACK to the phone?
any help is REALLY appriciated thanks :)
RE: wireless Bluetooth settings
Hi,
I need to know how the connections should be made for a wireless device which is used to receive the signals from Satellite and communicates with the laptop for GPS purpose. iam using vista on my laptop and when i tried to connect the device with my laptop it doesn't detect the receiver and with this problem i cant use the product with my laptop. so kindly provide me the solution for this problem and suggest me where i can get the drivers for this.
thanks and regards
Murali Mohan K
Blueant connection
I have tried every possible configuration to get my Windows Vista Ultimate Asus computer to communicate with my new Blueant T8 micro bluetooth headset to no avail. The T8 device is simply an earpiece, there is no driver software that I can find, and I can't enter a password from the device to the computer for obvious reasons, although I can enter a password into the computer. What am I doing wrong? The computer tells me that the communication is activated but I get nothing in the earpiece.
From one laptop to the other, but not the other way?
Hi.
I have two laptops, one running XP one running Vista. Bluetooth is working, connections are made. I can send files from the XP to the Vista but not the other way.
My Vista one lets me select the file, then select the paired laptop, it start to 'push' the file, then stops. A bubble at the bottom pops at the bottle titles Bluetooth, "This service is not available"?????????????????
Anyone, please help, any ideas ???
JB
laptop not detecting blth devices
hi there!
my lenovo laptop is blth enabled and it was working fine.
I didnt know how to conect to Internet using blth mobile.
To connect internet i installed a software clalled Bluesoilel and a dongal. Internet worked But after that my laptop is not able to search/transfer/receive any file from my/anyother mobile
Pls help
Phone memory folder in "my computer"
Earlier when I set up my bluetooth connection and paired it with my phone. Vista showed my phones folder name in "My Computer" with other icons like C: etc. But it doesnt show now , I dont know why. I have tried to reinstall connection and repair many times but still the icon has some how sort of diappeared. It was much easier to transfer and delete files etc using that ftp connection built by Vista , rather than the very cumbersome method described above. Please tell if some one knows the solution.
problems
hi,
everything goes as it does above, up untill your last picture when i'm trying to send images from my ericsson w810i to my vista desktop. audio files go through with no problems, but with images i load up the wizard, get the connecting screen then i get the "cannot complete the file transfer wizard" screen where it says file transfer was unsuccessful and that it was not implemented. i get this everytime i try to send an image.
i'm using a belkin F8T013 USB adaptor.
thanks
Thanks for quick and easy
Thanks for quick and easy summary on how to use the bluetooth between Vista and a mobile phone. Thanks for having this page for everyone! G
Bluetooth File Transfer Wizard doesn't pop up!
Hi!
First of all, thank you for having this helpful information for us - this really helps!
However, I got a slight problem that I don't know how to fix. My bluetooth did pair with my Samsung mobile phone, but when reaching the stage of testing procedure, the "bluetooth file transfer wizard" doesn't pop up after I selected a picture in my laptop, clicked "Send to" and "Bluetooth device" respectively. Instead, it did work when I did it manually by right-clicking at the bluetooth icon at the bottom right and then "Send a file"
Do you know why this happens? Actually it's not a major problem, but sometimes I'd like to send a file right away at the file itself rather than clicking the bluetooth icon again. This becomes annoying when the sending files are in, let say, 5 levels sub-folders. You know what I mean?
And, I use the Window Vista. Thanks a lot in advance!
I recently bought an HP
I recently bought an HP laptop that was already loaded with Vista. I tried to install the Windows XP but couldn’t find the laptop’s driver for XP anywhere, not even on the HP site. I installed again Vista… and had problems getting used with it. Luckily I am easily getting on with it now, thanks to your site!